Hypo BCI markings darkening..?

[Nydders]

Hello, all. I recently bought a female Hypo BCI at an expo from a trusted breeder. Nagini shed about a week (and a half?) ago, eats great, no problems whatsoever. I've had her for almost a month now. Great snake. Today, however, when I picked her up, I noticed her head had darkened considerably. I was rather taken aback. Not only her head, but her sides had darkened as well. I'm just curious-- what could cause this?

[SnoopySnake]

This is pretty typical for boa constrictors, my 2 looked like different snakes from day to night.

[Cmwells90]

Snoopy is right, Boas will naturally darken as they age. Normals usually turn a chocolate color as adults and Hypos will still keep some red in their tail. But they lose it usually everywhere else, depending on the specimen.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Boa constrictors have light and dark phases, which they go through daily, which is what SnoopySnake was actually talking about. They do also darken as they age, though.

[HollyG]

I agree with the above posts and from my personal experiences. As both my BCI and BCC aged, they lost that grey color and turned more tan and eventually like a light brown. Also as mentioned above tho, they go through dark phases... for ex. Most boas will go dark phase while digesting a meal or during the entire length of a shed, then back to normal once shedding is finished and also if the boa is cold/on the cool end of the enclosure. It's all normal. Sometimes they just do it for reasons unknown and it's only for a couple hrs. This happened with both my BCI and my current BCC all the time.... constantly. Just part of a boas life. You get use to seeing what it is that triggers a lot of the dark phases as you get to know your boa :)

[jossh27]

I wonder ifit could have something to do with mood?- don't chameleons change their colours for this reason?

[lady_bug87]

I don't think its mood. Mine do fluctuate with day/night

[Cmwells90]

It's most likely to help them camouflage during different parts of the day. So I would imagine something that just happens naturally, not like cham's where's it's mood driven.

[jossh27]

ah, that makes sense too

[bigsnakegirl785]

When mine was younger, he went through phases independent of the time of day. I'm not sure if it was temp-driven or mood driven, or what. He mostly darkened at night, but he darkened during the day just as often. Nowadays, you can't really tell when he darkens, really only when he's going into shed.

It's kinda like my BRB, who white walls at any time of the day, and that seems temp-driven. I once put him down on some wet (and rather cool) moss to get a size comparison of him in his tub, and the colors of his sides just melted off right in front of my eyes, just like that. It was rather cool tbh.

[Nydders]

Thank you all for the responses! I was worried it was a husbandry/temp issue, and that my thermometer/hygrometer was off. I had never experienced that before with this particular snake, or any other boa I've had for that matter-- it threw me completely off. I tried looking up results but found nothing, so I became worried for nothing. Thanks again, everyone

[Princess-dad]

I would love an opinion of my snakes true species .Im thinking possibly hypo bci .

[Mikoh4792]

I know it's been answered already but I'll just add that both my boas also go through these color phases throughout the day. One moment they are pale/pink, then after several hours they turn completely dark gray. Pretty amazing.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I would love an opinion of my snakes true species .Im thinking possibly hypo bci .

It doesn't look hypo at all, but its species is Boa constrictor. And its subspecies is Boa constrictor imperator, or BCI.

[Princess-dad]

I read this and he only has 19 saddles . Counting saddles?



Well Boa constrictor constrictor (Bcc) should have 15-22 saddles.

The term "true red tail" refers to Bcc. the term was coined long ago to differentiate between Bcc and Bci. Back then Bcc were much more expensive, by saying "red-tail boa" a shop/dealer could get quite a bit more than they could for a "common" (a.k.a. Central American) boa. But there are more and more Bci and Bci x Bcc crosses that are showing up with very red tails. And if they have some high end pastel in there bloodline or a lot of higher end, really clean hypo they can have tails that rival Bcc.

Boa constrictor imperator (Bci) should have 22-30

You’ll notice that there is overlap in the saddle counts. Bci x Bcc crosses could fall in either category.

And with all the morphs and aberrancies that lessen the number of saddles it’s not as reliable of a way to tell with captive bred boas anymore. Unless your boa comes from someone who does not deal in morphs at all, and only has pure imports....

And Boa constrictor amarali will have an average of 22 saddles.
Boa constrictor longicauda should have 19-21 saddles
Boa constrictor orotoni should have 28-31
Boa constrictor occidentalis should have 29-30

source is Reptic Zone

[bigsnakegirl785]

I read this and he only has 19 saddles . Counting saddles?



Well Boa constrictor constrictor (Bcc) should have 15-22 saddles.

The term "true red tail" refers to Bcc. the term was coined long ago to differentiate between Bcc and Bci. Back then Bcc were much more expensive, by saying "red-tail boa" a shop/dealer could get quite a bit more than they could for a "common" (a.k.a. Central American) boa. But there are more and more Bci and Bci x Bcc crosses that are showing up with very red tails. And if they have some high end pastel in there bloodline or a lot of higher end, really clean hypo they can have tails that rival Bcc.

Boa constrictor imperator (Bci) should have 22-30

You’ll notice that there is overlap in the saddle counts. Bci x Bcc crosses could fall in either category.

And with all the morphs and aberrancies that lessen the number of saddles it’s not as reliable of a way to tell with captive bred boas anymore. Unless your boa comes from someone who does not deal in morphs at all, and only has pure imports....

And Boa constrictor amarali will have an average of 22 saddles.
Boa constrictor longicauda should have 19-21 saddles
Boa constrictor orotoni should have 28-31
Boa constrictor occidentalis should have 29-30

source is Reptic Zone

You do not count every single back pattern when counting saddles, you only could the saddles, not the tail. Your boa actually has 15 saddles. I do not use saddle counts to determine subspecies because of the exact reasons you listed. Those sort of qualities would only be useful for herpetologists on the field, not so much for hobbyists who own snakes with mixed blood and unknown origins.

It's more about the look of the snake: head shape, coloration, sharpness of the saddles, tail coloration and pattern, etc. Your boa is undeniably BCI-influenced. It could be a mix but it's certainly not pure BCC, but it could be pure BCI. You wouldn't be able to know if it's a mutt without knowing its heritage.

Take a look at these pure BCC and compare it to your's. Look at the head shape, look at the colors, look at the saddles, look at the tail. These snakes and your's look very different. Even muddier BCC look much different.

Suriname locale
http://www.boa-constrictors.com/sites/default/files/Boa_c_constrictor_Surinam_Pokigron_Mutter.jpg

Peruvian locale
http://www.boa-constrictors.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/orig/PeruOcka.jpg

See how the Peruvian looks superficially like a BCI? But look at how dark the saddles are, and how well-outlined they are. BCC also often have those little eyelash bits you see above the eyes, and the head spear usually isn't broken, and pure BCC never have crosses on their heads. Even if their saddle pattern is lighter or faded, their saddles remain well-defined, and even darker individuals have a clean, even coloration to them.

Here's one with light saddles:
https://scontent-atl1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10457923_1031109773565886_2571595647222413698_n.jp g?oh=5cd931373056a5c3e48479c5acfb9693&oe=5618A677

Also sorry for derailing, I will back off. Princess-dad, if you wish to discuss this further PM me or start another thread.

[SnoopySnake]

I thought when counting saddles you stop at the vent?

[Princess-dad]

SnoopySnake

Re: Hypo BCI markings darkening..?
I thought when counting saddles you stop at the vent?



This info is from Reptic Zone forum

Find where the vent is...

Then count the saddles from the head to the vent, like so..

[bigsnakegirl785]

Ah yes, I remembered the word "tail" just the wrong connotation. lol Either way, I'm very certain your snake is BCI, and a BCC/BCI mix at most.

[SnoopySnake]

Ah yes, I remembered the word "tail" just the wrong connotation. lol Either way, I'm very certain your snake is BCI, and a BCC/BCI mix at most.

I agreeee.

[Princess-dad]

Thanks to all no matter what he is , hes sweet most of the time for a adolescent . He has never struck or bitten me , he has hissed but found out he didnt like my big fat arm coming down from above . He hooked trained easily , no more complaints .

[lady_bug87]

I agree. He's a mix. The problem is that a lot of the animals are so mixed the only way to know for sure is to know the breeding that produced it. That's why the numbers overlap because things like saddle count are polygenetic traits. If mum has 22 saddles and dad has 17 saddles the babies will have something between those numbers despite their species.

I hope that makes sense!