Like most members of the Boidae family, it is a fairly robust snake that can reach 1,8 meters in length. It has gray and brown bands with black markings that run throughout its body.

It is generally terrestrial, solitary and, like most boas, it is ovoviviparous so the eggs hatch inside the mother's body and are born as completely independent offspring.

Although younger individuals are mainly nocturnal, in the case of adults, there is no pattern of daytime or nighttime activity. It normally hunts at night as it takes advantage of the drop in temperatures to detect the heat emitted by its prey, through heat-sensitive holes around its mouth. It feeds on small mammals that it kills by curling its body around it and suffocating them in its rings.

Threats facing this species include the widespread destruction of habitat that has occurred in Madagascar for agriculture or livestock grazing. In some areas, snakes are captured for food and the skins are used for the leather trade, or they are considered an omen of bad luck as they are predators of domestic birds.