Colombian good for a beginner?

[trailblazer295]

Hey everyone

I want to just state first I'm months from buying my second snake. I'm in the process of finding my first home to buy so I won't buy a new snake before I move in. I'm merely doing research on different ones. Regardless if I knew 100% I wanted snake _____ it still would be waiting.

That aside, I've always liked the patterns of boas. I've watched a lot of nature shows in my time and there is just something indescribably cool about a boa with those diamond scales. The guy at my local reptile store I bought Mushu from made me hold a 5ft Colombian to prove his point about their temperament during one of our conversations. I must admit at first when looking at her I was a bit intimidated by the size. But the super calm and inquisitive nature as she just checked me out and moved around me was very cool. The idea of getting one has been hanging out in the back of my head ever since. I would be wanting a male so they would only reach 7ft. Now I don't own a cage right now large enough to house a full grown one. Or at least a cage I would keep one in, I'd upgrade as one grew eventually buying a custom pvc somewhere around 6x3x16" or making a wood/plexglass one myself after moving from a 24x24x12 to a 48x24x16 and then to something bigger. From what the guy told me who used to have one, it took 3-5 years for his to reach adult size. I would like some honest opinions from more experienced owners whether this is a good idea or not. I won't take any offense if you think I'm nuts. I know I have a lot more research to do if this is something worth pursuing but care sheets contradict each other a lot and this forum has helped me a lot to date in caring for my BP.

[wrecker45]

I have a male Columbian red tail. Very tame. I handle him a lot. Talk to Nagy reptiles they breed Boas. Great people quality snakes. Very helpful and there in Ontario.

[wrecker45]

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[bigsnakegirl785]

Personally, if you're ready for the size, Colombian BCI are great snakes!

Being used to native snakes and smaller species, their size can be intimidating, but once you get used to them a 6' boa seems rather small. haha I've had mine for 3.5 years now, he's been nothing but tame. He's 6'3" and still growing, although very slowly. Took him 8 months to grow those 3" after he reached 6', I don't think he'll reach 7', but we'll see.

Most adult males average 5'-6', although they can get 7'-8', and the largest I've personally seen was 9', as far as Colombians go (the largest boa I ever saw was a Costa Rican locale).

Just take a bit of extra attention with their diet, and you should be golden! These guys are very prone to becoming obese/overweight and it drastically shortens their lifespans. Feed conservatively and slow grow (not to be confused with stunted growth or underfeeding), and you should have a happy, long-lived boa.

[Snakess2014]

Hi,

I think dominican red mountain boas are great snake for beginners. The snakes are very docile and they use musking as a defense mechanism and hardly will strike. They get 5-6' max, so its a good full size.

Columbians i used to work with too and they're also good snakes. I do think they're more aggressive than the DRMB's (dominican red mountain boas) and they have a potential chance getting rather large; i believe the avg is 6-8' but up to 10-12' (mostly females). I attached a photo from google.

I had my DRMB breeder female down at the SD reptile show last year, and one of the guys from PetKingdom came over and was handling her. She started acting strange, rubbing her nose up against his hand, opened her mouth twice and then closed her mouth. I mentioned that it was strange that she had never acted that way, and he mentioned he had just handled some rats. I never handle my snakes after feeding though. Its just nice to know even after handling rats, the DRMB female still wont strike.

Hope its some what helpful

[trailblazer295]

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

Personally, if you're ready for the size, Colombian BCI are great snakes!

Being used to native snakes and smaller species, their size can be intimidating, but once you get used to them a 6' boa seems rather small. haha I've had mine for 3.5 years now, he's been nothing but tame. He's 6'3" and still growing, although very slowly. Took him 8 months to grow those 3" after he reached 6', I don't think he'll reach 7', but we'll see.

Most adult males average 5'-6', although they can get 7'-8', and the largest I've personally seen was 9', as far as Colombians go (the largest boa I ever saw was a Costa Rican locale).

Just take a bit of extra attention with their diet, and you should be golden! These guys are very prone to becoming obese/overweight and it drastically shortens their lifespans. Feed conservatively and slow grow (not to be confused with stunted growth or underfeeding), and you should have a happy, long-lived boa.

Do you have a picture of him? I'm trying to get an idea how big they are full grown.

[NagyReptiles]

There are many factors that play into the adult size of boas (any snake for that matter) size of the parents, locale and feeding schedule. I have adult males ranging from 5 feet too close to 7.

Also the photo posted above is of a Bcc not a Bci. Bcc get larger then Bci

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by Snakess2014

Hi,

I think dominican red mountain boas are great snake for beginners. The snakes are very docile and they use musking as a defense mechanism and hardly will strike. They get 5-6' max, so its a good full size.

Columbians i used to work with too and they're also good snakes. I do think they're more aggressive than the DRMB's (dominican red mountain boas) and they have a potential chance getting rather large; i believe the avg is 6-8' but up to 10-12' (mostly females). I attached a photo from google.

I had my DRMB breeder female down at the SD reptile show last year, and one of the guys from PetKingdom came over and was handling her. She started acting strange, rubbing her nose up against his hand, opened her mouth twice and then closed her mouth. I mentioned that it was strange that she had never acted that way, and he mentioned he had just handled some rats. I never handle my snakes after feeding though. Its just nice to know even after handling rats, the DRMB female still wont strike.

Hope its some what helpful

That's a BCC in your photo. Not many Colombian BCI are going to get that big, the biggest Colombian I have ever seen/heard of, male or female, was 9', maybe a few inches over that. BCC are going to be bigger on average, and have the potential to get 13'.

Originally Posted by trailblazer295

Do you have a picture of him? I'm trying to get an idea how big they are full grown.

Yeah, I've got a few. But you're going to have to keep in mind I'm 5'1", so the pictures where I'm holding him, he isn't as big as he seems.

This is him in his enclosure, before I replaced his hides. The measurements are 6'x2'x3' (LxWxH).


His head in my hand.

[jjhill001]

I think other than the size their care is actually pretty simple comparatively speaking to other herps. It's more a matter of how you want to address added cost of rats vs mice and if you can afford the housing. There is also the consideration of this species being considered potentially dangerous in some city limits and also obviously you have to take precautions in general with any snake, but particularly with something that has the size to be dangerous to humans. Basically I can say hey little cousin 9 years old not stupid) hold this corn snake walk to another room and come back. No way would I leave said kid with a 6-9 foot boa.

Edit: I have no first hand care experience with the common boa constrictor just those are the things I considered when I was considering one as a potential pet. Every adult I've ever held has been lapdog tame though.

[trailblazer295]

Originally Posted by jjhill001

I think other than the size their care is actually pretty simple comparatively speaking to other herps. It's more a matter of how you want to address added cost of rats vs mice and if you can afford the housing. There is also the consideration of this species being considered potentially dangerous in some city limits and also obviously you have to take precautions in general with any snake, but particularly with something that has the size to be dangerous to humans. Basically I can say hey little cousin 9 years old not stupid) hold this corn snake walk to another room and come back. No way would I leave said kid with a 6-9 foot boa.

Edit: I have no first hand care experience with the common boa constrictor just those are the things I considered when I was considering one as a potential pet. Every adult I've ever held has been lapdog tame though.

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

That's a BCC in your photo. Not many Colombian BCI are going to get that big, the biggest Colombian I have ever seen/heard of, male or female, was 9', maybe a few inches over that. BCC are going to be bigger on average, and have the potential to get 13'.



Yeah, I've got a few. But you're going to have to keep in mind I'm 5'1", so the pictures where I'm holding him, he isn't as big as he seems.

]

Thanks for the pics. It was the other pics like the one of the BCC that makes me think twice. That would be far to big for me. However your is a manageable size. Doesn't appear to be much different then the 5ft colombian I held a few weeks ago, though I think it had more girth. An adult size in that rough size is still manageable for me. What are you using for substrate? How long did he take to grow from a juvie to 6ft?

[trailblazer295]

Originally Posted by jjhill001

I think other than the size their care is actually pretty simple comparatively speaking to other herps. It's more a matter of how you want to address added cost of rats vs mice and if you can afford the housing. There is also the consideration of this species being considered potentially dangerous in some city limits and also obviously you have to take precautions in general with any snake, but particularly with something that has the size to be dangerous to humans. Basically I can say hey little cousin 9 years old not stupid) hold this corn snake walk to another room and come back. No way would I leave said kid with a 6-9 foot boa.

Edit: I have no first hand care experience with the common boa constrictor just those are the things I considered when I was considering one as a potential pet. Every adult I've ever held has been lapdog tame though.

I'm feeding my BP wean rats now and realistically my cats food costs me more in a week then feeding a snake. Another way I look at it, if I can afford to have a few beers then I can afford to feed my pets properly.

Size wise you make a valid point but in my case I live alone and have said since I was a small child I wasn't having kids Maybe that will change in the future but I'm considering this snake for myself. Almost pet can be dangerous to humans in the right scenario.

Caging wise I would be buying a juvie so time for him to out grow a 24x24x12 pvc then move to a 48x24x16 then move on to bigger. I'm HVAC mechanic and generally fairly handy with tools so I would look into building a wooden enclosure myself.

[jjhill001]

Originally Posted by trailblazer295

I'm feeding my BP wean rats now and realistically my cats food costs me more in a week then feeding a snake. Another way I look at it, if I can afford to have a few beers then I can afford to feed my pets properly.

Size wise you make a valid point but in my case I live alone and have said since I was a small child I wasn't having kids Maybe that will change in the future but I'm considering this snake for myself. Almost pet can be dangerous to humans in the right scenario.

Caging wise I would be buying a juvie so time for him to out grow a 24x24x12 pvc then move to a 48x24x16 then move on to bigger. I'm HVAC mechanic and generally fairly handy with tools so I would look into building a wooden enclosure myself.

That's a bonus of being handy. I'm not real handy so I have to think of stuff like housing. It definitely wasn't the food cost that decided it for me. Back when I was considering the option I was living at home so my mom made the decision based on the size for me.

[trailblazer295]

Originally Posted by jjhill001

That's a bonus of being handy. I'm not real handy so I have to think of stuff like housing. It definitely wasn't the food cost that decided it for me. Back when I was considering the option I was living at home so my mom made the decision based on the size for me.

Completely understandable. I wasn't allowed any pets when I lived at home other then fish. My dad liked dogs but mum was dead against everything, not really a pet person. My sister found the loop hole, move out to uni, get a cat then move back lol. A cat I've since "adopted", she moved away for school and it was the best interest for the cat to stay at home, I took her when I moved out as she liked me and now have a snake. But as my mum said since I was young "when you live on your own you can have whatever you want" she is realizing after buying my snake she might come to regret those words. Either way I live alone now and will buy a house and still be living alone so I buy things I want for me. A whole small house to myself leaves me room to build a decent sized enclosure. Obviously more research would be required in the building part but seeing as I'd buy a Juvie I have a few years before he would outgrow what I already have. Both cages have UTH and pro products RHPs on different ranco stats. An RHP probably isn't a realistic top heat source in a larger enclosure for an adult boa so probably have to look at heat bulbs or CHE but still be on ranco stats. Being an HVAC mechanic I can buy them unwired locally and wire powerbars in myself. I prefer to use safety tested equipment and they are cheaper then reptile made stats.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by trailblazer295

Thanks for the pics. It was the other pics like the one of the BCC that makes me think twice. That would be far to big for me. However your is a manageable size. Doesn't appear to be much different then the 5ft colombian I held a few weeks ago, though I think it had more girth. An adult size in that rough size is still manageable for me. What are you using for substrate? How long did he take to grow from a juvie to 6ft?

In person, there's a good difference between a 5' boa and a 6' boa, but not in a way that makes them unmanageable.

He reached 6' even when he was 3 years old, but was only a few inches short at 2.5 years old. That's unusual, though, so I wouldn't necessarily expect a 6' boa before it's 3 year. Slow-grown and fed properly, it takes them years to get to a big size (I think he got so large because I accidentally fed him jumbo-sized rats when he should have still been on mediums - my untrained eye thought the bulges were reasonable but now I know they weren't). Cloud is only 3.5 years old, and is by no means done growing, he could still get 7-8'. He was large for his age, and I still see him growing noticeably, they seem to reach about full size when they're around 6 years old. Some say they grow their entire lives, but I'm dubious on that.

As far as substrate, I used expanded EcoEarth bricks, it has done wonders for my snakes and is easy to maintain.

As far as the cost that was brought up - my boa only eats a little less than once a month. His cost to feed yearly is comparable to feeding my ball python for the year, even though his food might be more expensive. Buying rabbits, it might be a little more, but not by much. I also buy in bulk, so it doesn't affect my food prices much. My next shipment of food for 4 snakes will only be ~$50 for 6 months. I am only getting 3 months of food for Cloud, though, as I'm stocked up on rabbits. Just want to mix rats into his diet again.

[trailblazer295]

Thanks for the help. The feeding part isn't a concern. It's cheaper then feeding my cat if you look at monthly totals. It's the husbandry and size I'm still working on. Being in a cold climate part of the year maintaining high humidity is more of a challenge.