Description: Looks rubbery. The short broad snout and short blunt tail give it a two-headed appearance. Uniformly olive green, reddish brown, or tan to chocolate brown. It has large scales on the top of the head. The eyes are small and the pupils are vertical. The scales are smooth, in 32-53 rows and the anal plate is single. Adult males have well developed anal spurs while the small spurs in females are usually hidden.
Habitat: Damp woodland and coniferous forest, large grassy areas, meadows, and moist sandy areas along rocky streams. Found from sea level to 9,200 feet.
Breeding: Live bearing. Gives birth to 2 - 8 young that are 7 inches long. Young are born late August to September.
Range: Found from British Columbia to southern California and eastward to Montana, Wyoming and Utah.
Additonal Notes: Crepuscular and nocturnal. An accomplished burrower, it retreats under rocks or into damp sand, hollow rotting logs, or forest litter. Also a good swimmer and climber, its prehensile tail enables it to climb shrubs and small trees. A constrictor, it preys on small mammals, birds, and lizards. It is docile and curls into a ball when picked up. Captivity longevity exceeds 11 years.
Subspecies:
Northern Rubber Boa (C. b. bottae): dorsal color of adults usually olive-green to medium brown; average total length over 16" (400 cm). Southern British Columbia through Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and mountains of California, eastward through northern Nevada, northern and central Utah, and western Wyoming and Montana. Isolated populations in Bighorn Mountains of central Wyoming and Montana. Photo... Southern Rubber Boa (C. b. umbratica): smaller than C. b. bottae, usually less than 16" (40 cm) long; lighter in color, mainly tan; larger scales. San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California. Photo...
