mexican boas

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CanCun, Mexico Boas ( Boa c. imperator )

We have been producing these beautiful boas since the early 1990s. CanCun boas are moderately sized, mature early and breed easily at our latitudes here in the USA. Ours will breed first at age three while still slightly under 1.3 meters (4 feet). Large mature females from our breeding group are under 2 meters long. CanCun boas are strongly patterned and very colorful. They are among the more calm of the boas from Mexico.

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CanCun Mexican Boa photographed in the wild ( Boa c. imperator )

An extraordinary example of a colorful High Pattern Density (HPD) boa. From the upper Yucatan peninsula, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

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Dwarf or Tarahumara Mexico Boa ( Boa c. imperator )

Locality
Sierra Tarahumara lies in the northern states of Chihuahua and Sonora Mexico. These areas of high peaks, forested plateaus and deeply eroded riparian canyons are sometimes referred to as Sky Islands in the desert. It is here at altitudes of 4000’ or more where these “dwarf” boas (B. constrictor imperator.) originated.

History in culture
A researcher from the University of Arizona (UA) brought back a single pair of these boas in the mid 1990’s. That pair made their way into the private sector where soon after an Arizona collector bred them. That first breeding resulted in a single live male. In the 1998/1999 season they bred again, ten babies with a high male ratio were born. Rio Bravo Reptiles did acquire a male/female pair of these boas in early 2001 from an associate here in Texas. By the winter of ‘02 the 3-1/2 year old boas had grown to 37” in length. In 2002 both myself and Graham Criglow of Bryan, TX successfully produced healthy litters of Tarahumara dwarf boas. Prior to these breedings there existed only the original 13 animals (1.1 WC original pair, 1.0 1st breeding baby and 0.0.10 2nd breeding babies) in our hobby. The pair maintained here and those previously held by Mr. Criglow (who helped with this info) are the only Tarahumara boas known to have been kept together and bred pure for their unique locality. Rio Bravo Reptiles has since acquired that breeding pair and is committed to keeping these boas alive in culture.

What is a dwarf Boa?
Genetics and food availability combine to determine the adult size of boas in captivity. A locality or form could be considered dwarf if individuals reach sexual maturity and give viable young without complication at a significantly smaller size and mass. Mainland populations of Boa constrictor properly managed mature in 3-5 years at 5 to 6 feet in length, depending upon the subspecies and to a lesser extent the locality. The imperator sub-species generally will mature earlier at a somewhat smaller size than the B. constrictor c. Some insular forms (Corn Is. as an example) can and do breed successfully at lengths just over 40”. The Tarahumara boas bred and gave birth while still less than 38” long with a mass of 1.6 kilograms.

It is not known how large the Tarahumara boas would become if fed aggressively over a period of years. However, other mainland forms of Boa managed similarly would have attained lengths of 5 feet or more in the same period of time. And deliberately rationing food to keep Boas small inhibits their ability to reproduce. The Tarahumara boas are true dwarfs.

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Newborn Dwarf or Tarahumara Mexico Boa ( Boa c. imperator )

Neonate Tarahumara boas are strongly patterned. Of particular interest are the head markings. These little babies will mature and breed at age 3 years while still less than .98 meters (38”) long.

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Orange Phase Sonoran Boa ( Boa c. imperator )
The Sonoran boas have the highest average saddle-count of all the imperator. These orange-phase examples, most likely first produced by Marcia Lincoln, are sometimes offered for sale as Hypo-Sonorans.