Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

I've been keeping snakes for a few years now, mostly colubrids. I have decided to acquire a pair of boas for breeding and have narrowed it down to two species: the Hogg Island population of Boa constrictor and Dumeril's Ground Boa. I have chosen these mostly on size and appearance. I would like I boa that's between 5-8ft and not much heavier than 20lbs. I am not that big of a guy and don't think I'd feel comfotable handling anything much bigger than that on my own. I am looking for input as to which might be a better choice. Specifically, how do they compare in terms of temperament, ease of care/breeding, hatchling care, food consumption, etc.?
One other question, is there any benefit to keeping a pair together permanently? I can either build 2 stacked 4' or 5'x2'x2' cages to hold them, or one 6x3x3 cage for them. I would of course seperate for feeding and keep a back up option if they need to be seperated for any reason.
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1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Ball Python
1.0 Sinaloan Milksnake
1.1 Western Hognose
0.1 Taiwan Beauty Snake
1.0 Baird's Ratsnake
1.0 Eastern Blackneck Garter
0.1 Bullsnake
1.1 Leopard Geckos
0.1 Crocodile Skinks
Couch's Spadefoot Toad

Just in my opinion, Dumerils tend to be a little more heavy bodied compaired to most Hog Islands. If your going for size I would say Hog Island, There are always exceptions to the rule, but I have had quite a few of both in my years, and from my expereince the Dumerils seemed girthier, and bigger than any of my Hog Islands. Dumerils are great though...don't get me wrong, But my choice, if choosing for smaller size, would be Hog Islands. Good luck choosing, I couldn't make that choice, I would have to get both....lol
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www.executivereptiles.com

Keep one of each together, is that what you mean?

Dumerils eat other snakes in the wild, so it would not be a good idea. Generally speaking it's not a good idea to ever
keep multiple snakes together unless breeding them...
(Unless you're keeping garter snakes)...

I've got both and you can't go wrong. Young dumerils can be finicky and shy. They like to bury themselves if they can, but
they are truely gorgeous boas. They look like little dragons,
very regal...

No, sorry if I wasn't clear. I meant keeping a male female pair of either Hoggs or Dumerils together. I often hear of people keeping BCI's together and have heard mixed opinions on the subject.
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1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Ball Python
1.0 Sinaloan Milksnake
1.1 Western Hognose
0.1 Taiwan Beauty Snake
1.0 Baird's Ratsnake
1.0 Eastern Blackneck Garter
0.1 Bullsnake
1.1 Leopard Geckos
0.1 Crocodile Skinks
Couch's Spadefoot Toad

i have both,,i would take the hogg i think,,,they dont hide as much and they will feed everytime, sometimes dumerils wont take anything but live until they are older.both awsome looking snakes. also i have seen some 10 foot dumerils that are pretty dam heavy.