Young Writers Society

If you were being squeezed to death by a boa constrictor, had no weapons, no one was around, and you weren't a hero (Indiana Jones, for example) how would you escape?

Any facts about boas are fine too. Thank's for your time!

If I remember correctly, the only way to escape is to keep your chest inflated (basically, suck in your gut and keep it that way no matter what) and take really short breaths until the constrictor gets bored or thinks you're too hard a catch. You'll have a pretty nasty snake bite to deal with after, but the way constrictors hunt, they trap a person's arms in such a way you can't really do anything. Unless you reacted faster than the boa and managed to break their bite before they got a hold of you. A boa won't be able to constrict if it doesn't have a grip on its prey.

Wow. Interesting question. I remember reading that if you struggle at all or even move, it thinks you're trying to escape and squeezes tighter. Your internal organs would be crushed eventually, even if you kept your chest inflated. Basically, I think unless there was someone with you, or you could react quickly, (like Rosey said) you'd be pretty much done for.

Inaccurate!

I have been keeping herps- continuously- for over ten years, but got my first snake, a garter, when I turned eleven, and kept him for two years. So, my information is purely based on experience, which in some respects is more sufficent than the Web and books; both can have shady and false information to the beginner.

The genus Boa from the family Boidae (or Boids to hobbyists) has four reconized species. The Columbian is considered the largest in terms of length and girth. Females are capable of attatining a length of twelve feet but rumors claim of fourteen foot specimans in the wild. Boas are generally very calm and are not known to be aggressive, which is why they make decent "pets" for those who have at least three years of experience under their belt and wish to provide the nessessary enclosure and environment for a larger Boid. Male Columbian Boas attain lengths of five to eight feet.

The reports you "hear" or read about in newspapers are idiot hobbists who keep the giant pythons such as the Reticulated (Retics, Rock and Burmese. The Green Anaconda is another that in the wild; rumors claim of wild specimans of reaching nearly thirty feet in length. Yes, it's plausible. What I meant by idiot hobbyists are the dummies actually putting these large reptiles around their neck. That alone is asking for trouble. Coupled with aloohol, and being alone, if an animal feels threatened, it will strike. That is just the nature of the beast, no matter what genus of animal you own. Your cat can tear you apart if it wanted. All circumstances I've read is, since the giant pythons are reach such impressive lengths and can get as around to potentially swallow a small gazelle with some species, it is not particulary wize to slide the glass doors fully open, and especially scented with their prey (your hands and clothes). They are bigger than you, what on Earth do they have to fear of? It's like walking up to a bull moose! Hence, if you don't change out of fresh clothes and wear gloves when feeding, you really do deserve a good tag.

Responsible keepers of the giant pythons change their clothes, waah their hands and have a second - TRAINED! - person with them at all times when feeding. Keepers also never slide the glass door open, but rather have a locked, trap door underneath that also slides. This trap door is slid open and the prey is quickly thrown up and in, after unlocked of course. Also their main sliding glass doors of the cage are also locked and the cage that contains the animal is kept in a seperate room away from other people. It is not uncommon to hear of someone's retic or burm's cage kept in another room and that room is also addionally locked. So the room is locked, the main cage and the sliding trap door underneath are all locked. ; )

To summerize, choosing a Boa is totally lame, and completely inaccurate because of their docile disposition. Really, any genus of the snakes are not normally agressive unless of course when feeding them, the keeper isn't paying attention, is intoxicated or all of the above.

Addionally, I think it's quite absurd in selecting a snake in terms of strangling having kept these wonderful animals for many years. Also, I'd like to further point out, we hear on the rare occasion of a person being strangled by one of the giant pythons and more often than not, the fellow is drunk off his butt!