Linda,

Sounds like this girl is making you go Bonkers. First I would like to let everyone know why I did tell you to “HOLD OFF” breeding. I personally have not had good luck in breeding in Mid to Late Summer. Also, that female was Barely 25 months at that time. I think it would have been a huge mistake to get her pregnant so early as this could have contributed to many problems she may have the rest of her life. I have bred Young females with NOTHING but tragic results. I have had young females up to size with BIG follicles and decided to go for the GUSTO. I really wish I hadn’t. I would love to give the statistics on my numbers, but I would bore everyone more then I already do. So, I do feel that adding another 6 months of feeding would have had NO Harm or effect on her follicular growth, and After following HUNDREDS of Boas the past 5 years with ultrasound technology, I believe I can shed some light on the situation.

FIRST of all, without a DOUBT females can grow HUGE follicles without the presence of a male. So, you don’t have to have a Male COURTING a female in order for the follicles to grow big. Also, a Male will breed a female with VERY small follicles. I have found that this REALLY does wear out the Males. There is no REASON to put them on a female and have them court them to get those follicles to a Specific size when the female will do it without the male. Had you have left your male in with that female to court her, I would almost BET you 100 bucks your Hypo Female wouldn’t be pregnant buy that SAME male, and the other female you mentioned you were breeding wouldn’t have a shot either. Now, You ask, HOW IN THE HECK do I know that my female has BIG follicles without an ultrasound??? I know this sounds silly, but you really can tell by behavior. I have been almost able to guess where EVERY female I have ultrasounding is at before we even Ultrasound her. Gaylynn always asks me. HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT??? Well, I think the females really tell you and let you know. Of course I can pin point MUCH clearer because of my past experience with Ultrasounding. However, there are Breeders such as Mike W, Pete Kahl, and I’m sure Rich Ihle and Jeff Ronne, can just look at a female and KNOW that she has large follicles. Some of the females show it by the body, and others just start acting differently. As you get to know each animal, you start to figure it out. I think that is why it is SOOO important to take notes and KEEP those notes and study them every year so you can learn what the animals behavior was before and that can help you make decisions the next year. With a large collection of Boas, it is even MORE important because it is very easy to forget.

Second. You really don’t need an ultrasound to determine follicular size. I have found that it is quite easy to Palpatate BOAS!!! YES BOAS. You have to do it Completely Opposite then you do the Ball pythons, but it is quite similar and easy. So, if you can FEEL the follicles, they are DEFINATLEY large enough for you to introduce a Male. On my knew web site, I’ll have video footage of HOW to do this, so be a little more patient, and I will have some examples of “HOW TO DO THIS” as well as many other things.

Last without REALLY boring you, I can tell you that X rays are pretty hard to read. 2 years before Gaylynn and used Ultrasounds, we used to pack up the car with a ton of heat pads and bring as many females as we thought we could to the Vet for Xrays. Sometimes you could see, but sometimes you couldn’t and GAS is dark black just like slugs, and they are very hard to determine possible outcomes. I also did some studies on the effects of Xrays, and although I did have some good litters, I don’t think it is the best thing for them. However, they can really be helpful in areas such as this.

Here is what I would do. Chris at Giantkeeper mentioned his experience with feeding and breeding, and he is correct. There was a question he was answering when the guy asked if his female ovulated. Well, to touch up on that. I can tell you that I have NEVER had a female eat within 2 weeks of her ovulataion, and most of the time it is 3 to 4 weeks before they take food. So, if you feed a female and she gets a HUGE lump it is probably like Chris said the combination of large follicles and food. FEEDING is sometimes hard to tell if they are GRAVID because some females eat and some don’t.

Why Bring that up? Because here is what I would tell LINDA to do in this situation. Since gas can be caused by the breaking down of food, I wouldn’t feed that Female Motley for 2 weeks. I would then go in and get an Xray or an Ultrasound. The Ultrasound would be ideal but if you don’t have that technology, then do the X ray. HOWEVER, Just go 3 inches up from the VENT. Once a female has Ovulated, the eggs go ALL the way into the VENT. Sometimes we think a female has completely ovulated, and Gaylynn and I just take the Probe 1 to 2 inches from the Vent and if we see circles, they have NOT completely ovulated from both ovaries. So, take the X ray or the Ultrasound and go up from that point. If you see nothing, she has NOT ovulated. IF SHE hasn’t ovulated then there is NO use of worrying about SLUGS that are stuck that have to be removed. She may have some infection in the bowel which is NOT uncommon for females breeding, and that could be a LOT worse. However, if you don’t see matter within 6 to 8 inches up from the VENT, she is NOT gravid. So, I hope that Helps.

I could go on a little further, but this is long enough. I will mention this about the Ultrasound. It is VERY Difficult to see into LARGER Boas even with a great Probe. So, you really have to know EXACTLY what you are doing and have a LOT of experience to determine what is going on. Also, you can START to see Hearbeats exactly 30 days after the POS. However, you have to be good to see them that young. I would suggest trying at 40 to 45 days. The first 2 years we used the ultrasound, it was hard to determine if there were babies or Slugs because SLUGS look like little cinnamon rolls that look like skeletons. It wasn’t until MANY MORE females we ultraounded that we could make an accurate decision on EXACTLY what is going on. It really takes Years of experience to know FOR SURE. Also, when working with an Ultrasound, it is BEST to have 2 PEOPLE do it. I couldn’t imagine where I would be without Gaylynn helping me, and giving her advice on what is going on. It is IMPOSSIBLE to do Boas with one person in Water. Gell is the ONLY way a solo person can do it.

Also, I will mention that the Ultrasound has been Very helpful, but it really is a LOT more effective in Ball Python breeding then in Boa Breeding. Again, most breeders that really learn and know the animals can really easily tell when a female has follicles and needs a Male. The rest really is up to Mother Nature. Sure there are somethings we can attempt to mimic in the wild as Best as we can, but Even in the PERFECT conditions a female still can give slugs, Die, or Not get gravid. ALSO, it is 100 percent true that a female can get HUGE follicles all the way up to 25 mm’s in size, and then reabsorb them. This process takes about 3 weeks of reabsorbtion. During this time, a female will NOT feed. What causes this or triggers this is something I have NO CLUE about.

Hope this helps!!!! Best of luck Linda. I know you really want those Fantastic Purple Babies, and I know in time you’ll have them.

I’ll be happy to answer ANY questions on the topic if you would like to post them. Jeremy Stone

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