It's time for me to add another snake to my collection of animals. As of right now, the only snake that I own is an adult tangerine honduran milk. I other animals but I am really interested in getting another snake. I was thinking a red tail boa, but I just dont know that Im ready for something that gets quite that large. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Hog Island Boas, because from what ive read, they are quite similar but do not get quite so big. Please let me know your experiences with the snake (temperament, ease of owning, overall goodness of the snake) to help me decide if it is the right snake to move to.
Welcome to the forums jshoe! I have two of these guys (sort of), they are actually "hypo" hogs which are technically a hybrid between the colombian red tail and the hog island BCI's. While I'm generally not fond of the idea of hybridization, I knew I had no intention of breeding and these guys are just beautiful snakes... not to mention the fact they stay a little smaller was extremely appealing. Definitely a good choice for a 'smaller' boa species. From what I understand, Hog Island Boas tend to stay within the 3.5-5ft range with females being a little larger than males (as typical with most snakes). It's my experience with boas in general that babies can be a little huffy and nippy, although the extent of this various on an individual basis. With regular handling and with age, they can become quite laid back and handleable. Ease of owning: Very easy. My boas are all EXCELLENT feeders, and aside from needing an enclosure of appropriate size (Hog's will need a 3' x 2' or 4' x 2' floorspace enclosure), care is a walk in the park. It's actually a relief having these snakes that pound down rats with no question questions asked. I own a good number of ball pythons, and let me say, when you are trying to get them up to breeding size it can be headache with their occasional fasting sprees. Boa's are also my favorite snake for handling, because they do all the work. With ball pythons, colubrids, bloods & short-tails, etc a lot of the time you must do more work supporting the body of the snake. Boa's have a tendency to wrap themselves around you, and Hog's are small enough to where they may throw a couple of coils around your arm and you can just walk around the house with them like a giant arm bracelet. I would highly recommend a Hog Island Boa (still unsure if it's 'Hog' or 'Hogg', Iv'e seen it spelled both ways online and in literature). And if you get a young one, don't be intimidated by their occasional hissy fits. Often these snakes can be huffy in their enclosure but become completely docile out of the enclosure. I'll describe prime example of this with the two I have in my possession: My male hypo hog is just under 4' in length, full grown. A complete and total sweetheart although he's a little head shy. He's never struck at me, and I have no problem taking him out of his enclosure - I actually opt to feed him out of his enclosure in a separate bin just to reinforce the idea that he will never be fed in his home. Out of all of my snakes, he's the first I choose when children want to handle one. The other in my possession at current is a female hypo hog, she was raised by a friend who could no longer care for her due to his moving to another state so I've been caring for her for the last couple of months. She's VERY hissy inside of her enclosure, and she has struck at me with a closed mouth before, but its all bluff. I simply grab her up in order to reinforce the idea that her bluffs aren't going to keep me at bay; once shes out of the enclosure, she's a great snake. She's a little more antsy and explorative, but she won't bite or hiss when she's out of her enclosure. I blame the fact that she was never handled as a juvenile; her only associations with humans were when her door is opened to change water and throw a rat in. She's about 4' long and growing...due to her hybridization I wouldn't be surprised if she gets to be 6' long. She has the best feeding response in my collection, she's actually struck at the glass before I even open the door for the rat. I'd say these are great snakes to move on to if you can accommodate them. I can take a photo of my enclosure's and hypo hog's if you have any interest in seeing them. Setup in the enclosure is easy, and like other snakes care is as well. Spot clean as needed, full cage cleans every now and then, change water daily, and feed approx. once a week. That's about it! = ) I've not had a shedding issue or any other medical problems with these species as of yet (knock on wood), I keep them on aspen.
Wow! Thank you so much. That was way more information than I was expecting. You've basically sold me. Sounds like the absolute perfect snake to move to next. I would love to see pictures of your hogs and the setups if you'd like. Thanks again for all the information, made my decision a whole lot easier. Ive found that its always more helpful to hear it from someone who actually owns what your looking for as opposed to a kid at pet store trying to make some commission. - Joe
No problem = ) I'll see if I can get pics loaded up tonight, tomorrow at the latest. If you haven't come across these two sites in your research yet, I'd highly recommend taking a gander. There are loads of care sheet resources for Hog island and other boas, but the following websites have are by some of the most experienced people in the hobby. http://riobravoreptiles.com/ http://vpi.com <-- Dave and Tracy might have been sent to us by the Python Gods. While they may or may not have specific articles related to Hog Island BCI, It's still good to read about common boa care in general, even that of fellow BCI such as Colombian red tails. The major difference in care will be enclosure size, where a hog will need slightly less space (although more room is always better if you can accommodate it!).
Well Hey, looks like I had a couple pics from a year or two ago still on this computer. Everything is pretty much the same, just very minor furniture changes. He's still about the size size too, he was about 3.5 years old in this pic and somewhere between 3.5-4' in the length. I built the enclosure to be 3.5' x 2' x 2' (lxwxh). It's large enough to accommodate a boa of his size. He absolutely LOVES the shelf up there, I think particularly for these smaller species it's important to give them some climbing space. Or at least give them the opportunity to come out from time to time to stretch out. Larger BCC have slightly less arboreal tendency than the smaller BCI in my observations. *BCC means Boa Constrictor Constrictor, BCI refers more often to the island boas, Boa Constrictor Imperator. BCC are often refered to as the true red tails, they will get much larger in size as a general rule.* Be sure to look thoroughly at all of the BCI in addition to Hogs, there are quite a few boas out there that stay on the smaller side. And as a rule, males are always smaller than females. There are some differences in temperment, but care is generally quite similar and may only need minor modification.
Thank you for all of the great and helpful information along with the websites. Reptile Board has so far proven to be amazingly more helpful than any other discussion boards that I've found. Your snake is beautiful! That looks like a great size snake also. I'm impressed with your enclosure, very aesthetically pleasing, and I'm sure he loves it. So would your tank be comparable to a 40 gallon or more a 55 gallon? Thanks again for all of the help, I'm looking forward to reading more on those websites and hopefully adding one of these guys to the family. - Joe
Glad to help Joe = ) We're hoping to bring ReptileRooms/Boards back to life the way it was in its prime, we appreciate the nice words! Honestly, I know it sounds strange, but I prefer housing my juvenile snakes in plastic storage bins (such as sterlite brand). The vast majority of breeders rear their snakes in this kind of enclosure. It's cheap, lightweight, and the fact the snake can't see through it helps them feel more secure IMO. While aquariums are OK in some scenarios, I'd rather spend the same amount of money on a custom built enclosure or one specifically designed for snakes/boas. Aquariums are heavy, costly, and many snakes have a tendency to rub their noses raw on the screen top (which is also a pain in the rear for the keeper to use). The most ideal enclosures for larger adolescent/adult snakes are those that open from the front and are enclosed on the other sides like the one I'm using. This allows the snake to feel secure, prevents the rubbing, and they can see you coming at their level rather than from above. Depending on your budget and how aesthetically pleasing you want the enclosure to look, building a cage can be quite simple, rewarding, and inexpensive. Buying a premade one of the same style would probably also cost in the ballpark of the same price as a similar sized glass aquarium (the glass is the most expensive part of caging) if you know where to look. BUT - the decision is entirely up to you. Just wanted to give my $0.02 on enclosure options. And do take a look at the Nicaraguans and other BCI as well who have slightly different looks to em; everyone has different personal tastes, and I want to make sure you're introduced to all of the options prior to making a final decision. The enclosure I built it actually approx: 102 gallons in volume, although the dimensions are fairly close to those standard aquarium sizes you inquired about. A 55 gallon is 48" x 12" x21" and a 40 gallon breeder is 36" x 18" x 17" or so. I'd say for a an adult you should shoot for a something in the 36"-48" (3-4ft) range in length and about 2ft in width. That should be adequate floorspace. As I mentioned earlier, a little height doesn't hurt, so I'd aim for around 18"+ on the height, although many breeders and keepers utilize heights of only 12" with success...its more a matter of personal opinion and if you take the snake out on occasion to stretch out, move and explore then not as much height is necessary.
Great thank you so much. I really like the tanks that slide open from the front. I have my milk in an aquarium but I might make it a little weekend project to build a few cages that can open from the front, probably similar to yours. All of your help has been amazing. I will definitely be using this site for any and all questions.
Your quite welcome Joe = ) BTW: I've moved this to the Boa Forum, located towards the bottom of our forum lists.
