Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I've asked this before, but I'm still anxious about it so I'll ask again. How late into a pregnancy can you feed? And should you continue to do so when there has been no defecation? I believe, if the 103/105 day estimate applies, that our two girls will be due Jan 13 and Jan 30ish. Tonight they both voraciously ate a large F/T rat. Their normal(pre-gravid) meal was Rodent Pro xxxlg guinea pigs. Their last meal (1 lg rat--Pet Co) was 11/13. I'm trying to follow the "1/2 the size, twice as long" rule, but Odin's last urates were 10/20, Freya's were 10/23. The last time they may have [bleep] was 9/17. Our apartment is chronically dry. We've recently tried adding in a humidifier, but I'm still spraying their tanks 1-2 times per day. I had included soaking down the girls with that until I was told here that would drop their body temps. I was told here or in Herp Health and Breeding that if hydrated, they'd poop eventually.
Do I feed again next month or wait until February, when they've hopefully delivered?

Thank you for your time,
Antigone

you can feed the whole time just make it really small meals. like if you have an 8ft female that is girthy and normally takes jumbos or rabbits try giving her one or two mediums a month it isnt a lot but its better than trying to have her choke down a rabbit with a load of babies.
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I think holding off any meals in the last 4 weeks before expected delivery is safe, to avoid the possibility of premature birth. Since you have been feeding throughout, this won't be detrimental to the boas, they've been getting some nutrition. Some boas don't eat at all during breeding and gestation, so yours are a step ahead, weightwise and so a month without food won't harm them.

However, if you've been feeding throughout (smaller meals, like you said), they may not poop like normal... seems like boas on reduced diets "save up" their stools, rather than "pooping smaller". This can be a good thing, since trying to poop while gravid can cause premature birth.

I wouldn't worry about the lack of poop. They may leave a waxy stool some days before they give birth, though. Good luck! Waiting can be terrible...
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Thank you

I just didn't want them to be saving their stool and thus risk crushing the babies. I think I'll hold off feeding in Jan. If we don't have babies by Feb, I'll see where we are with their weight.

Antigone

2004 -- My female boa was always hungry. I fed her a couple of weeks before she delivered. Only thing I had was a normal size meal for her. She was a small Peruvian, small litter, with large babies is to be expected.
It was closer to parturition than I thought. She delivered about 30% stills. The sacks ruptured before/during delivery in those stills. They suffocated during delivery. I had to pull the last one out. They were all huge, 22- 24 inches. I believe that was the direct result from continually feeding during pregnancy.
So, feed them small meals if they're hungry and not anywhere near full term. Just gets way too crowded in there.
jsc
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