Rubber boas

Say rubber boa to most people and they will visualize a toy. They are unaware that there is a real, live snake called a rubber boa (charina bottae) that lives in several northwestern states including northern California.

In a lifetime of living with nature, I have only seen two of these rubber boas. My late-husband George captured them while working in the woods and brought them home for us to see. They are a docile snake, and curl up in a ball when disturbed rather than biting. We teased them trying to make them strike, but got little reaction. They curled up with their heads underneath them and appeared to strike with their tails.

They aren't a common snake, nor are they rare. They aren't seen often, however, because they are nocturnal. They are a burrowing snake so when they are found, they will usually be under a rock, a rotted log or hidden in forest litter.

They are small- to medium-size snakes, from fourteen inches to thirty-three inches long. The colors can vary from tan, to brown or an olive green with, sometimes, a yellow belly. The scales are small and smooth so the snake appears slick and shiny with a rubbery look.

Both ends of the snake are blunt so it's not obvious which end is which until one sees the eyes.

Rubber boas like cool temperatures and can be found in damp woodlands, conifer forests, in large grassy areas or moist sandy areas near streams in mountainous canyons. Its habitat includes the northwestern United States and Canada. It is found in British Columbia and in northwest states, as far east as Wyoming, and in northern California and Nevada. It is a good swimmer and can climb.

Rubber boas are live bearers, delivering two to eight babies about seven inches long in August or September.

It does not feed on insects, but on small mammals, birds, lizards and lizard eggs.

They have lived up to eleven years in captivity, but we kept the two we had for only a short while before releasing them back into the wild.