CREATURE FEATURE : A Rainbow of Snakes

Fanciers of exotic pets have felt a bit frustrated lately: Tightened federal restrictions have made certain tropical fish and birds illegal and others very expensive. But Southern Californians have latched onto an indigenous alternative--the rosy boa. The three- to five-foot-long snakes come in a rainbow of colors, or “phases,” many named for local terrain--bright orange stripes and a blue body (the Azusa phase) to long gold stripes on gray body (the Corona phase).

I met my friend Dave Morafka’s new love, a rosy named Floyd. “What a cutie pie,” he says, sticking his finger in the cage. It bites him. So much for requited romance.

Fortunately, Floyd’s nonpoisonous, which is one of the reasons that ever since the state legalized the breeding of rosy boas last year, business has been booming. “Twenty years ago, people didn’t know what they were,” says Morafka. “Now half the pet shops in L.A. have them.”

As snakes go, they’re economical--most cost about $50 and they only need one mouse a week. And, Floyd’s love-bite notwithstanding, rosies are very friendly--unlike many snakes, they like to be held. “They’re real sensual,” says Morafka, “real lap snakes.”