Reptile & Amphibian Forums

size isnt a real big deal.
but i was wondering if i should get a burm or a boa.
its my first big constrictor but iv delt with them before but i cant make up my mind on which one i want.

Hands down boa..

I have owned both.. You are better off going with a boa. They stay smaller, which at the moment you may not think size is an issue, but when you have a 12' burmese python that is in a bad mood that needs husbandry care dealt with you will wish he was much smaller. The feeding requirements are another issue.. An adult burmese python will eat much more then an adult boa (which adds up in cost and space in the freezer). The enclosure requirements for a boa are much easier to attain at a more reasonable price, and space saving. Thinking of owning a burmese pythons,(or any other large boid) should be something that you do for quite a long time before doing so..

I owned burms for well over a decade, and finally sold them off after our second kid was born and decided the risk (as small as they were) were not something we wanted to take.

Good luck making your decision.
-----
Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

I agree. I owned a large male burm - maybe 10 foot and it was a big snake. Ten feet doesn't sound so big but when he smells food in the air and you're trying to open the cage to feed him, you get an idea of how powerful a snake that size is. Burms can be tame but they're snakes and if something goes wrong it's alot to deal with. Even if nothing goes wrong, the routine work gets old quickly. It's a personal decision but I think for almost everyone a boa is a better choice. There are some new "dwarf" burms on the market but I don't know if they've ever been proven to consistently stay small. Good luck.