Pacific Boa Constrictor Snakes (Candoia bibroni bibroni)

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

2021-02-16T09:58:00.002+12:00

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

Download pdf here...

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).

Snake Familiarization at Vet Essentials Lami Fiji - 11 January 2021

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Snake Familiarization at Vet Essentials Lami Fiji - 11 January 2021

https://www.facebook.com/vetessentials.fiji/

X-Rays of Sammael with impacted stools 2 weeks later - 19 January 2021

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X-Rays of Sammael with impacted stools 2 weeks later. Seems there are still some there, although they have moved down.

X-Rays of Sammael with impacted stools

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X-Rays of Sammael with impacted stools

The boys on the couch

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Rifraf on the couch

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Some very cool pics of Mazikeen at Show and Tell at Nature Fiji 2017

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Friendly girls in the morning

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Snake handling for local vets

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In Fiji there's not a lot of demand for veterinary services for reptiles, but our local vets at Vet Essentials Animal Doctors Climic in Lami have been really helpful when we have needed assistance. If you're in Fiji with an animal problem, give them a call.

(tel 360 2153, https://www.facebook.com/vetessentials.fiji/)

They don't have a specialist reptile vet, and many of them had no experience handling or treating snakes, so we took our scaly set in for a visit. Unfortunately Rifraf disgraced himself by biting the first vet to hold him, but thankfully vets are not phased by little bites, and no harm was done (except to Rifraf's reputation).

Here are photos of our serene matriarch, Mazikeen, who thankfully has much better manners, introducing the vets and vet assistants to the joys of snake handling.

Introducing Mazikeen

Getting confident enough for photos

Sometimes it's a bit of a wrestling match

Portraits with the lady of our bunch

H and our snakes in Sunday Fiji Sun

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Helen Sykes in Lami on January 6, 2018 with her pet snakes. Photo: Vilimoni Vaganalau

Snakes, a reptile feared by many Fijians, are being kept as pets in the homes of a small expatriate community, it has been revealed.

The Fiji Sun found two of the pet snake lovers in the wake of the discovery of a large Pacific Boa Constrictor in the Lovoni forests on Ovalau a few days ago.

The domesticated snakes are all Pacific Boa, a non-poisonous species that is native to Fiji.

Helen Sykes, a marine ecologist originally from England who has lived in Fiji for 21 years, keeps five healthy Pacific Boa in her house in Lami, ranging from 1.5-2.5 metres long. She vouches that they are tame and safe and pose no danger to humans.

Ms Sykes has lived with snakes for 30 years and says she finds them “cute and cuddly – even though they have bitten her a few times by mistake.

Often, her snakes coil around her neck as she watches television or reads a book.

“I don’t know what it is,” she said. “When I was a kid and other little girls were playing with dolls I had rubber snakes.

“It’s not like keeping a cat or a dog. I tell people it’s like keeping a gold fish but you can take it out and play with it.”

This particular species of snake, owing to its tame nature, is the most commonly found pet snake in the Fiji.

While many in the country think an encounter with a snake is comparable to a death sentence, a select few remain fascinated by them.

The ecology consultant’s snakes feed once every two weeks which, according to Wikipedia, is a normal eating habit for the species.

They typically eat geckos or cockerels. The constrictor bites down on the meal, using its mouth as a pivot to wrap around and crush the prey with a powerful body before swallowing it whole.

But the house cat is never in danger, she says, because although Pacific Boas have a taste for warm-blooded creatures, they do not normally go for prey too large to swallow.

Yet Ms Sykes says snakes do not make good pets unless people are ready to put in undivided effort into caring for them.

“I don’t encourage people to keep snakes and it’s particularly not a good pet for children,” she said.

“But if you’re going to, they need what every other animal needs: a decent size place to live, they need (access to) heights, fresh water all the time and they need to be fed animals not fruits or milk.”

Alexander Feussner with his pet snake at Caubati on January 6,2018. Photo:Vilimoni Vaganalau.

Alexander Feussner, 24, is a German national living in Fiji for the last 18 years.

Mr Feussner has a two-year-old Pacific Boa he keeps close to him in his Caubati home, Nasinu between Suva and Nausori.

As well as downplaying the fear factor surrounding the reptile, Mr Feussner says snakes only bite humans in self-defence.

He inherited the adult snake, named Jessica, two years ago and admits the reptile has to be left alone when it becomes moody.

Otherwise, it has been smooth-sailing for the University of the South Pacific student, who says he finds the creature “mystical.”

“When I used to feed Jessica (the snake) with a mynah bird using my hand, it used to bite my hand in confusion,” he added.

“Snakes are easier to handle compared to other common pets. For example, they do not eat or excrete as much as dogs.

“To be honest, I love my pet snake like anyone would love his dog or cat. The first time I touched it I wasn’t scared at all – I just like snakes.”

Former Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals veterinarian, Doctor Jessica Hoopes, said ownership of exotic animals still carried welfare concerns.

“Ownership of exotic pet species, particularly wild animal species that have been sourced in the wild and brought into captivity, is a topic of considerable controversy,” she said.

“(This is) as a result of animal welfare concerns associated with all parts of the exotic animal trade and snakes are no exception.

“Exotic animal species, in particular reptiles and amphibians that have unique and varied husbandry requirements, given the susceptibility of their physiology to environmental changes, each have very unique environmental and nutritional requirements that can be difficult to meet in captivity.

“For this reason, mortality rates in these species can be very high (and) compounded by the very limited veterinary resources available in this country, the welfare concerns for ownership of these species are considerable.”

Edited by Naisa Koroi

Feedback: sheldon.chanel@fijisun.com.fj

The girls - Mazikeen and Constantine - nomming on mice

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So a friend had a bit a mouse issue at home so he caught them using simple mouse traps. Eight mice later over a week, stuffed into zip lock bags and frozen immediately, we have some good whole food for our snakes.

Our snakes have all been eating only frozen chicken wings for about a year now, so we were ready to doa Chicken Run (get about 50 x 1 day old roosters and feed them up for 7-10 days, and mass kill and freeze..)

Any way here's a good set of pics of the girls munching them down happily, no hesitation. If anything they may have been a bit too small to 'handle' for them ;)

Samael - head detail of large male Candoia bibroni bibroni

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Recently had a show and tell at NatureFiji, and some great shots came out of it by Monal.

Here's 2nd set of Samael whom is mellow over everyone :)

Mazikeen - head detail of large female Candoia bibroni bibroni

2017-10-25T09:56:00.002+12:00

Recently had a show and tell at NatureFiji, and some great shots came out of it by Monal.

Here's first set of Mazikeen head detail.

The boys really are all friends :)

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Synchronised snaking...

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Synchronised snaking...

American Samoa boa...

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Just for interest, this is the boa in American Samoa..

H

From Mark:

I discovered her dark colouration is indeed from her being gravid. I took her to my friend working at the hospital and we did an ultrasound and x-ray. You can see from the attached pic she is full of young! We caught her sometime in Nov. so she is at least 3 months along. Judging from the x-ray do you have a feel for how much longer she might have before birthing? Crazy.
Hope you are well and all the best!
Mark

The Girls Asleep

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Mazikeen and Constantine hanging out...

Pic of new tanks

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Pipette feeding baby snake

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This baby Fiji boa is trying to starve himself to death, and I am trying to not let him do it. We are engaged in a battle of wills right now.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS EXCEPT AS A LAST RESORT - this is not for stubborn feeders, this is for snakes who are almost on the point of death and there is nothing left to try.

This baby had lost more than 10% of birth weight, regurgitated assist fed solid food, and was severely dehydrated and lethargic. I tried assist feeding with prey animals and let him refuse food for almost 2 months before I tried this.

A day after I fed him like this he was lively and active again. I am now doing this every 2 or 3 days, and hope to eventually get him back onto solid food.

It is also not exactly how the manufacturers intend this to be used - they recommend feeding the thick paste, but this snake regurgitates anything solid, so a dilute suspension is being used here until I can get him back onto solids.

If trying this, it is important to go SIDEWAYS into the mouth to avoid the breathing tube and not to let the mouth fill with liquid, or the snake may drown. Also use a soft plastic pipette, not hard glass.

New glowing sunset Fiji boa

2013-07-17T15:46:00.001+12:00

This stunning girl was just collected by a friend of mine. Shes an adult Fiji Boa from the main island of Viti Levu, and has a really mellow temperament.
Most Fiji Boas have some form of mottled or zigzag pattern on their back, and many from Vitti Levi have a black stripe or check on their bellies, but this girl is virtually patternless, and as you can see, a stunning dark orange with a creamy yellow belly.
Just shows some of the variety in their natural genepool!

Keeping it wet......

2013-07-12T18:15:00.001+12:00

In the past, we have had some tragedies with new born Fiji boas. with this little survivor we are trying a new strategy - most of them seem to be born in May or June, a rainy time of year in Fiji. In case the problem we have had in the past has been dehydration, we are spraying this little guy with fresh water every morning. He seems to like it, rubbing his face along the side of the tank and drinking from the droplets.

There are dangers with this - if mold grows it could cause fungal infections, so we change the paper and clean his tank daily, and if he lies in too wet conditions too often he could get something called blister disease, but he has a dry bamboo climbing frame to keep him of the ground, and he seems to like it, so we are hopeful that this might be the right approach.

So far so good.....

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This boy is a survivor! Unfortunately we lost all of the rest of the litter - we think they may have been born a little prematurely - 16 of 21 were dead when we found them, and another 4 died in the first few days. Many never made it out of their birth sacs, and others still had their placenta attached.

BUT the good news is that the mother is fine, and this boy (see spurs for definite sexing) is hanging on and has had four meals of geckos so far. We're cheering for him!

3 Newest Additions!

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Boys all friends on a branch!

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Who says these snakes aren't gregarious?

Samael... likes to sleep in the bath!

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Samael... likes to sleep in the bath!