Is my boa a BCI or BCC and how do you tell?

[VoodooChile]

Ok, so boa pros...how do you tell if your boa is a BCC or a BCI??

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[deadliestformula]

Boa constrictor Imperator (BCI) have 253 ventral scales (or less) and a midbody scale count of 55-79. 21 or more dorsal blotches (saddles).

Boa constrictor constrictor's (BCC) have 234 to 250 ventral scales and a midbody scale count of 89-95. Less than 20 dorsal blotches.

Redtailboas.com - Amazing Boas and the Ultimate Care Guide


Also the 'peaks'. The Bcc have more prevelent peaks.

That is my knowledge on the subject. Although when I first got into a discussion about BCC vs BCI when I joined here, JS said to read up on the different localities, and examine pictures of the types and sooner or later it would just sink in. Like the way a person recognizes the differences between a Doberman and a German Shepard. Sooner or later you just learn to identify the differences and they will become so obvious that you won't believe you didn't see them before.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[LdyDrgn]

Scale counts are a good indicator. But scale counts from a pic can be quite difficult, lol. Dorsal blotch, or saddle, counts are not reliable, neither are peaks. Some Bcc do not have any peaks, and there are a few Bci with them.

Color, overall pattern, head shape... these are a good way to tell. Let me get pics of our adopted cross and I will post him, our Peruvian Bcc and a Bci.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[LdyDrgn]

ok, I had pics of our cross already, silly me, lol.

This is a Bci:



This is a Bcc (Peruvian):



This is a cross between a Guyanan Bcc and a Central American Bci:



It takes a while of looking at them before you can glance at one and make an educated guess about its subspecies... a little more time before you can nail down the exact locale.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[danktat]

This scale count chart was posted at a different boad by Tom (who also posts here)...Perhaps this will help for different ssp.

Hi,

Here are the scale counts for you.

BCC
scale counts - 75 to 95 dorsal rows.
227 to 250 ventrals.
49 to 62 subcaudals.
Average 15 to 21 saddles.

BCI
scale counts - 56 to 79 dorsal rows.
225 to 253 ventrals.
47 to 65 subcaudals.
Average 22 to 30 saddles.

BCA ( Amaral Boa)
scale counts - 71 to 79 dorsal rows.
226 to 237 ventrals.
43 to 52 subcaudals.
Average 22 saddles.

BCL (Longicauada)
scale counts - 60 to 76 dorsal rows.
243 to 247 ventrals.
50 to 67 subcaudals.
Average 19 to 21 saddles.

BCO (Occidentalis)
scale counts - 65 to 87 dorsal rows.
242 to 251 ventrals.
45 subcaudals.
Average 22 to 30 saddles.


Take care
Tom

I even left his sig in the post as to make sure credit was given where it was due

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[LdyDrgn]

Quite a bit of overlap there, too....

[danktat]

Originally Posted by LdyDrgn

Quite a bit of overlap there, too....

Of course there is...lol...they are all basically the same animal with slight variations brought about from adaptation to a particular environment. We all know the true answer to the question is that you CANNOT really be percise when id'ing an animal without knowing it's origins. The saddle counts, scale counts, head shape, cloloration, tail color and all the other stuff that we use are just there to give us an "educated guess" as to origin. With crosses (for which there are many now days) the overlap can be even more pronounced. What looking a characteristics does is gives us a best guess as to where we think it came from and what ssp those characteristics best represents.