Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Out of the Boa family, which Boa would you think is the most docile. I have a family member (wife) that could veto a breed with a snippy attitude. I mentioned to her that the Hog Island is a fairly calm snake, any other preferences out there, or does the Hog Island get the vote? Thanks...

Really hard to say....every snake has his or her own attitude. I had a hog island that was baby tame....and also had one that seemed to always hiss and strike. I think it may just be the way they are raised but I am not 100% sure...just guessing. If I were you I would go to a local show, and ask to handle the animal you are interested in. The owner should have some blue germ killer liquid that you can put on your hands, and then you can handle the animal. If the animal seems fine for you, it most likely is. Hope this helps, Andy

Well out of my 4 boas, my colombian is the most docile
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1.0 Columbian (BCI)
0.1 Suriname (BCC)
0.1 Longicauda (BCL)
0.1 Bolivian (BCA)

Out of the boas, I've had some of almost all of them that are aggressive....even hogs. Generally my calmest boas are the Dumerils. That's not to say they're all calm either, but overall, I have less problems with them than my BCI(of any locale). If you buy a younger animal, even if it's hissy, you should have no problems calming it down. After you have it home for awhile and feel confident the animals okay with handling, then offer the boa over to your wife to hold. Oh yeah, just to be safe....never say, here hold this, she NEVER bites-LOL! The last time I said that to my wife, the boa decided to turn up and grab onto my hand....LOL, ya just never know, and that snake hasn't bitten me since. Best of luck to you. Take care

Paul

I think the colombian boa is the recommended good pet for docile personality. This does not mean you cannot find docile hog island boas. If you desire a hog and a docile temperment is required, handle the boa before you buy.
Good luck with finding a good pet boa and post some pics after you choose one.

With virtually every type of boa I've owned the temperaments have varied considerably except for one species. I've had several Madagascar tree boas (sanzinia) and they have always been super to handle. I've heard they can even be found and handled in the wild without striking out. Since I've never been to Madagascar I don't know just how true this is but from the ones I've experienced I don't doubt it. Dumerils, mentioned in an earlier post, also come from this oversized island so it may be typical of snakes found there. Perhaps their evolutionary survival instincts are not so much in overdrive due to the isolated ecosystem with less natural predators.

I've read several accounts of Dumerils in the wild being "tame". But...I also remember one story where the guy reached into a rock face to pull out a Dumerils and ended up stuck in the rock due to the snake grabbing onto his hand-LOL, I think it was in Reptiles magazine a while back??? They're definitely generally a tame boa, and the Sanzinia are probably as well, just a tad high priced for a "beginner" boa possibly. They are definitely a BEAUTIFUL boa though! Take care

Paul

BCC, true red tails tend to be more temperamental than BCI or BCA.

I was surprisd at how calm and docile my Amarali are. I'd read
horror stories about them, but they were both sweethearts
straight out of the shipping box.

I'd recommend Hogs, but every snake is different. You should
definitely pick the boa first hand if you don't have a lot of
experience taming snakes...

dumerils all the way.