Mr. Snake was a boa constrictor (also known as a red-tailed boa or Columbian boa; Latin name Constrictor constrictor).
He was born in 1978, making him 25 years old in 2003! (Several genera of snakes, including boas, rattlesnakes, and garter snakes, are born live.) Large species of snakes can supposedly live 30 years or more in captivity (my wife kept asking me about this...he finally died in 2004).
Mr. Snake grew to about 6 feet long. Boa constrictors can grow to over 10 feet long and get as big around as a grown human's thigh.
I fed him about every six weeks (snakes are the ultimate in low-maintenance pets), so he grew a lot more slowly than he would if fed, say, once per week. Snakes like this have a exceptionally slow metabolism--but he just lies around most of the day.
Mr. Snake ate rats from a pet store, as well as wild rats, mice, gophers, moles, and birds I caught digging up my yard or chewing on my car's engine. He could swallow one that is 6 inches long, not counting the tail. When I couldn't find rats at the store, I fed him a few mice at a time.
Being from the warm Amazon jungle, boas need to be kept warm. I kept his cage around 70-80 degrees F.
Male boas have the unusual characteristic of having a pair of little claws at the bases of their tails. This is supposed to be "left over" from their evolution from lizards. (Snake and lizards are from the same order of reptiles, Squamata).
Did he ever try to choke me?
Not on purpose.
I think he has a feel for the size of what he's wrapped around.
Besides, I don't smell like a rodent:
When I brought a rat or mouse near his cage, he immediately
got excited and started looking for it well before he had
seen it. However, when I opened his cage without a rodent around,
he usually didn't acknowledge my presence.
Has he ever bitten me?
Yes.
Boas' teeth are like two rows of stiff Velcro hooks
pointed backward toward their throats.
They leave neat rows of pin pricks in one's skin.
Mr. Snake has bitten me twice when he was scared
and I had him cornered.
Can snakes sense fear?
Ya, sure, you betcha.