Pacific Northwest
Reptiles & Amphibians
Click on a picture for a larger view 
Northern Rubber Boa - Charina bottae
(Blainville, 1835)
 |
 |
 |
| Adult, 3,000 ft., Cascade Mountains, Okanogan County, Washington Older texts refer to this snake as the Rocky Mountain Rubber Boa, but that subspecies is no longer recognized. |
Adult, Klamath County, Oregon | |
 |
 |
 |
| Adult, Benton County, Oregon | Juvenile, Kittitas County, Washington | |
 |
 |
 |
| Juvenile, Kittitas County, Washington | Adult, Columbia County, Oregon © Marcus Rehrman |
|
 |
 |
|
| Adult, Kittitas County, Washington, found under rock, then retreated into hole. |
||
| Habitat | ||
 |
 |
 |
| Habitat, Kittitas County, Washington |
Habitat, Kittitas County, Washington | Habitat, Benton County, Oregon |
 |
||
| Cascade Mountains, Okanogan County, Washington |
||
| Short Videos | ||
 |
 |
 |
| It was 55 degrees F.around 8 PM at about 8,000 ft. elevation on a mountain pass in Alpine County when I saw this rubber boa crossing the road. It eventually dropped down a huge tree stump to get away from me and curled up under some tree bark. |
As you can see in this video, when they feel threatened, Northern Rubber Boas often curl into a ball with their head hidden in the middle and the tail on the outside, elevated like a head, which it resembles. When a predator attacks what it thinks is a head, it will only injure the tail, which is much less life threatening to the snake. Many rubber boas have scars on their tails from such attacks | Natalie took Chad and myself to look under a board she found in Marin County that is used as a shelter by at least 8 rubber boas. When Chad lifts it, we see 7 boas and a Coast Gartersnake. |
Northwest Reptiles and Amphibians
Return to the Top
© 2000 -