You'll be looking at about 6-8ft and around about 20lbs (but I'm a bit crap at judging weight) fully grown I reckon. I've not kept them myself but I have looked after them at work. The adults there were about that size so no, they're not huge but they do have a fair bit of extra weight/length than the biggest ball I've seen :)

Care-wise, they're not bad. I dunno if I'd call them a beginners snake- the same as I would a corn for example- but they're not complex by any stretch. A baby will be in basically the same sort of enclosure as a baby ball so you'll be used to what it will need at a young age already. As adults, they need the usual... an enclosure tailored to meet their needs in regards to thermoregulation etc. They're ground dwellers, like most heavy bodied boids, so in terms of similarity of care to a ball, you're not gonna be too far off.

I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to adequately care for a Dumerils if you're ok with the size they reach and willing to put in the usual time and effort with research etc. They're hardy and pretty docile in my experience so they're definitely not what I'd describe as hard to care for or temperamental :) I'm extremely jealous that you're being offered a free baby.. I'd snap that up in a heartbeat!

From what I've read on here, Dumeril's tend to like it a little cooler than Common Boas (red-tails...) and also like a substrate to bury themselves in instead of something like newspaper. I've never had one myself but I trust my fellow iHerpers who have :) I say if the size isn't a problem and you do your research you'll be fine. Dumeril's aren't known for being difficult so as long as you are willing to learn you'll be fine.

Dumeril's do like to burrow, I keep mine at the same temps as my red-tails but quite a few of the ones I have seen are not very social. They tolerate being handled and are not really strikey but are just not as personable as red-tails and not a friendly as ball pythons. Kind of like keeping bloods, they aren't really mean, just kind of cranky.

Pidak Reptiles- Ok, I'm sure there are plenty of people who can elaborate on the following further, but here it is as I understand it.

Red tailed boas (Boa constrictor constrictor/BCC) generally tend to be on the larger side with some specimens reaching quite a significant size, certainly a lot larger than your average Dumerils... However, the AVERAGE length for your bog standard female red tail is something around the same sort of size, 6-8ft I believe. They do, however, have the potential to reach sizes well in excess of 10ft.

Common boas (Boa constrictor imperator/BCI) on the other hand, tend to be a bit smaller, especially when you start looking into the different varieties available like, for example, Hogg Island boas which max out at about 6ft (thought 8ft has been seen in captivity). There are loads of different sub-species and varieties so if a smaller boa is what you're looking for, I'd suggest looking at some of the varieties of BCI available. That's not to say that all BCI's are small... some Columbians have been known to breach the 10ft mark. There are plenty of smaller types available though and some of them are really, truly stunning.

Like I said, that's just how I understand it and, although boas are definitely my snake of choice, I certainly don't profess to be an expert.... yet ;D

Another "smaller" Boa worth checking out is the Peruvian Longtailed Boa, they avg. 6-7 feet in length. 

Dumeril's are great, I have bred them in the past. Mine were very sweet tempered, but remember every snake is different, Iv'e run across mean assed ball pythons before. And yess they do average smaller size than your average red tail. As far as temp's go mine had a hot spot of high 80's and low temp side in the mid 70's. I really love there cryptic coloration and pattern. Good luck, IMO you cant go wrong with a Dumeril's

I have 5 Dumerils at the moment, and hoping at least one of my 2 big females is gravid. My very first Dumerils was a rescue girl about 5ft long cramed into a 15-20gallon cage! I still have her, but do to her upbringing before I got her, she is extremely tempermental, and a known biter at times very unpredictable. My other 2 adults (male & female) are always fine and have been used around children in an educational setting. The other 2 are juveniles and are both very well tempered. My largest female is probably close to the 7ft mark, and still growing. Dumerils have a little slower digestion process and are known for becoming obesse with over feeding. I keep mine right around 88 on high end and mid-high 70s on low end.  I agree they do prefer substrate to burrow into, I use only aspen shavings or brown contractors paper for all of my snakes.  They tend to have be a bit food aggressive too so be very careful once your baby gets some size. And use long tongs to feed frozen/thawed with. Start socializing with your new baby dumerils a few times a week, leave alone a day prior and 2 days after feeding.  They also for their size are one of the strongest I've seen! My large female constricted around my forearm onetime and it took 2 other people and almost 30 minutes to finally get her unwrapped from my arm, she left belly scale impressions in my arm that lasted for afew days as well as a nice bruise-this very rare-like I said that girl had a very rough upbringing and hard life before I got her. I have seen some snappy babies, but with gentle regular handling handling they calm down. I love their cooring and pattern, one of the best camoflauge I've seen naturally occuring ;)  A very large dumerils female can reach up to 9ft, as a friend of mine used to have one-very rare they get that size though, like ball pythons rarely reach the 6ft mark from all the ones I've seen. I have seen some huge ball pythons that were probally in the range og close to 6ft! I have afriend that has an awesome collection and ge has at least 3 very large females!  Like others have said all snakes/animals have their own personalities and all. And I'm sure your dads' friend will help you pick out the right baby for you. Plus you can always talk to and ask him questions or concerns that may come up too.  Hope this helps some  :0)

you would know best if your ready or not if you think you can handel a larger snake i say go for it 

Marine brought up a good point when he mentioned the part about needing help to pry his big female off of him. If you don't regularly have other snake-comfortable people around, you might want to think hard about how big/strong you are willing to go.

As a not small or weak female (I'm a metalworker, so excellent hand/arm strength), I would still want a spotter around any time I was handling any boa/python over about 4 to 6 feet long, just in case. My adult Sinaloan Kingsnakes can actually be a little tricky to remove from my wrist with just my other hand any time they get nervous and decide to tighten down while I'm holding them, and kings don't have the kind of heft and muscle a boa of the same length packs.

All that said, if I was offered a free Dumeril's, I'd go for it. But I do have a spotter and I know I could make it work.

Urf. That was supposed to be Sinaloan Milksnakes. I'm a bit sleep deprived right now. Sorry 'bout that.

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