Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are there many people out there that think as much about rubber boas as I do?
They are high in my top 5 farorite snakes along with about ten other snakes. lol...

I have never owned any and only ever held one once but I have been reading tons about them! I am hopeing to find some this year!

does any one have any interesting stories of ones that they have seen or caught? How about pics of them in the wild?

A. B. Carson.
Snakester.

lol me to they are my favorite a long with 10 other snakes . I recently just got one a male . I intend to get a female soon to house with him.
I must say very docile almost relaxed type snake. feels funny compared to my other snakes. I was nervous to get him because was afraid of the not eating horror stories I have read but he ate 2 pinkies no problem.
I keep ground skinks as pets and rubbed my "big" male skink on the thawed pinkies maybe that helped but he did eat before I bought him from pet store . Pet store guy used same method rubbed the pinkie on an anole .
Mine mostly hides in his 20 gallon long tank under hide areas or digs in the soil but than again most snakes mostly hide lol.
again neat to hold you should get one. I have seen them for sale in the classifieds Spring/Summer .

I plan on getting some this year!
I looked all over the internet for some for sale and the only ones I found were a pair for like $300 which was too much for me then.
I have been in touch with Richard F. Hoyer and Ryan Hoyer and I got a lot of good/helpful info about them and may get the chance to go Rubber Boa hunting with Richard F. Hoyer!!!!!!!!!!

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Snakester
1.0 Eastern Box Turtle
1.0 S/A Wood Turtle
1.0 Asian Box Turtle
0.0.1 Sulcata Tortoise
2.2 Russian Tortoises
1.0 Giant Day Gecko
0.0.1 Rosy Boa
Hoping to get Rubber Boas this year!

Oh thats insane $300 for a pair but if they are a breeding pair than I guess thats good.
They do seem to be pricey when captive born which is better. Mine I am sure is wild caught due to a tiny scar on his belly that should go away when he sheds.
He is small but eats and doing well. He was $70 . I intend to get a female to very docile snake even my mom handles him.
Hides more than my other snakes but you take him out and he is fine not nervous .
That guy Richard Hoyer realy knows these snakes his site is great lots help. That would be great if you get to go looking for them.
Thats Big Foot country so becareful lol.

The $300 add is still on the kingsanke classifides. The people selling it said the pair is not old enough breed yet! and yet they will not sell for less than $300.

I have a pair of rubber boas...great snakes but can be tricky feeders...mine only seem to like hour old baby rats. I would say a reasonable price for CB baby rubbers is about $75-125. W/C is around $50. CB adults do go for $250 a pair. I recommend buying CB from a well respected breeder. Others say they are CB but are really WC. And please buy CB when possible helps stop people from removing them from the wild to sell.

Chris
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Chris Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps

Posted by: CBH at Mon Feb 13 21:49:52 2006 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

I have a pair of rubber boas...great snakes but can be tricky feeders...mine only seem to like hour old baby rats. I would say a reasonable price for CB baby rubbers is about $75-125. W/C is around $50. CB adults do go for $250 a pair. I recommend buying CB from a well respected breeder. Others say they are CB but are really WC. And please buy CB when possible helps stop people from removing them from the wild to sell.

Chris
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Chris Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps

Your right . Mine is WC I am sure the pet store said he wasnt but he was cheap enough compared to the ads I have seen and he has a little scar on his tail area.
He is shedding now after he sheds will post a pic. I am lucky as he eats little pinkies real well but I know most WC dont .
They are nice to handle docile,calm . I hope one day albino version is available though I imagine it will be a fortune to buy .

Richard Hoyer is a great biologist.. I had the pleasure of meeting/chatting with him this year..He has been studying rubber boas for almost 50 years...has one rubberboa female he caught back in the 70's that is still going strong.. He is definately the best to go herping with.. He helped me fine my guy couple years ago.

Also, becareful about buying these snakes.. Most states where they are found(Pacific states through Wyoming) protect native wildlife..and it is illegal to buy and sell native animals..

I am in Oregon, and it is ok for me to go catch one, but illegal to buy, sell, or trade...even if it is a captive bred animal..I have friends who work for Fish and game(hope to be one of them)..and have heard of folks getting these animals from Glads herps in Florida, and getting into trouble trying to re-sell them..Nasty fines.

Anyhoo... Hope you find your rubber...great snake to have..
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Have You Hugged Your Herp Today?

Hi Jeanin, for some reason my e-mails to you aren't going through. Are you in the Virginia Beach, Va. area? If so please e-mail me.
Thank you,
Phil Patton

Rubber Boas are an interesting snake. Unfortunately, they are not very common in captivity as some other snakes are. Are you looking to keep one as a pet? If you are, I would do my best to try to find a captive bred speciman, even though that will be tough to find. It would be much better than taking a wild Rubber Boa out of its natural habitat and locking him in a cage which it is not used to. Wild animals should not be caught and then kept as pets. There are also a lot more benefits to getting a captive bred snake. So, if you are considering keeping one, do what you can to find a captive bred snake. Good luck.

I must agree with reptilesrock.

The Hoyers are great and have helped out countless people interested in Rubber Boas including me. However, it is my understanding (and i may be mistaken) he releases many of the offspring from his wild collection back into their native local. Not to mention Rubber boas often offer their tail for rodents to chew on as a defense mechanism. Wild Rubber Boas look plain beat up.

"Lam" regularly sells CB rubber boas each year for $200 a pair. I love rubber boas even if they do smell stinky.
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1.3 E. prasina
3.3 L. m. thayeri
1.1 A. stimsoni
1.1 C. t. roseofusca
1.2 L. t. gaigeae

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
Aesop, The Lion and the Mouse
Greek slave & fable author (620 BC - 560 BC)

np

Mine did. Thier musk was abnormally stinky when i would soak them. Although, i did only keep them for a year or so. For what that's worth ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:>

I hear New World sunbeam snakes, Loxocemus bicolorare, are stinkier.
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1.3 E. prasina
3.3 L. m. thayeri
1.1 A. stimsoni
1.1 C. t. roseofusca
1.2 L. t. gaigeae

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
Aesop, The Lion and the Mouse
Greek slave & fable author (620 BC - 560 BC)

I have quite a bit of knowledge on the Charina family since I have been keeping Rubber Boas for a while and have had Rosy Boas occasionally. If you buy a Rubber Boa make sure it is CB and is eating well on lab mice because most people I know have trouble switching them over. Where I am (Salem, OR) I can only catch them out of the wild since Oregon Law prohibits buying native snakes. Richard and Ryan Hoyer have taught me a lot of what I currently know especially Ryan's website
http://rubberboas.com/
when I went herp hunting with Richard Hoyer last fall he taught me some captivity hints with keeping Rubber Boas like to have two hide spots (I use 1/2 logs) in the cage (1 in the warm spot and 1 in the cold spot). Some Rubber Boas have hard times drinking from a normal water dish so I use those immitation rock ones that are a bit spendy but work well. Rubber Boas will stop eating around september for hibernation (which is critical for Rubber Boas). Rubber Boas usually eat on an odd basis so when they eat I usually chain feed them until they're full or ate a large amount. Rubber Boas some times prefer young Deer Mice, Voles, Shrews, and some other baby rodents, Adults sometimes prefer pinks or fuzzies when in fact they could eat a hopper. Rubber Boas like cold temps like 60-70 degrees on the cold side and like 80 degrees or so on the basking area.
-Interesting thing I found was a Adult Female Rubber Boa that has 1 blue eye and 1 brown eye which I plan on breeding to check if it's genetic.
Hope that helps
Sincerely,
Mark
Link

I love these little guys! I caught one in Lake Tahoe Ca. A few years back also. I have a hare time finding them though!! I hope the pair I have will breed next year!