Rubber Boas

[bailey]

When I went to purchase my corn snakes in Tennessee this past Sunday I was given the opportunity to handle several different types of snakes. I held burmese, rat snakes, boa constricters, carpet pythons. Name a nonvenemous species that are kept in captivity and I probably handled it. One of our very favorites were the rubber boas. The people who had them said that they are the only other boa species native to the United States. They also informed me that these boas have been seen in the snow and swimming. They don't have heat or humidity requirements if kept in temperate areas and they are strong feeders. I wanted to double check this information here before we decided to purchase one. I would also like to ask what the show price of these boas are and if there is even a remote possibility of purchasing one at the Birmingham, Alabama show on Jan. 17th. Sorry for such a long post. Thanks for any replies.
Denise

[Tigergenesis]

I was considering rubber boas at one time, but couldn't really find any breeders. Were these at a store or breeders? If a breeder, I'd be interested in any contact info you might be able to pass on.

As far as care, room temp is fine. a 5-10 gallon aquarium is fine. A good care sheet is:

http://www.rubberboas.com/

[Oliverian]

Thanks for posting the link. :) I was actually bitten by one of these guys when I picked it up, and I had no idea what it was until now. (Smart eh, picking up unknown snakes) But as far as I know, the only venemous around here are rattlers, and I was sure it wasn't one of them. Thats a neat site, I learned a lot about them. They're supposed to be pretty rare around here, so I'm glad I got to know more!
-TammyR

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Hey, if its a breeder, im soooooo interested! If you could point me in the right direction to them that would be great! As far as care, that link is the best and one of the only informative links on them. Thanks.

Chris

[Wuntu Menny]

They're great little snakes with peculiar habits and natural history. normally they're very docile, I'm surprised you were bitten by one Tammy. Consider yourself fortunate, its a rare occasion to find them in the field.

There was a handful of breeders in the US a couple of years ago, but I've been out of the RB loop for a while so I can't point the way. WC specimens tend to be a little delicate and can be hard to acclimate especially young ones.

They like lower temps and moderate humidity, so caging is pretty straight forward. You may need something larger than a 10 gal for an adult though. They are interesting, one of a kind snakes and great for someone looking for a departure from the usual.

One more thing, they are a protected sp in Canada and I don't believe we're allowed to collect wild specimens or import them into any province.

WM

[Oliverian]

Oops... my bad. After doing a bit of research and reading through that site, I found out it was a yellow bellied racer that bit me, not a rubber boa. It was a small grey snake with a yellow belly, and I thought it looked like a rubber boa. I didn't really get a very good look at it. Just trying to move it off the road. I picked it up, it started thrashing around, and it decided to clamp onto my finger. Definately not a rubber. See my big embarrased grin. My bad!

Hmmm... So now that I know what habitats they're found in, i'll have to go herping and see if I can find any of these guys. Mabye I'll be able to get some pictures if I see any. :D Can't wait for spring now! (Not that I ever can)

-TammyR

[Invictus]

To give you an idea of what a rubber boa would most likely live in, well... they are native to Southern Alberta. Our climate here is highly variable, but usually very dry. Given that they do live in this province, I'd say they would have to be about as hardy as garters or corns. :D

[bailey]

Thanks everyone for the useful information. I don't think that these people were breeding their RB's. I think they were part of their small group of pets. They mostly breed corns and rosy and sand boas. I'll try to find out where she got hers from. She was gonna get them for us I guess or either give us the contact information. If I find out anything I'll let ya'll know.
Denise

[Tigergenesis]

Sounds great Denise. Can't wait to hear what you find out.

kelly

[Stockwell]

I work with Rubber Boas, and yes they can be legally imported into Canada(I've done it) but they are CITES appendix two listed.
Its quite difficult to find Americans willing and able to get the export permits. They are protected in Washington state, and can't be sold in California but can be given away
This snake is being bred in the US, by many Erycines hobbiests and they are often in the KS classifieds. One fellow (bluerosy)has been trying to unload some for months.
Babies can be tough to start, but once they begin feeding they are quite low maintenance.
These are very inexpensive boas. They can be had at US shows for around 50 to 75. Even captive bred ones are only about 100US

[bailey]

Thanks Stockwell for that information. I want to try to pick one up at the Birmingham show on the 17th when we go if there are any available. That gives me an idea of what kind of bank I'm gonna need to take with me. Does anyone have any idea if there might be some at that particular show??

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Ivictus,

I have been on a "hunt" for these guys and i know that there are none inhabiting alberta. There are rumored sightings of these in alberta but only a few dozen maybe less actual sightings. I have also been speaking with a herpitologist(Ed Hofman) who works for fish and wildlife and also a biologist that works with my father and they agree that they are not found in Alberta(besides the few sightings). They prefer more moisture than dryness and are often found hiding under rocks and old rotting logs and such. They are always found near some source of water. Rubber boas prefer a cooler temperature to operate in(cooler than average snakes). In the spring they come out a little earlier than most other snakes and there is also an explosion(well for this species all the new babies is an explosion though the sitings are still low) of babies, some of which havent eaten yet in their lives(some are born right into the time where brumation/hibernation begins). Anyways, people have reported sightings in Alberta however their range is basically only into B.C., the only boid native to Canada. If you compared these to Rosy boas you would find that for one, rubbers arent usually as big, two, rubbers have a smaller diet variety, three, they have different colors, and five, they have large scales on their head while the rosies have more granular scales. Oh and the range is slightly smaller. They are two very close species however. Hope this helps.

Chris

[bailey]

you have helped very much chris. If I can't find a healthy RB at the Birmingham show i wll start looking for one from breeders. If there is any information out there it would be greatly appreciated.

[bailey]

you have helped very much chris. If I can't find a healthy RB at the Birmingham show i wll start looking for one from breeders. If there is any information out there it would be greatly appreciated.

[Oliverian]

These things are neat... Now you've all got me interested. I'm going to go out early this spring and see if I can find any. It'll be fun even if I don't. Always a lot of garters and frogs out around here in the spring. (And rattlers too, but I'm not looking for them. :))
-TammyR

[BoidKeeper]

Roy,

Put me down for two!
Cheers,
Trevor