Boa constrictor ordinary imperial. Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Where do boas live

Imperial boas are popular pets among terrarium keepers. Why are emperor boas so popular as pets? Such love is justified: they are brightly colored, have an ideal size and have a calm disposition, which is very important when keeping snakes in captivity.

The imperial boa constrictor can be safely called a snake without flaws. They are started by both beginners and experienced connoisseurs of reptiles.

Appearance of imperial boas

Not as large as tiger pythons, but they have strong and muscular bodies.

In nature, imperial boas can reach a length of 1.5-5.5 meters. Although these boas have a powerful body, their head is rather graceful. .

But in our country, boas of medium length are most often sold, not exceeding 2 meters.

The color of the body is light, from the head to the tail there is a large clear pattern of spots of red and brown. Body color can range from beige, light brown to red, brown and almost black.

Range and habitats of the imperial boa constrictor

The habitat of imperial boas is huge: they live from Argentina to Mexico. On such a large territory there are many reservoirs, rivers, lakes and mountains, that is, various biotopes are created. This means that imperial boas are adapted to different conditions environment.

These snakes live in forests, in open areas, in the mountains, in light forests overgrown with shrubs. That is, this species is quite ecologically plastic. In this regard, in some places of the range, imperial boas lead a terrestrial lifestyle, while in others they are semi-arboreal.

Contents of imperial boas

The main difficulty in keeping these boas is the selection of the size of the terrarium. The terrarium should be large, but not the size of a reticulated or tiger python. An adult can live in a terrarium measuring 100x50x50 centimeters. This is a size for a medium-sized imperial boa constrictor, but it must be borne in mind that their sizes can vary greatly. The minimum length of the dwelling should be about 50% of the length of the snake's body, and the width can be 2 times less.

The terrarium is equipped with an ordinary incandescent mirror lamp. It is fixed in one corner so that in one part of the terrarium the temperature is at room temperature, and in the other it is maintained at 30-33 degrees. Boas should not get very hot, as in nature they live in the lower tier of the forest. The temperature is never too high there.

Imperial boas live near water, so a bathing suit should be in the terrarium. In this container, the boa constrictor should fit completely. Humidity is maintained by spraying, but so that the soil is not wet. The humidity level is only slightly raised during the molting period of the boa constrictor.

The terrarium should contain all kinds of branches, climbing shelves, creepers, this is especially important for young, active individuals.

As the boa constrictor grows, the terrarium increases. This rule is common when keeping all snakes, not just boas. Juveniles can be kept in plastic containers measuring 60x40 centimeters, it is convenient and hygienic. In such containers, imperial boas about a meter in size feel great.

Both sawdust and mulch are suitable as a substrate, you can also use a green rug and even newspapers.

Feeding imperial boas

Feeding these snakes is not difficult. They willingly settle for various rodents and birds. It is also easy to get used to thawed food.

But when feeding boas, and especially young individuals, you should be careful, as they have very gentle digestion. Therefore, overfeeding, too large food objects, overheated or, on the contrary, cold food can provoke food regurgitation. This is very undesirable for snakes.

Most likely, this reason is the only disadvantage in keeping imperial boas.

Breeding imperial boas

There is still a lot of controversy about inducing mating in snakes. Sometimes it is quite enough to arrange a wintering place and plant individuals of different sexes together. Sometimes it may be necessary to compete and replant another male to the pair, and sometimes they simply put the moistened skin of a competitor into the terrarium.

In some cases, mating occurred only with a decrease in atmospheric pressure. Sometimes they spray the terrarium, simulating the rainy season.

And some breeders are deliberately rude to males during this period, which stimulates their activity. Sometimes males do not pay attention to the female until she molts, and immediately after the molt they start mating. As already noted, there is no consensus on this issue, and many breeders resort to different methods.

After wintering, the snakes begin to feed. The female is placed next to the males in turn. Almost immediately, the males begin courtship, in which the male, with the help of his "spurs", tickles the female, stimulating her activity. Too active males can sometimes inflict injury on the female with their spurs, but such cases are extremely rare.

Pregnant females change their behavior: they spend more time warming up, and they can even roll over on their side and back. In the first few months of pregnancy, they actively feed, and then refuse to feed. This is the main sign of a successful pregnancy. Further, in females, the rear part of the body increases, but during the first pregnancy and a small laying, such changes can not be observed.

Pregnant females try not to disturb. The male and all the snags are removed from the terrarium so that she does not fall.

Must try to endure optimal temperature so that the female does not overheat and does not freeze. Hygienic paper towels are used as soil. The bathing suit is removed, because the female can start giving birth in the water and the babies will die. In its place put a small drinker.

Imperial boas are viviparous. Pregnancy lasts 5-7 months, after this period the female gives birth to babies in a thin shell, which they immediately break through and come out into the light. But not all small snakes manage to break through the shell, then they can die.

Babies have remnants of the yolk sac connected to the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord falls off after 2-5 days. At first, newborns look weak, seem inactive, but after a couple of days they are able to fend for themselves, even try to bite. After a week or two, they molt and begin to feed themselves.

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The undisputed favorite among large snakes contained in terrariums, was and remains an ordinary boa constrictor. Elegant coloring, calm disposition with an impressive appearance and unpretentiousness became the reason for its wild popularity among snake lovers.

They are really handsome: an exquisite and bizarre pattern on a skin that is glossy with a slight iridescent tint, a small chiseled head, a rather slender, and surprisingly proportionate physique.

Such a bright, eye-catching color turns out to be very appropriate in natural environment, hiding the snake among the intertwining branches and the mosaic of leaves rainforest. Most often in terrariums there are representatives of a subspecies from Central America, which is called the imperial boa constrictor. The rarer and more expensive red-tailed boas from the Orinoco basin are the dream of many lovers.

Common boas require a spacious terrarium, decorated with thick climbing branches, with a large pond. In captivity, they usually do not grow longer than 3 meters, so their housing fits perfectly into the usual atmosphere of a city apartment. Various rodents and birds serve as food, while, unlike pythons, food objects should not be too large. Common boas breed easily in captivity, and for this they do not require external stimulation, such as wintering or changing the light regime. What is especially pleasant, they are viviparous. Young people do not suffer from a lack of appetite, although they do not grow very quickly at first, which may not be bad.

The equanimity and peacefulness of these snakes makes them very pleasant to talk to, and undemanding to conditions allows them to be kept even by terrariumists with minimal experience.

Distributed in South and Central America and the Lesser Antilles. Exists a large number of subspecies of the common boa constrictor, which differ in a variety of colors. The coloring is very elegant, bright and contrasting. The darkest, almost black, boas are from Argentina, the reddest, but alas, not the most contrasting, from Brazil.

Ground crushed bark

Twilight lifestyle

Boas from Peru are characterized by their ash-gray back with bright brown spots and a brownish-red tail. Perhaps the most elegant boas live in southern Mexico and Central America. The color of the latter is the brightest and most contrasting. Despite the bright colors, the boa constrictor perfectly disguises itself as leaf litter or a scattering of stones.

Distribution area

Large massive snake, can reach up to 3.5 meters in length. It has a calm phlegmatic character, which allows many reptile lovers to keep this snake at home without much fear.

Two year old male from our cattery

Lead both ground and tree image life. They climb vertical surfaces perfectly, which allows them to get food not only on the ground. Excellent swimmers, usually located near water bodies. They feed on various rodents, small mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles.

The terrarium should have good ventilation. The background temperature should be 25-27 degrees, in the heating zone about 30-35. At night, the temperature can be reduced to 20 degrees. You can create a warm corner for a boa constrictor using a thermal mat, placing it under a terrarium, or an incandescent lamp.

The diet of a boa constrictor in captivity consists of laboratory mice and rats, chickens, and rabbits. They feed a young individual once every 5-7 days, adult snakes once every 7-10 days.

Puberty in captivity in boas occurs around the 3rd year of life, while the size of the male should be more than 1.5 m, and the female 1.8 m. To breed boas, it is necessary to seat snakes and arrange wintering for them, reduce the temperature to 15-18 degrees for 2-2.5 months. After wintering, the female is planted with the male, and after long courtship, mating takes place, which lasts several hours. The female's pregnancy lasts 5-6 months, at the end of this period, she can bring about 40 babies 45 cm in size. Babies appear in a transparent egg shell, which is immediately torn. This type of birth is called ovoviviparous. After a week, the babies molt and begin to hunt on their own. Sometimes babies begin to eat on their own only after 1-2 months.

Ordinary imperial boa constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator) - non-venomous snake belonging to the subfamily of boas and the family of false legs. Non-aggressive and non-venomous snake is easy enough to keep, so it is very popular not only with experienced reptile connoisseurs, but also with beginners.

Appearance and description

The imperial boa constrictor is not too large in size, but has a fairly strong and muscular body.. IN natural conditions imperial boas reach a length of five meters. Despite the powerful body, the boa constrictor has a rather elegant head.

This is interesting! At home, such a reptile has a more modest size, and the body length, as a rule, does not exceed a couple of meters.

The imperial boa is most often characterized by an attractive light color and a large, well-defined pattern, represented by red and brown spots, but some individuals have a beige, light brown, brown or almost black body color.

Range and habitats

The main habitat of the imperial boa constrictor is very wide. The snake is distributed from Argentina to Mexico. Large territory allowed nature to get just a huge variety of biotopes adapted to different external conditions climate and environment.

A boa constrictor of this species prefers to settle in forests and on open area, in mountainous areas and light forests, overgrown with undersized shrubs. By itself, the imperial boa constrictor is a fairly ecologically plastic species, so such a reptile can lead both a terrestrial and semi-arboreal lifestyle.

Buying an imperial boa constrictor, price

There are no fundamental differences in the size and body coloration of the male and female, so it will be quite difficult for non-professionals to choose a snake of the desired gender.

In this case, you need to pay attention to the fact that the tail of the male is longer and has a characteristic thickening at the base, turning into a cone. Females have a shorter and straighter tail. Among other things, the female is usually more massive and larger than the male.

Important! It is best to purchase an imperial boa constrictor in pet stores that specialize in the sale of exotic pets and reptiles. The boa constrictor must be completely healthy, quite active and well-fed.

The cost of such an exotic pet varies greatly depending on many factors, including color rarity, age, size, and sex. For example, the average cost of the imperial boa constrictor of the Costa Rica locality, which is one of the smallest representatives of this species, is about 6.5-7.5 thousand rubles. The cost of rare specimens easily reaches two tens of thousands of rubles.

Genus: Boa Linnaeus, 1758 = Common [real] boas

View: Boa constrictor Linnaeus, 1758 = common boa constrictor

Imperial boa constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator)

English: Central american boa, Common boa

Appearance: Spectacularly colored snake 2-3 m long (up to 5.5 m). The main light brown, reddish or coffee background of the back is covered with wide dark brown bands with bright yellow spots inside, and on the sides there are diamond-shaped dark spots bordered by a light rim and with yellow spot inside. However, the pattern on the body of a boa constrictor is so diverse that a number of other options can be described. In the sun, the scales of the boa constrictor sparkle with a strong metallic sheen, flowing and shimmering when the snake moves.

The imperial boa constrictor is found in forests, as well as among bushes, in dry places, and it enters the middle belts of mountains.

During the breeding season, which is different time in each subspecies, an ordinary boa constrictor brings 15 to 64 live cubs up to 50 cm long. In two years they grow up to 3 m long and become sexually mature.

Distribution: Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, all countries of Central America and Mexico

Sexual differences: There are no fundamental differences in the size and coloration of males and females. In males, the tail is long with a characteristic thickening at the base, from the anus it is cylindrical, then passes into a cone. In females, the tail is shorter, without thickening at the base, cone-shaped. In males, relatively large, claw-like rudiments of the hind limbs, located on the sides near the anus, are clearly visible; in females, they are smaller and not so prominent. Females are usually more massive and larger than males.

Contents: For common boas, a horizontal type terrarium for tropical animals is required. Minimum size terrarium for one snake - 130x60x90 cm (excluding the height of the lamp). The temperature is maintained using a thermal cord or thermal mat. In a warm corner during the day - up to 30-32 ° C, at night - 23-25 ​​° C. In the terrarium, it is necessary to install a pond where the boa constrictor could easily fit and lock during molting, you should also place strong shelves and wide snags, along which the snake willingly crawls. The soil in the terrarium is not required, but you can use artificial, chemically inert, specialized coatings - mats or cover the bottom of the terrarium with filter paper. But it is best to buy coconut flakes. Once a day, the terrarium should be sprayed warm water. It is also possible to maintain humidity using a rain installation connected via a time relay and operating 2-3 times a day for 2-3 minutes, or a fog generator, which is placed in a pond for the duration of the humidification session. Better to keep one.

Feeding: In nature, they feed on various mammals and birds, less often they eat lizards: iguanas and teiids.

In terrarium conditions, boas are fed, depending on size, laboratory mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, quails. Diet for adult snakes: 1 time in 8-10 days - 7-9 adult rats, weighing 200-300 g, for young animals: 1-3 adult mice - 1 time in 5 days or 1-2 rats, weighing 40- 60 g. Starter food for newborn boas: adolescent mice or 5-6 day old rat pups. They drink water, for which you should regularly change it in an artificial reservoir of a terrarium. Along with feed, it is necessary to give various mineral supplements, for example: crushed eggshells, preparations containing calcium. You can add to the drinker mineral water("Borjomi"). Offer concentrated vitamin preparations with food no more than once a month. Give well-balanced reptile food according to the instructions.

Breeding: Boas usually become sexually mature at the age of 3-4 years. However, sexually mature boas at the age of 19 months have been recorded. ovoviviparous species. After the withdrawal from wintering, the snakes are irradiated and fed, adding preparations containing vitamin "E" to the feed for 2-3 weeks. The first sign of the beginning of the mating season is: refusal to feed males that do not feed during the entire period of sexual activity, 3-4 months. Males and females are planted next to each other. Copulation lasts a long time - from 1 to 10 hours. Boas can mate from September to March, the most productive mating is from November to January, childbirth occurs from March to September, most often in May-July. After mating, after 2-3 months, and sometimes even earlier, females stop feeding and do not feed until birth, but there are exceptions to this rhythm. Sphagnum should be placed in the terrarium where the pregnant female is located and moistened regularly. The reservoir must be replaced with a drinker in order to avoid unwanted entry of newborns who have not left the egg film into the water, where they can drown. After 150-215 days, with fertile mating, childbirth occurs. The female gives birth to 7 to 60 cubs (about 20 on average). Babies begin to eat after the first molt.

Additional information:

Life expectancy up to 30-60 years. Boas are very diverse in color, both among subspecies and among representatives of different populations. For example, subspecies B. c. occidentalis may be completely black, with a light showing pattern and white spots. In zoos and private collections in Europe and former USSR received intersubspecific hybrids that successfully reproduced in the future, which played a negative role, since it is currently difficult to determine which animal is in the hands of one or another owner.