Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a few questions for successful breeders.

When do you stop feeding your males before breeding?

When do you stop feeding your females before breeding?

When do you start to lower temps for males?

When do you start to lower temps for females?

Do you lower daytime temps, night time temps, or both.

What temps do you use for day time & night time during the cooling period.

How long do you cool and when do you stop cooling?

When do you introduce the pair?

How long are they left together?

Do you use misting as part of your cycling program?
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Jared Douglas

NP
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Jared Douglas

Jared,
. I hesitate to post a reply to your question because I think we do not have the exact answers to what is the BEST way to breed these snakes. I have produced 900 Rainbow babies and 800 have been Brazilians. I have some really great years and some really bad ones and cannot figure out for sure what I did wrong that caused the bad results. I keep fairly good records and it seems the one biggest difference is that the years I produced well I had cooled them cooler. However I have had a few respiratory problems with my breeders only during the winters when I cooled them the most. I think the best way to produce babies is to stop feeding males and females in late November and cool them from December first for 1.5 to 2 months. They should not be bothered too much while cooling but should be regularly looked at to make sure they are not developing respiratory problems. I use an infrared temperture gun to measure the snake's temperature. If you use one of these you will be amazed at how different the snake's temperatures are than what your thermometers and thermostats have you thinking. I think both day and night temps should be dropped. If you have much mass in your cages like haevy duty hiding spots and large water bowls the mass will hold the heat for many hours during the night if you are only night cooling. I think you need to cool them down into the mid to high 60s for at least most of the time they are being cooled. I have good results in years when I introduced early while still cooling them and also when I waited until after cooling to introduce them. I leave them together for as long as the males are trying to mate. I have lots of females to get bred and so I move the males from one cage of two females to the next cage every few days. Some males mate with lots of the girls and some do not mate very often. I do not mist except when I see one that is getting ready to shed and it does not look it's skin is moist and soft. I do try to keep cages humid by spilling water on the substrate anytime the cage looks dry. I start feeding females as soon as I warm them back up and the females often eat until a few weeks after last observed breedings and at about the same time they look gravid. Rainbows Boas do not usually have very noticeable preovulatory swelling events. When I do see them swell I get the most studly male in with them quick. I have had several instances where a female apparently only mated with one male for a dey or two after swelling and then produced a good litter. Most of the good litters come from females that get bred often by several males. Good luck breeding yours and I do hope other breeders will post their observations and opinions on this subject.
Jeff

>>I have a few questions for successful breeders.
>>
>>When do you stop feeding your males before breeding?
>>
>>When do you stop feeding your females before breeding?
>>
>>When do you start to lower temps for males?
>>
>>When do you start to lower temps for females?
>>
>>Do you lower daytime temps, night time temps, or both.
>>
>>What temps do you use for day time & night time during the cooling period.
>>
>>How long do you cool and when do you stop cooling?
>>
>>When do you introduce the pair?
>>
>>How long are they left together?
>>
>>Do you use misting as part of your cycling program?
>>-----
>>Jared Douglas
>>

NP
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Jared Douglas

Let me start off by saying that BRB's are the most inconsistent snakes in my collection. As Jeff said, this is not a cook book.

When do you stop feeding your males before breeding?

The males usually stop feeding in mid November.

When do you stop feeding your females before breeding?

For those that have continued to feed, I stop feeding mid November.

When do you start to lower temps for males?
When do you start to lower temps for females?

I can't help the temperatures in my house. I live in a rather cold climate, and the temp starts getting lower around November. Right about then both males and females stop feeding, so I begin cooling.

Do you lower daytime temps, night time temps, or both.

Both.

What temps do you use for day time & night time during the cooling period.

My daytime drops to a high of around 68, and my night time low drops to around 60 - 65. I must keep a hot spot in the tank to avoid a resp. infection. My hot spot is on 12 hours per day, and is shut off at night.

How long do you cool and when do you stop cooling?

I cool 8 weeks. I stop feeding in mid November, and by December after the snakes have passed their last meals I begin cooling. Cooling ends for me around Valentines day.

When do you introduce the pair?

I begin during cooling, and if the male is interested I leave him with the females for one week. Then he gets a few days off, then another try. I breed one male to two females. If after 24 hours no mating is observed I remove him and try a week later. I keep doing this until the female drops babies, or the next season starts. This helps to make sure the females are gravid.

How long are they left together?

answered above.

Do you use misting as part of your cycling program?

Yes! Normally I have humidity ranges of 80%-100% during the day, and during the breeding season I average around 60% humidity. You really have to watch for the health of the snakes, as this is not an ideal situation.

NP
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Jared Douglas

I have only had one litter, but here's what I did:

When do you stop feeding your males before breeding?
**I didn't stop feeding the male until he refused 3 meals at regular intervals.

When do you stop feeding your females before breeding?
**same as male

When do you start to lower temps for males?
**My temps were lowered at the end of Oct.

When do you start to lower temps for females?
**Same as above, my pair were housed together until a month before she gave birth.

Do you lower daytime temps, night time temps, or both.
**Both were lowered.

What temps do you use for day time & night time during the cooling period.
**64 to 65 degrees F during the night, it incresed during the day to 70-74.

How long do you cool and when do you stop cooling?
**I stopped at the first of Dec because I was afraid they'd get sick.

When do you introduce the pair?
**Mine are housed together.

How long are they left together?
**Until about a month before the arrival of babies.

Do you use misting as part of your cycling program?
**I do not mist, but increased humidity when the barometric pressure was lower. I didn't have a real reason to do this, I read that hurricanes possibly affect breeding.

My first litter was 23 live with 1 slug for the snakes first ever breeding. They bred on and off for 6 to 8 weeks.

I didn't actually intend on breeding them, but I guess I choose by not separating them. It was so awesome of an experience I am hooked.
Linda

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"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance- that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer

NP
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Jared Douglas