Our Herp Class

Monday, May 1, 2017

Natural History

This natural history post is about the Brazilian Rainbow Boa, or Epicrates cenchria cenchria. While I did not encounter this beautiful snake in the wild, I had the amazing opportunity to experience it at Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach. The Brazilian Rainbow Boa (E. c. cenchria) is one of the subspecies of the rainbow boa. They occur naturally in the tropic and subtropics regions of central and South America, such as the Amazon River Basin from Peru and Brazil, to Columbia. They are terrestrial and nocturnal animals, commonly found near water in rainforests or humid woodlands. They have the ability to climb but do not do it often. In the wild, they prey on small mammals, such as rodents, birds and their eggs, and lizards and frogs. They are non-venomous snakes, as the name suggests, they constrict their prey, while holding it with their teeth. Female Brazilian Rainbow Boas are typically bigger than their male counterparts, 6-7 feet and 5 ½- 6 feet, respectively. These snakes are ovoviviparous, so the offspring develop in the egg sack inside the mother but they hatch while still inside and are born live.

This individual was approximately 3 feet long. Since they can grow to be about 3-4 feet longer, one could assume this specimen was on the young side. The handler told me that the one she showed me is a female. She was relaxed when she was being held because she was often used during reptile shows because of her unique skin. I got to hold her, she was very smooth and did not seem to care she was being held, she was focused on trying to wrap herself around my arm. One of the interesting things that the handler was telling me about was the reason behind the iridescence of its skin is that it would blend in to its environment. Many animals in this environment have a similar skin/ scale type. In this geographic location, rainbows are seen often due to a high percentage of rain while it is also sunny. Therefore, this is a good camouflage technique. The orange to deep red coloration saddles that are bordered by black is also used to camouflage to break up their outline on the forest floor so they resemble leaves.

This was ones of the most beautiful snakes I have ever encountered. While my pictures did not do it justice, I included other ones to show the distinct rainbow that forms from their skin.