BCC or BCI

Aroger2 · 06-05-18, 02:35 AM

Hello my columbian red tail is a year and a half now and not much of an expert on the differences so was hoping someone could help ID her as BCC or BCI. This is my first boa species but have owned a variety of non-venomous and venomous snakes alike. I also noticed she has no visible spurs

ClockwerkBonnet · 06-05-18, 09:19 AM

Welcome to the forum, Aroger! What do BCC and BCI stand for? I'm not an expert either.

MDT · 06-05-18, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClockwerkBonnet

Welcome to the forum, Aroger! What do BCC and BCI stand for? I'm not an expert either.

BCI (BI) and BCC (BC) are short for the genus/species/subspecies name of each.

Boa constrictor imperator (now simply Boa imperator) and Boa constrictor constrictor (now just Boa constrictor)

And @Aroger2, If you didn't pay in the mid-to-high three hundred range at minimum, I would agree with Andy... you most likely have BI.

**Andy_G** · 06-05-18, 11:38 AM

If it was sold to you as a colombian BCI (now BI), and you didn't pay the price for a BCC (now BC), then I can almost guarantee without even seeing it that what you have is a BI.

Welcome to the forum.

Wildernessmedic · 06-05-18, 05:18 PM

I’m lost. Regular rtbs are supposed to cost more? Here they’re everywhere for $150. Pet stores etc. BCIs are several hundred and hard to find.

psychocircus · 06-05-18, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildernessmedic

I’m lost. Regular rtbs are supposed to cost more? Here they’re everywhere for $150. Pet stores etc. BCIs are several hundred and hard to find.

BCC are "True red tails." They are generally larger.

BCI tend to be smaller, and this species is where you will find several morphs. BCI are much more common.

MDT · 06-05-18, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildernessmedic

I’m lost. Regular rtbs are supposed to cost more? Here they’re everywhere for $150. Pet stores etc. BCIs are several hundred and hard to find.

What pet stores call “red tails” are generally not. The much more common BI (Columbian) are the $150 “red tails”.

richardhind · 06-06-18, 03:17 AM

as in riddicks amazing pics of his bc there so distinctive with the amazing red tail and generally bat type saddles, but you would expect to pay a fair bit for a decent one
most pet shops tend to mislabel them im afraid and most tend to boa imperata (BI) there are some amazing morphs in these now which also can a fortune for the more unique paint jobs

Wildernessmedic · 06-06-18, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDT

What pet stores call “red tails” are generally not. The much more common BI (Columbian) are the $150 “red tails”.

Are BCI and hog island boas the same? I though I knew this but now I’m not so sure. I’ve seen plenty of “true red tails” for sale and avoided them. However finding a hog island boa was much more difficult and expensive.

richardhind · 06-06-18, 07:52 AM

yes hog island is a bci (bi) now

the hog island gene has been muddied and mixed up so much with interbreeding to get some of them lovely natural pinks from it, that sadly theirs not many pure forms left,most tend to 50% pure where they have been used to make other morphs. hence the limited and pricey availability

there such a cool naturally melanistic snake when and if you can find one

riddick07 · 06-05-18, 05:56 PM

Bcc (Bc) that is of higher quality on looks can cost anywhere from $300-1000. Or more depending on a few other factors & locality.

Bci (Bi) the normals are either dirt cheap or high quality line bred normals (Pastels) can get in the $400-500 range.

Line bred normal aka pastel Bi (what you can tell with my crappy indoor shots)

Dirt cheap normal Bi

If you can get your pictures to work everyone can tell you for sure what you have.

riddick07 · 06-06-18, 08:15 AM

Yeah locality Bi can be expensive and difficult to find. I came really close to spending $400-600 on a Barranquilla locality but I didn’t see how it made sense since I don’t have any plans right now for them. But they are really beautiful looking locality. At least I know where to go in the future if I want one since he seems to breed them every other year haha

Hog Islands have definitely been muddled up. Buddy Young and Russo still have them if you ever feel the need for another. There was someone else I’ve seen with them fairly recently but can’t remember now.

MDT · 06-06-18, 08:48 AM

Thanks to Richard and Riddick07...I don’t know a lot about the island forms of BI. I keep BC so am a little more familiar w that species. Richardhind and Riddick07 know their bias for sure!