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Charina bottae |
| Coastal Rubber Boa | ||||||||||||||
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| Charina bottae (Blainville, 1835) |
The Coastal Rubber Boa is a type of boa (snakes belonging to the family Boidae). It is one of the most docile boas alive. They are commonly used to help people who are afraid of snakes conquer the fear because under no circumstances will the snake bite the individual, they are even extremely careful when they eat, repeatedly nudging and smelling they babies until they decide to eat them. Rubber Boas are one of only two boas native to the USA, the other being the Rosy Boa.
The Southern Rubber Boa (Charina umbratica) is a closely related species found only in Southern California. Some consider it to be merely a subspecies of Charina bottae.
The rubber boa is a primitive snake compared to its much larger relatives native to Latin America, which include the Boa Constrictor, Emerald Tree Boa, and Green Anaconda. The rubber boa has retained the club-like tail of its Erycine ancestors. The blunt tail of the rubber boa is used as a decoy to deter predators from attacking its head. The blunt tail is also used while "hunting." Rubber boas are nest raiders, they seek out wild mice and shrew dens, and while they are eating they baby rodents at one end, the mother attacks the blunt tail thinking it is the snakes head.
The rubber boa is seldom encountered, not because it is rare, but because it is slow, docile, and mostly nocturnal. The rubber boa is also thought to be crepuscular, meaning it is active at dusk and dawn.
The habitats of the rubber boa include pine forest, grassland and shrubland, and any area of dense flat rocks located in close proximity to water. The rubber boa seeks shelter under rocks, under logs, beneath leaf litter, or in a small mammal's burrow.
Newborn rubber boas are commonly green in color with a bright yellow underside. The rubber boa's color becomes dull with age. Adult rubber boas may be tan, brown, dark brown, olive-green. The rubber boa feeds on small mammals such as mice and shrews, lizards, other snakes, and possibly even raids bird nests to feed on young or eggs. The rubber boa is an extremely adaptable snake. It is a good climber, burrower, and even swimmer.
It is perhaps the most northerly ranging species of boa on the planet. The rubber boa lives within the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California, and possibly northwestern Colorado. The rubber boa also ranges into Canada and has an established population around Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia.1
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