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Kevin Barnett & I decided we needed another boa hunting trip so for some reason we decided to go looking for nebulosus & orophias. A couple weeks in the Caribbean does have some appeal so off we went to the islands of St. Lucia & Dominica.

Here's a pic of the town of Soufriere were we spent the 1st 4 days.

St. Lucia was pretty much a bust. Did get some pics of this guy. A 5 1/2' - 6' male needing a shed. Certainly not the prettiest boas out there but they are very unique.

Here's what we came for. That's me with an 8 1/2 - 9' female smoking a big fat Cuban. Yes, life is good. We found her paired up with a male in a muddy hole just 5 feet from a volcanic vent.

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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

After we dug them out of their mud hole, we decided that they just wouldn't make for good photo subjects without a bit of a cleanup. So we bagged them, took them back to the hotel & gave them a shower. They were quite friendly until that point. They still weren't to bad, just a bit snippy. We then took a bunch of pics at the hotel until a bunch of workers spotted us out on the deck. They thought we had cobras. Pretty funny. We decided that we'd better get them out of the hotel before security was called so we took them back to the jungle where we found them for some more pics. After that, we released the pair where we had collected them. The big female took off first with the male right behind her. Pretty cool stuff.

Looks like you had a great trip! I am going down to Zihuatanejo in a few months, hopefully I will find a boa or two! Question for you on the boas. Is there common name clouded boa? I remember some of these where in the country a few years ago (I think you might have had some). I heard that they just didn't do well in captiviy, any thoughts on this? Those are pretty neat looking boas, I like that big female you posted!

Thanks for the great pics of some rare boas!!!

Take Care,
Kemper

Yes, Nebulosus are Clouded boas. Orophias just seem to be called St. Lucian boas. AS far as captivity goes, I believe people were keeping them way to warm. Terry told me the ones he caught were hot to the touch living in the volcanic vents. The 3 we caught were right around 83-85 deg. even though the pair were right next to a vent. Our neighbors at the hotel saw one constricting an Iguana delicatissima just 10' off the beach with no vents around for miles. This leads me to believe that normal boa temps would be just fine.

Good luck in Zihuatanejo. Where the heck is that anyway. Mexico? My advice is to talk to the natives. They probably won't collect any for you (we could never get them to) but they should be able to point you in the right direction to look.

Thanks for that info. I was curious. I always liked the patterns on those... Is anyone still working with them in the US?

Ever seen the movie shawshank redemption? At the very end is Zihuatanejo. It is pretty far down in Mexico, on the mainland on the pacific ocean. The surfing there is amazing. I mainly plan on surfing, but hope to find a few reptiles. I went down there before and found quite a few without really trying lol. It also looks like Costa Rica is on the map for summer! I am looking forward to that. That is it for boa related trips for me as far as the year goes (although I already booked Africa and Argentina (Patagonia) for this year. So much to see

Good to hear from you Lee!

but I don't know of anyone with them anymore.

The Mexico trip sounds like a blast. Surfing is still on my to do list. Hard to believe I havn't tried it yet.

Costa Rica is still up on my list also. Maybe this year but probably next. Also New Guinea soon & also Australia. Watch out for the Mambas in Africa (they're just downright evil) & I've heard Patagonia is sweet. Like you say, so much to see.

Take care

Again, not the prettiest boas in the world but I think they are pretty cool. She had some pretty nice sized follicles going on in her also.

Alliey and I have wanted some for over 7 years.....I think they are great looking!

Two weeks in the bush with Kev....whoooohoooo ;O)
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He was much darker than the female. Almost solid black. He was around 5 1/2' & looking very healthy.

Neat little boas.

Since I can never figure out the multiple pic thing, here's a link to some more pics. http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=9072505&uid=692312

You may have to copy/paste it. Kevin will also have some more pics up on his site in the near future. www.ectothermics.com I believe.

Thanks all,

Lee

the trip looks amaizing!

np

np

That is freaking awesome, Lee! I am going back to Suriname and Guyana and French Guiana this year. I wish my friend Vanderventer would have been more successful with the " Clouded Boas " I love them and would cut off a left toe for a breeding pair! ........Johnson Herp

if the did would you take a kidney for those i want both of the species so bad and nobody seems to have those in the us. you dont of anybody working with those do you?

Hi Lee,

Glad you had a good trip!

Cheers,

Terry Vandeventer

I am having dreams of 14in Booey Knives........Johnson Herp