My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

[Sachakogel]

The last pic the boa was in shed.
I am pretty certain its a Bcc due to the peaks and the size of the scales, body shape and the obvious red tail. Also the connected line on its neck which is a typical Guyana trait from what I have seen in the past.

I would just like to hear what you guys think.

[acephantom903]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

It does look like a BCC to me between the saddles and tail pattern.

[Noelle7206]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

I'm not "the expert" on this but it looks BCC to me as well, though I suppose it could still have some mixed genetics.

[natieb]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

it looks BCC to me as well, though I suppose it could still have some mixed genetics.

This. It strongly resembles a BCC, but there's no way to know without asking the breeder.

[Jonathan Brady]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

This. It strongly resembles a BCC, but there's no way to know without asking the breeder.

exactly the answer I would give.

[Sachakogel]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

I personally would say that if the body shape is that of a BCC "The more box type shape as opposed to the more rounded shape of a bci" and the tail stays red and does not turn brown like a bci and the scale count is right and the saddle count is right, then it definitely is a BCC and the breeder wont need to give any input as a BCI will never keep a red tail into its adult life? There have been cases where it might have slightly more red than your average BCI but it wont be the same as a BCC as far as I have seen.

I have had BCI that had blood red tails as babies and after a couple sheds that tail went brown, its inevitable. I have also had BCI with reddish tails, but the blacks and whites and the pattern of the tail gave it away too.
Also BCI body colour usually go quite brown later on, some keep their lighter grey colour but mostly they go brown as adults.

The shape of the head for me also tells me that this is BCC, its quite elongated where as BCI usually have a slightly shorter profile to the shape of the head.

Correct me if I'm wrong with my above statements?

[acephantom903]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

I have had BCI that had blood red tails as babies and after a couple sheds that tail went brown, its inevitable. I have also had BCI with reddish tails, but the blacks and whites and the pattern of the tail gave it away too.
Also BCI body colour usually go quite brown later on, some keep their lighter grey colour but mostly they go brown as adults.

You asked to be corrected when wrong.
The quoted really depends on the locality and individual. Not all BCC will keep a blood red tail and BCI can sometimes have a red but slightly coppery tail. Head shape and body shape of both BCI and BCC are nearly identical if not identical. BCI in captivity tend to be overweight which is why they look roundish.

The easiest way to tell a BCI from a BCC is the saddle shape and tail pattern but this is not 100% as there are variations in localities and individuals. There are charts which I don't currently have the time to provide which show the usual locality differences. Some BCC have round saddles like BCI and some BCI have pointed saddles like BCC. The most accurate way to tell is counting scales which is tedious and can even end in realising that it is a BCI/BCC hybrid which does happen in both breeding and in the wild.

[acephantom903]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

I couldn't find the BCI chart that I had previously known about. I did find the BCC chart again. As you can see it is not as easy to tell just by looking for certain traits even amongst BCC.

[walla2GSP]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

This. It strongly resembles a BCC, but there's no way to know without asking the breeder.

I completely agree with this statement. It definitely looks like a BCC and I would base my husbandry on the needs of a BCC. There is no way to narrow down the locality without talking to the breeder, It looks like a Guyana/Suriname locality to me but the breeder could clarify this. I consider Guyanas and Suris to be the same locality seperated by color at export.

This animal has markings that seem like what we call Guyana, but the coloring is closer to what I call Suriname. With the vast variety available in these animals, it is impossible to be sure of anything unless you track the animal's bloodlines back to the original animals captured from the wild. There are BCIs showing up in the trade that at first glimpse look BCC, so it's down to dealing with people you trust.

[Sachakogel]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

Well I just wanted to see what you guys thought about this snake....Truth be told it comes from the same litter as my pair which were bred from two wild caught Guyana.

I must be honest though when I first got into boas a good 10 years ago I had no idea of the differences, I was ignorant like 90% of people out there which is why here in South Africa breeding BCC is almost a waste of time because the average person who keeps snakes will just think that spending ten times the price on a BCC is retarded when they can go get a BCI for R450.

After time your eye gets trained to see the differences and they are very prominent, yes there are some BCI that come close but when that snake is put next to a pure bred BCC its a whole new ball game every time.

There was a BCC crossed with a BCI next to the pair of BCC that we bought and although it was a pretty looking boa, it still had a BCI look to it. The tail for instance even though it was the same age as these Guyana's was not the same red and you could see it was turning that reddish brown already.

I understand that some of you might think the body shape is exactly the same but I've now had several BCC and when ever you pick a BCC up it feels different, especially as a baby, firstly the snake itself is usually much more slender, the height from belly to spine has always been higher than any BCI I have ever owned giving it that rectangular box type of body that I mentioned earlier and the BCC always feel a bit smoother due to the smaller scale size due to a BCC having higher scale counts than BCI.

I think that the confusion can come when the snakes are very young as the colours seem to pop in BCI when they are young which can lead to confusion, but give it a few months and things will start to show.

[Ridge Runner_20]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

Disagree with some of what's been said here, but the truth is, without some kind of lineage, it's impossible to say for sure the animal in question is a pure BCC of any locality. That said, it does have many characteristics of a "shield" BCC (Guyana, Surinam, French Guyana) - spear shape is more elongated and flattened, secondary spear and body markings, tail color and pattern, saddle shape and number, body shape... Those are all typically characteristic of shield BCC, which this animal closely represents, IMHO.

RR_20 (Mike)

[acephantom903]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

I found the other chart!




Yes, BCC do have a smoother feel because of the scale count being higher -- potentially up to 40% more scales. People tend to take better care of BCC than BCI because BCC are more expensive and the keepers value them more. Adult BCI and BCC shouldn't eat more than 6-10 times a year as adults as this is a very easy way to get them over weight. It is hard to starve snakes evolved to eat 10 times or less a year.

[zamora]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

I found the other chart!

Where did you find this? I'd like a link if at all possible. Thanks!

[acephantom903]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

Where did you find this?

If you right click them and select "Open in new tab" it will give you the links.

boas2.jpg Photo by jay0133 | Photobucket
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/jay0133/boas1.jpg


Edit: I do not know the original source as it appears to be from a field guide from south america based on the spanish labels.

[zamora]

Re: My friend got a new boa, is this a BCC?

If you right click them and select "Open in new tab" it will give you the links.

I guess you didn't get the memo, I'm technologically challenged. Thanks!