Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Disappointing news. My 4-yr.old female Bolivian delivered 30 slugs yesterday. This is very confusing as for previous 2 years she gave clutches of live young with either no slugs or only 1-2. Nothing changed this year in terms of cycling or breeding as they bred throughout the months of January and February. Does anyone have any ideas, comments, or recommendations? Thanks.

I am by no means an expert, but you said they courted Jan & Feb. She just gave birth yesterday, thats like around 210 days. To me it sounds like you either took out the male to soon or you should have given the female a break this year. Two years in a row is a lot from what I have read. She may have not been ready, or back up to par from the previous. Just my opinion, I'm no expert. Sorry for the loss and better luck next time... Jared

Thanks, Jared. Your comment regarding removing the male is a good one, though I typically leave them together once they begin breeding until breeding ceases. Please note the error in my post below....the boas are 1997 babies. I got them in 1999.

and they're going to be quick b/c i'm on lunch break and have to get back to work...
WHY did you breed a 2 year old bolivian (2 years ago)? How did it not gurge it's intestines out getting large enough to breed in 2 years? TRUE bca are like bcc... very delicate and overfeeding leads to baaaad things. You sure you don't have a cross? Also, you had 30 slugs... that's a large number of ova... something else that isn't normal in bca... perhaps bci, but not bca.
Why haven't you given your boa a year off? Many people do one on one off, or even one on, two off... or two on, one off. I think you're seeing the result of no break in breeding years.
Well... I don't have time to go back and edit so sorry for any misspellings or non-sensical thoughts...
jb
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Jonathan Brady
My Kingsnake Photo Gallery

Thanks for your reply. Actually, I made a mistake... I got the boas in 1999; they were actually born in 1997. The first year she produced 17 young; the second was 25 young. I did not intend to bred them this year but they were kept together due to cage space constraints. They bred this year unintentionally, though the female was in great shape. Anyway, my thoughts were that since she produced ova, none of which were fertilized, it is more of an issue with the male.