Boa Constrictor Snakes

Boa Constrictor Snakes

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Boa Constrictor Snakes - Natural History

Picture source:
George's Herpetological Home Page © 2001
George Knaack

Boa Constrictors belong to the family Boidae, which includes 5 genera of boas, 3 genera of sand boas, 8 genera of pythons. Some of the Boa Constrictor species are less than 1 meter; others are the largest snakes in the world.

Boa Constrictors are also called "Red-Tail Boas." Pet stores and snake aficionados use this name to detract people's attention from their proper name that can sound threatening. Many, but not all Boa Constrictors are red-tailed. Mostly Boa Constrictors are imported from Brazil, Columbia, Amazon, Guyana, and Surinam. In South America they are kept as house pets to kill rats. Nowadays Boa Constrictors are very popular as house pets.

Boa Constrictor Snakes - Taxonomy

Order: Squamata;
Family: Boidae;
Genus: Boa;
Species: constrictor constrictor.

Picture source:
George's Herpetological Home Page © 2001
George Knaack

Boa Constrictor Snakes - Distribution

Boa Constrictors range from the high cloud forests to the dry lowlands. They are frequently found near human habitation, because of rodents and other small animals quantity. Boas are terrestrial and arboreal creatures.

Length: about 10 feet, occasionally up to 15 feet.
Weight: over 50 pounds.
life Span: over 30 years.

Boa Constrictor Snakes - Description

Boa Constrictors are sandy brown with chocolate brown marks on the back. Some species have red tail. Boas possess keen sense of smell to detect the prey. They kill the prey by coiling around and suffocating rather than crushing. Boa Constrictors' jaws can be stretched far apart, enabling them to swallow animals, which are larger than their head.