This is a defense mechanism to confuse/ward off their enemies.ĭiet: What Do Emerald Green Tree Boas Eat The color variation in the hatchlings is thought to be a mimicry of the venomous viper species that share a common habitat.The snake can also use its tongue sensors to detect vibrations, which in turn help it spot prey or protect itself from predators.The tail of this tree-dwelling snake is quite prehensile, giving them the ability to have a better grip on the branch they cling to.Though this feature is common with many other boa species, the number of these infrared radiation sensors present in the emerald boa is more in numbers, compared to the other boa species. The snake uses these pits to spot its prey’s movement by using the body heat that the latter releases. Since their vision is weak, they have pits around their mouth to compensate for this discrepancy.Their bright green coloration and the paradoxical patterns help them stay camouflaged among the greens of the forest.The age of sexual maturity of the males is 3-4 years, while for the females, it is 4-5. The babies are able to hunt for their food right after they are born, and they usually feast upon amphibians and small reptiles. They take around a year to get their characteristic green coloration. Life Cycle of the Baby Emerald Tree BoaĪfter their birth, they can have different body colors like bright red, brick-red, yellow or orange. The baby emerald tree boas have an average length of 30 cm (12 inches), with each juvenile having a weight of about 20 to 50 g.
When the young ones develop completely, they hatch out inside the body of the female, while the mother gives birth to 3 to 18 (average 10) live young. The female snake carries the fertilized eggs inside the body, as the offspring grow up within their shells deriving nourishment from the egg yolk. They are ovoviviparous, with the gestation period being 6-7 months. The females reproduce only once in every two years and do not lay eggs. The breeding season of this snake falls between April and July. Very little is known about the mating behavior of this species, and a few studies could only be conducted in the zoo. When they rest, they firmly keep themselves clung to the branches of trees using their tail, while the rest of the body is kept wrapped around the tree branch with the head hidden at the center of the coil.Įmerald Tree Boa Images Mating & Reproduction These boas can move very quickly from one tree to another through the foliage. In fact, their meals can be several months apart. This makes the prey immobile, and it gradually faints and dies from suffocation.īecause their rate of metabolism is extremely slow, they consume much less food compared to the other ground-dwelling snake species. The snake kills its prey using constriction by holding the victim with its jowls, and then quickly encircling itself around the animal’s body and continually squeezing it with the pressure of its body muscles.
They hang themselves from the branches with the mouth close to the ground, as they attack the unsuspecting rodents that pass by. They are ambush predators, that is, they conceal themselves and wait for their prey.
The ETB is nocturnal, and tend to spend most of its time on treetops, seldom coming down to the ground level, except for basking in the sun. However, male to male aggressive behavior has been studied in these snakes, especially if they happen to come close to each other. The Emerald Tree Boa is primarily solitary by nature and would interact only during the season of mating. While the ETB has two rows of heat pits above the mouth, the GTP has only one.The body scales of the boa are much larger than that of the python.Unlike the squarish nose of the ETB, the GTP’s nose is more rounded, having softer edges.Emerald Tree Boa Snake Emerald Tree Boa vs.
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