Knowing About the Jamaican Boa

The Jamaican boa, the yellow constrictor or sometimes yellow snake, as the local people termed it, is snake specie found throughout Jamaica. Contrary to the connotation of many, it is not venomous. It can also be beneficial in a way that it lessens the number of rodents in farms by eating them, that’s why it is a friend to farmers. But unfortunately, a large number of it is killed annually due to a strong belief by locals that they are venomous.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS AND DESCRIPTION

This snake’s adult size can reach to about 6 feet. It is generally golden yellow or orange in color, with bands of black in its back. Olive green is the color of the top of its head lined with black stripes. In Jamaica, male boas are larger than the females unlike in South American species. This specie is arboreal and feeds on birds, rats but it can also hunt for food on the ground like frogs. It kills the prey by squeezing it around its large body and then, swallows it whole.

HABITAT

The Jamaican boa is not imported species; it is indigenous to Jamaica, though some species that can only be found in South America are transferred to the Caribbean to permanently dwell there. The boa prefers sugarcane fields or limestone forest as its habitat. They can also live on trees and caves.

LIFE CYCLE

Jamaican boas breed in late winter. And it is interesting to know that unlike other snakes, Jamaican boas give birth not with eggs but to a live young in early winter. When the young snake develops, it undergoes ecdysis, or the shedding of skin as a whole in snakes. It only feeds on small amphibians like lizards. When it became an adult, it can reach up to 6 feet as mentioned earlier. It now has the ability to use its size and strength to constrict preys.

LIFE SPAN

A Jamaican boa can live utmost 35 years. These species of reptile are now facing extinction due to introduction of non-native animals on Jamaica which feeds on them. In addition to this, habitat destruction is also one of the major forces that led these animals to enormous decline in number.