My Fascination with Boas

I can't explain why it started but my parents can tell you that I was catching critters as soon as I could walk. I spent much of youth hunting, catching, studying, and caring for animals. On any warm day, I could be heard leaving the house saying "Mom, I'm going creek huntin' ". My buddy and I would spend all day capturing things. At one time, we had a collection that included over 100 turtles and about 20 snakes. We would charge neighborhood kids to come visit our "zoo". We also caught a fox, opossum, raccoon, rabbits, squirrels, etc. We quickly learned that wild-caught mammals were difficult to acclimate to captivity so we focused on herps. However, of all the animals I was exposed to, boa constrictors became my fascination. My parents surprised me with my first boa when I was 7 years old. I named him/her (?) "Sniper". I raised Sniper to adulthood and

eventually ran out of cage space so I sold him to a local breeder. I went a couple years without a boa but I would go to pet stores and see one and get the urge to buy it. Finally, one day, I found one in a pet shop that was in rough shape. I felt so sorry for it that I bought it and named him "Blake".

Blake was very thin and his skin looked horrible. I took Blake to a vet and it turned out that he had mouth rot. I learned how to administer shots of medication and swab the teeth and gums of an adult boa. I learned then just how amicable and tolerant these creatures can be. I was able to nurse Blake back to health. With my parent's permission, I converted half my closet into a cage that had 6' of vertical space (I really need to find a picture of that one). I kept Blake through high school, but unfortunately there was no one to care for him when I left for college so I had to sell Blake. I was unable to keep a boa in a dorm room so I went without for a few years. Finally, when I got married and moved to an apartment, I bought a baby female boa.

I named her "Syd". I raised Syd for almost 7 years. She made three moves with us including a journey to Massachusetts and back.

Finally when the second baby came, we were running out of space and time and no one liked having the large constrictor around the babies. Reluctantly, I sold Syd in 1995. With three young children and both parents working full-time, I was unable to keep any pets for a few years, but I kept the cages just in case. We certainly caught reptiles in the backyard and I began to educate my children about them. Well, in 1999, I decided to take the kids to the local exotic animal show. This was my big mistake. I had no idea how large the hobby was. All along, I thought it was just me and a few friends who were isolated weirdos with a love for snakes. Well, things progressed fast from there. I bought a Dumeril's boa and a couple of sand boas. In 2000, I was able to convince my wife that we should take a vacation and drive to Daytona Beach for the National Show. I came back with 1.1 BCI and 1.2 BCC. The rest of the story is a sick tale of weakness and addiction. You can visit the "Collection" page to see the results.

Currently, my profession and occupation is science teaching and my hobbies involve computers & snakes. All of these facts officially earn me the joint titles of "geek" and "weirdo". I keep 6-8 animals in my classroom at school. I started a Reptile Club to educate students about these wonderful creatures. They learn proper husbandry and we visit the Raleigh Reptile Show.

I also like to take animals into the classrooms at my children's elementary school (with the teacher's permission of course). The enthusiasm and questions are phenomenal. It is amazing to see the lack of fear in the children compared to the widespread phobia that exists among the adults in our society. What happens? In the following photo, you can see one of my sons helping me educate his first grade class about boas. See more outreach activities....

These majestic creatures are certainly an important part of my life. I try to share my enthusiasm in positive ways. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to work with these animals. I worry about their foothold in the wild. Wild populations of boa constrictors are under extreme pressure due to loss of habitat. I sometimes wonder if my captive animals would have a richer life in the wild. I think the answer to that has to be yes but it also comes with a much higher risk of early death. I hope that I am providing them with a good quality of life. They certainly seem well-adjusted and happy.