I’ve been wanting to add a boa to my collection for a longgggg time, and I want to talk about what would be the best options for me personally.
I am a pretty small person (5’2, female, skinny little thing lol) so I knew that I wanted to get a male, since they generally stay smaller than their female counterparts. But I also know there are smaller localities as well. Which ones tend to stay on the smaller side?
I’m not the most out of shape, I can lift 50 pound feed bags if I need to, but I’d rather have a snake I don’t have to worry about handling.
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Check out the Solomon Island Ground Boa.
This little girl is a November 2024 and still very small. However these are probably way too small for you. I think the Nicaraguan boas stay on the small side but get larger than this one.
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Oh that is a cutie! The patterns are so pretty!
I haven’t seen a whole lot of those, so that might be something to think about.
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Crawl Cay, Cay Caulker, Tarahumara, all are good locality Boas to consider for smaller sized animals.
If something with mutations are the direction you’d like to go, any of the pure Boa Sigma mutations will stay on the smaller side (but not tiny, my 12+ year old female Boa Sigma is around 6’ ). Sticking with any of the central stuff will also keep things on the smaller end. I have a 5 year old Inca girl that’s barely over 4’
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Hi Indiflare,
I personally would not worry about the size of most boas. Just don’t get the ones that can get over 10 feet. However even they can be gentle giants. I still think the best boa is the BCI Colombian for a pet. They are tame and easy to take care of. Most of your smaller dwarf type boa are naturally more aggressive. So they take a little time to tame down.
Just get the type you like the look of the best. Morph or pure locality boa, but get a baby or a 1 year old. This way as the boa grows to adult hood you will not be scared of it and the boa will not be scared of you. Baby boa learn quick that humans are not a threat or food source with proper handling. Even my 8 foot, 30 lbs boas anyone can handle.
I tell people all the time get the snake you like best not what snake makes the best first starter snake. Most people only want 1 or 2 snakes. I find if you start with what you like best you will take better care of it. If it’s not the snake you really wanted some people neglect the care of the snake a little.
If you can find someone with a collection of boas near you just go see if you can handle some babies and adult boas. I think you will be surprised at how easy a big boa is to handle.
I live in North West Indiana near the Indiana dunes state park. Not sure if I am close to you but you would be welcome to hold some of my boas to see how comfortable you are with them.
Take are
Tom
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I wish I was close, but Tennesee is just a bit too far. I’ve thought of asking at a reptile show if someone has a larger boa if I could hold it, but it’s been a bit since I’ve been able to go to one.
There is one I’ve been looking at (trying to convince my mom to let me get another snake for my birthday lol), but I do think it’d be a good idea to raise a baby. I’ve just seen all of the lovely boas y’all have, and I’d love to have one of my own someday
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If you are set on a boa you really would not need to hold one first. If you get a baby you will both grow into each other. Like Tom said, boas are truly great animals and make great pets!
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@indiflare My little SIGB will wrap herself around my fingers so tightly sometimes that it feels like she’s cutting off my circulation so that
I have to unwind her!
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I always love your pictures Tom! One of these days I’m gonna have to make a trip up to see you! I would not expect room and board 
but I would certainly appreciate a tour!!!
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mannnnnn Those are all beautiful boas… someday soon!
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Rosy boas are great too
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I’m also 5’2”, and don’t have any trouble handling my boas. My biggest boa was only 7’, though, so within the average adult size for BI. I also have a ~16’ retic that generally gives me at most a little work out getting her in her holding tub if she’s feeling rambunctious, but usually goes in without a hassle. Maneuvering her outside is definitely a cardio workout though. But boas will never get that large.
Here’s my 7’ gal, super easy to pick up and carry without breaking a sweat.
And my second largest boa, a 6’8” male.
Most of my boys are about this size though.
And my two current adult females are 5.5’-6’, so definitely very manageable.
I don’t have a pic of me holding the other one but she’s a bit smaller than this sunglow girl and 1,000 grams lighter.
I would say you should be fine with whatever boa you go with! Especially BI.
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Another 5’2 person chiming in to agree - 7ft sounds much bigger than it is and is generally pretty managable, especially with an animal that you purchased young and socialized well to being handled.
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Yup, another 5’2 person with a non-dwarf boa here! My girl is only around 5’ right now and not super girthy, though she’s still growing. I’ve handled some bigger 7’+ boas and found them quite manageable. They definitely have some weight to them, but boas hold onto you really well, which I feel makes them a lot easier to manage. In some ways, I found it easier to manage a 7’ boa than my 4.5’ blood python. My blood girl is unwieldy at times because she’s heavy, but she doesn’t wrap around me and hang on the way a boa does.
I’d say if you can manage 50lbs feed bags, you’re more than capable of managing an average-sized boa with ease.
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Well good to hear!
Still trying to convince the fam to let me have a second snake, but I think I’m getting there lol
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Any luck yet with talking the family into letting you get a boa? I think you really need one. Here are some pictures of babies to show your family.
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Still not quite on board, things have been… very complicated recently, hence my recent disappearance for months, but hopefully things will be calming down… somewhat. But wow, what gorgeous babies! Definitely see some guys who catch my eye in that batch lol
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