Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I understand these snakes have a slow metabolism, and eat less often than most... does that mean they also grow slowly? how active are they?

Candoia seem like some kind of undiscovered treasure. They are very beautiful and yet very few seem to be keeping them, even though it sounds like they are pretty easy to maintain. They aren't even expensive... I wonder why they haven't caught on...

They haven't "caught on" as much as other species mainly due to the difficulty with neonates and their feeding preferences; read as Qtips that eat tiny frogs/lizards. Finding a constant supply of non toxic tree frogs year round is difficult as well. That and their not as cook book easy to breed as other species. Not for everyone, but they are very rewarding if/once you get them going.

Sure seems worth it to me judging by some of the photos on this forum...

How about their growth rate?

They do have a slow metabolism. I feed mine every two weeks and that seems to work fairly well. Others say 10-14 days. Viper boa's though have a slow enough metabolism as not to worry if they go off feed for several months, some say even up to 6 months without feed.

The biggest downside of these snakes is usually the feeding. Once they seem to be eating they are hearty eaters and will eat like clockwork. The one's that won't take food can be a real nuisance to get back on food and sometimes it will take months of different things before you get them back on. They are beautiful snakes and they have really nice keeled scales. Very dragon like and if you hold them routinely they get very docile, which is contrary to their reputation of being somewhat bitey.

They don't seem to grow as fast as other boas which many powerfeed into fast growing snake. When people do this to viper boa's they can make them obese and their scales will start lifting up a little bit because they are getting overly sausage like, so it's important to not over feed them which could be rather rough on their digestive system as well as overall health.

I think the picky juviniles and feeding troubles have scared many away. But the look of these guys is what brought many of us to own these snakes, love them, and promote the keeping of them. They make great pets, very easy to maintain, easy to hold.

Viper Boas/Candoia Aspera are called "The Lazy Snake" in Papua New Guinea because they essentially lay and wait for prey to come to them. Viper Boa's in captivity don't move much. They are either found soaking in their bowls or lying under substrate. In my mind they are not much for a viewing snake if your looking for something that moves around it's aquarium a lot, but they are fun to hold because they are really ... well... lazy.. and they don't have that 'gone mental' hyperness that many boa's have. I usually hold my Female Viper Boa "Nyx" when I watch movies because she will curl up in my lap and stay totally still for 2hrs. She may even be sleeping. So they are a rather easy going snake.

I understand these snakes have a slow metabolism, and eat less often than most... does that mean they also grow slowly? how active are they?

Candoia seem like some kind of undiscovered treasure. They are very beautiful and yet very few seem to be keeping them, even though it sounds like they are pretty easy to maintain. They aren't even expensive... I wonder why they haven't caught on...

I don't know if I made it clear, before, but they are a very inactive snake and you will probably never see them roaming around their cage. 99% of the time you seem they will be still, but if you peak in they are likely to move, bury their head or shy away. With famaliarity they get very used to being picked up and do not fear it much.

In my opinion they are the best snake, and the only breed of snake I still keep and i've kept rosy boas, dumerils, kingsnakes, amazon tree boas, and garters.

The average viper boa goes around 50-90$ and they very quite a bit in color from light, almost white to near pitch black and of course the very unique red.

and of course they do look a little like the Cottonmouth, but only in appearance. Viper Boa's are of course, non-venemous.

Some old photos...

That bluish grey is FANTASTIC! Never seen a Viper Boa like that before. If you breed it let me know!! The red hues are also impressive. Your making me want to whip out my digital and grab some better pics of my brood.

Don't just throw out the tease like that! Now I want to see more pics.....please????

What do we call this, Halloween Phase? Perhaps

This is one of my favorite snakes. I call her "NEMESIS" and I love the black and red. My other Viper Boa "NYX" is almost all black.

The Eyes of Viper Boa's are beautiful dark and golden spheres with black cat eye slits in them. They kind of remind me of the "all-seeing-eye" from Lord of the Rings lol

Hopefully far more people will discover these snakes and get interested in keeping them. Then together we can learn and share more about them. So far most of the knowledge of these snakes is held in a very small handful of people spread throughout the world. It's very difficult to find much more then a blurb here or there on Candoia Aspera.