If you don’t supplement for your boa, it may suffer from a calcium deficiency and all the problems that accompany this. Many feeder rodents also have minor deficiencies in vitamins like calcium. Underfeeding can result in starvation and permanent health problems for young snakes, and overfeeding can stress out the snake’s organs and result in a shorter life. They can easily under or overfeed their snakes. While these snakes don’t need to eat often, many owners do not learn what a healthy weight is for these snakes. Poor husbandry shortens lifespans and even kills many snakes. There are some threats, even in captivity. Regular veterinary care and protection from injuries help extend lifespan.Įven when breeding, human intervention means that if there are complications, the snake is less likely to die from problems like being unable to birth the babies. The snake has regular meals and plenty of water.Ī well-kept snake in the right temperature and humidity will live much longer (make sure to read my complete care guide for boa constrictors here). There are a number of factors that allow captive snakes to live longer. The oldest known boa constrictor, named Popeye, lived to 40 years at the Philadelphia Zoo. Captive LifespanĬaptive boa constrictors can live for 10-15 years longer. Unlike pythons, boas cannot eat very large meals in comparison to their body size. Finding prey is a struggle for larger animals.įinding the right size of prey gets harder as the snake grows in size. Injuries from struggling prey can become infected or even prove fatal very quickly. If a snake cannot find prey for a long enough time, it will weaken too much to subdue prey.ĭisease and infection can kill snakes. Snakes that can’t escape high heat or cold will perish. Disease, prey availability, injury, and the weather are further threats. Young snakes are very vulnerable to most predators, including mammals and birds. Habitat destruction is also a threat, and some populations are the targets of fear-based extermination. Most dangers come from very large predators and humans. These snakes are some of the longest-lived in the wild. Most males will breed yearly, while females only breed when they are in good condition. Boa constrictors tend to hit sexual maturity at around 2-3 years for both males and females. They typically are ambush hunters, but they have been known to actively hunt for prey. Most subspecies will eat any mammal they can fit in their mouth, but some subspecies will only eat lizards as babies. They eat terrestrial vertebrates, with younger snakes targeting small animals like rodents, lizards, and amphibians. Boa constrictors grow rapidly and shed every month for the first few years of life. The newborn snakes are identical to adults and are fully independent at birth. An average litter has 24 young snakes, but they can have 10-64 young in one litter. Life Cycleīoa constrictors are live-bearing animals, they are classified as viviparous animals. The record for a captive boa is 40 years old. Captive snakes can live for anywhere from 10 to 15 years longer. On average, a wild boa may live to be over 20 years old. Most snakes live much longer than most pets, so you may wonder: The boa constrictor ( Boa constrictor) is a popular pet snake that has been kept since over 100,000 animals were imported during the 1970s and 80s.
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