The Pacific Boas: Natural History and Husbandry of Candoia - REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • June 2012 No

I contributed a pile of photos to this paper, for the Fiji boas. 😀

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by Christopher Carille

Garden of Eden Exotics & Chris Carille Photography, New York, USA

REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • June 2012

No other boas can be found within thousands of miles. They most likely had to raft across the Pacific to get to where they now reside. 

Triangular-shaped viper-like heads, up-turned snouts, no heat-sensitive pits, and thick-keeled scales with flattened bodies separate them in structure. Some are semi-fossorial and some have prehensile tails. Adult sizes range from a diminutive pencil-thin 40 cm to over 2 m. 

Like many other boas, they live in rainforests with dense under- growth, high humidity, and lots of rain and prey. 

However, these boas thrive equally well in dry grasslands, woodlands, plantations, and around human dwellings. 

The genus Candoia is like no other boid genus. They are unique in dis- tribution and appearance, but are overlooked by herpetologi- cal hobbyists.

Candoia is one of 13 genera in three subfamilies in the family Boidae (Henderson and Powell 2007). Other famil- iar genera are Boa (boas), Eunectes (anacondas), Epicrates (West Indian and rainbow boas), and Corallus Neotropical treeboas) of the Americas. 

However, snakes in the genus Candoia possess neither the size of Eunectes, the iridescence of Epicrates, the bright Technicolor coloration of some Corallus, nor the popularity of Boa. 

Jerry Conway, one of the first hobbyists to give Candoia a real chance, and the first innovator of their care, said it best: “[Candoia] are naturally beautiful … there are no ‘morphs’ … no man-made nonsense involved with Candoia at all … they are underdogs of the snake world … true, primitive wonders of the wild.” 

These boas are hidden gems that have been sitting out in the open. Husbandry is easy, as is properly determining the sex of individuals, which are naturally calmer than most of their relatives, naturally variable, and beautifully unique among the boids.

Garden of Eden Exotics

Original post: http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/ 

Welcome to Garden of Eden Exotics! I keep and breed several species and am always looking for the more unique and interesting. Interested in anything, or just want to talk shop? Please e-mail me (ccarillephoto@gmail.com) - I will have newborns for sale and always like making more connections in the hobby. I have knowledge on many unique species, a lot of interesting experiences, and have a good biological background (BS in Biology and a Master's in Zoology).