Boas
Here are 9 points to educate you on Boas.
There are at least 35 different species of boa.
The boas are very like another group of snakes called the pythons. Pythons and boas belong to the same scientific family, called the Boidae, which sounds like “boy-day”.
Like boas, pythons are powerful snakes that kill there victims by squeezing. Both groups of snakes include real giants. But most pythons live in Asia and Africa and lay eggs. Most boas, on the other hand, Live in the Americas and give birth to live young.
Like all snakes, boas have very long, thin bodies. But most boas are much thicker and muscular than other snakes. The exceptions are tree boas, which are quite slim. Boas have broad, flat heads, too. Unlike many other snakes, they have definite necks.
Most boas live in the hot, steamy rain forests of Central and South America. The heat suits them, and there is plenty for them to eat. Many boas live and hunt on the forest floor. Many boas are also good swimmers, and some live all the time in the water of rivers, lakes, or swamps. Others live up in the trees, where they ambush birds and other tree living animals. A handful of boa species live in the forests outside the Americas. Three live in the forests of New Guinea and nearby islands. Three more live on the island of Madagascar, off southern Africa.
Some boas don’t live in the forests at all, but in the dry places where there is plenty of sand. There are sand boas like this in the dry regions of Africa and Central Asia. They burrow into the sand buy day and come out to hunt at night.
North America also has two kinds of boa of its very own: the rosy boa in the southwest deserts and the rubber boa in the cool conifer forests of the America west and northwest.
Boas find their prey with their acute senses of taste and smell. Indeed, a boa live in a world of smells and tastes. A large section of its brain is devoted just to detecting and identifying them. The boa’s brain is linked by nerves to a pair of nostrils and to a cavity in the top of the snakes mouth called the Jacobson’s organ.
The boa is a small to mid sized nocturnal predator that exists throughout a wide range of habitats in Central and South America. They feed on a variety of species ranging from small rodents and lizards to large birds, coati, iguana or opossums. They favor bats through much of their range, catching them as they hang in trees or caves, or snatching them on the fly. They locate prey via heat sensitive scales on their snout, as well as by scent.
Large boa are occasionally preyed upon by jaguar and caiman. Smaller subspecies or young boas may be eaten by a variety of species, including various jungle cats, tetra, birds of prey, and even some species of crab.
True boas are medium sized to large snakes. Females are usually larger than their male counterparts. Boas contain many subspecies based on locality. They include Colombian, Suriname, Bolivian, Peruvian, Hog Island, Long Tail Peruvian, Argentine and more. The boas from the Amazon basin are the most colorful possessing bright cherry red tails. It used to be said that boas were New World Snakes and pythons were Old World Snakes, but, with boas found on Madagascar and the Solomon Islands, this is not quite true. Instead, it is possible that boas have survived in evolutionarily isolated areas. South America, until a few million years ago, had a distinct fauna that included marsupial mammals; with the land bridge to North America, boas have migrated north as placental mammals and colubrids (for example) have migrated south.
Acrantophis (Dumeril's Boa and Madagascar Ground Boa; sometimes equated with Boa)
Boa (Red-tailed Boa, Boa constrictor, and relatives)
Candoia (Pacific boas)
Charina(Rosy boas)
Corallus (Tree boas)
Epicrates (Rainbow boas and Island boas)
Eryx (Sand boas, Eryx johnii)
Eunectes (Anacondas)
Gongylophis (Gongylophis conicus)
Sanzinia (Madagascar Tree Boa; sometimes equated with Boa)
Compared to true boas, erycines are quite small, with most members of this subfamily remaining well under a meter in length. Fossil erycines have been found in rock strata over 50 million years old, and were once widespread in North America. Now, only two species remain in North America, as well as the sand boas in Africa, Asia and southeastern Europe.
At least three erycine species lay eggs: the Calabar Burrowing "Python" , Calabaria reinhardtii (once classified as a python for this reason); the Arabian Sand Boa, Eryx jayakari; and the West African Sand Boa, Eryx muelleri.
Calabaria reinhardtii (Calabar Burrowing "Python", Africa; sometimes equated with Charina)
Charina bottae (rubber boas, west coast of North America)
Eryx (Sand boa, Africa, western Asia and southeastern Europe)
Lichanura trivirgata (Rosy boa, southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico; sometimes equated with Charina)
The 13-ft (3.9m) snake was still strangling Ted Dres' body when it was discovered by an acquaintance.
Members of an animal protection group removed the snake from the house after helping police officers free it.
An animal expert told the Associated Press news agency people were often unaware of the risks of keeping snakes such as boa constrictors as pets.
"People who keep these type of animals as pets should know exactly what they're doing and what they're capable of," Andy Mahlman, a spokesman for the Cincinnati Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said.
He warned reptile owners against wrapping such snakes around their necks, for instance when posing for photographs.
"They don't realize they could be a few seconds away from death.
Snake-Proof Enclosure Select an enclosure especially designed for housing snakes, such as those with the combination fixed screen/hinged glass top. All snakes are escape artists; Boas are especially powerful and can easily break out of a tank sealed with a board and a couple of bricks. A good starter tank for a hatchling is a 20 gallon tank. After the first couple of years, you will have to build your own enclosure out of wood and glass or Plexiglas or purchase a tank made by producers of large reptile enclosures. Be prepared - big snakes need lots of room, not the least of which is an enclosure big enough for you to get in and clean it out!
Allow your snake to acclimate for a couple of weeks to its new home. Start your hatchling off with a single pre-killed week to 10-day old "fuzzy" rat. A smaller sized hatchling may require a small mouse. Larger Boas may be fed larger pre-killed rats. The rule of thumb is that you can feed prey items that are no wider than the widest part of the snake's body. While Boas will often gladly eat prey that is actually too large for it, they will generally regurgitate the prey item one or more days later. Not a pretty sight. If you have not had any experience force feeding a snake, you may not want to try it yourself until you have seen someone do it. Force feeding should be an action of last resort, as it is very stressful for the snake--and the owner! It is very easy to overfeed captive snakes, especially the boas and pythons, as they do not get enough opportunity to exercise and burn calories in captivity as they do in the wild. Be judicious--your snake will get big and impressive soon enough. Feed it enough to keep it healthy, not obese.