newbie first boa pic

[sweet]

got him last weekend, what do you think? http://members.cox.net/wabbe/tick%20tail.jpg

[lostwithin]

Congrats, first snake ?? or just a first boa ?? Either way, good luck with him.
Devon

[sweet]

first snake and first boa, im a true rookie

[Matt_K]

Congrats, very nice looking little one you have there!.

[CDN-Cresties]

Congrats and best of luck!!! :D

[BoidKeeper]

Man that's crazy I can't get over how small they start out compared to how big the end up!
Very nice snake! Welcome to our hobby and site.
Cheers,
Trevor

[sweet]

got the little guy in a 55 gal aquarium, how long before he outgrows it?

[Lrptls]

i would say he could fit comfortably in a 55 till he was 5 feet.
hes a very pretty boa by the way, i believe if a person can take care of their needs right they make great first snakes.

[sweet]

hes 22 inches now, believe it or not, not very thick though

[Invictus]

Very nice boa constrictor! The tail is absolutely electric! You did well in getting a baby boa for your first snake (as opposed to a larger boa for instance.) This way, as the snake grows and becomes a LOT stronger, so you will become more adept at handling its increasing strength. Welcome to the hobby, to the site, and to the wonderful world of boas. :)

[sweet]

Is he considered a "normal" color boa? I see there are different names for them.

[DonMeyer]

Yes most likely a BCI(boa constrictor imperator.)

Very cute...but a 55 is quite large for that little guy...got alot of hides for him?

[Linds]

He's a very cute little guy! Yup, he would be considered a normal. You can check out a variety of boa morphs at kingsnake .com/boamorphs :)

[sweet]

i got a cave but he never goes in it, just curls up on the warm side and sleeps all day, at night he roams around and climbs on his branch, cant wait to feed him this weekend.

[Invictus]

Don, boa constrictors are not as nervous as ball pythons or colubrids. None of my boas even have hides, not even the babies. If they are in a large tank, the only time you need to worry about them not having enough hides if they start to go off feed. I noticed with my boas that when I did put a hide in their enclosures, they preferred to perch on top of it, right out in the open. :)

[nicola_boulton]

hes great! hope to see some more pics, welcome to the site! :D

[sweet]

will his color change any as he gets older? I heard the tail stays the same throughout life

[Invictus]

No, unfortunately all boas dull with age. The tail will get progressively darker as well.

[sweet]

heres a new pic, http://members.cox.net/wabbe/baby%20pic%201.jpg

[LINEBACKER 2]

I don't have a hiding space for my boa either. Only my sand boa hides, only because he burrows in the sand.

Steve

[Mugwump]

Hey Invictus et al,

I have a general question about boa nervousness and so forth. I've been getting increasingly paranoid about my bcc's behavior. I bought him 13 months ago, and the little guy looked to be about 3 months old or so, around 22 inches. He's grown a little over a foot over this past year, which makes me a little concerned since I would have expected a yearling BCC to measure at least 4 feet. This in and of iteself isn't too much of a worry though since all boas grow differently, and it isn't inconceivable that a boa would reach only 3 ft after a year, but he's also extremely skittish. He very rarely leaves his hides. When I do take him out (or put him back into the cage) he resists like hell...normal enough boa behavior, to be sure. But he's so spastic at these moments when he perceives menace that his head darts around wildly and his body just jumps around as though possessed. I've dropped him several times because of this. I've never seen anything like it in a snake, and certainly not in boas, which I've come to regard as confident and graceful creatures.

Anyway, any thoughts on what this is all about would be appreciated. His body movements can sometimes be likened to the way a boa afflicted with IBD moves, although he shows no other signs of it (good feeder, shedder, blah blah), and frankly, I've ruled that possibility out. Maybe a neurological tic of some sort? I've heard that bacterial infections and so on could also account for strange behavior and also ******** growth. Are my concerns vet worthy, or am I just a paranoid owner of a nervous or stressed (although not nippy) boa?

Sorry for the long message.

[likeal0stchild]

sounds very wierd..........I had a boa kind of like that that was very squerly and wreckless but not that bad....I have been bit in the head by a boa because he did that......he got all wreckless and knocked me pretty good.But like I said mine wasnt so bad that I couldnt live with it.Sorry i couldnt help any.