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Rubber Boa 
COMMON NAME(S): Rubber Boa SCIENTIFIC NAME: Charina bottae CLASSIFICATION: Phylum: Chordata DESCRIPTION: Length: 35.6-83.8 cm (14-33 inches) General: Rubber Boas have a glossy, rubbery appearance with a short broad snout and short blunt tail that looks very much like its head. Uniformly olive-green, reddish-brown, or tan to chocolate brown. Large scales on top of head. Eyes relatively small with vertical pupils. Scales are smooth, in 32-53 rows running the length of the body. RANGE: Rubber Boas range from southern British Columbia to the mountains of southern California and east to western Montana and Wyoming. They occur throughout most of Washington and Oregon, except for most of the coastal areas, some sagebrush areas in central Washington and Oregon and some higher elevations. HABITAT: Rubber Boas are found in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from deserts and grasslands to woodlands and mountain forests. They usually occur within several hundred yards of water. Microhabitats include rotting stumps or logs, bark, flat rocks, crevices in cliffs, and forest litter (e.g. leaves, pine needles, etc.). Rubber Boas are semifossorial (i.e. half of their existence is spent underground in burrows) but they also can climb and swim well. STATUS: General: Secure DIET: Rubber boas feed primarily on the nestlings of small rodents and shrews but have been reported to also eat small salamanders, lizards, snakes and even small baby birds. They will raid rodent nests where they are reported to fend off and distract the mother with their tails while, swallowing the young rodents. Like other true boas, they kill their prey by looping coils around the body and constricting it until it is suffocated. REPRODUCTION: Rubber Boas, like all true boas, give birth to live young - usually between 2-8 in late August to September. The average length of the newborn is 7" (17.8 cm). LIFE SPAN: Rubber boas can live well over 15 years; it is documented that a female, collected as an adult in 1977, is still alive and well in captivity after 18 years. BEHAVIOR: Rubber Boas are active at dusk and through night until dawn (i.e. crepuscular and nocturnal). An accomplished burrower, it retreats from heat under rocks or into damp sand, hollow rotting logs, or forest litter. Also a good swimmer and climber; its prehensile (i.e. grasping) tail enables it to climb shrubs and small trees. By moving slowly and being active at low light and night, Rubber Boas are able to avoid detection by many predators. When attacked, they emit a strong musk odor. If threatened while near a burrow or crevice, Rubber Boas will generally crawl inside to escape. When escape is not possible, they may coil into a ball, hide their head underneath their body to protect it and as a distraction, wave their tail in the air, sometimes even striking with it. Due to their secretive nature and nocturnal habits, Rubber Boas are difficult to observe. Habitat destruction is the major threat to local populations. SOURCES: http://www.herpetologynorthwest.org/nwherps/snakes/rubber-boa.html March 2007 |
