Herpetoculture
Boa Constrictors
Nathaniel McClain II
Communication Physics
Florida State University
Boa Constrictors
•
•
•
•
•
Temperament and Handling
Housing
Food and Water
Growth
Reproduction
Boa Constrictors
* Boa Constrictors tend to be very
easy-going snakes, although I have
been told that first-time handlers
should not choose a Red-Tail Boa for
a pet!
Temperament and Handling
• If a boa constrictor is in
a bad mood, the head
and neck usually are
thrown back in an Scurve and the animal
may hiss long and very
loudly.
• It is not hard to tell
when a boa constrictor
wishes to be left alone.
After biting, the snake
may let go immediately
or clamp down with its
jaws and coil tightly
around anything
available.
Temperament and Handling
• Here is a Red Tail Boa
constrictor that has
coiled it’s tail around
itself. This boa looks
to be no more than a
year old.
• The boa in which we
will see today is
around 3 years of age.
Temperament and Handling
• Holding the animal’s
head under a running
tap may convince it to
release its hold.
Otherwise, a flat card
or blade must be
forced between one of
the jaws and whatever
it is biting.
• Boa Constrictors seem
to become more
familiar with people as
a result of handling
and so are less likely
to bite if taken out of
their cages every now
and then.
Housing
• Cages or aquariums made
with wood, plastic,
fiberglass, etc. serve well
for boa constrictors. No
screen should be used for
the top or anywhere else
in the cage. Some snakes
may rub their noses on the
screen until they develop
abrasions and infections.
Housing
Much controversy exist over what to
put in the cage besides the snake. In
general, keep the interior of the cage
as simple as possible, since it
facilitates cleaning, changing water,
and taking the snake out of the cage.
Food and Water
• This snake swallowing
this egg is the equivalent
to a human swallowing a
watermelon. A snake’s
jaws are only loosely
joined to it’s skull by
ligaments which are very
strong---so the jaw act as
one solid structure during
the bite.
Food and Water
• How big a prey can a snake eat?
• It is the diameter of the prey and not its
weight that limits their edibility to snakes.
Some snakes can’t open their mouths very
wide because their skulls are more solidly
fused together, e.g., blindsnakes which can
only eat soft or thin prey like worms and
insect larvae.
Food and Water
• Snake eating a deer. A snake is capable of
eating such large prey because their (glottis)
protrudes to the edge of their mouth.
Growth
• Growth rates over
time are a great deal
messier than the
length-weight
relationship, since
growth is affected
strongly by
temperature, amount
of food, sex, and
probably the snake’s
origin.
• Females continue to
grow to much larger
sizes, and their data
points indicate that a
maximum has not
been reached by
sixteen years of age.
Growth
• Both snakes in this picture are about 6 feet
long.
Reproduction
•
Males may be distinguished from
females by their greater
development of the “spurs”,
proportionately longer and fatter
tails. To find whether a snake is a
male or female, you would have to
use a certain technique. This
technique involves catching the
base of the tail between the thumb
tip and index finger, applying light
pressure, and pulling the tail
through the opening. In males,
blood seems to get caught in the
hemipenes within the tail and the
heads of the hemipenes can be
palpated as they pass beneath the
thumb tip. Nasty!
El Fin