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Q: Boa Local/Morph?
Posted By:

iashia

In Relation To:

Blaize

So, i got this new baby rtb the other day, and i havent seen one like her/him around here.

(im assuming its a girl because he/she has no visible anal spurs yet)

so, what kind of boa do you think she/he is?

theres no way that its a normal (i mean it could be, but......) wah




Attached Photos:






Points: 50
Topics: Genetics , Knowledge Base
Tags: Bcc, Bci, Genetics, Identification, Locale
Species: Boas > Large Boas > Boa constrictor imperator
Administrative: Show/Hide

Member Comment 8/19/2009 5:42:55 PM

Kingsnake King
ok if its not a Boa Constrictor Impertor or its a true red tail  ...... Boa Constricter Constricter  but it could be a very nice B.C.I. 
It looks to me like a nice B.C.C.  which get alot bigger on avarage....Google it and you will see.   
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 6:15:14 PM

jetmech

Hopefully KatieM sees this. She is pretty sharp with the boa alphabet!

 
Accepted Answer 8/19/2009 7:48:53 PM

magsj387
I would venture to say its a BCI... Judging by the fact that you acquired it from a pet store but not knowing what you paid for it. If it was a true BCC you would have been labeled so. If it was anything other than the typical BCI, you would have been informed. When dealing with petstores your usually going to get Colombians(central american) or a mutt(BCC x BCI), not a BCC or you'd know not only by the jacked up price but it would be labeled differently. Now thats not downplaying your beautiful snake, and the most important thing that your happy with it. Depending on you ask it might be considered a pastel, but I would venture to guess just a plain 'ol BCI.
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 9:36:44 PM

dalvers63
Without knowing it's ancestry, the best you can do is call it a nice looking boa. Boa constrictors have been crossed so many times that unless you deal directly with a breeder who documents what their adults are and where they came from (and aren't crosses/hybrids themselves) you will never know exactly what you bought.
 
Author Comment 8/19/2009 10:24:37 PM

iashia
thats true, some background, it was labeled BCC specifically (but pet stores are stupid) and it was damn near 200 bucks, but i got it on sale because there was different stock comming in.
 
Author Comment 8/19/2009 10:25:57 PM

iashia
i was also hinted at that she/he was (im going to spell this wrong) nicaraguan? because of the connecting saddles
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 10:32:05 PM

magsj387
Its a possibility...but my guess would still lean toward the mutt suggestion. Anyone feel free to correct me but typical Nics from what I've seen and can tell, tend to be much darker all around and don't have a very "red" appearance to their tails which yours does...so that would lead me to believe it could be a nic bcc cross .... sorry i know thats not much help...but as you can see its damn near impossible unless you know who your getting it from
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 10:32:34 PM

magsj387
check out vin russos site might help you understand better http://www.cuttingedgeherp.com/
 
Assisted Answer 8/19/2009 10:40:33 PM

Jeffriey
I'd have to say BCI judging by the saddles, the lack of peaks, head shape, tail etc. Even if it's a BCC x BCI cross it would be considered a BCI by purists.
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 10:52:31 PM

Jeffriey
Beautiful snake by the way. Where's Sonja (bka_mama)? She might be able to confirm or Katie or Eric......Where's Kai when you need him
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 10:54:31 PM

magsj387
I get it jeff....my opinion means nothing....
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 10:58:46 PM

Jeffriey
LMAO
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 10:59:24 PM

Jeffriey
Sorry Jim
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 10:59:50 PM

magsj387
LOL im just giving you crap...
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 11:01:27 PM

Jeffriey
Well here's a couple of related posts on ianswers

http://www.iherp.com/Answers/ReptileProblem.aspx?Id=1312
http://www.iherp.com/Answers/ReptileProblem.aspx?Id=2765
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 11:26:15 PM

deadvenom
i say.. bci x bcc cross... cant be positive.. but I am preeeettyyy sure
 
Author Comment 8/19/2009 11:33:30 PM

iashia

does saddle count matter?  she has 14 saddles not counting the red marks on her tail

 
Author Comment 8/19/2009 11:34:37 PM

iashia
never mind, she has 12
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 11:42:13 PM

deadvenom
well being a cross.. it would be hard to tell.. depending what the cross is.. since there are numberous BCC subspecies. and to which BCI it is IF she is indeed a cross.... we need someone here who knows there boids! :P
 
Member Comment 8/19/2009 11:52:52 PM

Floof
I'm little to no help on identification... But, if it was labeled BCC and the seller hinted at Nicaraguan, I would guess a BCI x BCC cross. =)
 
Member Comment 8/20/2009 12:40:51 AM

Jeffriey
There's also scale count to consider when differentiating between BCI and BCC. It can be difficult sometimes to count unless you have a shed.

http://www.boaddiction.com/archive/index.php?t-2169.html
 
Member Comment 8/20/2009 12:47:01 AM

magsj387
Very cool Jeff thanks!
 
Member Comment 8/20/2009 2:23:20 AM

EricIvins
Looks like a normal Colombian to me............I see no BCC in that animal...................Sometimes a Colombian is just a Colombian, not a Argenuvianan................*Shrugs shoulders*............
 
Member Comment 8/20/2009 2:25:08 AM

EricIvins
On another note - Sexing Boas is not hard at all.....Grab the tail and run your thumb on the Ventral scales past the Cloaca - Bump = Male, No Bump = Female............
 
Author Comment 8/20/2009 5:16:20 PM

iashia

ok, im not asking if its a bcc or a bci.  i personally dont care, i want to know if anyone can identify ite locality.  thats what i want to know

 
Member Comment 8/20/2009 5:29:37 PM

deadvenom
lol well, we need to figure out if its a bci or bcc first...   if its a cross, there wont be any locale to pinpoint..even if its a bci x  bci..far to many subspecies out there to pinpoint the locale  without knowing it's history.     Knowing if its BCI or BCC will help with finding what locale it is...etc. That is why we are trying to figure that part out.
 
Member Comment 8/20/2009 5:59:16 PM

Jeffriey
Well I have to agree and say a normal Columbian. A very nice looking one though. Under the species list as Northern boa constrictor
 
Assisted Answer 8/20/2009 10:21:35 PM

Katie M
I say it's a "normal" BCI for sure, but at that, she has a really great Circleback pattern to her - very hot!! I see absolutely no Nic in her at all - to say that connected saddles = Nic was spoken by someone who hasn't looked into that locale much :)  I have plenty of BCI that have those Circleback patterns (i.e. Oscar, Melidie, Ruby, etc.)  Ruby was also a big-chain petstore find, and one of my prettiest boas.  Saddle count won't tell you much about locale, but if you're really interested, save one of her fresh sheds, unroll it, and count the caudal scales (the big, flat ones).  You can get an idea of influence at the very least.  Either way, I wouldn't mind having that snake in my collection - she's a hotty
 
Member Comment 8/20/2009 10:22:55 PM

Katie M
if you want to see a true nic, you can look at Nero on my page
 
Member Comment 8/21/2009 12:14:12 AM

Sakara
Looks like either a BCI or a cross... There is no way to know locality... BCI are very well spread.... And if it's a cross then there would be no way to tell... I would personally not have bought it believing it was a BCC... Still a nice looking boa though
 
Author Comment 8/21/2009 3:03:35 AM

iashia
i bought it because it was beautiful, thats the only reason, that and it was on sale, ha!!  cant pass up a reptile at a good price.  but its a bci for sure, i have a friend that a breeder n i talked to him about it, ill be bringing them in so he can see them all, check their health n everything
 
Member Comment 8/22/2009 2:41:45 AM

abi21491
It looks BCI to me. a VERY beautiful BCI at that! My friend bought a BCI almost exactly like this at an expo from a breeder once. Plus just looking at the head and pattern it has the characteristics of a BCI. I guess a cross is possible, but that's always possible.
 
Member Comment 8/22/2009 2:46:51 AM

abi21491
It'll be impossible to identify the locality just by looking at it, unfortunately. I would go with Common Boa, that makes it easy. And it really doesn't matter if you plan to get into morphs or anything... Because all that matters with them is the morph not the local. If you want to breed locality boas, well buy from a breeder who knows their stock. That's the only way you can be 100% sure of anything these days.
 
Member Comment 8/27/2009 7:16:52 AM

beradienboadude
I AGREE PET STORES ARE SSTTTTUPIDDDD
 
Assisted Answer 9/28/2009 5:15:12 PM

titus
In all cases of buying an unidentified boa there's really no way to tell. Coloration can some times pin down the locality of the snake but some locals can look alike so this is just a guess. When you get a good shed I would count the dorsal scales and find out if it's boa constrictor constrictor or boa constrictor imperator. It most likely is a mix boa or Colombian, they are the most commonly sold. Though It looks alot like my Colombian BCI. 

When you go to count the scales the best way is to take a section of the shed and split it alon the belly and lay it out. You'll be counting the number of scales from the ventral scales around to the other side of the same ventral scale you started at. boa constrictor imperator will normally have less than 80 dorsal scales and boa constrictor constrictor will have over 80 some have had as high as over 90 but it's uncommon. Counting scale pairs works with pure bred lines and fresh WC imports though could be wrong if your snake is a BCI x BCC cross.
 
Member Comment 1/17/2011 7:44:22 AM

abi21491

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