Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I was hoping to draw on the collective expertise on this forum to help me with a couple of questions I had regarding a first boa breeding attempt.

My female is 11 years old (12' 1", 49lbs)and has always been kept by herself. I finally decided to try breeding her, and got hold of a 3.5/4 year old (they weren't exactly sure), 6' BCI male. After a decent quarantine interval and some time to let her complete a slough, I've put them together.

The male, who was leaving sperm around his vivarium, has gone into full-on courtship mode: writhing around her, wrapping his tail around hers, lifting his tail up next to her cloaca - the works.

However, she could not be less interested and seems to regard him as something of an irritant, sometimes twitching her muscles as if to flick him off. I realise it might take a while for actual copulation to take place, but shouldn't the courtship be reciprocal if anything is going to happen?

How long will the male try before giving up?

Do you think there's any chance her breeding instincts could have been "switched off" by all those years living by herself?

I haven't tried a cooling cycle. They have no artificial light, so I was relying on the natural reduction in daylight hours to do the job.

Have any posters waited until their animals were this sort of age before a first breeding attempt, and what outcome did they get?

Grateful for any thoughts you have....

Conners

Wow 12' 1"? Thats huge for a BCI
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Adrian De Leon
Hissenia Reptiles

Yeah, I think she's a cross somewhere along the line. Has all the characteristics of a BCI though - apart from the size.

the twitching COULD be in response to spurring. Let that male RIIIIIIDE!
Unless you see aggressive behavior towards the male, you should keep him in. I'd recommend taking a picture from above your female if possible to get a baseline size so you can compare it to later when and if she swells.
Good luck!
jb
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Jonathan Brady
"Sarcasm is angers ugly cousin" -Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) in "Anger Management".

Thanks, JB, that's encouraging.

>>However, she could not be less interested and seems to regard him as something of an irritant, sometimes twitching her muscles as if to flick him off. I realise it might take a while for actual copulation to take place, but shouldn't the courtship be reciprocal if anything is going to happen?
>>
>>How long will the male try before giving up?
>>
>>Do you think there's any chance her breeding instincts could have been "switched off" by all those years living by herself?

Hi Conners,
I bred my 13 yr old female back in '02. She had been a pet I adopted in 1998 and had always been alone. She gave birth in '03 to 34 healthy babies and 2 slugs. (She was 7-1/2' and about 25 lbs). Basically, what I mean is, I don't think her age or having lived alone would be the sole reason nothing is happening. (that's my girl below a few months after giving birth, I can't beleive she's 18 now!)

My main question would be... are you sure it's a girl?

Assuming so...

Let them have some time. If she is twitching away from him then she is not receptive yet. Try taking him out for a week or two and then reintroduce. I haven't even started putting any boas together yet myself. I usually do it in November. Other people have boas already ovulating. There are a lot of external factors that may effect it (where you live, temps in your area, barometric pressure, light cycles, etc). They are all individuals and will do things on their own time.

She may just not be ready yet.

Good luck and hang in there!
-April

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'There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."' -Rainshadow

Hi April,

That's a really encouraging story, thanks for posting it!

I've never actually had the female probed, but I'm very sure for a number of reasons - the shape of the tail, total absence of visible spurs, and her size. When compared to the male these differences are quite stark - but who knows?! I'm sure there are males out there with deceptively female characteristics.

Very cool that your boa has reached 18 - hopefully she'll still be with you in another 18 years!

Conners, I would say that as long as he's into courting, leave him in unless she's being violent. The prescence of a courting male can often stimulate the female even if she's not quite receptive yet. I think the courtship may last longer, but let him go at it if he's willing. Hopefully she'll start developing follicles and swell up a bit, or go into a shed soon.
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I'm just the snake room janitor

Thanks Morgans, that's useful info.

She actually seems to be much more relaxed with him since I first posted.