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Someone sell me on rosy boas

Big Borg Reptiles

Big Borg Reptiles

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As the title says, I need some convincing to get into rosy boas. I notice there's a lot of locality stuff and I'm not a big locality person, so I feel like maybe that's a deal breaker?

What are the positives and negatives with these guys? I'm trying to diversify a bit so I can see what species I'm really into, because I feel like most new animals I work with I end up falling in love. It seems like these guys are pretty popular so I figure there must be a reason.

Let me hear your thoughts!
 
I received my first ever rosy boas recently. (A limburg snow male and an albino het snow female)

Before I sought those guys out, I wasn't a huge fan of Rosy's because they don't get that big and their head looks weird. They look more like worms than snakes to me. But I can safely say I adore my rosy boas now and I feel wrong for judging a book by its cover lol

The only experience I have with them is the ones I have, but for mine, they are GREAT eaters and they are NOT SHY at ALL. They immediately took to handling, they are not afraid or shy. They were both live eaters for the breeder but immediately took frozen thawed from me. Also their looks are growing on me, little by little lol

I just adore all white snakes, so limburg snows was an easy choice for me. Whenever I do start breeding, I plan to only focus on Specific species/locality's/morphs I like. So with the rosy's, I really love the snows and plan to only produce snows. Same with boas, I plan to produce snow BCI's. I also am going to produce Caulker Cay locality boas. I plan on only focusing on my favorites.
 
Also for your viewing pleasure is my little pink male and my female perfectly coiling her mouse pinkie
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I'm not a huge fan of white snakes personally but I like the color/pattern on the albino. I agree, there's something about their face that isn't particularly appealing to me lol.

I had someone offer me a pair of het albino rosies in a trade but turned it down because I didn't know anything about them. I just dont want to limit myself on what animals I get because I might be missing out on something I really enjoy. I figure maybe if i have some idea what to expect it will convince me to add them to my list
 
Rosy's aren't for everyone. Rosy's can be really mellow or really nippy , If you're into high dollar morphs without a care where the original stock was found... these probably aren't for you and you wont make millions with rosy's, but enough to pay for your mice and a couple new locality's a year is very doable
That being said if you are a fan of naturally occurring variations over a relatively small portion of the world it doesn't get any better. After several years of breeding different species for the last 10 years i almost exclusively breed rosy's and wouldn't have it any other way. For me to go travel down into their habitat once or twice a year (rarely seeing wild individuals) looking at how they live and spending time in several of their locality's here and Mexico i have a great appreciation for them.
I really like the tight nit group of locality rosy fanciers, we are a little fanatical about our locality's but not as bad as those grey band guys.
I think the best example i can give is to go onto the localityrosys website and look at the localitys page, if the variations there move you this may be a uncontrollable addiction for you, or... Meh these little slugs are weird and move on.
 
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Harold of the Rocks said:

I really like the tight nit group of locality rosy fanciers, we are a little fanatical about our locality's but not as bad as those grey band guys.
Click to expand...

I lol'd at this part. I'm definitely not looking into them as a "get-rich-quick" scheme, I'm just interested in branching out into some species that I haven't worked with before to see how much they appeal to me. Breeding is one of the biggest joys I get out of owning reptiles so that's obviously going to be a part of it, but having snakes that I enjoy working with is more important to me than making a buck.

I'll check out that site and see if any of them really stand out to me, thanks for the heads up.
 
carpetXchick said:
What about carpets....lol

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Click to expand...

Haha. You know, I guarantee I'll end up buying some again down the road. I recently traded for a couple KSBs even though I didn't think I'd get those again. I start to miss the different species after a while.
 
Haha that's awesome. I was just giving you a hard time. They are all doing great btw. I have never seen the appeal of the rosy's, like someone else said they remind me of worms which I'm terrified of lol. But, it's very possible they are a awesome species and you will never know if you don't try. I'd say do the research, and if they sound appealing enough, get one or two and try em out.

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I love my Rosie's. I have several, and only one is a nipper. They are slower moving, easy to house and feed, and I like their looks. Their facial stipling is very pretty and unique to individuals. Some have more "cheekbone structure" than others, and some have a wider face... so they are no more identical than all normal BP's or all classic corns. As for the nipper, they don't fast strike the way balls do, it's almost in slo-mo. Lol. I see him moving his head into biting position and just shift his little self right around. He's nailed me twice - tiny pinpricks, a dot of blood, and I used a q-tip to disengage his little teeth. He gave me a head-cocked look, like "You mean you aren't dinner?" Very cute boy.
 
Ive been looking at rosy boas for awhile now as well. I love my sand boas, I assume they are similiar in personality? The prices of some of the localities is a bit off putting though.
I kick myself for not getting one I saw on CR for 50 bucks, it would have been a good starting point.
 
As someone who keeps both sand boas and rosy boas, I'd say that they are in some ways similar but the rosy boas tend to be more active and visible in the enclosure. As far as expense goes, some localities can be had for as little as $50-$65. Few non-morph animals cost more than $150 as hatchlings. The morphs are pretty cool though. I'm raising an albino Harquahala litter right now.
 
I've had rosy boas for about 20 years, Kenyan sand boas for about 15.

Apart from their habitat (I actually have caged mine together for over a decade), there isn't much similar in their temperaments. Kenyans are very shy, sometimes skittish, and generally don't feel comfortable out in the open. Rosy boas are very mellow, almost impossible to spook. I've had them hang out on the couch for over an hour, making no real effort to hide or escape. Both are infrequent biters, with most incidents being feeding related. But rosy boas are definitely more known for "latching on" so its critical that they be regularly handled to get them used to not associating your scent with feeding time.

As for pets, I can't particularly recommend Kenyans, they're gorgeous but not really "handling" snakes. Rosies IMO are top of the list for casual snake owners - very docile, very easy to care for, very hardy, fairly low priced.

If you get one, don't be in a rush. Get your cage and equipment set up, and don't skimp (its mostly a one time expense, buy right the first time). Then wait for a local reptile show in your area, or search around for a local breeder. NOTHING beats examining the animal in person, getting its background, and talking with a breeder in person.
 
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Thanks, local breeders and reptile shows are just about non existence here, we are pretty rural. The one yearly reptile show thats within driving distance Ive been to a couple times and its really a let down, mostly ball pythons and crested geckos. Ive got time to decide but wish I could see one in person.
 
If you need convincing, rosies might not be for you. Rosey boas are the most naturally sweet tempered snakes that I can think of. I love how they look. I also love how they feel. I recently caught a young specimen locally. Just picked it up and fell in love. I have a limited amount of space available for my pet snakes. So I had to make a decision. But first, I wanted to make sure she would transition to captivity and eat for me. She did! after only a couple days, I offered her a frozen/thawed pinky and she took it! When she sees me, she often comes to the front glass. When I open the front glass, she comes out onto my hand on her own, and seems to enjoy being handled. If I didn't see all this for myself, I probably wouldn't believe it. So I made the decision to sell my Dominican Red Mountain Boa in favor of my new rosey boa! That's my rosie boa story.
 
I find it interesting that people have been bitten by Rosy Boas. I have picked up over a dozen of them in the wild for photos while rock flipping and night cruising over the years and have never had one try to strike. Same goes for captive bred specimens that I have maintained as pets. Perhaps the people who have been bitten have the scent of a furry pet on their hands. I did see one of my Rosy Boas strike at the dog once.

Rosy Boas are slow moving and maybe a little boring, but I like their modest size and mellow demeanor. They seem to enjoy handling and because of their seemingly slow metabolism they eat about 1/3rd less than most Colubrid species I have owned.
 
As for rosy boas biting, I think it is usually more of a latch on and try to swallow, more than an actual "Striking" bite. The first meal (and many subsequent meals) offered to most captive bred rosy boas are thawed pinky mice. take a look at your pinky finger. I think it can easily be mistaken for a pinky mouse by a young rosy. Your skin is warm and feels like a hairless mouse! In the wild, I assume that young rosy boas are not offered perfectly sized pinky mice. I think this nipiness can be attributed mostly to younger rosy boas. They usually grow out of it. (Not always.) it has also been my experience that wild specimens almost never bite when handled. And I agree that it is always a good idea to wash any mouse smell off your hands before handling ANY snake. Just like you should wash the snake smell off your hands after handling your rosy boa and before handling your king snake! How lucky are we here in Southern California to have two of the best pet snakes living locally in the wild - Rosy Boas and California Kingsnakes.
 
4 out of my 10 rosy boas are very bitey. It's not a defensive thing, it's a feeding thing. These 4 will attempt to bite nearly 100% of the time.
 
I'll add that two of these four are adults, so they do not necessarily grow out of it.
 
Rosy boas are not the smartest snakes I've kept, but they are among the most food-directed; in combination, dumb and hungry equals bitey. :)

No, they don't grow out of it -- I've noticed that if anything it gets worse, especially in breeding age females. I have thirteen rosies currently, and seven will bite every time (all my orcutti but one), and a couple of the others will if I don't pay attention.

I never handle rodents before handling any snakes that may bite. It is a simple order-of-operations routine to do snake care first, rodent care last.
 
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