Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know someone with a premie boa that was the only survivor of 3 premies. It had to be force fed for months but is now eating on it's own. However, it does not tongue flick. Is that an effect of the premie thing? Can (or does) it change over time? As far as I know, it does have a tongue...

Also, it's pattern is quite different looking which I realize is very possibly related to being a premie, but does anyone have experience getting a premie, especially one with aberrancies to breed? If so, what were the results?

Thanks for any insight!
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'd be surprised if it makes it to maturity. If it does, it'll never function like an animal born from a healthy litter. Breeding would be a total crap shoot, with the odds not in the animals favor. I've tried to keep a few, and they all ran into some kind of problem/problems which were their eventual down fall.
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South Central Herpetological

I had a litter of preemies this year. I don't think that being premature will affect pattern. I think that temps is what "most likely" will affect pattern.

My theory is.... When you have a mixed litter of preemies and full term babies, "some" of the babies didn't get enough heat to mature properly. So, these babies that are premature had fluctuating temps during gestation. This "could" result in a funky pattern.

Now if you have an entire litter of preemies, which is what I had, I think none of them had those good temps to properly develope.

My female had really good days, where she maintained body temps of 87 to 91. Then she had other days, where she was 82 to 86. So, I know my female didn't properly regulate temps. This resulted in an entire litter of preemies. Now, "most" of these babies had a fairly normal pattern. I had one that was "extremely small". It was about 6 inches long and had "no pattern". It was just that far premature and it's pattern wasn't set yet. I have another one that has a "zig zag" pattern. It was the most developed of the litter.

Out of 20 babies, I only have 5 left alive. Fortunately, one has already shed and eaten. A second one has shed, but it hasn't eaten yet. I have 3 left that still need to shed and eat. These are "very small" babies, but fully developed.

That's why I think it's temps that "could" affect patterns. Improper temps could also cause them to be premature. It's just a theory and I could be wrong, but I have noticed that preemies tend to have patterns that are "different". Of course, they can also have patterns that are "normal". I've seen both.

I forgot to add....

Boas that are born premature should "NEVER" be bred. They should be considered "pets". They can lead normal lives, but..... If bred it could end their life prematurely. Preemies have to struggle harder to survive in the first place. Even if they look and act fine as adults... Breeding "should" be out of the question.