Order: Squamata

Family: Boidae

 

Size:  up to 61 cm in length.

 

Key Features: the head is wedge-shaped with narrow nostrils and very small eyes. The body is cylindrical in shape with small polished dorsal scales. The tail, which is blunt, rounded, and not distinct from the body, appears truncated. Coloration varies from reddish-brown to dull yellow-tan.

 

Breeding: Species is ovoviviparous, with females giving birth to up to 14 young at a time.

 

Diet: Feeds on rodents, other snakes and lizards.

 

Habitat: found in dry, semi-desert scrub plains and rocky dry foothills. It prefers loose sand, or sandy soil that crumbles easily.

 

Habits: very slow behaviour with almost no aggression. Due to shy and burrowing behavior choose to make a coil with head inside it and search sandy soil for making temporary burrow.

 

Conservation Status: Not assessed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Mehrtens JM. (1987). Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.

 

Sights, Warren P. (1949). "Annotated list of reptiles taken in western Bengal". Herpetologica 5 (4): 81–83.

 

Eryx johnii. In IndianSnakes.org , Retrieved on July 11, 2014 from http://www.indiansnakes.org/content/red-sand-boa

 

Photo Courtesy

AshLin, Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons