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Wildlife Wonderings: Gentle GiantsIn the Bible, in Genesis 6:4, it reads, “There were giants in those days." In the reptile world, there are still giants.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, come and meet two gentle giants who reside in the Nature Center at Jesse Jones Park -- Ravenna the Boa Constrictor and Lucky the Burmese Python.
Ravenna is a new acquisition in the Jesse Jones collection, moving in a few months ago. Previously, she resided at a different Harris County facility. Her co-host for this program is Lucky, another powerful constrictor. Lucky is one of our time-treasured ambassador animals, having resided at Jesse Jones Park for more than 20 years.
Despite being large heavy constrictors, Lucky and Ravenna are fairly docile for snakes their size. They both possess a formidable array of teeth that could deliver quite a bite should they ether feel the need.
Both snake species are egg-layers. In the wild – or captivity – they often protect their eggs in a nest or by forming a circle around their eggs with their bodies.
Burmese pythons are carnivores that primarily eat small mammals and birds, but their diet is highly variable and can include larger prey like deer, pigs, goats, and alligators. They are generalist predators that hunt by striking their prey, constricting it to suffocate it, and then swallowing it whole thanks to their stretchy jaw ligaments.
Boa constrictors are also carnivorous snakes that eat a variety of prey depending on their size, with a typical diet including rodents, birds, and lizards. Young boas start with smaller prey like mice and insects, while adults consume larger animals such as rats, opossums, larger birds, and even monkeys or wild pigs. In captivity, their diet is often simplified to rats and mice, which are typically fed pre-killed.
In captivity – since they are popular pets, they eat “ratsicles” (frozen rats which are thawed before serving) or “mousescicles” (frozen mice which are thawed before serving. These frozen rodents are usually easy to obtain which contributes to these snakes’ popularity.
For a close-up look at Ravenna and Lucky, visit the Nature Center at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21. They (and you) will be glad you did!
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20634 Kenswick Dr, Humble, TX, United States, Texas 77338
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