ANIMAL:Amazon/Garden Tree Boa Corallus hortulanus/hortulana
Type of Animal:
Boa/Python
Habitat:
Tropical forest, flooded forest, dry forest, woodland, scrub forest, savanna, riversides, plantations, sugarcane fields, fruit orchards, grassland, river/oxbow edge trees
Location(s):
S Colombia, S Venezuela, Guiana Shield, Brazil, E Ecuador, E Peru, N Bolivia
Appearance:
2 main phases-garden phase boas have drabber coloration (usually brownish, olive, olive-brown, black, gray, or mix of these), colored phase boas have combo of red/yellow/orange or one of these colors dominates, coloration highly variable, cream to reddish brown ventral area but fairly variable, slender thin build, proportionally large head (often striped) w/ large bulging eyes, long prehensile tail, several different color morphs
Food/Diet:
Birds, bats, rodents, mouse opossums, frogs, lizards, insects
Status in Wild:
Stable
Conservation:
Breeding in zoos, wildlife centers, & herpetoculture
Lifestyle:
Solitary
Additional Info:Called:
Male
Female
Young: Snakelet
Group: Solitary
Weight:
Male: 1 lb
Female: 3 lbs
Gestation:
6-8 monthsLife Span:
15-20 years
Body Length:
Male: 5 ft
Female: 6-7 ft
Young: 2.95 ft
Tail Length:
Adult: 11.4-12 in
Young: 4.69-4.96 in
Main predators of adults are raptors, boa constrictors, felids, crocodilians, & monkeys. Smaller monkeys eat young.
Like most boas, they’re ovoviviparous, w/ eggs hatching internally, resulting in 5-20 live young.
Most active at night but occasionally hunt during the day.
They’re highly arboreal.
They’re ambush predators.
Like all boas, they kill prey by constricting/swallowing whole.
Use thermal receptor pits around mouth to detect prey.
Males sexually mature at a year old, females at 2 years old.
When hunting at night, they use heat pits. On daytime hunting occasions, they use vision.
1st shed occurs 1-2 weeks after birth.
Often seen in curled position in trees.
Variation in patterns may be due to variety of habitats they live in serving as camouflage.
Males highly combative w/ fights sometimes resulting in death.
Fun Fact(s):
Often called ATBs in herpetoculture.
Also called Common Tree Boa & Macabrel.
These snakes can be quite defensive & often aggressive, not hesitating to strike/bite w/ long needle-like teeth. Another defense mechanism is to whip tail/release musk. Not a snake for 1st time snake owner or the faint of heart. Males sometimes use vestigial pelvic spurs in defense. Spurs more often used in mating.
