What Do Rainbow Boas Eat?

The rainbow boa is a species of boa constrictor native to Central and South America. It gets its name from the colorful and impressive iridescent sheen of its scales. The rainbow boa is usually red or orange with black ring-shaped spots. In its native habitat the rainbow boa has a varied diet of small prey animals.

  1. Significance

    • The rainbow boa eats its prey whole. It uses all the nutrients from the prey, including bones, internal organs and fur. Anything that the prey has eaten will be consumed and absorbed by the snake, so in captivity it is important that rodents fed to a rainbow boa are fed a high-quality and nutrient-rich diet.

    Wild

    • In the wild, the rainbow boa has a varied diet that includes any small animal. Some prey items include small birds, small reptiles such as lizards and frogs, rodents such as rats and mice as well as small mammals such as baby opossums, shrews and even monkeys.

    Captivity

    • In captivity, rainbow boas can be fed small animals that are appropriately sized. To be appropriately sized, prey animals should be only as big as the widest part of the snake's midsection. In captivity, rats, chicks and anoles are the most common food fed to rainbow boas. Live animals can be fed, but this is unnecessarily cruel to them and can result in injury to the snake. Most rainbow boas will eagerly take frozen prey animals that have been thawed.

    Methods

    • The rainbow boa hunts at night, using heat sensory pits on the sides of its face to find warm prey. It also smells with its tongue, which flickers in and out of its mouth, collecting scents from the air. Once it finds its prey, it strikes with its mouth to grab the prey with its small, sharp teeth. The rainbow boa then wraps tightly around the prey, constricting it to death.