"Colombian red tail boa"?

[AndrewM1217]

So at my local reptile shop I've been eyeing a snake listed as a "Colombian red tail boa" which I took to mean that the snake was a BCI. I didn't ask to handle it or see it fully stretched out but it looked to be maybe about 6ft long. I asked about its origins and it's age, and I was told it was a pet that was surrendered to the store once the owner could not take care of it, and that it was 5yrs old.

A snake that size would be perfect in my opinion, but it looked a little small for what was claimed as an adult boa. My only concern would be that it would grow a substantial amount of it was not truly 5yrs old. I know these are all very vague descriptions and I apologize but I'm just looking for some sort of input as far as typical BCI size goes, as well as if "Colombian red tail" really means BCI.

[bigsnakegirl785]

The reason the shop has it labeled as red tail is because:

1) they can charge more for the snake because red tail was originally associated with a rarer, harder to find boa constrictor

2) because "boa constrictor" is scary and they'll be more likely to sell the snake to an impulse buyer with a more "aggreable" name

A 6' boa constrictor is a perfectly reasonable size, not all of them reach or exceed 7'.

I would not personally doubt the age given with the size of the snake, but if it was younger, at 6' it should not be any younger than 3 or 4 years old. A 6' long 3 year old is huge, keep that in mind. At that age, they grow incredibly slowly, and it could take it another 3 years to reach 7'.

Male Colombians average 5'-6' with the potential to get 9', but that's incredibly rare. Females average 6'-7', with the potential to get 9'. These averages are arbitrary, though. There isn't a significant difference in size between the sexes in non-breeding individuals, and even breeding males will often reach "female sizes" when given enough time to do so. There are also plenty of breeding females only 5' long. So, I prefer to say the general Colombian average is 5'-7' without specifying sex.

[AndrewM1217]

Thanks for the input! I will say though that the price seemed pretty reasonable at a little over $100 USD.

[Minkness]

Sounds reasonable to me! I say gwt him if he's nice and is what you want =)

[sam]

Thanks for the input! I will say though that the price seemed pretty reasonable at a little over $100 USD.

A python that price would be an absolute steal in Oz!

[AndrewM1217]

Sounds reasonable to me! I say gwt him if he's nice and is what you want =)

Haha I wish I could right now! My apartment is tiny, but I'll be moving into a house hopefully in the next 5 months once my lease expires. Plus although the snake itself is cheap, the required enclosure on top of a radiant heat panel or other heating method would probably cost a couple hundred all in all I'd imagine. Sucks to come across such a find when its not feasible in my current situation :( in the future though I'm definitely gonna keep my eye out for a boa!

[Minkness]

Bah...your logic....

You have a good point though. Good luck on the move!

[bigsnakegirl785]

Thanks for the input! I will say though that the price seemed pretty reasonable at a little over $100 USD.

Pretty decent price, probably about what you'd normally pay for a normal BCI of that size. I saw where someone went to a pet store and was trying to charge $800 for a 6'-8' boa (don't remember exactly), and I've seen chain pet stores sell baby normal BCI for $200 when they were worth maybe $60. Insane prices.

Sorry you couldn't get, but definitely consider one when you can, they're an awesome species. ;) (I may or may not be biased.)