In all of this, you missed probably the most distinguishing factor that probably keeps most from getting their BCC to reproduce: not using an approach to seasonality (seasonal temperature cycling). Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying they are easy to breed. I am merely saying that I don’t think a lot of people take the time to approach breeding with the one most statistically, positively correlated tactic we have been taught: seasonality.



I have personally talked to several people whose BCC “wouldn’t breed no matter what they tried”. When I asked them what their hot spot temps were, most of them couldn’t even tell me. Even those who did know still didn’t have a plan of varying those temps and a timeframe for it all. A definitive plan based on some evidence is often lacking. If you can’t quantify what you’ve done, how can your truly and accurately repeat or describe what you’ve done? It’s difficult.



The large discrepancy between successful BCC and BCI reproductive efforts is amplified by the fact that BCI are mostly represented by successive generations of CBB animals that are more acclimated whereas many more BCC animals are WC and somewhat less acclimated. It is even further amplified by the commonly observed fact that, as a general rule for the majority, the BCI require a significantly smaller gradient in temperatures to induce reproductive behavior. Thus, these necessary criteria for BCI are more easily “accidentally” or “effortlessly” met than they are for BCC.



Many Surinam BCC owners do not know the maturity (age) of their animals and this ads to the “my BCCs won’t breed” hype that many of us have heard.



There are probably more and more BCC that are CBB now not only because there are more and more CBB mature acclimated adults (F1 and F2), but also there are more and more people joining this hobby and the internet has become a portal to share the hobby and techniques. I know I (and several others) wouldn’t have figured out the things I have if Derek Yagi, Rob Tudehope and a few others had not shared ideas.



My main question to all breeders out there would be this. What is a good running average of experienced keeper’s successful attempts at getting BCI pairs to reproduce versus the same breeders successful attempts at getting BCC to reproduce and compare that with what seasonality approach they are applying to each. This would tell us a lot. Talking about barometric fluctuations is fine, but it is something we’ll never control without a pressurized, climatic laboratory at our disposal. Comparing and manipulating WELL DEFINED, geographically specific seasonality approaches is likely the way to get better success ratios for everyone.



By the way, when did the premise that female BCC tend to produce more/more frequently than younger ones become YOUR theory? I have heard many others say it for years.



Much of what you’ve said here was clearly stated in Ross and Marzec’s book The Reproductive Husbandry of Boas and Pythons. It has been said differences in elevation origins of specimens may play factor (also clearly stated by Marzec), and in listening to many people for several years there’s doubt that barometric fluctuations influence behavior. Thinking on paper, it also is logical that there are LOTS of other environmental differences that F1 and F2 animals become adapted to OTHER THAN barometer fluctuations, many of which we probably don’t know or ever will. Thus it is not prudent to associate the generational increased breeding success with that one variable alone.



For a guy who says “my last name is not Marzec or Henderson”, you sure used a lot of info you probably got straight from pages 209-213 of their book or from somewhere that cites these sources.

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