Boa Constrictors Essay

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BOA CONSTRICTORS The boa constrictor is a snake, it is cold-blooded; all boas are reptiles – just like other snakes. They have scales and their eyes are always open. They can grow to 30 feet and weigh up to 300 pounds. Its shape looks long and squiggly. Their colors go from green, like leaves, to brown – like dead leaves, even black; they have many colors. The most popular boa is the boa constrictor. Other boas are the python and the anaconda. Some boas live in trees and others in grassy places. Boas can hang from trees also. You can find boas in a lot of places, but they are mainly in warm, tropical places. There are boa constrictors even in the desert! Boas don’t lay eggs. They have live babies. The boa constrictor can have dozens of baby snakes at one time! As soon as the mother has the babies, she abandons them. The baby snakes are on their own, hunting and hiding for food and shelter. A lot of the baby snakes end up dying. Boas eat rodents, birds, frogs, and mammals – anything that can fit into their mouth. They even try to eat things bigger than their mouth, like a tiger! The boa constrictor catches food by squeezing its prey to death, and then the boa starts to swallow it whole. Digesting takes a long time for boas, because they don’t chew their prey. Enemies of the boa constrictor are large birds, other snakes and bigger animals, like jaguars. The biggest threats to boas are probably human beings! They protect themselves by opening their mouth very wide and showing its fangs to scare the enemy away. Most boa constrictors are nocturnal. Some boas hibernate for many months, so they can survive through the winter. Boas can camouflage themselves to blend into the nature around them. This helps hide them from their enemies. Boas would rather hide than fight; they usually only attack when they are hunting for food, or if it is

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