Boomslang Facts
Boomslang Facts
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| Interesting Boomslang Facts: |
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| Boomslang can reach 3 to 5 feet in length and 0.4 to 1.1 pounds of weight. |
| Females are brown colored. Males are brightly colored and covered with green scales that have black or blue edges. Belly can be yellowish, grayish or light brown in color. |
| Boomslang has large, yellow colored eyes with round pupils. It has excellent eyesight and ability to detect even the motionless chameleon. |
| Boomslang has small, egg-shaped head, and slender, laterally flattened body covered with large, heavily keeled, overlapping scales. Skin between the scales in the neck area is black colored. |
| Boomslang is diurnal animal (active during the day). |
| Name "boomslang" is a local name (in the South Africa) for a "tree snake". |
| Boomslang is arboreal animal (adapted to the life in the trees). It occasionally descends to the ground to find food. |
| Boomslang is a carnivore (meat-eater). Its diet is based on birds, arboreal lizards and rodents. Boomslangs often visits nests of sociable weavers to collect eggs. |
| Boomslang is rear-fanged snake (their fangs are located at the back of the jaws). Unlike other rear-fanged snakes, boomslang has large fangs and it can stretch its mouth for 170 degrees during the attack. Boomslang injects the venom via stabbing motion. |
| Bite of boomslang can be fatal for humans. First signs of envenomation appear few hours or one day after bite. Venom induces internal bleeding that leads to death if person does not receive an antivenin. |
| Despite its potent venom, boomslang rarely attacks people. It will try to escape more commonly than to bite when it is cornered. Boomslang inflates its neck and exposes its black-colored skin and positions the body in the S-shape before the attack. |
| Mating season of boomslangs takes place from July to October. Males aggressively fight with each other to establish dominance and get opportunity to mate. |
| Female lays 10 to 25 eggs inside the hollow trees and logs or beneath decaying vegetation. Incubation period lasts 65 to 100 days. |
| Hatchlings are 12 inches long at birth, grey or brown colored and covered with dark and light bluish dots on dorsal side of the body. Yellowish or pinkish belly is covered with brown spots. Their eyes are large, iridescent green colored. Young boomslangs have prominent vertebral stripe that will vanish before they reach adulthood. Boomslangs reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 3 years. |
| Boomslangs can survive around 8 years in the wild. |
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