Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What reasons are there for boas to be born as stillborns??

there are LOTS of theories as to why babies are stillborn and also why ova go unfertilized.

Temperatures (too high or low or inconsistent), feeding (too large of a meal or feeding too close to parturition), handling (which has yet to be a problem for me - but I'm REALLY careful and I only do it when necessary), sub-prime females (either too fat or immature, or both), female not feeling "secure" and therefore holding on to the babies too long - or maybe pushing them out too early, medications, medical problems/illnesses, weather patterns, lots of slugs and the female tries to dump them early (which from what I hear is not unusual) and there are babies in there too, etc...

They're all theories and no scientific data has been provided prospectively to prove anything, but we can surmise based on experience and I think that any of the above factors (and others) can be blamed for stillborn babies - to a greater or lessor degree.

Hope some of that's helpful. And btw, it's all my opinion...
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'll add that Stills are usually the product of one or more Boa/Egg sacks binding in the Female. Everything behind where she's bound up usually drowns or gets wrapped up in the sack. There are a million and one reasons why the Female binds in the first place, but Stills that are delivered havn't been dead long, or else you'll have a dead, septic, gravid Female.
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South Central Herpetological