BlumenBoas Links, Articles, and Helpful Info

BlumenBoas Links, Articles, and Helpful Info

Here are a few of my favorite web sites that can help answer various questions, have great pictures of the various kinds of boas out there, and are a terrific place to talk with like minded boa enthusiasts! I have no affiliation with any of these web sites, I have just found them to be very useful:

www.reptileinsider.com - This forum, run by Ed Lilley of Constrictors Northwest, has an excellent group of people and it is a great resource for information. Ed also makes some terrific cages - Pro-Line cages.

www.kingsnake.com - This website, run by Jeff Barringer, has a boa forum which is a terrific resource for information. I have saved some forum posts over the past few years that I thought were informational or entertaining to me, or might be to someone else in the future. There also is a large classifieds section on kingsnake.

www.redtailboas.com - This forum, run by Clay English, has a great community of boa enthusiasts along with a very well done boa care guide - a must read! I highly recommend this forum for the wealth of information and the wonderful, willing to help user base.

www.faunaclassifieds.com - This forum, run by Rich Zuchowski, has a section called the Board of Inquiry (BOI). This is a place where you can inquire about a breeder, company, or person to see if they have had problems with customers in the past. For the most part it is a good place to look for references before buying your reptile from someone. Be sure to use the search function before posting an inquiry about someone. There is a classifieds section as well.

Here are a list of suppliers that I personally use for various items:

www.bigcheeserodents.com - Great service, high quality selection of rats, and terrific packaging. I highly recommend them!

www.superiorshippingsupplies.com - I order my shipping supplies from this company.

www.bigappleherp.com - Big Apple has a terrific selection of herp related supplies, and they have excellent customer service.

www.lllreptile.com - LLL Reptile is another company that has a terrific selection of herp related supplies and great customer service.

Degei Husbandry Database - a great computer program to keep track of your boas and their husbandry.

www.uline.com - I order the corrugated wrap that I use for liners in my cages from Uline.

Pro-line Cages - I use Ed Lilley's cages and they are excellent! They are EXTREMELY easy to clean, and the workmanship is incredible. I really like the white cages as they let a little natural light into the cages. Ed has terrific customer service as well - you can't go wrong with his cages that's for sure!

www.visionproducts.us - I ordered my baby rack from Vision Products. Not only was it a breeze to put together, it has worked well. Their customer service is terrific as well.

www.boaphileplastics.com - Jeff Ronne makes quality cages that work well for housing your boas. I have a stack of 6-foot Boaphiles that are able to be made into 3 foot cages if needed.

www.cagesbydesign.com - I use Cages By Design cages to house some of my boas. They work great, and if you're interested in buying a Cages By Design cage (they're unfortunately not cheap), feel free to email me for some tips on why they work for me.

Here is a list of links to boa caresheets that I have found on the internet. I advise taking a look at all of them and keep in mind that many of the caresheets you find on the internet have a few items that might be incorrect or outdated.

Red Tail Boas General Care Guide - I believe this is one of the best care guides out there that covers pretty much everything. Definitely start with this one!

Melissa Kaplan's Red-Tail Boa Care - Melissa has a lot of great information in her care guide as well as the rest of her site. Spend a few hours on her website, it's time well spent!

VPI Common Boa Constrictors Information and Care - Dave and Tracy have years of experience keeping boas, and this is a terrific care sheet on the proper care of boas.

Rio Bravo Reptiles Care Sheet (for BCC's)

Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians - Find a vet in your area that specializes in herps!

Reptile Emergency Preparations - How to be prepared for emergencies if you own a reptile.

Books that cover general care and other information on boas:

The Boa Constrictor Manual by Philippe de Vosjoli, Roger K. Dum, Jeff Ronne - you should be able to find this excellent book at most major pet store chains or on Amazon. It also includes the breeding information that was published in the Reptiles Magazine in 1996 by Jeff Ronne.

The Reproductive Husbandry of Pythons and Boas by Richard Ross and Gerald Marzec - This out of print book (published in 1990) is a terrific resource that is a must have. You can usually find copies on Ebay for sale.

Designer Morphs by John Berry - This book has incredible pictures and covers just about every boa and python morph out there.

The Complete Boa Constrictor by Vincent Russo - The name of the book says it all. Vin Russo has traveled all over the world viewing boas in their natural habitat. This book is a great resource to learn more about locale specific boas from a man who knows a lot about them.

Reptile Medicine and Surgery by Douglas Mader

Reptile Care: An Atlas of Diseases and Treatments by Fredric L. Frye

Here is a list of links to articles for some great information. I take no responisibility if you follow any of the advice in the following webpages, I'm merely providing links to help others find information:

Inclusion Body Disease (IBD) by Melissa Kaplan - Melissa has some great information and links to other IBD articles.

Another excellent article/paper on IBD

Forum post by BW Smith about IBD wiping out his collection of boas

Follow up forum post by BW Smith about IBD wiping out his collection of boas

The Life History of Snake Mites - VPI.com

Mites: What to do about them

Genetics Wizard

Reptile Genetics (NERD)

Redtailboas.com forum thread - What do you get when you breed what with what...

Genetics 101 (VMSherp.com)

Genetics 201 (VMSherp.com)

Genetics 301 (VMSherp.com)