Hog Isle boa VS BCI

[ChristinaM]

Pro's and Con's?
I'm torn between both of these Boa's.
And well, I can't have both ( not at this point in time anyways )

WHich would you suggest and why?

[ortega]

hog all the way, friendliest boa

[NiagaraReptiles]

I would strongly encourage you to go for the snake you like more :)
I've kept both, and I really haven't found any big behavioural differences between them, other than the Hogs seem to strike harder at feeding time, but that could be limited to just my pair.
The biggest differences are size and colour. Those two things aside, I would base my final decision on what's available to me at the time of purchase. That's my opinion on the matter anyway, probably not very helpful but what do you expect for $0.02 ;)

JonK

[djc3674]

You will be happy either way. I have both and I like different things about each of them. Depending on your situation, if your looking for something that stays on the smaller side, then go for the hog. If you do go for a hog, you will definately love their color changes!!

[BoidKeeper]

A Hog is a BCI, just a smaller then normal one. I keep my Colombians and hogs the exact same way. Temperments are variable on both species.
Cheers,
Trevor

[XtremeReptiles]

I always suggest the BCI.....no matter what its against....ok maybe not that much but I love them! '

Great feeding response....tame and friendly....a decent size...not TOO big. If size is an issure you can get a male:)

[foman]

Originally posted by ortega
hog all the way, friendliest boa

I wish someone would tell mine that. :p

[BoidKeeper]

I always suggest the BCI
Which BCI?
Trevor

[ChristinaM]

WAHHHHHHHH.

You guys are not making it any easier on me, ya know.

I want both now LOL.

So basically the only diffrence ( other than looks ) between a normal BCI, and a hog isle BCI is that the hoggies are smaller?

Temperment they are pretty equal, same with care?

Thanks.

[BoidKeeper]

between a normal BCI
What is a normal BCI?
I know I'm being a pain but I'm trying to get people to start using the right termonology. Boa Constrictor Imperator can be any number of boas, Colombian, Mexican, Central American, Crawl Cay, Hog Island, Corn Island and a few others.
I'm not sure why we got into the habbit of calling out Colombians or Mexicans BCI but it can be confusing. Calling Colombians and Mexicans common boas makes sence especially since there have been so much mixing and matching of the two, as well as others that I'm sure they're not many left that are pure anyway.
So any way, when you say BCI, which one do you mean?
You want a hog or a colombian, mexican, etc?
Cheers,
Trevor

[Matt_K]

I own both Hog Isles and Columbians and would have to say that i really do appreciate the Hog Isle more.. I spend more time looking at and interacting with the Hog.. My Colombians see me when im changing water, cleaning and feeding.. My Hog Isle see's me atleast three times a day.. Morning, Afternoon and Night, and im not kidding when i say, everytime i take her out, she has a different look (color wise) to her.. They're exceptional snakes, they're beautiful to look at (so are colombians) and do have good temperments (have seen some that are pretty aggro). And they have the potential to stay relatively small, but someone forgot to tell Linds' 'Peanut' that..

What exactly are you looking for in your snake? What have you come to so far as being your pro's and con's on the two, based on whatever info you have on them..

[Matt_K]

Originally posted by XtremeReptiles
Great feeding response....tame and friendly....a decent size...not TOO big. If size is an issure you can get a male:)

I have a 7' (and growing) MALE colombian here right now that would love to argue with you about males being smaller... As for the comment on tame.. I have a 7' female here that tried to take my hand off this afternoon while taking the male away from her..

[M_surinamensis]

Couple things to keep in mind, many of which are just general statements which have been hinted at already...

There are numerous locales and island populations of BCI which are avaliable, some of which are likely to be pure animals, others of which are not. Depending on the credibility of the individual you're considering the purchase from, chances are fairly good that the hoggs aren't pure hogg island animals and that the common animals are a mix of mainland locales. Early in the importation and captive breeding efforts, there was a larger emphasis on production numbers and a lower emphasis on keeping bloodlines pure. Yes, there are many pure animals and many individuals who are working hard to keep track of the genetic lines and locales in captive populations but the greater portion of animals are mutts.

Hoggs do TEND to stay a BIT smaller, so if space is a concern, go that route. Limited space and prey avaliability tends to shrink the physical size of many animal populations as a smaller individual doesn't need the same amount of space/prey to survive. Hoggs can also throw the oddball giant though, especially when dealing with the larger somewhat questionable captive population.

Both the common animals and the hoggs are usually docile... But again, SFEs happen and the oddball individual animal can be fairly agressive.

In very general terms the two groups you seem to be considering are similar enough when it comes to size, temperment and care to make the appearance the only real issue of note... That and price. If you like the lighter colors of a hogg, go for a hogg. If you like the darker colors and markings of the common boas, buy one of those. Intending no disrespect to anyone who has given their personal stance (it has value as well) but the more individuals you deal with from both broader groups, the more similarities you'll see and the fewer the behavioral differences. An individual animal may seem drastically different from another individual animal when analyzed on a microscopic level by their owner but speaking about the entire captive populations, there are many generalities which can be applied to both.

[XtremeReptiles]

Hey Matt.

Sorry I am just going by what I have exp.

Sorry for the inaccurate info. But I would recommend a BCI. I love them:) Males usually stay smaller but as Matt has pointed out its no guarantee....and neither is the tameness.

[Matt_K]

Originally posted by XtremeReptiles
Sorry for the inaccurate info. But I would recommend a BCI. I love them:)

So, are you recommending a Hog or a Colombian?? Before Trevor points it out to you again, they are BOTH BCI's..

[BoidKeeper]

LMAO!
I was just about to too!
Cheers,
Trevor

[Matt_K]

;) thought i'd beat ya to the punch.. LOL

[ChristinaM]

Well, I'm far from understanding/knowing which BCI is which. I do not know the diffrence between a "Colombian, Mexican, Central American, Crawl Cay, Hog Island, Corn Island and a few others."

I posted asking which would be a good next snake, ( in the general forum ) and the answers were majority Hog isle boa or BCI.

That is all I have to go with. No specifics on "which" BCI. I do not know the diffrent types of BCI. But I'm trying to learn from what I can make sense out of here. But it's becoming very hard as a newbie in this department, to keep things straight.

[BoidKeeper]

Hey don't worry about it, we were all there once. As far as keeping them all straight and not knowing the different types of BCIs, as far as I can remeber every snake mentioned so far has been from the BCI group. When people say "BCI" they are 99% of the time refering to the Colombian Boa Constrictor Imparator, the shorten it to say BCI.
We often have people who post a thread and call it, "Check out my BCI!". With out even opening the thread I know I'm going to see a Colombian. However, it could mean I may see any of the snakes we listed here.
MattK put up an excellent post this evening called " A few BCI pics" and in his post he has both Hog Island Boas and Colombians.
So try not to get frustrated, when people are telling you to get a BCI they are most probably telling you to get a Colombian.
Telling some one to get a BCI when they ask what snake to get is like telling some one to get Chevy when they ask what kind of car they should get. Chevy makes all kinds of different models so telling them to get a Chevy just isn't specific enough. Especially if they say they want a small car. Not all chevies are small, just like not all BCIs are small.
Cheers,
Trevor

[ChristinaM]

Thanks Trevor. That does help explain things, in layman's terms :)

I'm assuming in my case, it is the Columbian BCI vs Hog isle BCI. :)

[djc3674]

I'm assuming in my case, it is the Columbian BCI vs Hog isle BCI.

Thats what I assumed you meant, without going into specifics when I replied to your post. Good luck making your decision!!

[BoidKeeper]

Yup, Colombian VS Hog Island.
I keep both and I vote for you to get a Hog Island!
Cheers,
Trevor

[Big_V]

If you want more info on smaller boas check out this months reptiles magazine. They have a huge article devoted to a few different subspecies that may help you form an opinion. Plus it gives pics of all the types so you can find out which one looks best to you. Id go with the Hogg or a Caulker Cay IMO.

[XtremeReptiles]

Haha.....I had never known that?

Well then a Colombian it is. Sorry for my ignorance it was late.