Posted by:
liquidleaf
at Thu Nov 29 09:54:29 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by liquidleaf ]
No, I'd also read a similar thing, it was a female.
However, such a thing is by far an EXCEPTION... just like a very young human girl giving birth. Things like this have happened, but most humans aren't ready to ovulate until 10 - 15 years of age.
So, the supposed viable breeding of an 18 month old female boa could very well have happened, but the maturity level of any female boa at a given age can't be positive. Some might be 3 or 4, some might be 2, or 2 and a half.
So you can look at it in the same way, even though it might seem strange to equate human maturity to boas... but we're all critters when it comes down to it!
I also had a 2.5 year old female hog island that I thought was very healthy and large enough for breeding, and put her in with a male for several months, and I noticed some breeding activity.
She died a week before I thought she was due (she developed a telescoped intestine and died within a week of that happening - not related to breeding but the swelling due to the intestinal problem made me think she was gravid at the time). When the vet necropsied her, he said her ovaries showed NO signs of activity at all. So in her case, she obviously wasn't mature yet at 2.5 and healthy weight.
So, it seems that female boas can't be "guaranteed" to be ready for breeding until 3 or 4 years of age at least, though many can at 3, and some at 2 or 2.5. So you can try... but you may not get any results at all.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa
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RE: Should I be concerned? - liquidleaf, Thu Nov 29 09:54:29 2007
