# Boa Constrictor Imperator



## Spiderface (Jul 23, 2008)




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## xBurntBytheSunx (Jul 24, 2008)

very pretty =)


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## froggyman (Jul 24, 2008)

how big is it?


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## Spiderface (Jul 24, 2008)

froggyman said:


> how big is it?


Just over 3 ft


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## xBurntBytheSunx (Jul 24, 2008)

how big do those get? it looks intimidating


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## pitbulllady (Jul 25, 2008)

xBurntBytheSunx said:


> how big do those get? it looks intimidating



_Boa constrictor imperator_ FEMALES can reach lenths up to 10-11 feet; males are considerably smaller.  The boas in the subspecies _B. c. constrictor_ and _B. c. amaralli_, known in the pet trade as "true" Red-Tails, tend to get even longer, but have a more slender build. It's rare in captivity, though, for these to reach that full size; I've kept and bred Boas since I was 12, and I've only seen a handful of females that hit the 10-11-ft. mark.  A lot of the "official" records on the books were obtained NOT from measuring a live snake, but a tanned hide taken from a wild snake that had been killed, usually by native tribespeople, and snake skins can be stretched greatly during the tanning process, making an accurate assessment of that animal's actual length when it was alive difficult. 

Boas in this subspecies are among the most docile and mellow of all large snakes, which, along with their beauty, is why they have been very popular as pets for many, many decades.  They are generally a lot easier to handle than similar-sized Pythons.  There are quite a few locales of BCI that seldom excede 6 feet, like the Sonoran Boas of Mexico and extreme Southwestern US, and the Cay Caulker Boas, so the size is still manageable.

pitbulllady


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## reverendsterlin (Jul 25, 2008)

pitbulllady said:


> _Boa constrictor imperator_ FEMALES can reach lenths up to 10-11 feet; males are considerably smaller.
> pitbulllady


I've never seen one over 9.5 ft, mine topped out at 8.5 but she hit 47lbs. That was plenty large enough, she snacked 2 large rabbits a meal, never should have sold her *sigh*
Rev


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## xBurntBytheSunx (Jul 26, 2008)

is a snake that size dangerous at all?  how big do the males get btw?


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## dtknow (Jul 26, 2008)

Yes, anything above I think 6 feet should be considered something to not handle alone.

Boa constrictors make it into the US? Where? Texas I'd suppose?


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## Mina (Jul 26, 2008)

How pretty!!!  I love boas!!


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## reverendsterlin (Jul 26, 2008)

xBurntBytheSunx said:


> is a snake that size dangerous at all?  how big do the males get btw?


I used her for a long time for school shows, one day while taking a picture I had her stretched out and she broke the lock of my elbows. Obviously no more school shows with her. Never had a male red-tail but my argentines (black lace boas) male and female were both 8 ft she weighed 28 lbs he weighed 19 lbs. I one time made a mistake and reached into the argentine cage to remove some shed from the males head, forgetting I had handles some chicks earlier he nailed me on the wrist and wrapped my arm while it was bent, took surgery to remove some teeth from the wrist and do some repair to split tendons.
Rev


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## xBurntBytheSunx (Jul 27, 2008)

ouch


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## Diggy415 (Jul 27, 2008)

Here is one i adopted several montha ago, he/she is over 7':


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## Spiderface (Jul 27, 2008)

Beautiful boa Diggy. Sorry to those that had asked me questions and I did not reply. I havn't checked back on this thread as I should have but it looks like some others have answered for me so thank you.

Boas can get a decent size but I prefer them to any other snake. With regular, gentle handling they calm down nicely and are usually very docile.  

There is a dwarf species of boa called a Hogg Island boa so if you like the look of boas but want something smaller that is the way to go.


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## pitbulllady (Jul 27, 2008)

Here's my six-foot girl, "Peaches".  She might be a BCI x BCC cross, but she was sold to me as an ordinary BCI.  She's certainly one of the prettiest specimens I've ever seen, in any case, if I must say so myself!  I'd gotten out of Boids for several years, concentrating on Colubrids, but after having had Boas for much of my life, since I was 12, I found it impossible to give them up entirely, so I picked her up at the last reptile show I attended.







I picked up this little guy, who was born in Nov. '07, at the same show, in a trade.  The guy got a female Boa from a reptile rescue, and it turned out she was gravid when he got her, so he didn't know anything about the genetics on this little boy.  He couldn't guarantee these aberrant markings to be genetic, or the result of gestational temperatures, or what, but he's a neat-looking little Boa, and very sweet.







pitbulllady


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