what is the smallest boa

[Bartman]

What species of boa constrictor is the smallest? size for both male and female.

thanks!

[LdyDrgn]

The Central American bci as well Hog Islands stay fairly small. They don't get over 6 or 7 feet.

[Bartman]

how are they temperment wize, same as a bci/bcc? Do males get smaller then females?

[Matt_K]

Kenyans, Rubbers and Rosies stay small.. But, i doubt you're looking to go that route again..

how are they temperment wize, same as a bci/bcc? Do males get smaller then females?

They are BCI..

[Bartman]

Yea dont want to. Well im just looking around, asking around, on different kinds of snakes. As of now I wont be able to get anything new but just wanted to know exactly what id be getting into before I later find out and get disapointed :) Trying to just do more research also then I usually do.

Thanks for all the replies!!

[thunder]

all boa constrictors are the same species, and the hogg island and central american BC's are currently both placed in the subspecies imperator. hondurans and nicaraguans also tend to stay small. however, it is my experience that smaller BCs tend to be more tempermental than their larger relatives. i think this has to do with their sense of self preservation, a large boa has few preditors in the wild. another thing to note is, that while the dwarf locals tend to stay small, there are numerous exceptions to the rule, for example i have seen a couple of female hoggs that attained 7 feet. although this is not common, you should be prepared to house and treat your dwarf BC as a large boid.

in addition to the small BCI locals, B c sabogae, the pearl island BC, rarely if ever exceeds 6 feet. however, they are rare and expensive. my personal favorite of the dwarf locals is the honduran, which is what i would reccomend.

[Bartman]

So still with the honduran I would need to expect a large boid like you said?

If I were to aquire another snake it, like I said, wouldnt be for a while as Im trying to downsize on lizards and go more toward snakes. Basically im just trying to sell all my leopard geckos lol. Once I can find homes for all of them ill be able to begin thinking of what room I have for certain species. Im just trying now to keep my options open.

Maybe if I told you guys what im looking for you could help me better.

I want something, preferably, that spends most of its time in the tree's (not etb's or gtp's) and that can be handled, not often but if I want to its not a big deal. I also have a budget. Well the budget for the animal itself would be in and around 250+ or - but not to far from that. I dont mind anything with specific needs or that requires attention or daily maintenence. I would also not want something that hits over 5 feet. 5 would forsure be the max, not that I wouldnt care to have something bigger, but I live with other people and have to take them into consideration as they do not really like my animals :)

Im not sure if I have to many options, but you guys probably know more then me :)

Thanks again!

[thunder]

there is no boa constrictor that maxes out at 5 feet.

when i was reading what you wrote about the kind of snake you are looking for, the papuan tree boa (aka new guinea or pacific tree boa) just popped right into my head. papuan tree boas are pretty cool, small, usually not agressive. i dont know what the prices are like on those guys up in canada, but i have seen cb babies going for as little as 50 in the us. my experience with them is that they are very pretty and docile. they are fairly arboreal. cage should be veritcally oriented with plenty of perches to bask and climb. water bowl should be big enough for the snake to soak. keep em at 80-85 during the day and drop ten degrees at night. they usually take rodents no prob, tho for a baby you may have to use scenting to get them started. an all around good pet snake in my opinion.

[Derrick]

Corn Island boas are 6' maz and slender
Caulker Cay boa are about 5'
Crawl Cay boas are around 4-4.5

all BCIs

[thunder]

i must disagree, and say that all of these locals have been know to go over their "usual" sizes, especially in captivity. i speak specifically from my experience with some of the small island populations, and i have seen that these animals, although they reach breeding age at the sizes you have given, can reach significantly larger sizes, it just takes them much longer as they are slow growers. but eventually, many of them make it to the seven foot mark, even if it takes years. the perception that these species are tiny adults is obscured by the fact that, while an 3-6 year old animals is an adult and capable of breeding, it is not any where as close to its full size as a columbian of the same age.

[Derrick]

I would love to see some pictures of some 7 foot non hog island boas.

I'm not doubting you thunder but I would be interested in seeing what some of these boas end up looking like full size

[jungleguy]

whats a bcis normal size i have a friends whos bci didnt get over five feet think it may have been stunted dew to lack of the original owners knowledge about snakes...but i have three...so far im gonna get another one next week but i get different sizes everytime i ask someone whats small for a bci and whats big?

[LdyDrgn]

You must consider that bci includes the Central American and the Hog Island boas. You would have to know what locale your friend's bci is from.

All of our bci are Colombian. The largest is a female at 7' and well over 20 pounds, age unknown although I have had her for almost 3 years. I was told she was 4 or 5 years old when I got her. Our breeding females are 6'. I've seen some reach 11', so each one has the potential of getting large, but not all do.

[Linds]

Originally posted by thunder
i must disagree, and say that all of these locals have been know to go over their "usual" sizes, especially in captivity.

Nobody has mentioned the true dwarf boas, the Tarahumara Bci. They are still relatively rare across N. America, but as they seem to average around 3' as adults, I doubt no matter how much you feed it, it would grow to the size of your typical large boa constrictor.