Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i put my male and female boas together about 6 days ago.
i have caught them mating several times.

im wondering at what point will the female ovulate....
and how long should i keep them together?

this is the male, dagda....

this is the female vesta.....

Hi,
I have had several of my boa pairs together for about 2 weeks now. I will be leaving them together until February/March, with only breif separation to feed the pair if they will accept. When ovulation occurs, well your guess is as good as mine. I have seen some females ovulate after several weeks of breeding, I have seen it after a single mating event, and I have seen it months after the pair were introduced and started mating.
My advise to to leave them together at least until February/March. Once the female ovulates, and you will see this if you observe your snakes on a daily event, then the male can be removed as fertilisation cannot occur after that.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Warren
-----
Dr Warren Booth
North Carolina State University
Department of Entomology
3309 Gardner Hall
Raleigh, NC 27695-7613

Dr. Booth is right.. There isn't really an average period of time that a female will ovulate after introduction.. Some ovulate fast, some much later, some never and its easy to miss on a lot of females.. If you don't have any other females lined up, leave that boy in as long as you can.. On my first attempt at breeding, I left the male in until the babies were on the ground.. Ended up with a healthy litter of 43 babies and 13 slugs. If you're looking to breed to multiple females, I hope you've got a good eye and a lot of luck.. Most people who try to breed one male to two females end up with all slugs or a lot of slugs.. On the other hand, if you've got access to an ultrasound machine and know what you're looking for, you can pull the male out at the last moment and get him started on the next girl..

me being a beginner with boas, i had enough sense to have one pair who is ready this year(lol), so he could be left with her, i do have another male who is ready to breed, but in blue right now.

i have 2 younger females who are by no means ready.

i figured i would start with a single pair, so i could get a feel for it and learn from what i observe.

i have bred corn snakes(i know corns are different)
and i do have a few pair of breeding ball pythons.

if they are anything like my sugar gliders they will be cranking out babies like a pez dispenser...LOL

That's exactly what I did.. Started out with a pair of boas to get an idea how to get the job done before diving in head first and coming up short.. That's awesome you've got such a variety of animals that you breed.. There are two things that will ensure your success with boas... Patience and variability... There aren't many, if any, cut and dry answers associated with boas.. There are tons of completely different methods for breeding/husbandry/feeding and a lot of the time, most of them work.. As long as the fundimental basics are kept in check, it all comes down to the specific snake.

i also breed dumbo rats, and guinea pigs and cockatiels...

i just enjoy the whole husbandry part of it all and being able to be that close to different animals, most people think i am crazy, they can think that all they want, i already know i am....LOL

it helps me alot i work with mentally ill people(schizophrenics and such) and to be able to come home and just enjoy my animals means alot to me.