B.C. Amarali

[Mugwump]

Hey folks,

I've been interested in short-tailed boas ever since I first got into snakes, but I've never seen one in captivity, never talked to anyone who kept this subspecies, and have never seen one for sale (apart from on KS.) I've always been amazed by the attenuated peaks of their reddish saddles, which always look wickedly spiked to me, the strange silvery-blue base, and their often abberant pattern.

Just wondering if some one out there might be able to share some info about their experiences keeping these animals. Amarali care sheets are few and far between, and I'd be interested to find out a little about their husbandry requirements. So far, I've gathered a bit of info..they grow to roughly the same proportions as BCI and come in Bolivian and Brazilian locales (am I right about this?), but I'd love to hear more about disposition, hardiness, regurge syndrome etc. and what the difference between Bolivians and Brazilians boils down to.

Also, are they readily available commercially and how much do they usually go for? They seem to be very popular in Europe, and from my limited knowledge of german, I've gleaned from certain .de websites that some strains of them (namely so called silverbacks) exhibit some pronounced genetic defects. Any info would be appreciated.

[Piers]

Joe Terry is a guy in Florida(if he didn't move) that is one of the best guys to talk to.
They don't usually come with kinks, the animals on the web site overseas must have a defect.
Search the web and you'll find lots of info.

[Mugwump]

This comes from a reputable source:

"While the Bolivian form is trouble-free, however, the high fatality rate among animals of the “Danish bloodline”, the so-called “silverbacks” from the region of Sao Paolo/Brazil sticks out."

And, apparently, most silverbacks on the market derive from this original bloodline. Just to clear things up...

[kevin-ectotherm]

Hi. We've been working with and breeding amarali fairly consistently since the early 90s. Primarily the Bolivian form. Our first successes came in '94 and we've had 10 litters since then.

In the states, Bolivians are represented by 4 recognized bloodlines, all of which originated with Joe Terry. They are the '86 (also known as the Original line), '87, '89 (also known as the Big line)and silverbacks. The silverbacks in the states are not related to the Danish line which has been problematic for years while the US forms are robust and hearty.

The Brazilian form in the states is represented by 2 bloodlines, the Llemke and the King line.

We have representatives of all 4 Bolivian and both Brazilian lines in our collection. The F2 and F3 litters being produced in the Bolivians in particular are showing lots of promise with red, orange and purple laterals. When Joe bred the '86 x '89 lines together, the reds produced were so prevalent he coined the name "Orange Crush" for the line. We've had great results in producing our own Orange Crush animals here and see lots of potential for these guys

We've found the adult size to be considerably smaller than most bci and our oldest producing females are a bit over 6' with adult breeder males between 5 and 6'.

Prices vary greatly dependant on appearance, bloodline and availability. In the US, Bolivian neonates range from $350-$750 while the rarer and more difficult to breed Brazilians range upwards of $1000

These are great little boas that are really hardy after the first year and their smaller size makes them fantastic for folks with space constraints. The range of color and patterns make each parturition like X Mas and I'm really glad we've had the opportunity to work with them.

Email if you have particular questions about husbandry, feeding regimens or just want more background info. ecto1@tampabay.rr.com

[Mugwump]

Kevin -- thanks a lot for the informative reply that resurrected this thread. I had no idea how few bloodlines of amarali exist--I wonder what accounts for their rarity in captivity...does it mirror their rarity in the wild?

Anyway, I checked out your website and the amaralis pictured were among the most beautiful I've seen. Your bcc's were nothing to sniff at either. Lovely work, my man.

Well, I'm seriously considering adding one of these to my collection, and I'm glad I've discovered who to talk to when the funds free themselves up.

[kevin-ectotherm]

You are certainly welcome and thanks for the props on our collection. We've got a silverback female that is exhibiting all of the right signs and we're pretty excited about her,as this will be her first breeding. She was cycled with a proven silverback male that is a littermate brother to the male amarali pictured in Ronne, de Vosjoli and Klingenbergs Boa pamphlet and we added a very nice red '89 bloodline male to keep the interest stirring. Both males have very distinct appearances and either will produce stunning babies, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

My understanding of the political climate in Bolivia is such that export hasn't been available for many years and that it is a fairly dangerous place to visit. I'd guess this has more to do with the rarity of this form in captivity rather than their wild population numbers, but we've never found anyone who has visited other than Joe so field study information isn't available to us.

It's a shame that this form is so often overlooked in comparison to bci or bcc. The adult size allows smaller habitats than both of those forms, they are relatively cold tolerant when compared to bcc, they have plenty of power and command respect as adults and the colors and patterns are really stunning. I surmise that since litter sizes are small, they are not imported and can be pricey and there are not that many of us working with them that they will continue as somewhat obscure forms for a little longer. We have noticed quite a bit more interest in them in the last 3 years.

Thanks again and have a great weekend.