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Atlas / Library / Boidae / Boa Constrictor
IntermediateNocturnal · sleeping nowCITES IIIUCN LC
Boidae

Boa Constrictor

Boa imperatorงูโบอาCommon/Colombian Boa

Narrower than the page we cite. The source we cite, read on 10 Aug 2026, gives a wider range than the one above. The narrowing is ours and nobody here has written down why. reptiles.swelluk.com

Photograph: Amber M. King · CC BY

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Boa Constrictor is nocturnal, so what it is doing changes with the light.

Semi-arboreal · warm · humidFrom the sheet: warm end 31–33°C, humidity 60–75%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

CITES II is a global listing and holds in every country. National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/boa-imperator

‹ All husbandry guides
warm end31–33 °C
cool end26–28 °C
Humidity60–75 %
Enclosure180×60×60
Diet14–28 days
Boa Constrictor (Boa imperator), photographed in the wild
Photograph · Sinclair Laing · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

The numbers

Thermal gradient

152025303540 °C
26–28°Cool side
31–33°Warm side

A real gradient, 31–33°C warm against 26–28°C cool, so the animal chooses. The sheet states no separate night figure.

Why

Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet stateswarm 31-33 °C (88-90 °F) / cool 26-28 °C (79-82 °F)

Humidity

60–75%Target RH

The sheet states60-75% (mist / humid hide)

UVB

Optionalbeneficial

The sheet statesRecommended (low–moderate)

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m183–244 cm ♀
1520100400 cm
183–244 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal. This sheet gives a figure per sex; the one drawn is marked.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Family / Order
Boidae / Squamata
Distribution
Tropical forest to dry scrub
Adult size
♀ 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m) · ♂ 5–7 ft
Lifespan (captivity)
25–30 yrs
Activity
Nocturnal; semi-arboreal when young
Temperament
Generally calm but powerful; needs experience

Morphs

15 morphs, with how each one is inherited.

Albino (Kahl)RecessiveSuper form:
Albino (Sharp)RecessiveSuper form:
AnerythristicRecessiveSuper form:
ArabesqueCo-dominantPatternSuper form:
BloodRecessiveSuper form:
Ghost (Hypo+Anery)comboSuper form:
HurricaneCo-dominantSuper form:
HypoCo-dominantReduced melaninSuper form: Super Hypo
IMG (Increasing Melanin)Co-dominantSuper = 'sterling' lookSuper form: Super IMG
JungleCo-dominantPatternSuper form:
LeopardCo-dominantPatternSuper form: Super Leopard
MotleyCo-dominantPatternSuper form: Super Motley
PastelCo-dominantSuper form:
Snow (Albino+Anery)comboSuper form:
Sunglow (Hypo+Albino)comboSuper form:

How common this animal is

25/100Search interest as a pet

Relative Google search interest for the species as a pet, 2020. The scale is relative within the study: 100 is the most searched reptile it measured, not a count of animals. Reptiles only, and only the species the study measured. An absent value means the study did not measure that species, not that nobody keeps it.

Valdez JW (2021), Using Google Trends to Determine Current, Past, and Future Trends in the Reptile Pet Trade, Animals 11(3):676

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

substrate31–33 °Cclimbing branchwarm hidecool hidewater60–75 % RHUVB tube180 cm60 cm
warm sidewarm hidecool hideclimbing branchwatersubstrateUVB tube
50100150200 cm
180 × 60 × 60 cmWidth × depth × height
108dm² of floor

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet states180 × 60 × 60 cm (6×2×2 ft) minimum

Warm side / hot spot
31–33 °C (88–90 °F)
Cool side
26–28 °C (79–82 °F)
Humidity
60–75% (mist / humid hide)
UVB
Recommended (low–moderate)
Min. size (adult)
180 × 60 × 60 cm (6×2×2 ft) minimum
Substrate
Cypress mulch / coco (holds humidity)
Hides
Sturdy hides + strong climbing branch
Water
Large bowl to soak

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

Juvenile
every 7–10 d
Adult
every 14–28 d
2Meals in 28 days · adult

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. This sheet states a figure for each age, so each age has its row.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56. A young animal's row is drawn only where the sheet gives one: working it out by dividing the adult interval would be inventing a ration.

The sheet statesRats → larger rodents / rabbits (adults) · Every 2–4 weeks (avoid obesity)

Staple
Rats → larger rodents / rabbits (adults)
Prey size
No wider than the snake's girth
Method
Frozen-thawed preferred
Juveniles
Every 7–10 days
Adults
Every 2–4 weeks (avoid obesity)
Supplements
None needed
Fasting
Normal seasonally

Behaviour and handling

HandlingTwo-person handling for large adults; support body
StrengthPowerful constrictor: never handle alone when very large
CohabitationHouse individually
DefenseHiss & strike if stressed; usually tames well
ChildrenAdult-only for large specimens

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
3–4 yrSexual maturity
25–30 yrLifespan in care
25 yrMinimum commitment
~21 yrReproductive window

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Sexual maturity
♀ 3–4 yrs · ♂ 1.5–2 yrs
Reproduction
Live-bearing (viviparous)
Litter
10–40+ neonates
Gestation
~100–150 days
Breeding trigger
Mild cool + seasonal cycling

Common health problems

Respiratory infection
Signsopen-mouth breathing, mucus
Preventkeep warm enough + ventilation
Obesity
Signscommon with overfeeding
Preventspace feedings 2–4 weeks
Scale rot / thermal burns
Signsbelly lesions / burns
Preventdry substrate; guard heat sources
Mites
Signstiny dots, soaking
Preventquarantine new arrivals

When to see a vet

This is not veterinary advice. If red flags appear (open-mouth breathing, months of weight loss, 'stargazing', persistent regurgitation) consult a qualified exotic (herp) veterinarian. Quarantine new arrivals 30–90 days.

Good to know

  • Gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.
  • One of the most morph-rich large snakes (albino, hypo, motley, kahl…).
  • Uses heat-sensing and constriction, not venom, to hunt.

Common questions

How big does it really get?

Commonly 6–8 ft; a serious long-term commitment.

Is it dangerous?

Not venomous, but large & strong: respect + experience needed.

Beginner-friendly?

Better as a second snake after a corn/ball.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 180 × 60 × 60 cmbecause enclosure180 × 60 × 60 cm (6×2×2 ft) minimum
A heat sourcebecause tempwarm 31-33 °C (88-90 °F) / cool 26-28 °C (79-82 °F)
A thermostat to regulate itbecause tempwarm 31-33 °C (88-90 °F) / cool 26-28 °C (79-82 °F)
A thermometerbecause tempwarm 31-33 °C (88-90 °F) / cool 26-28 °C (79-82 °F)
A hygrometerbecause humidity60–75% (mist / humid hide)
UVB, stated as beneficial rather than requiredbecause uvbRecommended (low-moderate)

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

  • Large enclosure 180×60×60+
  • Thermostat + guard
  • Radiant heat panel
  • Large sturdy hides
  • Cypress substrate
  • Large water tub
  • UVB fixture
  • F/T rats

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.