Dog boa - a description where it dwells, features

The content of the article

1 Description of the species
2 Lifestyle
3 Content Features
4 Feeding features

The boa constrictor is a rather large snake, mainly inhabiting the humid tropics of South America. Most often, these reptiles are found in forests located in close proximity to swamps or rivers, which is explained by the tree lifestyle (they spend most of their time in the crown of large trees). Occasionally boas of this species descend to the ground. The average life expectancy of a green tree boa in captivity is about 15-20 years.

Description of the species

In length, representatives of this type of reptile like dog-headed boas reach 220 cm. The main color of the body of this rather large and non-venomous snake is bright green. The back of a reptile is decorated with a characteristic diamond-shaped pattern consisting of thin white lines. The belly of the snake is yellow. This combination of colors allows the boa to remain almost imperceptible in the lush greenery of tropical forests.The head of the boa is rather large, the front teeth of the reptile are 3.8 cm long.

The main feature is the structure of the body of the boa, which clearly indicates that this type of reptile is most adapted to life in the forest. This is also confirmed by the rather large front teeth of the snake, which have a curved shape, which helps the boa to hold on weight the food it has received.

Thanks to the powerful tail section, by means of which the snake is fixed on the branches of a tree, it can swallow prey wrapped by the rings of its strong body for quite a long time.

Another common name for this type of reptile is the emerald boa, which is explained by the original coloring of the body - a gentle and at the same time saturated green color. In juveniles, the color varies from red to brownish.

Only born emerald boas reach a length of 500 mm, while the weight of newborn individuals does not exceed 50 grams. The young reptiles receive the main green color of the body upon reaching 4 months of age.

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Lifestyle

As mentioned above, most of the life of this species of non-poisonous reptiles is spent in the forest more often, living in the canopy of trees and shrubs.During the day, the boa is practically immovable, the snake is resting on the branches of trees, sitting in a horizontal position. A typical posture of representatives of this species is a body rolled into a tight spiral with a head located in the central part.

While hunting, the boa hangs down from the branches of trees, carefully looking for its prey. Seeing the latter, he quickly and deftly picks up the latter from the surface of the earth. I would like to note that the main tools of the reptile during the hunt, which is successfully used, are the magnificent sight of the reptile and thermoreceptors located in the upper lip.

As a rule, dog-headed boas hunt one by one. If there are other representatives of the species nearby, the behavior of this large snake becomes rather aggressive.

The main diet of the boa is predators, leading mostly nocturnal (some species of marsupials, lizards, rodents).

Content Features

The emerald boa is a very interesting observation for the reptile, which, in fact, makes this type of snake attractive for keeping at home. Note that the content of representatives of this type of boas is not very simple, because they need special conditions of care and maintenance.In addition, dog-headed boas differ about other related species and rather aggressive behavior. However, with the right treatment of this snake, it can become an inspiration for any home terrarium - an original and exotic zest.

First of all, it should be borne in mind that there should be a sufficient number of wooden elements (branches, knots) in the terrarium for keeping such a pet, since this type of boas leads mainly a woody lifestyle. In addition, the reptile housing should be large enough for the snake to feel as comfortable as possible. As a rule, adult snake boa contain in terrariums, the volume of which is not less than 25-30 liters.

It is also important to provide the indices of the level of humidity necessary for the life of the boa, as well as the mandatory ventilation of the terrarium. A rather large amount of live vegetation contributes to the increase in humidity, which makes the reptile's living conditions as close as possible to the natural ones. For these purposes, ivy and a plant such as dracaena are perfect.Also one of the prerequisites is the daily humidification of the air, for this you can install a special automatic sprayer for terrariums. The optimum air temperature is no more than 30 and not less than 22 degrees.

Feeding features

I would like to note that the speed of digestion among representatives of this type of reptile is directly related to the conditions of their detention. In that case, if the habitats or living conditions of a reptile imply a cool climate, the amount of food consumed will be less and it will digest, respectively, longer. In some cases, the intervals between eating food in adults of wood boas can reach several weeks (up to 3). The frequency of feeding young reptiles - no more than 10-15 days.

Although in natural habitat tree boas and eat a variety of food, nevertheless, if you decide to keep such a reptile at home, the best solution would be to feed the snake exclusively by rodents. Quite often reptiles show some stubbornness, refusing the offered food, in this case the latter is processed by means of special sprayers with the smell of quail or gecko.

The amount of food offered to a pet at a time should not exceed in size the largest part of the reptile's body.

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