I’ve been looking for one of these for a long time now. Tonight I finally found one. A nocturnal snake, this species is a constrictor that feeds on small mammals and birds. It is highly sought after by herpers because it is very docile, easy to take care of, and makes a good “pet”. I just wanted to find one and photograph it. I was walking up an arroyo that comes out of the Little Ajo Mountains and suddenly, there it was in the beam of my light, crossing the arroyo bottom. Made my day! There are two subspecies, the Desert Rosy Boa (which is more rosy colored) and this one, the Mexican Rosy Boa. Some herpetologists consider them two different species. (In my excitement last night, I forgot to mention that I am in Ajo, AZ now.)
4 replies on “A Rosy Boa”
I guess you didn’t want a pet? Native boas in the USA was a surprise to me! I looked them up; very interesting snakes. Are they in any danger of being over collected?
There are two native boas, the Rosy and the Rubber Boa. No, I’m not interested in a pet right now, wouldn’t have room anyway. Arizona requires a hunting license before anyone can collect snakes and then there is a possession limit of 4. Some species are completely protected but not the Rosy Boa. It isn’t easy to find anyway and most of the habitat is so remote and rugged that no one ever goes there, so it doesn’t seem to be in danger of being over collected.
This is a beautiful snake. Thank you for the pictures. Really interesting. I didn’t know there were Boa’s indigenous to the US.
Cool! Glad your enjoying Ajo🥰
Nice snake! I have so much trouble finding all of the herps. Great job