Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok so i was crusing rinky dink pet shops the other day and one to the pet shop has two babys same size, simaler pattern. one is in a cage as a ca and the other is in a cage next to it as a colombain but it looks just like the hypo nics that ghi has on the sale in the classifieds right down to the bright red and orange belly and sides of the tail and the jet black cirles and the tail saddles. so the guy in there is not the best and only know the they came from the same supplier at the same time so im think the one is really a hypo nic, its kind of price for a redtail but if its a nic and a hypo it would be worth it so could you real till if its a nic with out the nic label stuck on it by a breeder or importer or would crossing a probably nic to other nic just screw up the whole thing? thakns

First, a lot of Central American boas are imported every year. However, not all CA’s are from Nicaragua. The fact that it is from a pet store means you will probably never track down the wholesale dealer that supplies the store OR the country of origin for that particular animal. I’m sure some Nics make their way into pet shops. However, unless it is labeled as a Nicaraguan boa, I personally wouldn’t buy it expecting it to be a Nic (nor would I breed it to another Nic and risk mixing the purity of that locale). Also, some CA boas can get a little bit larger than true Nics.

As far as hypo Nics….I am a skeptical person by nature and I firmly believe that there may eventually be a few disappointed people out there when they breed their ‘hypo’ nics and find that they are not actually hypos but rather high red Nics. Somehow/somewhere hypomelanism in Nicaraguan boas was defined as high amounts of red, which is not always necessarily true. Even though high red is often the desired look in hypo nics, remember that hypomelanism means reduction of pigment, particularly black pigment. Now I’m not saying all ‘hypo’ nics are not really hypo…but occasionally imports are sold as hypos, but they look like above average normal nics in my opinion. I am by no means an expert and if a buyer wants to take a chance on an unproven baby nic that may or may not be hypo…then go for it. Otherwise, a cbb baby from a proven line may be the way to go for a pricey investment such as a hypo nic.

Now, if you really like this boa, I would go for it and buy it knowing that it may just simply be a generic boa from somewhere in Central America. Personally (if it were me) I would either keep it as a pet or use it in a breeding project with another ‘generic’ boa or in a morph project. It sounds like this boa has characteristics you’re looking for so regardless of what its label is, it might be for you. Whether or not it’s a hypo Nic would be irrelevant unless you were planning to either re-sell it as a hypo nic or breed it to a Nic and advertise the babies as hypo nics.

Hope I helped a little…
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Sincerely, Jason
www.NortheastSnakes.com
NortheastSnakes@aol.com