A big Thank You

[MartinD]

Just want to say a big thank you to Dannybgoode, Davehimself and Richardhind for their help in helping me find my latest acquisition, a 9 month old female sunglow dwarf boa. I will post some photo's when she arrives.

Thanks guys, appreciate your help.

[REM955]

Congratulations on your acquisition.
By dwarf, do you mean a specific locality? I was talking with someone about getting a sunglow myself in the future. My main concern being length, I recall being suggested a Colombian sunglow where the female would likely top out at 9ft.

[dave himself]

Thanks mate but I played a very small part in this I'm just happy to see you got her :). Now to just sit back and wait for the pics ;)

[MartinD]

Congratulations on your acquisition.
By dwarf, do you mean a specific locality? I was talking with someone about getting a sunglow myself in the future. My main concern being length, I recall being suggested a Colombian sunglow where the female would likely top out at 9ft.

I have one already which is a C.A. (Hog Island) x Nicaraguan T+ Sunglow and she should get to around 6-7 foot.

The 'normal' Boa Constrictor Constrictor are the big ones who can reach 12-14ft
The Boa Constrictor Imperator are the smaller ones that will reach between 5-7 ft
with the females usually larger than the males.

Yes there are Boa's that come from a locality like the Hog Island Boa which comes from 2 islands off of the coast of Honduras.

I found someone had posted this on another site......

Boa constrictor imperator:
Columbian/Common - Female 8-9ft Males 6-7ft
Sonoran - less than 7ft
Crawl Cay - reach 5 - 5.5ft
Caulkers Cay - max out at around 5ft
Honduran - rarely exceed 5ft
El Salvador - rarely exceed 5ft
Corn Island - rarely exceed 5ft
Tarahumara Mountain - Classed as True Dwarf Boa...around 4ft
Equador - rarely reach over 6ft
Nicaraagua - less than 6.5ft
Hog Island - Adult females rarely reach over 6ft
Costa Rica - Can reach 7ft but generally reach 6ft
Bahia Island - Females can reach up to 8ft
Vera Cruz - ??
Cancun - Up to 7ft

[MartinD]

Thanks mate but I played a very small part in this I'm just happy to see you got her :). Now to just sit back and wait for the pics ;)

Well you did send me in the direction of Richard Hind and I'm grateful and appreciative for that, which goes to prove what a great bunch of guys 'n' gals we have on this forum.

[sattva]

I have one already which is a C.A. (Hog Island) x Nicaraguan T+ Sunglow and she should get to around 6-7 foot.

The 'normal' Boa Constrictor Constrictor are the big ones who can reach 12-14ft
The Boa Constrictor Imperator are the smaller ones that will reach between 5-7 ft
with the females usually larger than the males.

Yes there are Boa's that come from a locality like the Hog Island Boa which comes from 2 islands off of the coast of Honduras.

I found someone had posted this on another site......

Boa constrictor imperator:
Columbian/Common - Female 8-9ft Males 6-7ft
Sonoran - less than 7ft
Crawl Cay - reach 5 - 5.5ft
Caulkers Cay - max out at around 5ft
Honduran - rarely exceed 5ft
El Salvador - rarely exceed 5ft
Corn Island - rarely exceed 5ft
Tarahumara Mountain - Classed as True Dwarf Boa...around 4ft
Equador - rarely reach over 6ft
Nicaraagua - less than 6.5ft
Hog Island - Adult females rarely reach over 6ft
Costa Rica - Can reach 7ft but generally reach 6ft
Bahia Island - Females can reach up to 8ft
Vera Cruz - ??
Cancun - Up to 7ft
You guys are killing me here... I don't have one of these and they land around my favorite size of snakes! I like snakes between 5 and 10 feet...Their not some wimmy little thing, and their not so big, their hard to handle... If I push for another snake my wife might kill me... I keep teasing her telling her I want an Albino Western Diamondback Rattlesnake... She thinks I'm kidding but real it's the start of a long range plan to have one.... hehe! shhhh mums the word!
Sorry if I hijacked your thread :sorry:

[MartinD]

You guys are killing me here... I don't have one of these and they land around my favorite size of snakes! I like snakes between 5 and 10 feet...Their not some wimmy little thing, and their not so big, their hard to handle... If I push for another snake my wife might kill me... I keep teasing her telling her I want an Albino Western Diamondback Rattlesnake... She thinks I'm kidding but real it's the start of a long range plan to have one.... hehe! shhhh mums the word!
Sorry if I hijacked your thread :sorry:

No probs Sattva, Its always the same, I say to myself 'That's it no more' and then a few weeks later something turns up and its 'No! I must not' lol

If the wife moans tell her it was my fault, she can't get me here in the UK lol.

[Andy_G]

Excellent choice! I have to say, the biggest BCC I have ever seen was 13' and it was a 20+ year old female guyana BCC...that was about 10 years ago. I have seen a lot of "12 footers" that were much closer to 9, though. :)

I must ask simply out of curiosity...what in the lineage makes it appropriate to label this specific line of sunglows a dwarf?

[MartinD]

Andy, I don't know if this helps......

Dwarf Boa constrictor ssp size.
Some boas will grow to be larger than others and that is based largely on heritage or genetics. The influence of the dwarf boa genetics is not an absolute cap on how large the snake will grow. Rather, their genetic heritage is an ability of the animals to thrive in more stingy environments and to mature and deliver healthy litters at a substantially smaller size. Size in any Boa is a combination of genetics and environment. In culture the environment, which is mainly defined by the size and frequency of meals and supplied temperatures, is the dominant factor in size and growth of Boa. Perhaps as much as 35% of the adult or maximum size of any Boa c. ssp is what we could call ‘discretionary’ size. In other words a boa maintained for rapid and maximum growth will grow to exceed the average dimensions of its counterparts kept more conservatively. The difference can be substantial. As an example a mature Colombian boa at age 7 years can be as large as nearly three meters in length or a much more modest 2 meters long (and less massive) depending upon how it was kept and fed. A Peru Boa c. constrictor three or more years after becoming sexually mature could be only perhaps 2.2 meters long or well on the way to being a giant 3.5 meter, 20-30KG snake. The same rule applied to the so-called dwarf Boa constrictor means that at maturity you can have created a slender snake under 2 meters in length or an animal larger than you had hoped for. This discretionary size is a fact in the culture of most all reptiles, though certainly the maximum potential size of an animal such as a Tarahumara, Mexico boa is much less than that of a Colombian imperator or any of the true redtails, Boa c. constrictor.

[Andy_G]

Although I appreciate your post...all that it really says is that boa constrictors as a whole are variable in size...for me personally to label or regard something as a dwarf there has to be consistency in the lineage that's been influenced by a high percentage of a dwarf locality or something else...we all know that the hypo gene is a central american trait derived and rooted specifically from central american smaller localities so with every single sunglow that is in existence in captivity there is a percentage of central american locality blood. Most of us also know that the adult size of a dwarf boa will be influenced mostly by genetics but secondly by food availability/feeding regimen as well as temperatures. I am simply wondering about this specific line that you and Richard have/will acquire(d) and what is in the mix to justify the breeder in labelling and selling it as a dwarf? :)

[Andy_G]

I looked at the other thread and answered my own question. Large % of central american blood. Now it makes sense. ;)