@tommccarthy I certainly agree with you Tom about starting with a beautiful baby male boa and not necessarily a dwarf. I got Red when he was so small he could fit in the palm of my hand. He was so sweet then and an absolute puppy dog now at 5 years of age. I do think he knows me.
And those pictures are a ton of beauties! 
Yes! That is what we all need to hear lol!
They, Dums, are a true ambush predator- even some of my nicest adults ambush me once in a while if I donāt let em know its me first. They have the power of a large blood python in a strike. I appreciate their inherit thickness. Nice one right there!
Cornsnakes are have really taken a backseat to Ball Pythons due to all the new colors in the last 2 decades but Iād say Corns are still one of the most ideal all around pet snakes. They are active, not shy at all, curious about their environment, and always eat. Great for and with kids too.
Yep you are so right about corns! They are kind of a one size fits all! 
What is a sure way of alerting your snake that āItās me! Not a dead rat!ā? XD Tapping on the enclosure before opening the door, then giving them a minute to notice you and take in your scent? Actually, how good ARE snakes at picking up on a scent from the other side of the glass?
When I was younger and first taking an interest in snakes as pets, I really wanted a cornā¦ The thing that kind of turned me off of most colubrids was hearing from a few sources that they have the most smell-related issues. 
Because of greater likelihood of musking, more frequent feedings, and moreā¦ malodorousā¦ byproducts. I feel like Iāve never actually witnessed a heavy-bodied constrictor musking, or even heard of it. Iām guessing they use musking primarily as small babies, when they have little other defense against predators? I do remember that back then (almost 20 years ago nowā¦), corn snake morphs were the majority of listings, with a handful of bp morphs listed beneath them. 
The tables have definitely turned, lol.
Speaking of bpsā¦ I kept meaning to ask this, but never got around to it: are there cases of fussy-eater bps that simply WILL NOT go for any of the usual feeding tricks (scenting, alternative food items, leaving them alone with f/t prey in a smaller space, etc., etc.), to the point that it came down to live feeders or else the snake starving? Thatās my big fear with them. I could not handle live feeding anything, as it would stress me immensely (largely out of fear of the snake losing an eye or worse, but also because I get attached to thingsā¦ very quickly). Theyāre adorable, and low maintenance enough that I wouldnāt mind keeping one just as a pet (not for breeding) at some pointā¦ but the possibility of having no option other than live feeders would be a dealbreaker. 
Iām happy to go to pretty much any other length though, including tracking down harder-to-buy f/t, or paying more for specific prey items that they prefer.
A male bci would honestly be fantasticā¦ just so long as I was confident that in any event (even one where a normally docile pet was behaving strangely for whatever reason), I COULD control him. Iām not sure how much difference in actual STRENGTH there is between different boa species or regional variationsā¦ I wouldnāt want to be in a situation where I, by myself, could not wrangle a scared or defensive animal back into their enclosure to calm down. 
On that noteā¦ Do you have to worry about a snake (especially a powerful, larger one, or a very small, fragile one) escaping and possibly getting into a confrontation with another animal (dog, cat, or even a reptile from another enclosure?). I would never leave a snake to free-roam unsupervised, since they could get hurt or try to hide behind an appliance (because heat source)ā¦ but I also know that accidents can happen, big snakes are very strong animals, and snakes in general are known to be clever escape artists. What are safeguards you take, if you have other animals in the house?
Beautiful boas in those photos! 
They look like theyāre having a good time in the great outdoors, haha.
Musking is not a huge issue with corns. Some of my fresh hatchlings musk me and I have one adult who is very feisty and will musk every time I handle her, but sheās the exception. Their musk is also quite mild. I donāt even find it offensive. It just kind of smells like wet leaves or forest floor to me.
Their poops also are not too stinky. Theyāre also much smaller poops than large constrictorsā. A fresh poop from an adult corn will be a bit smelly, but they dry up pretty fast and then they basically have no odor and are really quick and easy to pick up and throw away. Baby poop is so tiny, I donāt even notice an odor with it. Frequency of pooping for corns isnāt super high either, usually only one or two poops per feeding. Adults usually only get fed once every 10 to 14 days, so poops arenāt super frequent.
Was not aware that a cornsnake musked at all and Iāve been keeping them on and off since 96ā. Perhaps has more to do with crossbred corns with other colubrid- milks, kings, bulls(gopher) and ratsnakes.
Also, Dumerils can and do get very large and live 40+ years. Quite a commitment. I had thought the first 3 I kept from a 98(2, 8.5 and 9.5 feet, both over 30 pounds and a 99(1, heās dwarf so only 4 feet) litter were ancient- then I see the zoo folk with 40 y/o still having babies. Amazing really.
Never had a Dum latch on or anything like thatā¦ tippy tip of a finger/palm twice in all this time but the do have a much longer fang than a redtail. Had a tooth from the 2005ish palm landed bite that seemed to have no end to it. I had segments of that fang in my hand that grew from that spot ever few months for years. And she was a lil 5 footer back then. I will say she knows me well by now and me as well. One of the most loyal types I have after all this time. But admittedly, keeper error in both cases which I had said.
Recently started keeping Blue Racer and always assumed they were stanky snakes- turns out they just come from stanky places, reparian swamp. Ha!
I have owned several corns over the years and still have one. None of them have ever musked me. I did have one adult female boas musk me a few times. After about 6 months of owning her, she stopped doing it.
I have never been musked by a corn and I have had/been around several of them. In fact I didnāt know corns did musk! My milk and my GBK snake? Oh yeah! But they are growing older and getting a lot better about that!
