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Hi guys - long story, so skip to the end if you just want to help with the ID!
I am an extremely new snake owner who knew ZERO about reptiles until about three months ago. A friend of mine was moving out of the country for an undetermined period of time; she remembered I liked her snakes, and asked if I wanted them! I, knowing nothing, agreed. She gave me 2 balls and 1 boa all together in one 40gal breeder with one hide and no hide big enough for the biggest ball. She told me "they're the easiest pets in the world, just feed them every two weeks and scoop out the poop!" The boa and one ball were both shedding in strips when I got them.
Needless to say, after starting to do some research, I COMPLETELY redid their living spaces; the boa is now in his own tub with much higher temp and humidity and is MUCH happier, and the balls have been re-housed as well. The balls are pretty much a no-brainer except when they get picky about eating, but the boa has me a little worried for future housing.
I was given this snake, told that he was a 4.5 year old male "boa constrictor" and no further info. I started googling "boa constrictor" and, unaware that there were so many different subspecies, assumed he was a regular Colombian Red Tail boa and would get HUGE!!!
However, upon reading and learning more about the different types of boas, I think maybe he's some sort of dwarf boa, or a different species maybe? He is 4.5 years old and 4 1/2 feet long (I measured his most recent shed). He's not very big around, and is currently eating weanling rats. I'm not sure how to embed pictures or links (first post here) so sorry about that - but here's a link to an album of him!
http://imgur.com/a/iaWnd
Sorry if it's a pic overload! I've looked up different subspecies of boas, but just don't know enough to make a sure ID, and therefore to know how big he is likely to get!! I'm not super concerned about knowing the specifics for breeding purposes, more for being able to read more about temperament, husbandry needs, and how big he should be for what he is.
Thanks so much in advance for all the help. I've been learning a bunch
I am an extremely new snake owner who knew ZERO about reptiles until about three months ago. A friend of mine was moving out of the country for an undetermined period of time; she remembered I liked her snakes, and asked if I wanted them! I, knowing nothing, agreed. She gave me 2 balls and 1 boa all together in one 40gal breeder with one hide and no hide big enough for the biggest ball. She told me "they're the easiest pets in the world, just feed them every two weeks and scoop out the poop!" The boa and one ball were both shedding in strips when I got them.
Needless to say, after starting to do some research, I COMPLETELY redid their living spaces; the boa is now in his own tub with much higher temp and humidity and is MUCH happier, and the balls have been re-housed as well. The balls are pretty much a no-brainer except when they get picky about eating, but the boa has me a little worried for future housing.
I was given this snake, told that he was a 4.5 year old male "boa constrictor" and no further info. I started googling "boa constrictor" and, unaware that there were so many different subspecies, assumed he was a regular Colombian Red Tail boa and would get HUGE!!!
However, upon reading and learning more about the different types of boas, I think maybe he's some sort of dwarf boa, or a different species maybe? He is 4.5 years old and 4 1/2 feet long (I measured his most recent shed). He's not very big around, and is currently eating weanling rats. I'm not sure how to embed pictures or links (first post here) so sorry about that - but here's a link to an album of him!
http://imgur.com/a/iaWnd
Sorry if it's a pic overload! I've looked up different subspecies of boas, but just don't know enough to make a sure ID, and therefore to know how big he is likely to get!! I'm not super concerned about knowing the specifics for breeding purposes, more for being able to read more about temperament, husbandry needs, and how big he should be for what he is.
Thanks so much in advance for all the help. I've been learning a bunch
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