Boa Constrictor Growth

Like most animals, boa constrictors have a cubic length-weight relationship. The graph below is based on 360 observed weights for snakes of different lengths, 81 newborn and 15 older boas that ranged from 1.3 to 8.3 feet (0.41 to 2.53 meters) in length and from 0.062 to 30.5 pounds (0.028 to 13.84 kilograms) in weight. Multiple measurements were taken on specimens that had grown substantially. Boas were measured and weighed just prior to being fed.

A boa constrictor easily can eat without harm up to a quarter of its body weight during a feeding session.

Growth is affected strongly by temperature, amount of food, sex of the boa constrictor, andthe snake's area of origin. Figures 3 and 4 was based on seven females and four males whose age was either known or can be estimated closely. The graphs show that the highest growth rates occur in the first three or four years of life. After this, males appear to approach a maximum of about 75 inches (191 centimeters) and eleven pounds (five kilograms). Females continue to grow to much larger sizes, and their data points indicate that a maximum has not been reached by sixteen years of age. The data include a ten-year-old imperator female that measures around six feet (two meters), weighs about nine pounds (four kilograms), and comes from Mexico, an area where individuals may attain a smaller maximum size than do the constrictor's of South America.

Info adapted from BoaCare ©1999 Siar Anthranir Reptiles