Ford's Boa

Ford's Boa is a small, secretive dwarf boa restricted to the humid lowland and foothill forests of the Choco bioregion in western Colombia and Ecuador. It belongs to a small group of dwarf boas placed in the genus Trachyboa, distinguished by their heavily keeled, almost tuberculate scales.

Because of its tiny size and nocturnal, leaf-litter dwelling habits, this species is infrequently encountered and remains poorly studied in the wild.

• Small, stout body with rough, strongly keeled scales giving a bumpy texture
• Coloration typically brown, grey, or reddish with darker blotching for camouflage among leaf litter
• Head is broad and somewhat triangular with small eyes and vertical pupils
• Distinguished from similarly small colubrids by its rough scalation and stocky, boa-like build
• Adults remain under half a meter, making it one of the smallest boa-like snakes

Found in lowland to lower montane wet rainforest of the Choco biogeographic region spanning western Colombia into northwestern Ecuador. It inhabits leaf litter and low vegetation near streams in areas with consistently high humidity and rainfall.

A nocturnal, ground-dwelling ambush predator that relies on camouflage to avoid detection. It feeds primarily on small amphibians and other leaf-litter animals. Like other dwarf boas, it is live-bearing, though details of its reproduction remain poorly documented due to its secretive nature.