Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here is a spread sheet I worked up several years ago that I use to predict the due dates of my females and to record relevant breeding and birthing information:

The columns that are bold and are in red are where I insert the dates and numbers of relevant information so that the spread sheet can figure the rest in columns E - Y.

I like to track a whole lot of things. From the cage number, the breeders being used, the dates of course as well as my own predictions about what may happen. I track several other things as well. I update this info as the days draw closer to the due date as my opinion changes over time as far as how a gravid female is progressing. Sometimes a female that looks great early on will look like a slugger later on as evidenced by Row 15 or breeding "I".

Anyhow, I thought some people might find this useful as I did when I finally took the time to work it up. Great fun!

Click link to download the Excel File:
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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site

Fun stuff, have a similar spreadsheet I worked out for myself. Mine also includes BRB's which are less obvious in ovulation so not sure at first which is a POS. so I have capability for several sheds and due dates from each. As the season progress, depending on last noted mating activity I can pick out which shed was the POS and lock in a specific due date.
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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 (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

So Dave, is the gestation period of a Rainbow roughly equivalent to that of a Boa Constrictor then? Is the POS about the same too?
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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site

They are close, I run my BRB estimated due dates at POS plus 117. They are a cooler species and one thing I have noted is temp plays a role in gestational timing. If kept cooler, the gestational period is longer - makes sense. I gestate my BRB's at 82 degrees. The 117 is a average of a group of litters I had that were gestated at 82 degrees.

Really not sure on the ovulation timing. Even though I've produced dozens of BRB litters, only very rarely have I seen what might have been an ovulation. They are secretive when it comes to ovulation. But, they can't hide their sheds. At least not well and I check daily and also note when in the blue so I can tell which one shed. I breed most in 1.2 trios and that's working great for me. I literally put all three together for the entire season. Only seperating to feed.
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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 (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

One really nice foactor for me having the two species is while they are similar, the timing is offest enough so I bounce back and forth between the two........

October start BCI breeding and BRB cooling.

January start BRB warming and put them together but very little activity early on.

February(ish??) BCI's are mostly done mating.

February BRB mating really gets going.

May - BCI litters dropping.

June - BRB mating pretty much done.

August BRB litters dropping.

September (sometimes into October) last of the BRB liters drop.

October start the cycle all over again.
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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 (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Very cool Dave...

One question when you were using one facility IE room for both collections how did you manage the flucuations in temps between the cool cycles. Did you maintain a set room temp and flucuate the supplemental heat? Or something else?

Also how have you changed your approach now that you have seperate rooms?

Cheers
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Jeremy Payne
JB Reptile

1.0 Snow "Kahl"
0.2 Triple Het Moonglow "Kahl"
0.1 Orange Tail Hypo Het Leopard
0.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow
1.0 Ghost
0.1 Possible Super Hypo
0.1 DH Ghost
1.1 "Kahl" Albino
1.0 Hypomelenistic
1.3 Pastel Hypo
0.1 Anerthrystic

1.1 Morelia Clastolepis

When my extensive facility (spare bedroom) held the entire collection, both snakes both species I meant to say.....

The room itself was not heated. The bedroom I'm using was designed as a guest quarters, the only bedroom downstairs just off the bathroom. The original owners opted for the "soundproofing option" which was insulation in the interior walls and ceiling, in addition to the normal insulation in the exterior wall. The insulation helps keep that room quite from the house noise and great for me, keeps all the excess eat in the room. My house can be cool, even cold and that room is always warm. The heat is from all the cage heat elements, flexwatt and RHP's.

The last year I housed both species in the room it was harder to lower the temps in the BRB cages since the room ambient was at times warmer than I wanted the cages to be. Opening windows, fans etc. That and the fact the collection was bursting at the seams in the one room led me to building a second room in the garage. Now I split out the adult and grow-up BCI's to the garage room (also very well insulated) while keeping all the BRB's and both BRB and BCI babies in the first room. Working soooo much better as I can now keep the BCI room warmer in general than the rainbow room.

The rainbow room stays fine all year long with just the cage heaters. The BCI room gets a oil filled heater for the cooler winter months to help maintain the warmer temps. I even have a AC unit for the BCI room in case summer gets too warm. The nice thing is everything is on proportional thermostats so as the roiom warms up, the heaters dimm down. If the room were to exceed the heater temps they would be totally shut off.
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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 (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I like this Excel doc for the sheer purpose of having a clear data record that could be used for further analysis.
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Ron Michelotti

Class Reptilia
www.classreptilia.com

My trusting ole Paper Calender.I have calenders saved for years
with info written all over them , LOL
Comes from my days of writing my work hours on the calender

. . . Lar M
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Boas By Klevitz
Boas By Klevitz

for my first few years i used an old check book recorder
i wrote in the date they bred what 2 snakes bred, then in the "deposit" area i wrote the pos, in the "withdraw" area i wrote the due date....LOL

im dyslexic, so i try to make things easy for me to under stand,
now i have resorted to index cards, which i like this little system
on the clear side i print the snakes photo, on the lined side i write out all the info i keep, sheds, weights feedings ect.
plus when the card gets done i have a photo to frame..LOL

Sounds like you got it figured out

. . . Lar M
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Boas By Klevitz
Boas By Klevitz

I'm with you Lars. Why fix what aint broke. I hope things are good. Mike Panichi
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honesty is my only policy

Yep Mike keep it simple, its working for me
I'm doing so so on the season, 2 of 4 litters
so far,LOL Maybe 2 litters to go
How about you Mike how's your season ?
Hope all is well !

. . . Lar M
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Boas By Klevitz
Boas By Klevitz

That's why I made the spread sheet Larry.

All the info is on one page and it's easy.

1. I don't have to count the days any more. The spread sheet figures it out automatically for me. I didn't really explain it, but when I enter the date of an ovulation, it automatically gives an educated estimate of the due date. Same thing from the POS date. Plus it automatically gives me all the totals etc.

2. I don't have to flip through any pages. It's all on one page.

3. I can see at a glance the totals in any number of categories.

4. In fact I refer back to previous years breedings to get the information about earlier breedings and all on one page actually. I have all my breedings on one page going back to 2004.

So for me it's a lot easier. The multiple notebooks, and yes calendars, that I too used to keep, worked great for me too. I still have all that stuff too by the way. This is just another way to consolidate it into one place making it work with very little effort. I figured some people would use this and benefit from this bit of information. I'm all about sharing information that can help breeders be more successful at what we all strive to do.

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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site

LOL ha,ha, Jeff really the fact of the matter, what I did not want to admit is that I have
not figured out how to work an excel spread sheet yet,LOL, ha, ha
LMAO

I was just ribbing you Jeff with my earlier post. Of course I
understand you are always contributing to this Hobby
trying to help people in a myriad of ways
This is just another example of your selfless efforts.
You know I appreciate it !

. . . Lar M
Boas from TheBoaphile.com

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Boas By Klevitz
Boas By Klevitz

That's the beauty of the link I posted Larry Larry Larry Larry. I already set that puppy up. If you used it, all you would need to do is enter the ovulation date if observed, the POS date when that occurs and it figures the due dates for you. Slick.

Also, to use a carpenter analogy Larry, when the big heavy pneumatic nailers first came out, a lot of the old school carpenters scoffed at them believing the old way would be a lot faster. You know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it mentality. The fact is eventually they all did come around and all the really fast carpenters still carry and use the hammer but in many instances, that pneumatic nailer can't be beat. It wasn't broke, it was just made faster and easier. That’s all.

Have fun Larry!

By the way... I just had another female ovulating this morning! This is a crazy season I am having over here! A gigantic lump! Makes me giddy...
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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site

Thanks Jeff ,I'll play around with it,
I was swinging a hammer when I started, set the spike and sink it(2 swats total)
I did enjoy swinging that hammer !
Then The gun came along (around '85)as much as I liked sinken spikes
the gun was twice as fast. I was the guy on the crew that used the gun.
Some of the satisfaction was taken out of the work though.
I will check out your link ,it'll probably be fun to use !

. . . Lar M
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Boas By Klevitz
Boas By Klevitz

This is great Jeff! Has anyone ever accused you of having OCD?
This is a awsome Idea for someone with alot of snakes though.I'll save it for later Can't help myself. I'm already keeping my eye out for my next aquisition.

almost everyone who keeps Boas has some
form of "OCD" or another I think , LOL

. . . Lar M
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Boas By Klevitz
Boas By Klevitz

I will not! put my snakes on the ground. either outside or on the carpet inside.God knows the bacteria/oocysts/parasites that I've tracked across my floor!

Thought I'd apologize to jeff for teasing him on a public forum seeing as I'm new here and I don't really know him or anyone for that matter I wouldn't set out to offend someone on purpose. From the little I know of you jeff you seemed like a well humoured kind of guy.As people come to know me you'll understand I'm a light hearted guy that often acts like a clown. Humour is a wonderfull thing when used properly!

Mr Treeserpent,

I am pretty hard to offend. I offend 100 people for each time that I am offended. So no offense taken from anyone in this thread. Now let my wife hear you giving me grief and you'll have a fight on your hands! LOL

No offense taken.
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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site

Treeserpent,

OCD? I got it. For real. Not like Jack Nicholson had it though. Just enough to work for me in many ways. It's what makes figuring out efficiencies in hands on production my greatest talent in life. SO for me OCD is real and a blessing. One of my daughters has it too. Just like I did as a kid. Funny to see and talk about with her.

SO while you where needling me in good humor, I really do have it.
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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site

Now your speaking my language! My day job is airplane production so I understand the need for effeciency completely.My daily routine has become so planned out.I am far better than my wife when it comes to glitches in the system though.I'm fluid where as she gets cranky!Sounds like you have a good woman Jeff! a bit over protective but good! The image in my mind is a boa that just gave birth. you try to disturb her families peace and she strikes!