Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted pics and a question yesterday (see thread http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=375503,375503) regarding my CA Boa and whether she looked gravid or ovulating. I checked her today and I'm not sure if it's just me, but is there quite a change in her girth 2/3 of the way down her length?. Please help me in comparing yesterdays photos with todays and tell me what you think may be going on with her.
Thanks for any assistance,
Pete
P.S. I tried to feed her last night and she refused...and she never refuses.

Pic#1 from 3/4/04

Pic#2 from 3/4/04

Pic#1 from 3/5/04

Pic#2 from 3/5/04 (sorry blurry)

Pic#3 from 3/5/04 (also blurry)

she should start a shed cycle soon, when she actually sheds -about a month from now. keep track of that shed it is your post ovulation shed. about 105 days later you should have babies, good luck. Craig

Craig:
Thanks for your assistance. I'm assuming that what is happening then is ovulation? Should I remove the male or keep him with her until the POS? Should I continue to offer her food? I'm sure more questions will pop up and I appreciate any help that you or others can provide.
Thanks,
Pete

I do not think there is any reason to leave the male in at this point, I do sometimes just to make absolutely sure she is good, but not really necessary. As far as offering her food, some of my females I feed, some I do not. I would offer that particular snake maybe a small rat once or twice a month until you get about 21 days from when you expect babies. Do not freak out if she does not eat. I may not be on this forum that much over the next few days so I am emailing you my number, call if you need anything else. Craig

Check my posts from about 3 days ago concerning boas eating footballs. I believe the Bolivian pic shows an ovulation the best. Leave the male in with her until you see her ovulate. It really does look like they've eaten a football. One of the easiest ways for me to tell it's an ovulation is by looking at the height of the swelling. In the pre-ov swell, the follicles start swelling thus she will look bigger but won't really gain any height. I've had boas stay in the pre-ov swell for over 2 months also, so be very patient. As far as feeding goes, I don't feed or handle any of my boas throughout the duration of the breeding cycle. This can last 5 months & I haven't had any problems with them due to lack of food & I keep my boas pretty trim. Hope this helps & once again, don't remove the male, slugs are an ugly thing.

See different opinions, I have never seen a pre ov swell to that degree. Not disagreeing just telling you my experience.I have seen a couple "football" ovulations, but most of them much smaller. It never hurts to leave the male in. Good luck

This is about a month before ovulation. Kinda tough to see from this pic as I couldn't get an overhead pic (she's over 8 1/2' long & the cage is only 18" tall) but you should be able to see that just after the 2 saddles that connect she starts getting pretty fat. At this point she hadn't had any food for over 3 months. Keep in mind that B.c.c are a bit slower then B.c.i.

Lee

Thanks, great example. Again I did not mean to doubt you, I have just had many boas not even get as obvious as he posted. It may be that I keep my boas a little "chubbier" then alot of other people esp. when they are getting ready to be cycled. As the fat gets used up you do not notice the swelling as much. I have noticed that the pre swell and ovulation are more obvious in the thinner boas. Thanks again for the pic, beautiful snake.

Looks like your boa is definately ovulating to me. Ovulations can be observed for about 4-5 days in most boas. Most times you will see TWO ovulations if your observant. They usually happen about a week or so apart. Each ovary can ovulate at seperate times. They dont necessarilly always happen at the same time although if your female looks giant probably happening at the same time. Ovulation is the point where the female is LITERALLY squeezing with muscular contractions a yolked follicle into the body cavity and this is the point where they are fertilized with the sperm through the oviduct. So all of those "follicles" that used to be spread out causing your female to look swollen and lay sideways funny are bunched up and being slowly pushed through a small funnel opening at the end of the oviduct by your female, that is why they get that huge swelling! All those follicles slowly passing through to be fertilized in a traffic jam. MOST times a female will shed after ovulation. NOT ALWAYS though. I have had females NOT shed and still deliver. Females can still be fed but on a much slower basis and not as girthy a prey item as you normally would feed. Most times if you watch your boa very carefully you will see her with small contractions moving things around during ovulation go watch its kind of cool. I actually captured this on video! Here is a picture taken from that. The female was slowly contracting everything down and the lump got gradually smaller VERY COOL stuff. Any how best of luck.