Here in Kentucky, throughout the entire month of Sepetember, it was between 90-100 degrees every day. Surface temps could get a staggering 150 - 160 degrees. We got less than an inch of rain in September.
Would you reccomend these conditions to keep, say, a corn snake or a king snake in? Why or why not?
I can tell you from my personal field experience that when we went out twice in September looking for baby rattlesnakes that should have been newly born, we found nothing. Not a single snake present in areas that always produce snakes for us. Why is this?
When conditions in the wild get extreme (hot, cold, dry, wet) the snakes seek shelter. Many go underground. They emerge and are active when conditions improve... be that at night, after a rain, what have you.
Here in Kentucky, during the summer, if you go out mid day there is one species of snake you are likely to find: Black racers. They pretty much have the hottest part of the day to themselves. You will, however, find all manner of lizards. Fence swifts, 5 lined skinks, etc. The snakes are seeking shelter from the heat, the animals that are built for it are seeking the heat.
As a good example, here are the monthly temperature averages for Barranquilla, Colombia (where the boas come from):
Average Weather for Barranquilla, * - Temperature and Precipitation
Highs: 88-92
Lows: 74-76
Same thing for Iquitos, Peru:
Average Weather for Iquitos, * - Temperature and Precipitation
Highs: 86 - 89
Lows: 69 - 71
This is where they live.
One more thing to add... Boas are primarily nocturnal and crepuscular. They are not active during the hottest part of the day. They seek shelter from it in fact.
So armed with this knowledge of boas, their habits, and their habitat, why would I want to provide temperatures of 100+ degrees to a boa?
