Trivia question for Jul-26-2011

Olivia likes her snakes.  Here she tries to stump everyone again.  Lets see how she does. This is a large snake, although only modestly sized in comparison to other large snakes such as the reticulated and Burmese python, and can reach lengths of anywhere from 3–13 feet depending on the locality and the availability of suitable prey.

They are solitary animals, and will only associate with conspecifics to mate. They are nocturnal, however they may bask during the day when night-time temperatures are too low. As semi-arboreal snakes, young individuals may climb into trees and shrubs to forage, however they become mostly terrestrial as they become older and heavier. They will strike when threatened, and will bite in defense. This bite can be painful, especially from large snakes, but is rarely dangerous. However, care must be taken to ensure that infection doesn’t result from the injury.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what kind of snake this is and how often they shed their skin.  Also, you can tell the number of vertebrae these snakes have by externally counting what?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations are in order for our friend Ruthi Pascale from Pensacola FL for being the first with all the correct answers. The mighty snake we featured is the Boa Constrictor. The Boa constrictor is a large, heavy-bodied species of snake. It is found in North, Central, and South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive. Ten subspecies are currently recognized, although some of these are controversial.

These guys shed their skin every 3-months to accommodate its rapid growth.  In general, babies shed every few weeks to every couple months, adults shed about once every 6 months.  As for being able to identify how many vertebrae the snake has from the outside, that can be done by counting its scales.  You see, each ventral scale is aligned with a vertebrae, so you could count them and know how many are present.  Here is more on these guys: Boa Constrictor

Thanks for playing along 😉