The Pacific Boas


There are no other boas within thousands of miles. They most likely had to raft across the Pacific to get to where they now reside. Triangular shaped viper 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 16 inches to over 7 feet with girth. They survive in the typical rainforest that most other boas do: dense undergrowth, high humidity, and lots of rain and prey. However these boas thrive equally well in dry grasslands, woodlands, plantations, and around human dwellings. The Candoia genus is like no other genus in the Boidae family. They are unique in their locality and appearance, but are overlooked in the herpetological hobby world.

Candoia are one of five Boidae genera that include the Eunectes, Epicrates, and Corallus of the Americas and the Boa that range from the Americas to Madagascar. Candoia do not possess the size of Eunectes, the iridescence of Epicrates, the bright Technicolor coloration of some Corallus, nor the popularity of the Boa genus though. Jerry Conway, one of the first hobbyist 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 the hidden gems that have been sitting out in the open. They are easy to care for, the easiest to sex properly, naturally calmer than their relatives, naturally variable, and beautifully unique in the Boidae family.

Species and Subspecies

Candoia aspera
Viper boas, aka New Guinea ground boas, are the most well known species of Candoia in the herpetological world and are commonly found throughout their range. They are found on their namesake island, New Guinea, on Irian Jaya, and on hundreds of islands off the shore of Indonesia. Viper boas are short and stocky, resembling death adders, and display a lot of variation in their coloring. They run the gambit of colors and patterns including black, brown, orange, yellow, and gold, and can be blotched or banded. The most impressive individuals are fire engine red with red ventral scales. These snakes have the thickest keeled scales of all Candoia, are between 22 and 36 inches long as adults, and spend a lot of their time in their water bowls. They are also completely terrestrial and even semi-fossorial. Two subspecies are recognized: C. a. aspera (Bismarck Ground boa) and C. a. schmidti (New Guinea Ground boa).


Candoia bibroni
Two subspecies are recognized:
C. b. australis
Solomon Islands tree boas are probably the second most well known species of Candoia, although not nearly as well known as C. aspera. Solomon Islands tree boas can be found throughout the islands and will usually be found in coastal mangrove or cultivated areas. They can be quite variable in color and pattern, colored in reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, browns, grays and black. They may have blotched or splotchy patterning, uniform color, or have an almost zig-zag dorsal stripe. Along with their great display of colors and patterns, C. b. australis also have the ability to lighten and darken in color and patterning throughout the day. I’ve seen individuals change from a dark brownish-red with heavy patterning to a light pinkish-tan with faint patterning, over the course of a few hours. This species’ habits are almost completely opposite of the Viper boas’ habits. They are arboreal 90% of the time, sometimes even perched in the classic fashion of a Green Tree python. Their thin bodies lend themselves nicely to an arboreal lifestyle, where they can stretch across and move between branches with ease. Rarely you’ll spot individuals hanging out and coiled up on the ground. Males of this species range from 3 to 4 feet in length, while females rarely exceed 6 feet.


The full-article, as well as more posts, photos, and snake care tips from Chris Carille can be seen on his personal blog here:
http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/