The preferred natural habitatofC. fordiiisforest, at altitudes from sea level to 713 m (2,339 ft), but it has also been found in agricultural areas.[1]
C. fordii is a small snake. Adults may attain a total length of 74 cm (29+1⁄8in), which includes a tail 12.5 cm (4+7⁄8in) long.
Dorsally, it has a ground color that is pale olive, yellowish, or reddish, overlaid by a series of transverse dark brown blotches, which are oval or kidney-shaped, with blackish borders. Some of these blotches may merge to form a wide wavy stripe in some places. Ventrally, it is yellowish, with small brown spots.
The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 33-43 rows. The ventrals number 250-265; the anal plate is entire; and the subcaudals, which number 70-80, are also entire.
On the dorsal surface of the head, the large frontal contacts the supraoculars; the remainder is covered by small irregular plates. There are 13 or 14 upper labials, without labial pits.[2]
^ abBoulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I.- XXVIII. (Epicrates fordii, p. 98).
^Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. ("Epicrates fordi [sic]", p. 184).
^Henderson RW, Powell R (2004). "Epicrates fordii ". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (800): 1–3.
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Epicrates fordi [sic]", p. 92).
^Günther A (1861). "On a New Species of the Family Boidae". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London1861: 142 + Plate XXIII. (Pelophilus fordii, new species).
Reynolds RG, Henderson RW (2018). "Boas of the World (Superfamily Booidae): A Checklist with Systematic, Taxonomic and Conservation Assessments". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology162 (1): 1–58. (Chilabothrus fordii, p. 11).
Reynolds RG, Niemiller ML, Hedges SB, Dornburg A, Peuente-Rolón AR, Revell LJ (2013). "Molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of West Indian boid snakes (Chilabothrus)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution68 (3): 461–470.
