# Red-tailed boa (*Boa constrictor*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-tailed-boa  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor) is a snake in the family Boidae and subfamily Boinae, within the order Squamata of the class Reptilia. It falls in the medium size class, with an adult body mass of 10.59 kg and a body length of 1.75 m. Its main foods include agouti, armadillo, brocket deer, iguana, monkey, rodent, squirrel and wild boar. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and has a lifespan of 30 years, with values up to 40.4 years reported.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 10.6 kg |
| Length | 1.75 m |
| Lifespan | 30 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 40.4 years |
| Main food | agouti, ameiva, anatidae, armadillo, brocket deer, cat and 14 more |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 125 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 21.4 – 25 |
| Age at maturity | 3 years – 3.5 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.5 – 1 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Boidae
- genus: Boa
- species: *Boa constrictor* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Boa atlantica*, *Boa constrictor amarali*, *Boa constrictor melanogaster*, *Boa constrictor ortonii*, *Boa constrictrix*, *Boa occidentalis*, *Boa ortonii*, *Constrictor auspex*, *Constrictor constrictor*, *Constrictor constrictor amarali*, *Constrictor constrictor constrictor*, *Constrictor constrictor occidentalis*, *Constrictor diviniloquus*, *Constrictor formosissimus*, *Constrictor rex serpentum*, *Euncetes murinus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the red-tailed boa?

The red-tailed boa is a snake, a reptile in the family Boidae and subfamily Boinae.

### How big is the red-tailed boa?

The red-tailed boa has a body length of 1.75 m and an adult body mass of 10.59 kg, placing it in the medium size class.

### What does the red-tailed boa eat?

Its main foods are agouti, ameiva, anatidae, armadillo, brocket deer, cat, chicken, dog, frog, iguana, marsupial, monkey, mus, ocelot, rabbit, rattus, rodent, salvator, squirrel and wild boar.

### How long does the red-tailed boa live?

The red-tailed boa has a lifespan of 30 years, and our sources report values up to 40.4 years.

### How many young does the red-tailed boa have?

The red-tailed boa has 25 young or eggs per litter or clutch, with 0.5 litters or clutches per year.

### When does the red-tailed boa reach sexual maturity?

The red-tailed boa reaches sexual maturity at 3 years (1,095 days).

### Who named the red-tailed boa?

The red-tailed boa, Boa constrictor, was named by Linnaeus in 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-tailed-boa