Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay i am a new breeder. i am trying to get some albinos first of all. my first question is, is 100% het albino the same as if someone just puts het albino? i am going to try and breed some colombian boas, rainbow boas and some 100% het albinos. are any of these eaiser to breed than the other? is there any important things i should do before i breed? anything i should know or any tips on times to feeed, change temp, take male out or anything or when to handle and not to? also i was wondering, sometimes people say they get the male to mate with 3 or so females in one season, do you just put all 4 in 1 cage? or do you put the male in all the females cages seprate? if so how do you know if the one is pregnant before u put it in another cage? and do snakes only have one litter a year? and is it always at the same time? sorry for all the stupid questions but im trying to get ready to start breeding and i figured i could get alot of help here... PLEASEEEE try and answer all the questions you can... it will help me alot... thanks alot!

SORRY FOR POSTING THE THREAD 2 TIMES, I TRYED TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT AND IT WENT UP 2 TIMES... SORRY!

With all due respect, I think perhaps more is involved here than can be answered in a short post on a snake board. I have owned reptiles off and on for over 40 years and have not bred any of them; were I to do so, even though I feel comfortable with my husbandry methods, I would probably read several books and look at tons of posts before I ventured forth. Have you perhaps bred cornsnakes in the past? Any reptile? What sort of setup do you have? Do you already have your stock: adequate records as far as genetics, clean bill of health, etc.?
I suggest that you go back as far as you can on this board and read all the posts having to do with genetics and breeding, there are people here who have bred snakes for decades and they have incredible knowledge; it would be good to mine the forum for the treasure lying around and then perhaps formulate more specific questions. If it is what you really want to do, I am sure that someday you will have pics of new baby albinos to post here; good luck!

with the previous post concerning education. Please take the time to feed your head. There is a wealth of info here and in books that was not available 30 years ago when I began keeping reptiles. Work with the reptiles that you enjoy, and would keep as pets, even if you never were able to make any money at it, and they never bred. Strive for excellent husbandry, study basic genetics, and take pride in whatever project you start. Have fun on the journey.

okay i am a new breeder. i am trying to get some albinos first of all. my first question is, is 100% het albino the same as if someone just puts het albino?

Yep, same thing.

i am going to try and breed some colombian boas, rainbow boas and some 100% het albinos. are any of these eaiser to breed than the other?

If the animals are healthy and well fed they should all breed all by themselves

is there any important things i should do before i breed?

Feed them well and keep them clean. One side of the cage should have a hotspot of around 90 to 94 degrees and the other side of the cage should be cooler. The snake will thermoregulate itself.

anything i should know or any tips on times to feeed, change temp, take male out or anything or when to handle and not to? also i was wondering, sometimes people say they get the male to mate with 3 or so females in one season,

Low pressure weather systems in the winter and spring tend to stimulate breeding. Open the windows a bit during these storms to let the cool wet air rush thru your snake room.

do you just put all 4 in 1 cage? or do you put the male in all the females cages seprate?

You can keep them together or apart. It is hard to feed them all when they are together, but boas love to have orgies with multiple boas in the same cage. Seems to stimulate fertility.

if so how do you know if the one is pregnant before u put it in another cage?

When your female ovulates, she looks like she swallowed a football. She will look like this for a day or two. Hopefully she successfully bred before this. If so she will have babies a bit over a hundred days later.

and do snakes only have one litter a year?

Yep

and is it always at the same time?

Somewhat close to the same time for the same females. But different females will breed at different times of the season.

sorry for all the stupid questions but im trying to get ready to start breeding and i figured i could get alot of help here... PLEASEEEE try and answer all the questions you can... it will help me alot... thanks alot!

Good luck.

alright that helped me alot! only have a few questions about it... do you keep the snakes together all year or just when it comes time to breed? and how many should you put together, 1 male 2 females? or 1 male 3 females? and do the snakes ever not have any offspring? if i get the breeding temp and feeding right for the most part whats the chances they will breed? and do the temps have to be like exact? like if i kept a heat pad and a heat lamp on one side in the day it should be aroud 85-95... and at the other side have nothing (room temp)... and at night just turn the lamp off so it cools down the hot side like 10 degrees... will that be good enough to breed or will there be chances they will not breed? and what are some things that make them want to breed and make them not want to breed?

again... sorry for the stupid questions... :-D thanks alot you all have been alot of help so far!

I would never say anyone is wrong if it works for them, great, but I would disagree with several things that were just posted, not to say I am right, just disagree. Such as opening a window to let the low pressure in, that snakes will just breed if you keep them together, and keeping them together in the first place(other then when they are breeding) Again, just difference of opinion. Craig Kade

so are you saying that i should keep the same temp all year and dont change anything for them all year in the diffrent seasons? and i know snakes will not breed if you just keep them together... thats why in on this forum... to ask you all what i need to do to make the want to breed. and also, should you now keep the snakes together unless its in breeding season??

EVERYONE PLEASE READ THE POST ABOVE AND THE MAIN STARTING POST TO SEE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS I ASKED AND LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINIONS AS WELL PLEASE! ... ITS HELPING ME ALOT! THANKS

alright that helped me alot! only have a few questions about it... do you keep the snakes together all year or just when it comes time to breed? and how many should you put together, 1 male 2 females? or 1 male 3 females?

You can do it either way. Feeding is the big problem. You don't want two boas trying to eat the same rat, so you have to separate them while they are feeding.

and do the snakes ever not have any offspring?

All kinds of stuff can happen. Infertility is the biggest problem.

if i get the breeding temp and feeding right for the most part whats the chances they will breed?

About 50% chance of each snake per year.

and do the temps have to be like exact?

Just make sure there is a hot spot in the cage so that they can warm up if they need it.
If you leave the windows open during a cold front, don't let it get too cold in the snake room. Leaving the window open even a crack will allow the low pressure air to come in.

like if i kept a heat pad and a heat lamp on one side in the day it should be aroud 85-95... and at the other side have nothing (room temp)... and at night just turn the lamp off so it cools down the hot side like 10 degrees

That's about right.

... will that be good enough to breed or will there be chances they will not breed?

If the animals are healthy, there is a good chance they will breed. A female will not necessarily ovulate every year though.

and what are some things that make them want to breed and make them not want to breed? The female needs to have plenty of body weight to produce follicles.

again... sorry for the stupid questions... :-D thanks alot you all have been alot of help so far!

thanks again for responding... can you try and answer some of the questions from the post above the one you just posted, that i posted.. thanks!

You must know that there are basics to boa breeding, and there are alot of personal "tricks" that not everyone agrees with. Alot of times boas will breed in spite of these "tricks".
For instance : Some people, mist there snakes regularly, some alter the light cycle, some alter the temperatures, some alter both, some dont change anything, some feed there snakes during breeding, some have them fast. There are many other things that are tried, and boas have been bred in all instances, probably in every month of the year. Some of the breeders with websites have a segment telling their procedures, and opinions.

Surely you have at least one book on keeping boas. They pretty much all answer the questions you are asking. Try "The Boa Constrictor Manual" by Philippe De Vosjoli. You'll want to have something to refer to throughout the course of your new breeding projects.

Tyler