Rubber boa (Charina bottae)

Short answers

Rubber boa: How big does the enclosure need to be?

80×40×30 cm.

Rubber boa: What temperature does it need?

Daytime 20–26 °C (COOL), basking spot 28 °C, at night 13–18 °C.

Rubber boa: Does it need UVB lighting?

UVB: Not required.

Rubber boa: How long do they live?

Life expectancy: 20–30 years.

Rubber boa: Is it suitable for beginners?

Rather not – it is considered an intermediate species (difficulty: Intermediate).

Climate

Daytime temperature

20–26 °C (COOL)

Night temperature

13–18 °C

Basking spot

28 °C

Humidity

55–70 %

UVB

Not required

Enclosure

Minimum size

80×40×30 cm

Substrate

Bark mulch and soil with leaf litter 10–15 cm, bark hides, a water dish

Feeding

Food

Small frozen-thawed mice, ideally nestlings

Feeding interval

every 7–14 days

Key facts

Adult size

35–65 cm

Life expectancy

20–30 years

Origin

Western North America

Protection status

Protected: CITES Appendix II, EU Annex B - proof of origin required at purchase and resale. Protected in parts of its range.

Brumation

A winter rest of 12–16 weeks at 5–10 °C

Cohabitation

Keep them singly. Snakes are solitary and do not seek company — a shared hide is competition for the best spot, not social behaviour. The concrete reason is the feeding accident: if two animals grab the same food item, one can swallow the other along with it. On top of that, once they are kept together you can no longer tell which animal has eaten and which is losing weight. For breeding, put them together under supervision and separate them again afterwards.

Notes

The world's coolest-living boa – room warmth above 27 °C is tolerated poorly. A very calm, slow animal with a blunt false-head tail. It needs a genuine, long winter rest.

Do you keep this species?

Add your animal to Reptoria – Reptoria reminds you about feeding and shedding. Add your animal for free →

Look for Rubber boa (Charina bottae) in the marketplace →

Related species

• Sunbeam snake (Xenopeltis unicolor) – Intermediate
• Calabar burrowing python (Calabaria reinhardtii) – Intermediate
• Mexican burrowing python (Loxocemus bicolor) – Intermediate
• Red pipe snake (Anilius scytale) – Expert
• Red-tailed pipe snake (Cylindrophis ruffus) – Intermediate
• Common egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis scabra) – Intermediate
• Northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon) – Intermediate
• Andean milk snake (Lampropeltis micropholis) – Intermediate

All species in the care wiki →

What you need to start

To keep Rubber boa (Charina bottae) you typically need: a suitable enclosure (80×40×30 cm), substrate (Bark mulch and soil with leaf litter 10–15 cm, bark hides, a water dish), a heat source with a thermostat, thermometer and hygrometer, a water dish and hides. You will find equipment in the Reptoria marketplace.