Hello and welcome to Gilbert Boas. My name is Shawn Gilbert. I am 48 years old, and along with my wonderful wife Helga, have three great children. Ian is the youngest followed by his sister Ashley and, of course, Christopher who is the oldest and my partner in this collaboration. Let me start off by saying make no mistake about it, Christopher is the expert in this group. He is also the networker of the pair as I'm sure you recognize him from the various forums. While I read and follow most of what goes on, I very rarely contribute to posts. I graduated high school in 1980 and left immediately for The United States Military Academy at West Point. I served on active duty with the 1st Bn 504th Parachute Infantry regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, then later in the National Guard with the 19th Special Forces Group. Upon leaving the military, I began service in the Pennsylvania State Police as a Trooper from which I retired in April of 2010. I have always been fascinated by reptiles but knew I would never have garnered parental support for any endeavor such as this. When Christopher started showing interest, I put my full support behind him, which eventually grew into what you now see as Gilbert Boas. While the focus of our collection will revolve around Boa, I cannot get away from a fascination with the growing and seemingly endless combination of Ball Python Morphs. I began raising a stable of Female Ball Pythons in 2004 and immediately started to visualize the male morphs they would be bred to based on color and pattern. Our goal will be to help refine even the most common Co-Dominant morphs by selecting the most appropriate mate. I think there has been too little emphasis on selective breeding with BP's as some have simply chosen to mass produce for the quickest and largest return for their money. I have begun to add morph males, a Graziani line Pastel (sired clutches for the past 4 consecutive years), as well as 100% het Clown and het Orange Ghost both from Ian G. of Outback Reptiles. These, too, are now proven breeders along with a spider male who has now produced for the last two years. My Genetic Stripe is a true Gem acquired from Anthony McCain and has also produced 100% Hets that I am raising to breed. Rounding out the collection are Black Pastel, Pinstripe, Mojave, Orange Ghost and Lesser Platinum Males that are breeding for the first time this year. I have bolstered my female collection with Pastels, Spiders, Poss. Het O. Ghosts and Het G-Stripes that were all produced here, but have not yet reached maturity for breeding. If a few stubborn females will pick up their appetite, I hope to produce my first double Co-Dom. mutations next year. I am also responsible for the full time colony of domestically raised rodents that are used to feed all of our animals. While there are many reputable companies available to supply the needs of the herpetoculturist, we feel more comfortable knowing for certain what goes into our animals. We hope you enjoy the various links and information sections associated with the Gilbert Boas website.