The boa constrictor is one South America's largest snakes. They can grow to be well over ten feet in length and are highly adaptable to the Amazon basin's varied temperatures, water levels, and forest type. The longest boa recorded was 18 feet in length.

Boa constrictors can be found from Mexico to Argentina. They are pink or tan in color, which allows them to blend in to surroundings and camouflage themselves to avoid predators as well as hunt more effectively. They are nocturnal hunters and do not live with the company of other boas. They are equally comfortable in trees and the forest floor, so they are both arboreal and terrestrial.

Boas are also very good swimmers. It has to be in the wet Amazon rainforest.

Boa constrictors eat large lizards, birds, possums, bats, and rodents. To locate its prey, boa constrictors use their scales. Boa constrictors' scales can detect heat given off by other animals. Since they hunt at night, their sight is not very good.

Boa constrictors' favorite food is bats. Boas hang down from limbs near caves and catch bats as they fly by.

Boas are constrictors, which means they kill their prey by strangling it before eating. Once it catches an animal, the boa constrictor wraps its body around the animal and squeezes until the prey dies.

For further exploration, check out these web sites.

San Diego Zoo's Boa Constrictor Page

National Zoo's Boa Constrictor Page

The Belize Zoo