Boa Constrictor Factfile
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Scientific Name : Boa constrictor
World Distribution
Boa constrictors are found throughout Central and South America
Habitat
The ideal habitat for boa constrictors is tropical rainforest. However they are very adaptable, and can also live in grassland, dry tropical forest and even agricultural land.
Feeding
Boa constrictors will eat almost any animal they can catch and fit into their mouth, usually mammals, but sometimes birds, reptiles and amphibians.
They kill their prey by:
1) Ambushing and grabbing it with their sharp teeth.
2) Coiling their muscular body round it and squeezing tightly until it suffocates.
3) Dislocating their jaw to open their mouth wide enough to swallow the animal whole.
It takes 4 - 6 days for a boa to digest its meal.
Predators
The main predator of adult boa constrictors is man. They are hunted mainly for their skins, but also to eat and sometimes just because people don't like having them around. Baby boas have many predators.
Breeding
Female boas can give birth to between 15 and 60 live babies each year. In actual fact the babies grow inside eggs, but the eggs remain and hatch inside the mother snake's body.
Boas usually live alone, so when it is time to mate, males must go in search of a female. After mating the babies will be born in 5 to 8 months depending on the temperature of the mother's habitat.