re: Is there anything trashier than being the owner of a pet snake?

Used to carpool with a coworker that said when he was in grad school, tight funds meant he had to live in the hood. Walked around in the evenings with his python around his neck, never had to worry about a break-in. The natives in the area were all deathly afraid of snakes. Won't even talk about how he fed the snake on a tight budget.

I can’t think of any

how does a snake interact? can it turn over and you can rub its belly?

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Any pics of the rainbow boa?

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Mine is hypomelanistic. I'm not really a big fan of hypos - especially in a snake like this. The hypos' colors are muted, and you're buying a snake like this for the colors. But I was in the mood to buy a snake, was looking online at a few, but ran across this little guy at one of the reptile shows - and it was the dealer I bought my carpets and my tree python from (a Houston exotics dealer). I almost passed on him but finally relented because I was just ready to buy something that day. They make very nice pets. They are attractive, docile, and they like to hang out in the water bowl so they're not hidden most of the day. And they don't get too big like some boas. I'm very conscientious about size - all of my snakes will max out around the size of a large rat snake, just a little thicker. I don't want the hassle of feeding and cleaning up after a 12 foot snake.

The carpet pythons are awesome though. While they have a reputation for being nippy early on, mine weren't at all. They are very tame and very active at night. They love to hang out as high as possible in the cage and make use of every vine and limb in their cages. They eat well, don't get too large, and they just aren't as common as ball pythons. I get sick of looking at the dozens and dozens of ball python morphs at the reptile shows. Carpets only recently started getting popular, and the morphs only started popping on the scene in the last 5-10 years.

If you consider getting a rainbow boa, buying online is the way to go. They are kind of hard to find at reptile shows and pet shops. I was leary about buying online, but was forced to for my diamond python. They shipped it FedEx and it arrived safely with no problems. This is the site I use to find most of my snakes... LINK

ETA: If you live in an area that has reptile shows, most of the dealers there are only bringing a small portion of their stock, and only what sells most frequently. If you find something online, you can arrange for them to bring it to the reptile show for pickup if they are going to be there. That's what I did with some of mine from S & S Exotics out of Houston.

Oh, and as far as care for the rainbow boas, they are a little demanding but not too bad. Any exotic like this does need good temperature control. Since I have nice big enclosures, I mount a ceiling radiant heat panel in the cages and link it to an electronic thermostat. You also have to keep the humidity up. You can use automatic misters and also control the humidity via the electronic thermostat, but I just use a spray bottle and mist the cages daily. My carpet pythons are easier to care for - they shed perfectly every time. The green tree python is a bitch. My cages have small air holes to help keep the humidity up, but even if I keep it very high when I know a shed is coming, the green tree python still sheds in fragments almost every time. Often I have to soak him and pull some off by hand. The rainbow boa lies somewhere in between. Sometimes he sheds completely, sometimes it's fragmented, but he always gets it all off by himself. And I'm going on 4 years for my oldest snakes and none have ever had any illnesses (except for one case of mites on the gtp when I first got him). But no respiratory illnesses despite the humidity requirements.