Intro
Chilabothrus inornatus; the Puerto Rican Boa (PRB) is an endemic boa that inhabits the island of Puerto Rico. This snake, known as Culebrón by Puerto Rican natives, is considered threatened in its native habitat. However, thanks to the efforts of a few dedicated keepers, we can enjoy them in the hobby field as well.
Their status is “CITES I” meaning they cannot be transported across state lines or sold outside of the state they were bred in. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, so this species of snake has a special place in my heart. I have been working with them for almost 10 years now and couldn’t be happier with this lesser known boa in the reptile hobby.
Natural History
The Puerto Rican boa can be found throughout the island although they tend to prefer caves, bluffs and mogotes (rolling sandstone hills) in the center of the island. They can also be found in and around urban areas. They are opportunistic hunters like most boids eating rats, birds and lizards.
This is a species that has adapted well to urban living despite locals fearing them. They are often found in sheds, chicken coops, and at times inside homes. In the wild, they can reach a length of up to eight feet, although the average for the species is around six feet. They are slow growers with individuals maturing at five+ years of age and living well into their 20s. Their color palette is normally shades of brown, black, and other earth tones that are ideal camouflage for forest floors and cave walls.
There have been cases of red and even axanthic individuals in the wild, but these are seldom seen. Their patterns tend to vary, with some keeping their pattern throughout adulthood while others become almost pattern-less as they mature.
Breeding in their natural habitat tends to happen around April/May. Later, in the months of August and early September, females start giving birth. Litters tend to be anywhere from 10-26 babies, they are born with a reddish-brown coloration. Newborns, referred to as neonates, typically go through their first shed soon after they are born. Neonates primarily feed on lizards, which can be tricky when starting to rear them in captivity.
Maintenance
Well established individuals are easy to maintain and care for in captivity. I keep mine the same way I keep my carpet pythons. I house my adult animals in 4’x2’ cages with hide boxes and some perches. They tend to stay on the ground or on top of their hides so the use of shelving might be beneficial. Room temperatures are 78°- 80°F with a basking spot of around 88°F. There is no standard on temperatures and in the wild, temperatures can vary greatly. They can tolerate hotter temperatures or colder temperatures down to the low 70’s with no problems. They tend to be very curious and will often bask in the open.
I routinely find them “greeting” me as I enter the room begging for food. A well-established individual will eat anything offered; I tend to feed mine rats and or mice every 10-15 days, even for neonates.
Breeding
I successfully had my first litter of PRBs in 2018. There are plenty of ways to be successful when breeding this species, but this is what worked best for me. From the months of August through September I fed mine more frequently than usual, giving them a meal every 5-7 days rather than every 10-15 days. By October, I stop their feeding and let them “empty out” for a few weeks. After I am sure they have fully digested their final meal, I start reducing temperatures at night to about 75°F, but keep the heat spot on. After a few weeks, I introduce the male to the female’s cage.
At this time, I leave them together until it’s time to bring temperatures back to normal. In about 3-4 weeks’ time, I raise the temperature back to the usual 78°- 80°F all day, separate the pair, and offer food to both the male and the female. I keep pairing until the female appears to be gravid. I keep offering food to the female every 10 days or so even after she has had her ovulation. With this routine, babies were born on the second week of August with a litter size of 12. Now this is were the fun part begins.
Establishing Neonates
I house my neonates in six-quart shoebox-style containers with an under-belly heat tape (85°F hot spot). A hide box, water bowl, and coconut shavings for bedding are all you need. They like to burrow under substrate so be sure to use a loose bedding to aid in “digging” that can hold a little moisture to help shedding. Getting neonates to start feeding can be a challenge but thanks to living in the golden age of reptile keeping, we have a few tools we can use before we start pulling our hair out.
Out of 12 neonates, only one ate unscented pinky mice on the first try; the rest of them needed a little encouragement. I decided to give the Repti-links scent products a try and bought: frog scent, anole scent, and iguana mini links.
I tried offering the iguana mini links and had one taker; however, most of my success with the links was using them for scenting purposes. After a month, I had all the neonates switched to unscented pinky mice. After that, it’s smooth sailing. I was able to switch from mice to rats without any hesitation or the use of scenting.
For every feeding trial, I did the following:
- I washed the pinkies with a de-scented hunting soap to eliminate any rodent smell
- Then I submerged the pinkies in hot water for a minute to ensure they were nice and hot (sometimes a hot pinky is enough to entice a hungry baby).
- I applied one drop of scent to each pinky and let them sit for a few seconds.
- I offered each neonate a scent covered pinky and left it in their cage overnight.
- I did this at night every week, or every other week, trying a new scent and marking the ones that ate with what scent worked.
- After three solid meals with the scented prey, I offered a washed pinky without scenting.
- Finally, I offered an un-altered pinky for the next meal.
Conclusion
If you are looking for an unusual snake that few people see, look no further than the PRB. The PRB has a lot to offer those seeking to keep uncommon boas or something off the beaten path. It is a very resilient and easy to keep species that’s full of attitude. They are very rewarding to keep, knowing that we have an established and healthy population in the trade. It is up to us to keep this species alive for this hobby.
By Erick W. Hernandez-Chacon of Basuca’s Ectotherms
