Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pair of 03' DH for snows that are 24" long. I have a female columbian that is 5ft. Will the male DH and the 5ft female be large enough to breed in 2005? Without pushing. How big does a male have to be to be able to breed? I'm assuming its going to be 4-5 more years for the DH female to get over 6 ft safely.

I've seen pictures of boas that were 6ft supposedly by a little over 2 years. Yes I know it is going to die by the age of 4, but is it really possible to push one that fast? And why would you want to? Conversely, I knew a guy that had a female he kept on a "maintenence" diet...she was only 3 ft at 3 years of age. Isn't that also bad?

In my collection, my four foot males are my top breeders...I keep them on a "maintenance diet" and they are extremely healthy and thus far long-lived. And although I have heard all the stories about "pushing" animals, and I don't usually do this, I have a female Guyanan that I raised up to 5 feet or better in her first year and and half....she is now more than 8 feet and over seven years old....I wasn't pushing her...she ate voluntarily...I am not aware of any studies determining the growth rate of wild populations, but I bet if there was an abundance of food available....boas would eat as much as possible and grow fast and live long....in the wild. I think the important factor to consider is letting your boa get some exercise...maybe if you just maintain them in a little rubbermaid where she/he stays coiled up all it's life it can't be good for it's health to grow at such a rate...I think even slow growth to a fat boa would be just as unhealthy in that scenario.
And in response to your other questions, I have bred 5 foot columbian females that were over 3 years in age. I also have animals that were not the most aggressive feeders that were small for many years and they too are healthy.
Just make sure your females have good weight prior to breeding as they really get depleted from 'pregnancy' and some will not take to eating for a bit after parturition in my experiences.
Best of luck to you with your project, hope some of this helps.
-Dino