Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a couple questions on breeding boas, although i might have gotten lucky my first couple of times my big girl got knocked up, if someone could help me expand my knowledge base id be eternally grateful
1) my first 2 successful attempts were with a male and female approximately the same size, unknown exact ages but lets say 7-8 years old and about 7' for the momma and maybe 4-5 yrs old and about 5.5-6' for the daddy, this time around i have a different male that id rather she breed with but he is only about 2.5 yrs old and about a tad over 4'...will that much size difference affect the way they might take to each other?
2) as i have 2 other females of breeding size besides my big momma that id like to try the smaller younger male with, about how much time should i be giving him with each female before spreading his wild oats to a new lady?

Boas are not like Corn snakes, in where one male can be successful with several females. Spreading a male boa around to several females may end up in low fertility and slug filled litters. I prefer a multiple male method for my boas unless I just don't have the extra males then it is just a simple one to one. I leave them together for months at a time, taking them out only to feed the female, give her a day to digest and then I put the male back in with her. This goes on from Nov-March. Males will normally breed at 18 months, just a bit over 3' (bci boas) females I wait until they are 3 years old, although several breeders will power feed to breed quicker. 6' long and good body weight is the average, but some females are natrually small and may only be in the five foot range at 3 years old.
Good luck
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

ok, another couple questions then...
1)is it possible that a certain male/female combo just will not, uhm, "get along", shall we say?
2)or if a particular female HAS bred before with a different male, and im wanting to have her get with one of my choosing for a certain trait, will they only tend to breed with the first?

and thanx for the info in the last post

Yes it is possible for a pair to not be compatiable. It is normally due to the male not having the drive and being aggressive enough ( if you can imagine that!) A nice little trick in to getting beyond this is to put two males togehter in the same cage next to a female that is in breeding season. The male that you want to mate with the female should be bigger or at least the same size as the other male. The two males will/should partake in mock combat with each trying to pin the other one down or showing dominance by climbing and staying on the top of the other. This activity tends to get the boas sex drive moving and they become pretty aggressive breeders after placed in with the female. Many boas will breed in groups in the wild of one female with up to a dozen males fighting for position, so this male combat is just another stimulant for breeding.
I hope this helps.
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com