Boa Constrictor Information for Kids

A boa constrictor is a nonpoisonous but very dangerous type of snake that is often kept as a pet. Boa constrictors kill their prey, or food, by ambushing other live animals and wrapping their long bodies around the helpless animal. The boa constrictor wraps or constricts around the animals, squeezing tighter and tighter as the animal struggles to breathe, until the prey is no longer breathing. Some pet boa constrictors may eat other pets, or even suffocate their owners by constricting for feeding or just for warmth. Additionally, these types of snakes are one of the largest in the world, alongside the anaconda and python snakes.

  1. Birth

    • Boa constrictors are one type of snake that gives live birth. This means that, instead of hatching from eggs, baby boa constrictors are born with fully developed bodies, organs and brains. After the babies are born, they immediately start life on their own with natural instincts that help them find food, places to hide and ways of keeping warm.

    Feeding

    • Boa constrictors have special built-in features that help them to naturally and instinctively find food in daylight or dark. Like other snakes, boa constrictors find food by flicking their tongues out of their mouths to detect the scents of other animals. However, some boa constrictors have special scales around their mouths that are heat-sensitive, to help them find prey in the dark. Boa constrictors are great hunters and often hide in piles of leaves and wait to surprise their prey. Prey for the boa constrictor most often includes animals such as birds, frogs, lizards, rodents and other small mammals, though larger boas have been known to consume such animals as deer, monkeys and pigs.

    Location

    • Boa constrictors are very versatile snakes, adapted to live in a wide array of climates. Though found most often in tropical climates in the savannas, plowed fields and deserts of Central and South America, boas can survive at any elevation and are found both on the land and slithering about through the trees. This type of snake is also common in urban areas as a pet or an escaped pet and adapts easily to its surroundings due to its abilities to find food and heat sources.

    Identifying Factors

    • Boa constrictors are identifiable by distinctive markings that help them blend into their surroundings. Different varieties of boa constrictors exist in such colors as yellow, red, tan, green and pink. The distinctive markings on their bodies are arranged in patterns with shapes such as circles, ovals and diamonds or random, jagged lines and shapes. When baby boas are born, they will measure approximately 20 inches to 2 feet long. Boas continue to grow throughout their lives; most of these snakes reach approximately 13 feet in length at death and weigh as much as 100 lbs. or more. Some boas have even grown to be as large as 18 feet long.

    Reproduction

    • The boa constrictor snake breeds seasonally when the female emits attractive scents to draw the males to them. The males and females join together to internally fertilize the baby snake eggs inside the female snake's body. After fertilization, the mother snake will develop the babies inside of her body for 3 to 5 months. The mother snake will then give birth--to as many as 60 baby boa constrictors at one time.