Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Looking good at first...

Too bad he's by himself in that cage, LOL...

I couldn't believe when I saw this...he's spurring himself pretty good too...the whole routine...

My male needs serious help, LOL.
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Heather Martin
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Are you giving him Viagra?? kidding!!

Chaz

Heather, That is funny but all teenage boys do that Ha! On a serious note there are probably some scents he is keying in on may be worth noting.
Joel

That is pretty funny, you should try to get that on video.

yourself is......

Which of your females is putting off that oh so sweet boa smell that is driving him crazy!!!!!!
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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

Dave, I suspect it is an adult Suriname female that was recently brought into the same room...the cage underneath him in fact...he's been face-swimming on the glass trying to get out as well, ever since she was put there...

Unfortunately she needs a bit more weight to be ready for him...so I guess he will just have to amsue himself for a while longer, LOL
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Heather Martin
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I think you'd be surprised how little weight a female truly needs to be successful when breeding. Mature muscle mass is the single largest factor in breeding boas, IMO anyway. If she's giving off the pheromones, she's probably ramping up for the season. And unless she's visibly skinny, she's probably all set!
BCC don't normally breed too well this early in the year though, however I don't know how you keep and cycle your boas, so she may be ready now. A good test is to put a male in a cage with a female and see if she lifts her tail and drags her cloaca all over the cage and scents it. Some people say that females do this to DISCOURAGE breeding and use it as a warning, I think it's the opposite. I think it's to let a male know she's receptive... to a degree anyway! He's still gonna have to work for it!
Good luck with your self-pleasing male! lol
jb
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Jonathan Brady
*You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.*

I have Females building as I type this. More and more I'm starting to see that alot of Boas cycle late in the summer, and alot of opportunities are missed because it's not "typical". Funny thing is, I believe what is not "typical" to be the majority, and the "typical" is in the minority. I will say that some will cycle any time of the year, but it is up to the keeper to notice and follow through, or end up with a bunch of slugs.
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South Central Herpetological

another interesting observation Eric. Thanks for sharing it and best of luck reproducing your boas!
jb
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Jonathan Brady
*You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.*

Johnathan, she's got a healthy weight for her length/age...I just figure it never hurts to make sure she has a little extra fuel to go on...

We've been having heavy rain/thunderstorms here, and the temps are dropping off pretty quick in the evening...maybe that's what has them going...

I really do hope it is her that has his interest...she is the one I had picked out for him this year...

Not the best pics, as she is not into handling...but she's got a killer pattern...

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Heather Martin
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Hey Heather,
That's a great looking Suriname. Congrats.
A small bit of advice though, when you said:
"I just figure it never hurts to make sure she has a little extra fuel to go on..."
I would actually say that it can be detrimental to have extra weight. The best possible scenario is for your breeder females to be perfectly balanced with the right amount of lean muscle mass and body fat reserves. For me (and some may disagree), I'd prefer to have a female that's solid as a rock vs that same female with even an extra ounce of body fat. If a female is healthy and in great shape, she'll pull through like a CHAMP!!
Also, in general, overweight/overfed boas tend to throw more slugs and take longer to put weight back on after breeding.
I totally respect that you want the best for your breeders (and all of your animals), but be careful about adopting the "feed to breed" mentality that has been so prevalent in boa culture for so many years. If you examine the feeding and breeding regimens of the most successful boa breeders (and by success I mean they consistently reproduce year after year with high baby to slug ratios - if they even produce slugs), they all believe that body fat is necessary and plays a critical role, but too much is a very bad thing.
For example, I believe Gus to be the single most successful breeder of boas in the US due to the variety of boa localities he reproduces. If you go to his page, click on the "how to" link, and read the 6th paragraph under "Theory in practice", it details what I'm saying much better than I ever could.
Also, if you're trying to get your female UP to weight, take a second look at the paragraph, other than an extra meal for a thin female, normally sized and spaced meals are the best bet! Slow and steady wins the race here. You want to ensure that the meals are used for mature growth, not just loading fat onto a female.

I'm certainly not trying to act like I have all of the answers, I'm just offering some recommendations that I have found to be very helpful and that I hope can increase your likelihood of producing your awesome boas!

Best of luck!!!
jb
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Jonathan Brady
*You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.*

>>
>>I'm certainly not trying to act like I have all of the answers, I'm just offering some recommendations that I have found to be very helpful and that I hope can increase your likelihood of producing your awesome boas!
>>

I happen to agree with you. They don't have to be huge to produce nice litters. Just healthy and mature.
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Sunset BCI

Looks like we can look forward to some more Roswells then!
Good luck...and VERY FUNNY!
Aaron