Boa Constrictors: Colombians, True Red-Tails and many other large South American Boas

Latin Name - Boa constrictor.

Currently Available For Sale Online

Quick Reference
Size	8-10 ft
Life span	30+ years
Hot Spot Cold Side	100º 80º
Temperament	Easily Tamed
UVB Needs	None
Diet	Rodents
Origin	South America
Habitat	Tropical
Special Needs	Enjoy Frequent Interaction

General Information: Wild Boas (Boa constrictor) are found throughout central and south america. Most of the boa constrictors in the pet trade are descendants from the variety found in Colombia and central america, often called Colombian or Central American Boas (Both are B. c. imperator). There are many other boas available as well, most of which are the same species but different subspecies because they have evolved into a variety of colors, patterns and sizes depending on their native locality. Some other popular varieties that are often commonly available are True Red-tail Boas from Peru, Guyana, Colombia and Suriname (All are B. c. constrictor), Island Boas such as the Hog Island Boa or the Cay Caulker Boa (Both are B. c. imperator) and Argentine Boas (Boa constrictor occidentalis). Boas are generally found in the humid jungles that exist throughout south and central america, surviving mainly on a diet of rodents and birds. Most boas reach sizes around 8 ft but there are varieties that range in adult size from 4 ft (Central American Boas) to as much as 12+ feet (True Red-tails). Boas can live as long as 30 years with record ages being as high as 40.

Housing: A twenty gallon terrarium is an excellent starter size for a baby boa. This size tank will last about a year. Most boas ultimately will need a cage six feet long and about 15-24 inches high. Smaller boas, such as the Central American Boa or the Cay Caulker Boa, can be kept in a smaller four foot long terrarium.

Heating: The ambient air temperature in a boa enclosure should be between 80-85 degrees F during the day. At night, the enclosure should not be allowed to drop lower than 78 degrees. The basking spot should be 95-100 degrees. As long as your boa is in a room where it is light enough to have a day and night cycle, fluorescent lighting is not necessary. Heat bulbs or ceramic heat emitters are usually best for daytime lighting. Heat pads, nocturnal bulbs, ceramic heat emitters or a combination of the three can be used at night. For more details on heating options see our Heating and Lighting FAQ.

Feeding: When feeding your boa, it is a good idea to have a separate feeding cage. This can simply be a plastic shoe box for small ones or a larger Rubbermaid® container for adults. It is also best to leave the feeding cage free of bedding to prevent accidental ingestion. Snakes who are routinely fed in their terrariums will develop feeding responses and may go for your nice warm hand reaching in, thinking that it’s food instead. Having a separate feeding cage will eliminate this unpleasant possibility. Baby boas should start off eating large fuzzy mice. After a few feedings, they can graduate to adult mice. It is best to feed one to two mice once a week when they are young. A good rule to keep in mind is to purchase prey animals that are about the same to slightly larger girth as the largest part of the snake. When the boa is two or three feet long, it is usually time to switch to small rats. Adult Red Tails will eat at least a jumbo rat and many will eventually eat small-medium rabbits or guinea pigs. Young adults can be fed every other week one or two prey items. Large adults can eat every two or three weeks depending on how big the meal is.

Pre-killed versus live food: Most snake keepers prefer feeding prekilled rodents to ensure that their boas do not get injured from a bite. You can buy freshly euthanized or frozen rodents to offer to your snake. Frozen rodents must be thawed to a little above room temperature before feeding. If you choose to feed live, or your snake refuses prekilled, it is always best to offer prey using a long pair of hemostats. This way, the snake can hone in and snatch up the prey in a calculated manner, making rat bites a lot less common. You must also remember never to leave a live prey animal in the cage with a boa. Some inexperienced owners will leave an unwanted rat or mouse in the enclosure hoping that their snake will choose to eat it at a later time but boas tend to become intimidated with a rodent left to paw its way around the enclosure. After awhile, the rodent may start to chew on the snake and the snake will probably do nothing to stop this from happening. Many snakes have been badly scarred and even killed from rodents that were left too long in cages.  

Sexing: There are several different accurate indicators that allow boas to be sexed. Perhaps the easiest way is to find the two "spurs"which are located on both sides of the anal opening. These are vestiges of rear limbs and are used by males to assist during breeding. Because of this, males have very prominent spurs, while female boas spurs are very small and are often only visible after very careful scrutinization. Another accurate indicator is the shape of the tail itself. Males will have longer tails that taper evenly after the anal opening. Female boas have shorter tails which often taper in quickly. Both of these methods of sexing can be quite accurate, especially when used in conjunction on an adult boa. The final way to sex boas is with metal probes which are inserted into the boa's anal opening. This is the most accurate method of sexing but should only be performed by someone with training and experience. We happily offer free sexing and probing on all snakes purchased from us. We charge $5 to sex snakes purchased elsewhere.

Breeding: Boas are extremely easy to breed in most cases. Most of the boas that we breed at our store are simply pairs of boas who are left to their own devices and happily breed every year. Boas also give live birth so there are no eggs or incubation to worry about.

If a male and female boa are left together and are not choosing to breed there are several theories on how to encourage breeding. It often seems to be beneficial to separate the male and female boas from each other until breeding season. For some reason males that have been separated from a female seem to be more aggressive breeders than those that live with a female year round. The only problem with this method is making sure that you do not miss the short period of time that the female boa is ovulating. Breeding season for our boas ranges from late fall through the winter. Males will often show signs of wanting to breed because they will become anxious (very active) and stop eating. Female boas will often become quite plump in the lower part of their body when they are ovulating, almost looking like they do when pregnant. Female boas can store sperm so it is better to have your boas breed too soon than too late. At the first sign of either individual being ready to breed they should be placed together.

Another method for inducing breeding is to have more than one male in the cage. If you cannot afford or simply do not want the extra boa, a shed skin from another breeding male can work too. This simply stimulates the male boa's natural instincts to compete. They will not hurt each other or even be interested in each other but will definitely want to be the one that gets the female first, therefore stimulating breeding.

Birth: Neonates will be born live but are sometime still in their embryonic sac. The baby boas should be allowed time to break out of the sac on their own before attempting to help them out. If a baby boa shows no sign of trying to leave it's sac within 15 minutes make a small slit near the head, being careful not to damage the yoke. Some baby boas will still have the yoke attached to their umbilical cord and this should be left attached to them if at all possible. Any heat lamps near the babies should be turned off because it can cause the sac and yoke to dry out before the baby boa is ready to leave them behind. After the babies leave their sacs, we remove the baby boas from their mothers and place them with any remaining yokes in a a terrarium with a heat pad on the bottom and moist paper towels on the inside. It should be kept moist to keep the yolks from drying out prematurely as well as to prepare the boas for an easy first shed.

The First Week: After the yokes have been absorbed you can move the babies to fresh paper towels. After that the baby boas should be left on their own besides making sure they have water, humidity and heat. About a week after their birth they should begin to shed their skin for the first time. After this they can be offered their first meal, usually between a large fuzzies and a small mouse, at which point you can begin feeding them once a week and caring for them like any other boa.