Bci

[evertech11]

hi this may sound like a big request but can you guys tell me everything that you know about BCI's

[Reticsrule]

your best bet is to type in "Boa Constrictor Imperator" on google. that will give you all the basic information you need and then if you need some more advanced questions answered you can ask us. it would take forever to tell you everything we know about them lol.

[dball]

making it simple
-BCI is not a true red tail boa
-Generally from colombia
-True redtails are BCC's from guyana and suriname and a couple other
-BCI's are generally easier to care for
-BCI's are on the average a little more mild tempered than BCC
-BCI on the average are a bit smaller than BCC
-BCI's tend to not keep as clean of patterns and coloring as do BCC with age
-a BCI should live a good 15-20 easy if fed and cared for properly

Here is the best caresheet I could find.

http://www.redtailboas.com/general_care/general_care.html

[evertech11]

so BCi's are generally a good first boa but not a good first snake, right?

[dball]

I am waiting to purchase my BCC. So I have not owned one yet. I have a ball python. I got her as a baby. Some people will say having a ball or redtail wouldn't be the best first snake because of possible humidity/temp issues. In BCC's improper temp/humid/stress care can cause a regurge syndrom for example.

IMO if you are willing to give 100% respect to the life, health, and overall well being then there is no reason why a redtail would make a bad first snake. If it is your first snake the only suggestion I have is that you stick with a BCI and not a BCC. If you have not had to deal with temp/humidity issues before than a BCI from what I understand will be a bit more forgiving. Also getting a younger RTB would probably be best as well so you are not learning on an 8-10 ft snake.

[HeavenlyHerps]

If this is your first snake period I would sugest a Corn snake. As far as BCIs go they are IMO the best first boid out there besides a Rosy Boa. As the years have gone by both BCC and BCI species have been staying smaller, you will rearly hear of a BCC getting 14 feet as they once did. Columbians are a good size snake with males staying smaller around 4 to 6 foot. Females get larger between 5 and 8 foot although 9 foot females is not unheard of. Most of the Boas you find in petstores are Captive bred or Farm raised Columbians or Columbian crosses. When getting one always inspect the others along with the one you are looking at for mites and take note of there poop make sure its not runny, if it is ask the sells person when they got the Boas in stress will often cause runny stools. If they have had them more then a couple of months ask if they have any type of health garentee or offer a free first vet check. The majority of neonate (baby) BCI are easy tempered, although crosses can be a bit nippy. If you want a snake that will stay smaller get a male. Make sure you have a set up already ready before bringing your snake home. Once you have your snake home dont mess with it for about two to three weeks, give it some time to ajust to its new surroudings, feed it after this time. Always feed Prekilled or Frozen Thawed mice or rats. This will save time and trouble and will insure the snake will have no injurys from live prey. Boas grow farly quickly, Ive had females get almost 4 foot in one year. It all depends on temprature and feeding frequcese and food size. A neonate red tail can take small adult mice or pinky rats. Be prepaired to feed large rats and sometimes small rabbits to a full grown adult BCI. Boas are my favroit species of snake and from having my first BCI back when I was 12 I knew that I would always have one, I even went as far as breeding them and still plan to when I move back to the US. This one good book that I know of that has tons of information about everything you would want to know about BCI and BCC, although its alittle out dated ( Theres word of a remake of the book coming out soon with added infromation) an thats the Boa Constrictor Manual.

[dball]

^^good advice. I tried to think of anything else for you since it sounds like this will be your first snake.

-get your tank or enclosure completely set up a couple days before you get your snake, make sure you can adjust your temps and humidity to where they need to be
-do NOT use those stick on/flat thermometers. They are junk. Petsmart had digital thermometers with a probe for 10$ a peice. Buy two one for the hot side and one for the cool.

**One other thing. Like I said before, alot of people think something like a corn snake are better first snakes than pythons and boas. They are easier to care for but myself personally have no desire to own one, especially just for the practice before I get the kind i desire. Do your research, alot of research. A young ball python or even a young BCI imo would be easy enough to care for. Just keep in mind as I said before this snake could reach 10 ft and if genetically freakish even longer than that, and it will easily live for a good part of your life. That will be a responsibility for a long time. Make sure you are ready for that commitment. Best of luck and ygpm.

[slyO]

If you ever saw an adult BCI and manipulated one and it wasn't a big problem for you, I say go for it... The only thing to know is that they get quite big and they usually tend to get frustrated for no particular reason once in a while... The reason that they aren't really recommended as a first snake is that they require a "tropical" environement (about 83*F and a good humidity rate) witch is harder to reach and control.

If you are willing to give everything that the snake needs, I say do it :medbigsmi

[evertech11]

actually dball i was thinking of getting a Herpstat ND(Night-Day) proportional thermostat at an upcoming expo. im thinking of getting a RTB instead of a BCI. Everyone asks me if I would be comfortable feeding the snake dead animals but its just one of those stupid questions, if i can walk around using a 5 foot snake as a hat (my friend has a BP i sometimes take care of) i think i can toss in a frozen fuzzie every week, you know?

[Reticsrule]

if you are going to go with a boa constrictor as a first snake, i would really recommend getting a BCI (preferably a male) instead of a BCC (true red tail). im 15 now but i got my first snake (a male BCI) when i was 13. hes been an awesome snake and is now a little over 5.5 ft. BCI are more forgiving of husbandry mistakes than BCC. now im not saying you dont know what youre doing, but we all make mistakes. i made plenty when i first got into snakes a few years back and i continue to make a lot to this day lol. this is just my opinion on the subject. good luck with whatever you do:)

[HeavenlyHerps]

Well no offence Evertech but you never said you had snakes before let alone one that would eat rats so we were asuming that you havent had to feed a large rodent before, sorry for our mistake. Becareful were you get your BCC then because most of the once I have gotten have had a heavy internal perisite load and need treatment for it. They are also know to have mood swings and if you havent been bit by a 10 foot boid you havent felt pain yet. Well I am glad you had some experience with your friends snake but just remember your going to be taking care of this snake atleast every other day, there are times when you might not even be able to walk next to the cage with out the snake hissing or striking at the cage, just remember all this when looking at the species that get larger. Enless you are one of the lucky ones who get a awesome snake with a great temperment that never gives you a problem the rest of its life. What True Red Tail are you looking into so far? I know that Guyanas and Suriams are the most common avalible and from what I heard they would make a better choice then the Pruvians and some Bolivans. Let us know what you decide, have fun picking out your snake and post pictures when you get it!

[evertech11]

its a possibility that i might get a columbian from http://www.newenglandreptile.com/ or http://www.eastbayvivarium.com/

[HeavenlyHerps]

I would go with East Bay, they have amazing boas! If you want a boa with alittle bit of color get a red group BCI. Im not that big of a fan of NERD just for the reason that they seem to have been going down hill quality wise that and they are really starting to get into hybridnization, (SP) But thats just my personal take on them. Talk to diffrent people and see what they say about both East Bay and NERD. I vote for East Bay. ;)

[evertech11]

i've learned to trust EBV through experience, i've never ordered from NERD though. i also checked out lllreptile and they have a few babies available

[HeavenlyHerps]

LLL always has neonates. I lived right down the street from them and offten took a peek at the little ones. Only thing with that is you wouldnt be able to pick on out inless your in the store. Some have good temperments but others dont. LLL is a big store so they dont get to handle the herps as offten or at all like a privet breeder would. So its a 50/50 chance that you'll get one with a good temperment. Also take in mind, you wont know were your boa came from, lots of times its just people droping off a whole load of neonates in exchange for store credit or to get something new. So your not going to know the back ground of the animal, Ive gotten herps from there that were adopted from a local animal shelter then sold to LLL for store credit, so you never really know what the out come will be.

[evertech11]

after talking to you and others at different forums im almost sure that i will order from EBV. I found a pet store that was having a large sale so i picked up some aspen bedding, and a ceramic heat ficture and hood. i have several sizes of aquariums(its all i have) the largest being 50 gallons, so i might have to pick up a larger enclosure in a little while. so far so good! thanks!

[HeavenlyHerps]

Glad to help. Just make sure you post pictures when you get your little one. :)