Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just wondering how i should go about doing this, like what type of rabbit is good for feeding and how should i house them? should i house them like rats, one male to three or four females? what breed of rabbits should i use for boas? there are so many different kinds out there and i want one that will give me good sized litters and not be born too big so i could feed some new borns to the adult male boas. any of you out there that breed feeder rabbits that could throw some knowledge and tips my way would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

I don't recommend breeding rabbits because of the space it takes and the amount of waste they produce. Their pee has a very pungent ammonia odor that is killer. They also take some level of paper work to observe ovulation patterns and to know when to introduce nesting boxes for the females to give birth in but if you want to give it a go here are some basic guidelines. Keep males and females in individual enclosures, wire mesh works. Check the females once every few days to see if they are in heat until you learn their ovulation cycle. You just lift the female's tail and check for a puffiness and reddish tint to the vaginal opening. Then throw the male in and 45 seconds later you are done. Now all you have to do is count days and palpatate to be sure of pregnancy. Look in to getting some Flemish Giants, the kits are born so small that you could feed them to a 2.5ft boa but they have the most efficient growth rate. They eat and drink a lot so you have to stay on top of husbandry constantly. You will also need a stash of vet meds and some knowledge to deal with the unavoidable infections caused by scratches and abrasions from the wire mesh.

Breeding rabbits isn't so bad. Definately keep them separated. A male rabbit will kill females if left together. A female rabbit who is in good health with good body weight will always be "in heat". They don't have an ovulation cycle. Their ovulation is stimulated by breeding. About 6 hours after they breed they ovulate. 1 male can breed bunches of females. It's recommended not to breed him every day but every other day is fine. If he breeds every day he will have less stuff and the litters can be smaller. After they breed, count 27 days and put in a nest box. They can drop between 28-32 days after breeding. If you put the nest box in too soon then they may use it as a litter box. There is no denying their smell though. I use their droppings as fertilizer which works very well. This is of course the easy version. Be prepared for mothers to drop their litters outside of the nest box. Sometimes they eat their babies and sometimes they don't have any at all. I've found that here in Florida, when it gets really hot they stop having babies. Once it cools down again in the fall, the babies resume. Good luck and remember to keep it fun. It will suck if it becomes work.