size

[Sheldon & Tori]

has anyone got their female boa's to max size (12-15ft)?

[UpscaleBoas]

honestly i've never presonally seen and boa over 12ft 1 inch. if they out there some here will respond and when they do could you please post a pic with something to show scale and the local of the boa.
thanks

[mark129er]

i haven't heard of a boa that big but i bet it didn't live with a bp when it was younger.

[Linds]

I don't think any boa constrictor has every reached 15'. Max size is 12' and that's not very common. You hear stories of this, but nothing to back it up. Often when people say their boa is 12' when actually measured it is significantly smaller :rolleyes:

Originally posted by mark129er
i haven't heard of a boa that big but i bet it didn't live with a bp when it was younger.

Uncalled for IMHO. They made a mistake and are in the process of correcting it.

[Sheldon & Tori]

thnx Linds.....and just to correct you, we have corrected it.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

The largest boas I can recall are 12' 9" I believe was a B.c.c. and a B.c.o. at 15'+. These of course are rare in captive situations, and more than likely to see sizes at 8-10' max.
B.c.i., the most commonly kept of the Boa constrictor species, are smaller species. Some of them in most northern areas of their range may only get to around ~6'. I have a CA B.c.i. that is 4', and mature at its size. They also seem to be quite thin as well, not much girth to them. Here are a few pics of the lil' fella (now he has been getting some great pink coloration in his sides, but no recent pics)..:(

http://hometown.aol.com/beauconstrictors/images/bob1.jpg

http://hometown.aol.com/beauconstrictors/images/bobsn1.jpg

http://hometown.aol.com/beauconstrictors/images/bobsn.jpg

[hip]

Hmmm....... Rare in captive situations? Considering that captive born and raised boa's that are subject to better living and feeding conditions are on the average 25%-40% larger than their wild cousins(would make them prone to be larger).Or did I read your anwser wrong? 12 feet is not unheard of for B.c.o. and is found in true red tails as well (rare exceptions but not an every day event) True Colombian boas are very large indeed and are probably ranked #3 in size overall in the boa world (pure Colombians ,not mixed race that are more common in the pet trade) I guess you are referring to insular forms of B.c.i when you are talking about boas on the smallish side, same species and genetically compatable with thier bigger cousins (even though breeding seasons and climates do not over lap for the most part). Boa constrictor's from the isle of rotan off the cost of honduras are an exception to the insular forms and have hit 10 feet on occasion and do get to 8 feet with a very thick build. Like linds said (and I have also said before so many times here and Linds too) If you think the boa is 12 feet the tape will tell you 8-9 feet if you have one that measures a true 9 feet you got a monster on your hands and you should give yourself a pat on the back cause there ain't too many any bigger out there


Word to the Lindster just don the road



Hip

[hip]

Here is a link to a site of some one who is very knowledgable when it comes to boa's and also has an excellent site to boot

http://www.boa-constrictors.com/com/com.html
Just click on size of a boa on the nav bar to the left
hip

[mark129er]

Originally posted by mark129er
i haven't heard of a boa that big but i bet it didn't live with a bp when it was younger.

After further consideration I too think that comment was inappropriate. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize. I'm truly sorry.

[Sheldon & Tori]

mark129er ----> we really appreciate your apology. Like Linds said, we were new to the hobby and took the advice that our work had given us. after reading all of the posts from people we came to our senses and seperated them. mistakes happen in every aspect of life. this was a mistake made by us that has now been changed for the better of our animals and future buyers.

everyone else ----> thnx so much for your info. i went to the website that "hip" suggested and i have to agree that many potential boa owners are turned away due to record lengths being published rather than average lengths. i'll be sure to tell my customers that 10-13 feet is rare occurances. maybe then we can get some boa's out of the store and into better living conditions. again, thanx everyone!

s & t

[reverendsterlin]

I own a big Bco female and she is only 25 lbs and 8', your Bci/Bcc comparison is silly since even the experts are arguing they are the same species.

[Linds]

Originally posted by hip
Word to the Lindster just don the road


??

[Stav.T]

Hi there interesting post:)

Here's one of my B.c.c an (import) but ltc ""Male"". I took the pics last year to put on the other site on a similar topic and he was 11 ,6' ( measured with a string ) He's probably 12' now maybe a bit more....

Sorry for the crapy pics i didint had a cam back then. I'm gonna take some new ones when I get some friends over here to hold him. He's got some attitude most of the time;)

Stav

The head size....
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/634suri_11.jpeg

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/634Suri_10.jpeg

With a 7 feet female ( put together on purpose for the pic ;)
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/634suri_12.jpeg

[Linds]

Oooooh I remember seeing pics of him a few years ago on the other site. Can't get over the size of his head, it's like a dog! :p What's the temperament like on that guy? I'm so lucky my male is a midget with the attitude he's got :p

[Stav.T]

Hi Linds;)

He has a "dangerous" temperament.
Its really hard for me to explain it because of my bad english.....I'll try to explain it anyways and I hope you get what i mean :)

He dosent strike or hiss or open his mouth like others who have bad temperament. He also dosent rear back or flee like others when you grab him. Insted he pulls his tongue out to smell and he slowly gets closer in a subtile way. He is going literally for a Kill each time he is handeled. Thats whats dangerous about him because he dosent matter throwing some coils over your body once he striked.

I know that some people will think like : " Hey his boa is hungry";) Let me say that they are right! This even if he eats 15 to 25 pounds of rodens every 2 weeks. ( He eats until he dosent want anymore like the rest of my collection. ) This said, if you open the cage , go near it or try to handle him two days after he ate he will go through the same process again and try to eat again. Offcourse what I did on numerous occasions is feed him even if he ate 2 days before. He takes the food but regurgitates the next day, and then he wants more again as you go close. Its tempting to think that he must smell the rodens all year wrong but its also not the case. I dont keep live rodens I buy them frozen and I put them in four freezers in the basement so it never smells.

He is very dangerous due to his size and strengh but very predictable if you are familiar with boa in feeding mode.

I went through tons of boas in my life but i've never seen that type of behaviour in any other. He is one of a kind I guess and its a thing I dont understand yet. I wonder if any other breeders experienced this type of behaviour with a boa?. I would be very interested in knowing .

Hope you understood what I tried to explain Linds , if not tell me and i'll try again ;)

Stav

[Linds]

Understood perfectly, thank you :)

[nuno]

Wow...what a head. Very nice:D

[HetForHuman]

Yep that head is massive, very impressive.

[ScreamingMisfit]

the pics wont work for me !!!!

[Reptscue]

Stav,
I didn't get to see the pictures either.
I was just wondering if you are feeding him in his cage? If you are try putting him in a "feeding area" so he doesn't think that everytime you are going into his cage it means food.
Good luck and I hope to see the pictures.

[Soul_Reaper]

The pics won't work for me either...dammit! I'm dying to see it!

[cpt_retic]

I have seen a f boa in Vernon BC that was 13' in a reptile refuge

[Linds]

Originally posted by Reptscue
If you are try putting him in a "feeding area" so he doesn't think that everytime you are going into his cage it means food.
Good luck and I hope to see the pictures.

Feeding large snakes in a seperate enclosure is extremely dangerous for the keeper. The last thing you want to be doing is handling a large snake in feeding mode. It's nothing more than a myth that a snake will associate the cage opening/being taken out with food if fed in their enclosures.

[northernsnake]

I can't see any pics I want see to!!!!!!!!!

[Stav.T]

Ok here are the pics again.

Reptscue
""I was just wondering if you are feeding him in his cage? If you are try putting him in a "feeding area" so he doesn't think that everytime you are going into his cage it means food.""

As Linds said It is dangerous to put a boa of this size in another feeding area to feed it. Once they are in feeding mode they are dangerous. And its the same for any large constrictor.

This baby is constantly in a feeding mode. He can eat until regurgitation 24/24 7 days a week. Thats what makes him even more dangerous if someone can't "read" his manners and habits. Whats even more weird is that he is a WC and he has been like that since the first day I got him.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/634SuriHead2.jpeg

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/634SuriHead1.jpeg

Here with a 7' female....
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/634SuriHead3.jpeg

[Amiechann]

We have a big girl that has to at least be 9 ft long. She is a pain in the but to move around. Right now we have her in a 4 ft boaphile, and she still needs more space (we are in the process of getting her a larger cage). When we received her, she was over 8ft long and approx 5 years old according to the previous owner. He was feeding her a rabbit and a couple of jumbo rats a week.. I would say this is why she is so large.
Here's some pics from 2-3 months ago.
it's hard to show how big she is. I'm going to get her to the vet for a health checkup and get them to help me measure/weigh her.
Chris is almost 6'ft tall, and he's a big guy..
http://redtailboa.net/gallery/data/3c59dc048e8850243be8079a5c74d079/68_p1001.jpg
http://redtailboa.net/gallery/data/3c59dc048e8850243be8079a5c74d079/full_68_p1002.jpg