Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We are new to the boa/python breeding world. One of my female boas is getting ready to deliver any time.. I have no idea what signs to be looking for.. Right now she is all stretched out in her cage with the end of her tail rested up on the side of the cage.. This is the first time in several weeks that she has not been curled up in a ball.. Is this a sign that she is almost ready? Any other signs I should look for? Should we remove the babies and any slugs right away? Clean them off and put them into seperate tubs?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Kim and Michael Nodine
www.thereptileden.com
thereptileden@thereptileden.com

Well, I'm not an old pro, but I have gone through what's happening before

It does sound like she'll "birth" (is there a better word?) in a day or two. I wouldn't worry so much, and she'll do it when she's ready. If anything, reduce stress by hopefully already having a hide box, and minimal viewing exposure into the cage. Once the babies are born, I remove them into buckets layered in moist paper towels where they can be collected, and counted. I then seperate them all into individual humidity boxes where they will stay until feeding and sold. The humidity is kept high by keeping the paper towels damp until the umbilicus has broken off and healed. Then a water bowl and hide box are given.

Hope this helps, have fun

Ian