Patton,

The date is awfully late for the species to give birth. As to whether or not you should be worried depends on when mating took place and more importantly, when gestation began.

In the wild, the onset of gestation varies but normally takes place from mid May to mid June.



Given about a 100 day gestation period, parturition should then take place between the last week of August through the end of Sept. If for some reason your female did not ovulate and begin gestation until the first of July or thereafter, then one could expect birth to occur around the first week of October, possibly later.



Your temperature set up seems fine and is similar to what I use although I believe my temperatures rise to near 90 on some days. I have a 40 or 60 watt bulb suspended over a shallow metal pan. When it gets too warm, the female boas simply move away to the side of the pan or vacate the pan to a cooler hide in my large cage. I also have the light go on and off in sync. with the normal light / dark cycle during the summer months. Otherwise, just like out in the wild, the heat source varies over the 24 hr. cycle.



If your set up has been on continuously then something is wrong as even with ovulation and onset of gestation taking place in July, the female should have produced her litter by now. If she retains them too long, they will burst through their embryonic sac and suffocate and thus be stillborn. Secondly, depending on the origin of the parents of your female,

taking meals this late in gestation is not the norm for many populations of the species.



Are you absolutely certain you can still feel the young within the female. Your female should be noticeably distended in the lower 1/2 to 2/3rds of her body cavity if she is gravid. If that is not the case and she is still very robust, there is the possibility that she did not conceived during the mating process.



I will now be gone for 4 - 5 days.



Richard F. Hoyer

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