Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Unfortunately, I am in Grants Pass, OR working my 3, 12 hr, days and my babies are at my home in Redmond, OR (4-5 hrs away through snow!)I had gotten off work to a message from my Mother practically screaming with excitement that the female I had been expecting from (approx. planned for her to have them on the 7th), had a nice healthy batch of kids. She entertained me with the story from when she walked in to see the steamy cage to when she tried to get a better look and the new Mommy threatened her ;p LOL! My first instinct was to drive straight home to house and care for them, since my Mother is only babysitting (literally now!), but after a 12 hr day of work I was told to head home in the morning rather than risk falling asleep at the wheel... I get up at 4am and head back towards home, and an hour later I hit a road closure sign.

For all that is holy, I kid you not... HWY 62 and 138, the two that I take home... are closed due to snow drifts and fallen trees! I am going NUTS! Apparently they've been closed since Sunday and were supposed to open yesterday and now are tentatively opening sometime today! How long is safe to leave the offspring with the mother without fear of crushed young? As of now, my mother pours some water in by the heat source to offer high humidity for the fragile babes, but she is in no way experienced enough to deal with an angry Mom, nor even a large timid one! ;p

Any thoughts? I am going nuts here....

This is a pic of the Mom gravid, she also gave me a beautiful healthy litter of het albinos last year around May w/no stills, premies or slugs and according to my Mom... these are also all alive and starting to move around now. So there is some good news anyway! Especially since my first litter of the year slugged out a couple weeks ago.

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Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
0.0.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.0 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang.)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

I would not worry too much, they've been doing it for millenium without our help.

And congrats on the litter!!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

So I checked tripcheck.com and the closures are still in place... even worse, the expected 'tentative' reopening has changed... to tomorrow! Do you really think they will still be ok? After all, they are in a 4x2x2 cage and not in the wild, so they aren't really able to move away from their mother much and with so many babies, I worry that when her 'mothering' stage ends, she'll lay on them like she lays on the male due to lack of space? She is a smaller adult, but naturally I am still concerned.
Should I worry now?
Thanks!
-----
Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
0.0.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.0 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang.)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

I still would not worry, Baby snakes are hard to pin down and can wriggle out of a tight place. Most likely will find places to co-exist with mom. (corners, water bowl etc.)

My real concern is letting mom have a rest before you go in to remove her or the babies. Not a danger to the babies but you might get tagged, hard!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

How "baby escape proof" is your cage? With more time to explore, will they find an escape route?

My adult male escaped from a locked boaphile cage when he was done with his first female. I had locked the center latch but neglected the corner ones.

-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

No problems there, it has 1/4 in. thick sliding glass doors, that fit properly to the edge of the cage w/the sliding glass display lock. There is a small area at the very top of one corner where a cord exits, but easily plugged up and way out of reach... we made the cages a little too tall! ;p
-----
Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
0.0.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.0 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang.)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

Well, there you go, no worries!!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

The last litter she had, I had given her a kitty litter box lid... she had them inside of that and while I distracted her with a meal, was able to remove the entire box with babies safely. This time would have been hard because there is no nest box and she would've definitely took me to task ;P By the time I get there tomorrow, they will have been almost 2 days old and I'm sure, enough rest for the female... but that does not mean she won't take me on for disturbing her kids still.
Thanks for the replies and opinion, makes me feel a little more at ease to hear it from a more seasoned breeder!
-----
Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
0.0.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.0 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang.)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

When you do go in, towel her!! Toss a towel on top of her head to help restrain her without getting bit. Of course you'll have to assess the situation when you get there and do what seems best.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

n/p
-----
Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
0.0.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.0 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang.)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

I'm curious, why would you think that a Female would "crush" healthy babies? I've seen Females lay on still borns, but never on living, breathing hatchlings. If your ever able to see a Boa give birth to a heathy litter, she'll do every thing in her power to find a spot and sit and let the babies come to her. A common problem that people misconstrue is when the Female doesn't have the room to find that spot, and will cruise the cage. Even if that happens, the babies are still durable enough to take it.

Honestly, my concerns stemmed from seeing my large females, as well as other peoples huge gals, laying on males much, much smaller than them. I feel these babies are fairly fragile at this point and I know that some people think they are hardy enough to sell or trade off right after birth, but I treat them like any other baby animal I'd have. I like to make sure they are healthy, established and of course, I like to be around to make sure that accidents (like my 'crushing' concern) don't happen. Since I couldn't make it home, I fretted. There are bad mothers in all species, however, you are right... especially in this case. She is a very good mother and even raised her body off the newborns that decided to crawl beneath her... I ended up making it home an hour or so ago after they reopened one of the passes and have since rehoused all the babies and fed the mother. I did worry for nothing, but that is why I asked for opinions here... I wanted to know if anyone had any bad experiences with leaving offspring with the Mother too long ( especially in an enclosed space like a cage, in the wild babies probably don't stay near Momma for too long before going off on their own).
Thanks for the response though. All I guess I really wanted was reassurance ;p I think now that I was silly to worry so much, but I do love my snakes.
Have a good evening!
-----
Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
0.0.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.0 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang.)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

Glad to hear you made it home and all was well. I'm in Medford. I can't believe the weather we've had around here lately.
I know where you're coming from with the worrying. I've got my first gravit female this season, and boy have I freaked out about every little thing. I know I've had more worry about the snake than I did with any of the three of my own kids being born. It's not that I care more, but I feel a huge sense of responsibility for keeping an animal in a cage and making her get knocked up, and she doesn't have the comforts of the wild to deal with being pregnant. It's alot of responsibility!
Anyway, put some pictures up when you get a chance, and feel free to drop a nice baby off the next time you're through town!
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Chris
1.1 Columbian BCI
0.1 CA BCI

That is exactly how I feel! ;p
Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity for birth/newborn baby pics, having been away for the first day and a half of their lives, but I will try to take a few pics soon. I do have a couple blurry ones, but the cage was pretty misty. I will upload them later and post them!
Ya, the weather is mad crazy! I had to go through Roseburg and take the 138 to the 97 home, usually I go through Gold hill, then shady cove and take that route... lets just say that I had a bit of trouble this time with directions going a diff. way ;p but I made it. I guess they opened the 138 around noon, but that didn't help me at 4am when I was waiting at the beginning of HWY 62 wondering why I didn't call 511 ;p LOL! The good news is that nature took it's course and all 20 babies were perfect, no nasty slugs either. I am proud of Sasha, she is a good mama...
Thanks for the post!
-----
Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
0.0.1 Hypo het anery
1.0.0 Het. Anery (Guy & ?)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hog Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Tang.)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)