Boa constrictor ortonii
Distribution area: From far south of the province Tumbes, Peru, to the mountainous regions of La Libertad. The eastern boundary is Cajamarca.
Estimated average length of mature females: 2,8 m (9.2 ft)
Taxonomic status: Subspecies recognized by the CITES convention
Boa constrictor ortonii information | Boa c. ortonii offspring | Boa c. ortonii for sale | Boa c. ortonii breeder | buy a Boa c. ortonii | True Boa c. ortonii | Boa c. ortonii size
The scale-count of Boa c. longicauda and Boa c. ortonii is identic. Therefore, and because of the corresponding distribution areas a number of taxonomists are convinced, that Boa c. longicauda und Boa c. ortonii are identic, or rather that Boa c. longicauda is a color variant of Boa c. ortonii.
The largest female that was caught so far was about 9 ft. in length. Natives (who name the Boa c. ortonii "macanche") presented the skin of a dead specimen that was almost 11 ft. in length.
Normally, Boa c. ortonii lives in dry woodlands, but due to the excessive clearing of the woodlands, it was forced to evade into mountainous regions like La Libertad and Cajamarca. Meanwhile this subspecies has become endangered of extinction. In some areas, Boa c. ortonii has to compete for prey with Epicrates cenchria ssp.
The Ortons boa has to bare very low temperatures of about 17°C - 8°C (63° - 47° F) in the winter. The boas are very inactive during this period. In the summertime they deal with a relatively low humidity of about 65 percent (that is less compared to the need of other boa subspecies).
Boa c. ortonii feed on rodents, poultry, lizards, frogs and iguanas, as well as squirrels.
We don´t want to withhold this e-mail that received from our friend Bernardo Roca-Rey (Joemac). He lives in Lima/Peru:
"Today I met with Omar Pesantes and he showed 3 snakes to me of Boa C. Ortonii. The truth is that it is a Boa Constrictor but that never it had seen before (a think). In addition he explain me a little the problem that has this snake:
The Boa C. Ortonii lives in the dry forests of the North of Peru. I know the region well and is very different from the other habitats of other Boas C.. The humidity and the temperature is not so high (65% and 18ºC-24ºC) like in the other habitats of the rest of the Constrictor Boas. This does that is a little difficult to have them in Lima because of the high humidity and the temperatures in summer. In winter, the Ortoniis is not much active since the temperatures fall between 8ºC and 17ºC.
In addition, the Boa C. Ortonii lives in the middle of the habitats of the Boa C. Longicauda (East) and the Boa C. Constrictor (West). The problem is that the explotation of the habitat of the Boa C. Ortonii, causes that these tend to migrate towards the East or the West. This causes that competition between the other Boas C. which can exist or the existence of crossbreeds between Ortonii and Longicauda or Ortonii and Constrictor. (...)"