Surinamese Boa constrictor

[Nightflight99]

This is one of my adult Surinamese boas. He is a captive-bred male that is scheduled to breed a Miller lineage female in 2016. Fingers, paws, and spurs crossed! ;)

[dannybgoode]

Beautiful. That tall colouration is to die for...

[IW17]

Beautiful snake. I've heard that there really is no difference between Suriname and Guyana localities other than an imaginary border. Same snake just happen to be caught and exported from a different country. But it seems to me that most Suriname bcc have a much brighter red tail and Guyana have a darker almost maroon tail. Is this just coincidence based on the specific animals I've seen or are there visual markers/differences between the two locales?

[Nightflight99]

I've heard that there really is no difference between Suriname and Guyana localities other than an imaginary border. Same snake just happen to be caught and exported from a different country. But it seems to me that most Suriname bcc have a much brighter red tail and Guyana have a darker almost maroon tail. Is this just coincidence based on the specific animals I've seen or are there visual markers/differences between the two locales?
Traditionally, most boa keepers have associated the purple tint with boas from Guyana, and the pink tint to specimens from Suriname. This was largely a classic case of induction--the result of certain specimens being imported from those areas that lead people to conclude that this must be a valid distinction. However, if you look at the map of those two countries in the northeastern part of the South American continent, you'll see that there are no obvious geographic barriers that would separate the two. Instead, it is one large area of boa habitat through which political lines were driven. You can find purple-toned and pink specimens in both areas, as well as specimens with and without widows peaks. Either locality can also produce specimens with bright red tails, although the area near Pokigron is particularly well-known to produce boas with beautiful red tails.

The bottom line is that it is impossible to determine the origin of a mystery specimen with any degree of accuracy. It is always merely a guess, based on what some specimens from that particular area have been known to look like.

[dross9615]

Beautiful Suriname! They have always held a place in my heart. Do you have any breeding plans for this guy?

[Nightflight99]

Thank you! Yes, this guy is scheduled for 2016. Fingers, paws, and spurs crossed. :)

[dross9615]

Well keep us updated I might have to take one of those off your hands haha

[Nightflight99]

Roger that. :)

[Nightflight99]

This is one of my younger specimens. Surinamese Boa constrictor, CB14. Young female produced by Jay McLear from Futo line X wild-caught parents.

[dross9615]

Wow absolutely stunning. I can't wait to get me a few BCC's

[dross9615]

By the way I just re read the post and saw you had already stated you were breeding this guy now I feel dumb haha

[Nightflight99]

No worries, I miss stuff all the time. :)

[Nightflight99]

Another female Surinamese heart breaker. The lighting was subideal for this shot, so the picture did not capture the richness of her coloration, but she just ate, and won't be available to model for a few days. One day she is going to make a great mate for the first male I posted in this thread.

[dross9615]

Wow absolutely stunning. I don't know how find these beautiful boas. I mean regular Suriname's are gorgeous on their own but you have some top notch suri's

[Nightflight99]

Thanks dross9615! My approach has always been to worry less about fancy pedigree, and to focus my attention solely on the quality of the animal. For instance, I'm willing to acquire a wild-caught or long-term captive specimen, as long as it is what I would consider a beautiful representative of its kind. Most boa keepers shy away from this, because of the potential difficulties they may encounter with an animal that was not captive-bred. I also do not require for my boas to look like the cliche representative for that locality, given that there is a significant amount of diversity that is present throughout this species. As long as the locality data is strongly supported and the animal is beautiful, I'll consider it. In any case, it takes a lot of time to build up a nice collection of locality boas, but it is a fun journey that can be quite enjoyable in itself.

[dross9615]

Thanks dross9615! My approach has always been to worry less about fancy pedigree, and to focus my attention solely on the quality of the animal. For instance, I'm willing to acquire a wild-caught or long-term captive specimen, as long as it is what I would consider a beautiful representative of its kind. Most boa keepers shy away from this, because of the potential difficulties they may encounter with an animal that was not captive-bred. I also do not require for my boas to look like the cliche representative for that locality, given that there is a significant amount of diversity that is present throughout this species. As long as the locality data is strongly supported and the animal is beautiful, I'll consider it. In any case, it takes a lot of time to build up a nice collection of locality boas, but it is a fun journey that can be quite enjoyable in itself.

Well it seems all your hard work has paid off because you have some wonderful specimens

[Nightflight99]

http://i.imgur.com/T4XgLeD.jpg?1

This is another Surinamese male. He was a holdback of a litter produced by Larry Robertson, and I really enjoy his clean look.

[Sylphie]

Wow, that one is exactly in type of my dream boa :D Stunning boas you're having Night, congrats!

[Nightflight99]

http://i.imgur.com/s9jrjH6.jpg

This is another young Surinamese female that was produced by wild-caught parents. I wanted to do a photo session with her last week, but she appears to be going into shed, so I had to postpone. In the meantime, here is a decent shot the seller took of her (which still does not adequately convey her coloration) right before I acquired her. She is currently a young puppy of just under 100 g, and I cannot wait to see what she is going to look like in a couple of years. The super-thin, connected saddles and the intense red coloration in her tail look very promising.

[dannybgoode]

Ok nightflight I'm now beginning to just feel jealousy and envy towards you ;).

I have decided that if / when I can increase my collection I'm going to follow your philosophy of trying to acquire really beautiful examples of a specimen although I fear in the UK and given my experience I may struggle more to be to nail the locality data quite so will.

It's a while now before I'll get anything else so plenty of time to research breeders etc and my collection will be much more modest (and won't include hots!)

[Nightflight99]

No worries, quality is always much more important than quantity. There are several of us on this forum who have gone from large, 200+ specimen collections to much smaller collections, simply because it is much more enjoyable that way.

[Nightflight99]

http://i.imgur.com/6T4ZyAo.jpg

Today is a beautifully overcast day, so it was perfect to take a few pics. This is a proven CB10 female Surinamese boa, Barry Miller lineage. Scheduled to breed this Fall to my Pokigron Rio Bravo male.

[dannybgoode]

Oh, what a stunner. So - how to I get one of the babies exported to the UK? :)

[Nightflight99]

Oh, what a stunner. So - how to I get one of the babies exported to the UK? :)
Shouldn't be all that difficult, just a lot of paperwork and shipping cost for a single animal. We can always revisit this possibility when the time comes.

[dannybgoode]

Mmm, interesting - didn't think it was all that achievable. And my god I've just been looking at some photos of Rio Bravo line Surinamese - definitely keep me in mind!

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago I think my long-term plan is to collect a few really high quality, locality proved specimens and mainly in the Boa family.

Out of interest do you have any idea how much international shipping is for reptiles?

[Nightflight99]

Out of interest do you have any idea how much international shipping is for reptiles?
It depends on weight and which carrier you are using, but I'm not sure how much a tiny shipment for a single neonate would be.

[dannybgoode]

Thanks NF - keep me updated with progress and we'll revisit if you get some babies. Oh, a have you got any photos of the potential dad?

[Nightflight99]

Oh, a have you got any photos of the potential dad?
Not any good ones. I wanted to take pics of him today, but he is in full shed. Give me a week or so and I'll show you some pics of him.

[EL Ziggy]

Man, those are some amazing boas Night!

[Nightflight99]

Man, those are some amazing boas Night!
Thank you!

[Nightflight99]

http://i.imgur.com/SfHFUmU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Q0DG5xH.jpg

Danny, this is the male that is the designated mate for the female I recently posted. He is a CB06 Pokigron locality specimen, produced by Rio Bravo.

[dannybgoode]

Definitely keep me on your list of potential customers - he is stunning. Its my 40th birthday in a few weeks so this may just be a present to myself!!

That tail colouration (note the correct spelling of colouration ;) ) is unbelievable...

[Nightflight99]

(note the correct spelling of colouration ;) )
lmao!! :d :d

[Oleman]

The colors on that male are absolutely incredible!

[Nightflight99]

http://i.imgur.com/2gWz1fz.jpg

I really had no plans of adding any more Surinamese specimens this year, but a friend of mine had this female available, and I just could not resist. She is a Brownsweg locality specimen from Northern Suriname, about 60 km north of Pokigron. I think she is going to fit in with my group just fine...:)

[Albert Clark]

Wow! So impressive Nf. Makes me want to put in for a pair of those Surinamese.Thanks for the explanations and descriptions.

[Tsubaki]

Nice addition, i woulndt have passed up on that either.