PetHobbyist.com's 11th Annual Chat Month Complete Chat Month Schedule and Transcripts Subscribe to our free email newsletters about pets and animal issues Email Address:

PHFaust: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at kingsnake.com, Jeff Clark to our 11 annual Chat Month..

PHFaust: Jeff Clark of Savannah, Georgia has been hunting and keeping and breeding snakes much of the time since his first pet snake had babies in 1964..

PHFaust: He has kept many different species and has captive-bred dozens of different ones. He has specialized in Rainbow Boas since 1989.

PHFaust: Jeff will be able to answer all your questions under the Rainbow.

Jeff Clark: Got my first Rainbow in late 60s and been hooked since

PHFaust: Jeff, when you have completed your answer, please type GA so we know to Go Ahead. Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls I present Jeff Clark

PHFaust: WOW This is an anniversary for you too!!!! Happy 20 years of Rainbows!

SilentHouse: Hi Jeff! What would you say is the best type of rainbow boa to start off a new addiction with?

Jeff Clark: Brazilian, more info available and more easy to get a matye later. ga

blackmamba1: how has the economy affected your business

Jeff Clark: No change. babies still in demand. Not sure why excpet maybe as people slow down on big ticket items they have more time and money for the little stuff. ga

ncsuboi89: so i have a carpet python (not a rainbow lol) and he was fine with being handled. all of a sudden he's like flighty and strikes. any help there?

Jeff Clark: keep handling and be brave. If you shy away it will learn that striking makes you shy away.

ncsuboi89: ugh. teeth.

Jeff Clark: I kept and bred Carpets for many years. great snakes. ga

drtim211: Is it normal for rainbows to feed irregularly? my colombian will eat normally for a few months and then will go a couple months without eating

Jeff Clark: Yes, especialy if it is a male and mature. But even babies go in spurts. Colombians overall eat much less than brazilians. ga

Monkee_nr: How do rainbows do in a rack set up?

Monkee_nr: adults I mean

Jeff Clark: Fine as long as the tubs are large enough for them. I do not breed in tubs but do keep subadults in some. ga

basuca_nr: Have you ever work with Epicrates inornatus and if so who can I contact to get a pair?

Jeff Clark: Never had inornatus. Looked for them in PR with no luck. As far as I know they are not very available. Check out rainbow boa forum the insular Epic people are posting a bunch there lately including inornatus PICs.

PHLdyPayne: I have a 3100g female Brazilian who is about 5’10” in length…is that a good weight for her? She’s pretty thick but her scales don’t look excessively stretched or anything. Just not sure if she’s getting to heavy, as this time last year she was only 2700g

Jeff Clark: That weight is okay. Sounds like she is ready to breed. If not breeding her that weight is a little heavy but only a little. ga

brick1: when are you going to finally get a clutch from your clown phase, or are you not persuasing that project?

Jeff Clark: My clown phase female has been a real PITA. Slow feeder all her life and especially approaching breeding season. AFAIK every other one from her litter has died. Possibly not a hardy strain? ga

basuca_nr: Can you export inornatus? Or were you just on vacationing in PR?

Jeff Clark: Cannot export. I was there on army assignement many years ago and only looking for some photos and to add to my lifelist.

basuca_nr: ok thnx

blackmamba1: do you still get to enjoy field herping

Jeff Clark: Not much. I hunted a bunch when young but not so much lately. Herping here in SE US has declined immensely over the last few decades. ga

Cleobear_nr: What first attracted you to the rainbows.... I would assume the colors.. And how many different ones do you keep? I had a WC columbian at one point that I could never get feeding properly

Jeff Clark: I currently have 6 subspecies and in addition bred and kept Guyanans at one time. I like the color and shne and size. Also not so commonly kept except for Brazilians and Colombians. ga

rottnbull02: which type of rainbow has the best temperment?

Jeff Clark: Excellent question and hard to answer. To people who do not know about Rainbows they have a reputation for being bitey. With brave handling they tame easily. It seems to me that perhaps Argentinians are the calmest and easiest to tame. ga

tater_nr: Are you breeding anything other than rainbows?

Jeff Clark: Right now have Surinam Redstails breeding but [erhaps only recreational sex. They bred but did not produce last year. have kept and bred lots of stuff over the years but only time and room for Rainbows and Suris now. ga ga

tater_nr: BTW liked the kingsnake that was for sale in daytona. The really mean one... truth in advertising...

Jeff Clark: Belonged to a friend. It was biting and trying to eat. Needed some work. ga

Allister_nr: Fairly new to reptiles and I have kept both corns and balls. How do rainbows compare on keeping scale? Are they a fairly basic species?

Jeff Clark: More difficult to keep than Corns or Balls.

Jeff Clark: More specific temperature and humidity requirements. If you are detail oriented and pay attention to the details they are good animals and nearly bullet proof ga

brick1: i never see you advertising anything on the classifieds other than normal brbs, are you working with any colour variations in the brazilians, or do you have any special brb projects going on?

Jeff Clark: I have het hypos that are just mature this year. I am generally not the person to ask about mor[hs. I love snakes but am not impressed with people who put too much financial emphasis on morphs. ga

rottnbull02: which is friendlier; Brazilians or Columbians?

Jeff Clark: Brazilians and COlombians have very similar temperments. babies are often bitey but easy to tame. Imported adults same way but also easy to tame if you are brave enough to bleed some letting them bite. They all tame after some brave handling. ga

Allister_nr: So is there a major difference between brazilian and columbia care wise? Im fairly anal retentive....

Allister_nr: is one easier than another

Jeff Clark: Colombians seem to be able to tolerate both higher and lower humidity and temperature and so are easier to keep healthy for someone who is not as detail oriented. On the other hand COlombians can be picky eaters. or seemingly so because they do overall eat a lot less and grow less quickly. ga

Butterball_nr: What do you consider a good cage size for a 5 foot male.... Im looking at buying one from a friend and want to get the cage first.

Jeff Clark: 36 inch commercial cages are all about the right size. Get bigger and tall if you want to display with plants and stuff. ga

Cleobear_nr: There was talk earlier in the morelia chat about variety in prey... Do rainbows do well with this? Do you try it or stick with tried and true items?

Jeff Clark: Mostly feed rodents but they will eat fowl. Most of mine get a quail at least a couple times a year. ga

Ceasar_nr: Which is more important for breeding, age or size?

Jeff Clark: Both age and size. Many Brazilians are not mature until 3.5 years old. Some at 2.5 years though. Female Brazilians need to weigh 3.5 pounds to support and lay a litter. ga

Jeff Clark: Colombians seem to mature younger and also of course smaller. ga

PHLdyPayne: Have you ever had a Brazlian rainbow ‘hold your hand’? A few years back my female, when I had her out for a few minutes (took her out to clean the cage and was on my way to put her into a holding cage) slowly reached over and bit the last two fingers on my right hand and held on. She wasn’t biting hard, just enough to puncture the skin. But what surprised me is she just held on. Though when I starting moving she did bite down hard till I pryed her mouth off. In the past when she bit it was a quick strike and release so found this rather odd.

Jeff Clark: Yes, I think they think we are food sometimes and take a finger like they take a dead rodent. Other species do it more than Rainbows though. ga

rottnbull02: which type of species stays the smallest?

Jeff Clark: Of the Rainbows my Campina Grandes have stayed the smallest. Guyanans are only a little larger though. Not sure about hygrophilus ot xerophilus. though. ga

brick1: im guessing your money and morphs answer before was probably directed at me, as you know i have amassed myself quite a collection of brb morphs. But i just wondered what you had, cos as far as i know you have probably seen more different brb phases than anyone else. You obviously love the normal phase, do you have any desire to see what is possible with the brbs morph wise though? an irredescent white rainbow for example, you must be intrigued?

Jeff Clark: Intrigued with the snake? Yes, of course. If someone has one they will want a bazillion dollars for it and that will bring greedy bastards into the hobby like some of those BP breeders who know nothing about any snake excpet their morph BP. And not directed at you Dave. I understand your desires and effort that is going tinto your collection. ga

Jeff Clark: Back to earlier question. My favorite morph is the albino Colombian Rainbows

Ceasar_nr: Do you find that waiting helps with clutch size and vitality?

Jeff Clark: yes, bigger females produce bigger litters and have less problem delivering them. ga

Kerry_nr: What do you feel is the biggest mistake people make with rainbows?

Jeff Clark: Biggest mistake is easy. People who know about and keep Boa COnstrictors or Pythons try to keep Rainbow Boas as hot and dry. It is a serious problem. At shows I have lots of people tell me that their Rainbow died the first few weeks they had it ga

brick1: speaking of the bigger females producing, what is the biggest rainbow that you have seen, weight wise, and what is the smallest size you have seen a female breed at. (i dont mean in age, ie if you had a 5yr female, at 1400grams, would she produce) kinda of thing

Jeff Clark: Largest Rainbows I have seen are imported Brazilian females back 15 to 20 years ago. Some approaching 7.5 feet and dealers talk about bigger ones.

Jeff Clark: They are skinny imported new but fatren up easily.

casperpython_nr: does any one know about texas laws consening reptiles

Jeff Clark: I have seen female BRBS lay at just 3 pounds totoal weight. ga

rottnbull02: do you have a website? and if so, what is the address?

Jeff Clark: My website died. LOL. Thinking about doing another one. There are some really good ones out there. Try the other forum sponsors on kingnske.com Rainbow Boa forum. ga

Ironmaiden64: jeff do you know much about chamealons?

Jeff Clark: I know they are beautiful and labor intensive. ga

Cleobear_nr: I think BRB are fairly under-rated... Do you get that impression? Personally I dont think that they really need morphs, but I think less people look at them as pets... I often wonder why

Jeff Clark: Yes, I do think Rainbows especially the lesser known subspecies are underrated.

Jeff Clark: It is a little strange but many Rainbow Boa mor[phs have not done well overall and so the development of multiple morphs has gone slowly and so that has had some effect on lack of interest in Rainbows. ga

Butterball_nr: Do yuo have any suggestions on creating a naturalistic vage?

Jeff Clark: Butterball. There are a couple people on the Rainbow Boa forum who keep in beautiful cages with plantings

Jeff Clark: Ask them to post PICs and they will impres with their knowledge of the plants that look nice and do well in high humidity with low ventilation ga

brick1: what humidity level do you keep your adults at? and what size cages do you keep your female breeders at, ie their laying cages?

Jeff Clark: Adult females are two to a cage in 36 and 48 inch cages. The smaller adults around 5.5 feet in the 36 inchers and large 6 foot + adults in the 48 inchers.

brick1: with how much height, and do you provide branches climbing space?

Jeff Clark: Adult cages range from 50% at times to as high as 100%. Like our friend Dave C says. If you see fog on the inside of the glass sometimes that is good. ga

Jeff Clark: My cages are 15 and 18 inches high. The snakes do climb on top of inverted flowerpot hiding spots. ga

Jeff Clark: No branches, but only because so many cages and keeping them clean can be an issue ga

gfx: Do you think red is a naturally occurring color phase of Brazilians or is the red more likely attributed to a Peruvian influence?

Jeff Clark: Red is definitely naturally occuring. I have seen recent imports from Surinam area that were high red. ga

rottnbull02: is there a way that i can contact you if i have any other questions at a later date? if not is there anybody that you suggest? what are some very good breeders that you know of?

Jeff Clark: Everyone I know who breeds Rainbow Boas is good people. be careful buying snakes at a show. Some people who look and talk like breeders are actually just wheeler dealers ga

Jeff Clark: My email jclarksnakes@comcast.net

Jeff Clark: Thank you to everyone for good questions and tolerating my poor typing.

natsamjosh: Thanks. Hey Jeff, have you heard anything new about the re-classification of the cenchria subspecies?

PHLdyPayne: There is also the rainbow boa forum at http://forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=189

Jeff Clark: I have not heard anything recnt. My guess is that like all reclassifications thay have run into academics who are argueing about the details. Maybe already done and I not know about it though.

Sunshine: Thanks Jeff. You continue to be an inspiration to the Rainbows.

Jeff Clark: Thank you Linda.

PHFaust: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us here at kingsnake.com, Thank You for taking your time to chat with us. Transcripts will be posted with in a few days. Once again, Thank you Jeff!

PHFaust: While Jeff doesn't have a website, he can always be found at the Kingsnake Rainbow Boa Forum http://forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=189

brick1: cheers jeff for taking the time to talk to us

gfx: thanks Jeff.