Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was doing my daily check yesterday and one of my boas struck at me (which she has never done before) and then she did it again. Then I noticed something in the corner of the tank. It was a pile of just guts and skin. It was gross. It was a rather large pile. What could cause that to happen? There is a male and a female in the tank so I know it was supposed to be babies but it wasn't. It was her first time. Could that have been it? Any info would be appreciated. I fed her (she ate 4 large rats) I know that is a good sign for her. She is still aggressive. She has NEVER been an aggressive snake. She continues to strike out at myself and my wife when we cleaned out the tank (gross). Will she calm down? We understand she has been through one hell of an ordeal and will need time. But we had another pregnant boa and she was fine from start to finish no aggression. HELP?

4 Large rats is a big meal, is it possible she regurgitated one of them?

Sounds like she is stressing out.I would keep the snakes seperated and leave her alone for at least 2 weeks.Sounds like she regurged.Just give her some quite time and a big bowl of fresh water and dont try feeding her for at least 2 to 3 weeks. 4 large rats are way to much food at one time.When you do try feeding her start with a small rat.If she handles that,wait at least 2 weeks then give her a large.I personally wouldnt feed her more than 2 jumbo rats a month.Just my personal opinion..Paul.

Sorry, you misunderstood. She was definitely pregnant. She had babies. They were not formed (premature?) She DID NOT regurge. We fed her a couple of days after we found the "babies" and cleaned the cage. She ate fine. We are concerned about her pile of sludge "babies" that aren't fully formed snakes. You could tell they were supposed to be snakes but they just didn't fully achieve that. Also, we are concerned about her being so aggressive. She strikes at the side of her enclosure. She strikes at us. We are very concerned. We just want to make sure that she is going to be okay.

Hey sorry to hear about that, slugs/unformed babies are the
pits! I wonder if she's still so aggresive because she
can still smell a linger-of the baby birth smell? I would
try cleaning the cage again, make sure to use bleach and bleach
all of the cage furnishings (make sure to dry it all out of
course!!!). Both of my females who gave birth in '03 were
SUPER aggressive to the point I didn't even want to get them
out to try to get to the babies! I have never seen a more
aggressive snake than a protective mother. Basically I'd
clean again and again and give her space (leave her alone)
for the next 3-4 weeks to get back to her normal behaviour.
I've noticed my albino has stayed more aggressive since having
her babies. (more snappy anyways)
-April