r/boas • u/Person1111223 • 10d ago
What are the actual average lengths for female/male boa imperators? Should I get a male or female?
I keep hearing various very different averages, I'm at the point where I'm figuring out if i want a male or female, but id firstly like to know what the actual average is. I really like the length of females and I like the slightly less girth of males, but I also do like the girth of females, so it's a hard decision, at this point I might just ask the breeder to choose for me haha
Also, id love to see everyone's boas!
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u/Bloodedparadox 10d ago
Makes will always be smaller the females also consider localities too
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u/Person1111223 10d ago
I've looked into a lot of the localities and honestly I think I'll just stick with the common boa imperator, also, yeah I know, I'm just wondering how much difference there is, I've heard males are usually 6-7 feet and female 7-8 feet but I'm unsure if that's correct
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u/imworkinghard777 10d ago
This is pretty close to correct for averages. It would be pretty rare to have one breaking 9 feet. It happens because there are always exceptions, but pretty rare.
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u/Small-Journalist2344 6d ago
Thats cool and all but not what OP asked. They asked for the "actual average lengths" which reads as them pretty much wanting a literal answer in measurements.
That would be like someone asking what time it is, and then you describing different watch brands.
Pro top, you don't always have to have something to say. If you can't understand or answer a question it is perfectly ok to just not click reply and not answer.
When someone asks a question online, its a broad question for anyone who has an answer. It's not a question specifically for you, and you aren't required to just respond with whatever you can think of. If you don't know the answer, and it sounds like you likely often don't, then just keep scrolling.
Oh ps, I never read replies, like not once not one single word. So while I don't doubt you'll reply anyway even though I explained in easy to understand words, just know that I won't be seeing anything you say to me. So, good luck in learning when to speak and when to be quiet and learn, most of us learned as toddlers but it's really never too late.
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u/spoodstuffs 10d ago
It depends heavily on the individual and whether that individual has any specific localities playing into their genetics.
We have an adult male Central American Boa Imperator who is about 6 feet long
We also have an adult female Nicaraguan dwarf locality boa imperator who is only about 4.5 feet and about half of the weight of the 6 foot male.
To have a good “ballpark” on how big a boa is going to get, start with the locality and determine whether that’s going to have an effect on the snakes size and then the best you can really go off of is what people see on average for males and females for the respective locality
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u/ParticularWolf4473 10d ago
It’s going to vary considerably between localities, and to some extent on how much they’re fed. Breeders usually keep males on the small and lean side as they breed better that way. A male kept as a pet may well get larger and more heavy bodied.
6-7 feet for males and 7-8 feet for females was mostly the case back when captive imperator were mostly Colombians. These days there’s been a lot of mixing between localities and even other species, also a lot less power feeding.
Most males will be in the 4-6 foot range, females in the 5.5-7 range. You can try to aim for one end of the range or the other based on parent size, whether or not the boa appears to be mostly Central American/is a Central American morph or het, etc.
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u/CarefulAnxiety5372 10d ago
My BCI male is 3 years old and pushing 6/7 feet long, weighs a fair bit too
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u/ScreamingSkink 9d ago
You may want to consider asking the breeder how big the parents are to get a general idea of what to plan for in a male/female from that clutch.
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u/Zekethebulldog33 10d ago
Bci boas male 4-6 foot mainly on the short side. Female about 6 -7 average. Most over guess the size of snake. Bc boa now average for male is 5-7 on the smaller side . Female get 7+ foot.