They are constrictors, meaning they will grab their prey in their mouths before wrapping it within their coils. Like other members of their family, these snakes don’t use venom to kill their prey. The rubber boa’s small size restricts it to smaller prey, namely small mammals, lizards, snake eggs and baby birds. When they’re not hiding in a burrow or being hunted, rubber boas are predators themselves. Their docile nature makes these snakes perfect for helping you overcome a fear of snakes if you have one there has never been a recorded case of a rubber boa biting a person (which is more than you can say for the rubber boa’s larger cousins!) Instead, they curl up in a ball and expel a smelly substance that keeps many predators at bay. How is the little snake to survive such attacks? Unlike many other species of snakes, the rubber boa doesn’t strike as a defense mechanism (which makes it an unusually docile species). Unfortunately, this is also when the predators of the rubber boa, like coyotes, raccoons, skunks, moles, cats, birds of prey and other snakes, come out to hunt. These snakes aren’t often out and about, but when they are it is usually at night, because they’re nocturnal. This means that the biological processes in their body (including, but not limited to, heart rate) slow down, allowing the animals to use as little energy as possible and sleep the winter away. How are these snakes able to survive harsh northern winters that would kill most reptiles? Well, like many other animals, they spend the winter months hibernating. As for specific habitat though, you’re likely to find rubber boas residing in coniferous forests and even dry alpine environments. They’re often found hidden in the leaf litter, in rock clefts, under logs or burrowing underground. While rubber boas are capable climbers and swimmers, they prefer to spend their time on land. As I’ve mentioned, this snake is found quite farther north than most snakes, most reptiles even, due to its unique ability to handle cooler temperatures. This helps it to blend into its environment. ![]() Another thing that distinguishes the rubber boa from its cousins is its skin pattern: it is usually a varying shade of brown. The rubber boa is much smaller than its southern cousins, like the anaconda, which can grow up to 29 feet long and weigh 550 pounds by comparison, the rubber boa only grows 14-33 inches in length. They get their name from their smooth, scaly skin, which is said to look and feel a little like rubber. The rubber boa (Charina bottae) is the most northern species of boa. But did you know there is a boa living throughout the western United States and British Columbia? ![]() The boa constrictor and anaconda are members of a unique family of snakes known simply as the boas, and they’re commonly found in the swamps and rainforests hugging the Equator this is because they are cold-blooded and require the sun’s heat to remain active.
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