Habitat:found East of the Andes Mountains in South America (Surinam, Guyana, Brazil, Peru, etc. Status:No Conservation Concerns
The Red-tailed Boa (Boa c. constrictor) is an extremely popular captive species of boa constrictor that sports a visually striking deep red tail. These snakes will grow to about six or nine feet, sometimes up to twelve, and can live up to 25 years so it’s important you know what you’re getting yourself into before taking on the responsibility of owning a Red-tailed Boa. The adorable little 2 ounce, 14-22″ hatchling that can easily coil in the palm of your hand will quickly increase in size by up to 300% in its first year alone (when it reaches 5-6 ft).
In their natural environment, these gorgeous Red-tailed Boas are only moderately arboreal. They are commonly found near human habitation (since there are usually a lot of rodents in those areas – icky humans!) and are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular (active during dusk and dawn). In the wild boas will eat everything from mice to birds but in captivity they rely on a diet of [typically] pre-killed mice and rats and then chickens and rabbits as they get older and larger.
Does anyone have one of these guys they’d like to tell us about?
