Boa constrictor | Description, Size, Subspecies, & Facts (2025)

FAQs

Boa constrictor | Description, Size, Subspecies, & Facts? ›

The snake's adult length is typically about 10 feet (3 metres), though individuals of more than 18 feet (5.5 metres) have been reported; Central American boas

After a large meal, a boa doesn't need to eat again for weeks. A boa constrictor grows throughout its whole life, which can be 20 to 30 years. An adult boa will generally weigh more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and grow to about 13 feet (4 meters) long. Boa constrictors tend to live alone.

Adults range in size from 2.4-3 m (8-10 ft.); some boas can exceed 3.6 m (12 ft.), but lengths of over 11 feet are extremely rare; newborn boas measure about 60 cm (24 in.) Adult boas weigh approximately 27 kg (60 lb.)

Answer and Explanation: There are more than 40 different species of boa constrictors. The largest species is the anaconda, the largest species of snake in the world. The largest anaconda on record was a female that measured 28 feet long.

Boas are about 2 feet long when they are born and grow continually throughout their 25 to 30-year lifespan. The largest boa constrictor ever found measured 18 feet. Hunted for their fine, ornate skin and for sale in the exotic pet trade, some boa constrictors have protected status in their range.

Captive life expectancy is 20 to 30 years, with rare accounts of over 40 years, making them a long-term commitment as a pet. The greatest reliable age recorded for a boa constrictor in captivity is 40 years, 3 months, and 14 days.

Depending on the size of the snake, boas may eat rodents, birds, lizards, frogs, and small to medium-sized mammals like opossums, monkeys, pigs, or deer. Some anacondas have been known to eat prey as large as a young tapir or even a caiman.

The Central American Boa tends to be the most docile of the Boa genus, and is the most common species available in the pet trade. Some sources argue that it is one of the best beginner snakes a reptile enthusiast can have.

The Cropan's boa, native to Brazil's Atlantic Forest, hadn't been seen alive since its discovery in 1953. The rarest boa on Earth has been discovered in the rapidly shrinking Atlantic Forest outside São Paulo.

What snake is bigger than the boa constrictor? ›

Green anacondas are the heaviest snakes in the world. The heaviest anaconda ever recorded was 227 kilograms. This massive snake was 8.43 metres long, with a girth of 1.11 metres.

A couple of specific boa constrictor predators include powerful avians such as the white-bellied sea eagle and the wedge-tailed eagle. Boa constrictors are also occasionally eaten by mammalian and fellow reptilian creatures -- think jaguars and crocodiles, for example.

Both snakes are considered primitive because they have two lungs and vestigial leg bones, but boas have fewer bones in their head, and fewer teeth. Finally, pythons are, on average, larger than boas. Anacondas (a type of boa) can reach 30 feet, but most boas stay at 18 feet or less.

Even though boa constrictors are usually smaller than many other python species, they tend to grow much larger when in captivity. They are close cousins to anacondas and are excellent swimmers, although they prefer to stay dry when they can.

Boas can live up to 25 years in the wild and up to 30 years or more in captivity. The oldest common boa in captivity was recorded to have lived 40 years.

Approximate sizes: Babies - 14 to 22 inches; first year - 4 to 5 feet; second year - 6 to 8 feet; full grown - 6 to 10 feet. Reaches full adult size in approximately 48 months. Sturdy and long lived - typically up to 30 years in captivity. Boas adapt well to handling if consistently handled.

They can't move very fast, only about 1 mile per hour (1.6 kilometres per hour) on open ground. But since they don't have to chase their food, they don't need to travel quickly. Boa constrictors can swim; most don't spend significant time in water.

The common boa constrictor (Boa constrictor) is a large snake that can reach lengths of up to 4 m. Its teeth are sharp and recurved (Fig. 7.13). With four rows of teeth in the upper jaw and two in the lower, there are well over 100 teeth in the dentition.

Answer and Explanation: Boa constrictors can go a very long time without eating, weeks or even months if necessary since they are cold-blooded organisms who do not need to keep a high metabolism (like we warm-blooded humans do).