I'm certainly in the "no expert" group as well. In fact, I'm Vice-President of the "still tryin' to figure this out" group. If I figure Jessica's due date from her ovulation....she was due 4/7...ack! Which puts her even more overdue...haha!

My first litter in 03 made me crazy with anticipation. I burned sick days and holiday days at work, hoping each night would be THE NIGHT. Then, true to form, Murphy's Law kicked in and Ms Muir delivered on one of my regular nights off I was rewarded with getting to watch the entire process with my Mom. It was a real treat for her and I'm glad she got to see it. We giggled and squealed like a couple of kids each time the next baby came out.

Now, I don't know if I'm doing everything right. I'm doing all that *I* know to do, then I have to hope for the best. Years of working with broodmares taught me that Mother Nature goes at her own pace and I better just relax - already! A mare will wait you out cause she knows eventually you'll have to go potty, go get a snack, etc., and that's when it will happen. Stall mounted video cameras are wonderful things.

This year, my one-rat "Jessica" is doing some different things than I've seen in my other girls. Except for me seeing her ovulation and her religiously thermo-regulating, she hasn't done some of the other things we talk about gravid boas doing. The people who say, "the boas haven't read the books" are sooo right, in a humerous way. It's such a reminder to me, of how we humans want to control things. Our frustration level goes up when we find things we can't control

As worrisome as baby time can be, the anticipation and the new baby's arrival is so much fun. I spend a lot of time wondering what they will look like, how many there will be and hoping they will be healthy.

Best wishes to everyone on this season!! I love seeing pics of the new litters!
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Linda Hedgpeth
lindafh@frontiernet.net
Sierra Serpents

"There is just as much horse sense as ever, but the horses have most of it".

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