Hi all,
I’m looking to acquire a nice medium sized snake, but theres just so many awesome looking animals. I currently have an empty 6’L x 3’H x 2’D PVC tank, I have been considering a male BCI but am also curious about colubrids.
What are some of your personal favourite snakes?
As far as Colubrids go, I can’t say from personal experience but False Water Cobras are pretty neat.
They’re definitely one of my bucket list species, I know they can be a little spicy though so its not everyone’s cup of tea.
I do also have a 16 year old BCC that I practically grew up with from early childhood, very calm and patient girl even now as she grows older, I don’t imagine they’re much different from BCIs in terms of care 
You can’t go wrong with a boa. In my opinion boas are the best pet snake out there. I have owned boas for over 49 years.
Just make sure you buy a baby boa or a 1 year old and you and the boa will grow up know each other habits and tendencies.
Do a little research first on there care and what type of boa you like. Such as morphs or pure locality boas.
In my opinion new boa owners should not buy an adult boa. As most adult boas that are for sale are old breeders or problem boas. Such as sick or aggressive boas. None of them are good for first time owners.
I personally like Northern Brazilian BCC and Southern Brazilian Amarali BCA. I also like sunglow motley jungle morph boas.
Take care
Tom
Thanks for the response! FWC are so cool id love to have one, i dont think im up for the husbandry rn though. How big is your BCC? I love the look of them, so gorgeous, but i heard they get larger than the BCIs
Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it! Boas are just so beautiful and I’ve definitely been tempted by them. Extra big thank you for sharing some photos of your collection, they are such beautiful animals! It definitely makes me want one even more 
The boa people here won’t steer you wrong! These guys know what they’re talking about! I had 2 Central American boas that I bought as babies. They were the sweetest animals seriously! I ended up giving them to a good friend of mine because I had some health issues for awhile. He is so attached to them that I just let him keep them.
@tommccarthy Tom is so right! You can’t go wrong with a boa!
My BCC is just over 7’ as of her last vet checkup and is nearing 30lbs. She’s the only Boa I’ve ever kept so I’m unsure of other subspecies size range.
She’s kept in a 6’ x 2’ x 2’ PVC enclosure and eats a medium rabbit every other month. She’s kept on reptichip but a bit on the dryer side because she’s unfortunately prone to RIs in her older age, I have to get her looked at 1x a year to make sure her respiratory system is clear and healthy… thankfully she’s been doing pretty good since her last RI. I keep her temps around 85-86°F on her warm side, mid 70’s on the cool side and give her a good soak every once in a while just to make sure she stays hydrated since I have to keep her a bit dryer- I know not all Boas are the same so it may just be her and her age, I wouldn’t let that discourage you!
They are pretty heavy bodied strong snakes and grow to large sizes fairly quickly- and they are long-lived. I expect my female to live another 20, possibly even 30 years if her health stays steady so its a very long term commitment. Its best to get good handleable babies and work with them from there, I got my girl at 3 months old when I was 7 and I only picked her because she was the calmest out of her bunch.
Just make sure you are fully up to the challenge if you do choose a BCC since they are heavier and stronger than some other large species, it can get pretty exhausting handling them if you aren’t. And make sure when the snake gets past 4 feet or really any size you feel is more difficult to manage that you have someone willing and understanding with you to help you handle the snake whenever you need to clean, feed or take out the snake for any reason- its safer that way.
Not a boa and colubrid
Can think about a childrens or spotted python , same size as corn snakes .
A other of my favourit snakes are woma pythons . woma pythons is underrated. A fantastic species that does not get to big
Yup to that! I have one actually! He’s never refused a meal. And I mean NEVER EVER! He’s a tad squirmy getting him out of his enclosure but once he’s out he a 
puppy
dog!
Most definitely underrated!
You won’t see me trying to talk anyone out of a boa. 
Of the three species I have (Kenyan sand boa, blood python, and BI), my BI is definitely the “friendliest” and easiest to handle. If you like to take your snake out a lot, I think a boa is one of the best species you can get.
Boas are also great because they come in such a wide variety of sizes. If you think a 7-8’ freakishly strong and muscular snake might be a bit much, most of the Mexican and Central American localities will stay much smaller and more manageable. The smallest localities don’t get much longer than a ball python. Though the other nice thing about boas is that they grow slowly, so even if you do get a bigger locality, you’ll have plenty of time to “grow into” their adult size.
Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize you’d gotten your boa when you were so young, that’s so awesome that you still have her! 
My CA female has reached 9 feet and she’s only 7 years old……
That’s wild! Either I’ve been very misinformed about the size of CA boas, or your giant girl is an outlier.
Definitely….
