As babies, Brazilian Rainbow Boas can sometimes bite, but if you handle them often, they will usually stop biting.

When they get used to being handled and start to trust you, they usually stop doing things like this.

If your snake bites you, don’t put it down. Keep holding it so the snake knows it is safe and that biting you won’t help it get down when it wants to.

Once you show the snake that you are in charge and that you don’t want to hurt it, the chances of getting bitten again will be very low.

Even though the Brazilian Rainbow Boa is not poisonous, an adult’s bite will still hurt because of its long, hooked teeth.

Carefully slide your hand under the snake’s body to pick it up.

Don’t pick it up by its head, and support its body so it feels safe and secure in your hands.

The Brazilian Rainbow Boa is a reptile that lives alone unless it is time to breed.

It is not a good idea to keep them in the same cage as other snakes unless you want to breed them.

Lifespan

How well you take care of a Brazilian Rainbow Boa can have a big effect on how long it lives.

They can live up to 20–25 years in captivity if they are handled and cared for well.

In the wild, Brazilian Rainbow Boas don’t live nearly as long as they do in captivity. This is mostly because they get sick a lot and have to worry about being eaten by other animals.

Appearance

Brazilian Rainbow Boas are not actually rainbow-colored, but their bright markings and unique scales make them look iridescent, which is how they got their common name.

Most of the time, their background color is a shade of brown, orange, or red, and their markings are clear and have a dark black outline.

When they are born, Brazilian Rainbow Boa babies are usually between 15 and 20 inches long.

By the time they are a year old, they are usually between 36 and 40 inches long.

Adults can average between 5-7 feet in length.

Usually, females are bigger than males, but this doesn’t show when they are first born.

Males, on the other hand, have wider tails because their sexual organs are inside.

Brazilian Rainbow Boas can’t see well and don’t have ears, so they can’t hear sounds. Instead, they can feel vibrations, which let them know what’s going on around them.

They can also “see” heat because they can pick up on infrared radiation. The infrared sensors are above their upper lip.

Temperature & Lighting

Because they are nocturnal, Brazilian Rainbow Boas don’t need UV lighting like many other reptiles do.

Since Brazilian Rainbow Boas like a range of temperatures in their enclosure, it is good to give them a basking light to lie under during the day.

Since these animals come out at night, the lights should be turned off.

The Brazilian Rainbow Boa is nocturnal, which means it moves around more at night. This means that nighttime temperatures should be a little bit cooler.

Diet

Depending on their size, babies and young snakes usually eat pink feeder mice or small adult mice.

The best time to feed them is at night, when they are most active.

Snakes should only eat frozen or thawed rodents because the teeth and claws of live rodents can hurt your snake from the inside.

It is best not to touch your snake for about one to two days after it has eaten because it could make it throw up its food.