Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay im just wondering who all here doesnt every change their temp all year round? and if you dont what do you do to make them breed? and who in here breeds year round, or has done breeding out of season? any tricks to it?

I never said I do not change temps, only that I do not cool my boas. Cooloing is a practice used in breeding most other snakes, which I doubt is even necessary for them either. But a shift in temps and lighting is necessary. I also think proper feeding produces the needed results also. Andy

so when do you change your temps to get them in the mood and how much do you change them? and what different feeding cycle do you put them on to get them wanting to breed?

Let me ask you, ...what are you breeding and what size are your animals? Weight of male and female. Thanks Andy

im not breeding anything at the time, i have a few het albino and dh albinos and 1 albino (all boas) but they still have a year or so before they are ready. im looking into buying a few adult proven breeders, im looking at doing an albino x het albino, albino het stripe x het stripe albino and maybe a dh sunglow x albino and then a few more cheap het projects. the weight im not sure of because i have not purchased them yet because i just moved in my new place and i have a room for breeding. but let me know some more info on the year round breeding and the temps and in what months to do it and any other tips you might have. thanks!

I kept my temps the same all year. To get them to breed i simply put my male in with my female and played them some barry white. The male did the rest. He courted and copulated for 7 weeks then she ovulated. I removed him and 123 days later She had 26 babies. I am no expert on this though, this was my first time breeding

Hey...did you play "Barry's Greatest Hits"? Have you tried anything else like Sade' or any smooth jazz? Just curious.

The boa manual, with a breeding section inside written by Jeff Ronne, is a wise investment. He states also inside that he has produced litters in every month except one or two. Look at it like this ...make your temps simulate their natural habitat. You do not have to cool your boas...that will only result in respiratory infections. Temps while gravid also will dictate length of gestation, ....Temps are very important. Andy

so am i going to need to research what temps to keep them at or should i find it all in the boa manual?? thanks for the advice, i like that way better

I don't believe cooling will cause a respiratory infection. Myself and many others cool our Bci to a NTL of 72 to 75 and our Bcc 68 to 72. As long as you give them a day temp of about 80-82 they will be fine. A healthy boa with no other illness or virus will not get respiratory infections during a cool period.
If your boas get a respiratory infection during cool down this means 1. it is being kept to cold at night (below 68) or 2. it is not receiving adequate day time temps or 3. its immune system is already weakened from some other illness.
None of my 20 boas have ever gotten sick during this cycling.

I personally have never had a boa with a respiratory infection, and hope I never do. I have swayed away from the concept of cooling just for that reason. I hd read and heard that the low temps of cooling have been culprit for many RI's. I proved it was not necessary for me, if others choose to cool so be it. Andy

In the wild (such as brazil) boas often do see temps in the low 70's at night. I don't think cooling is required for most forms of Bci but for Bcc it is a must.
If these lower night temps did give boas an infection there would be a lot of sick snakes in the wild. Even in the tropical parts of the world their winter nights can get cool. I think a small night drop in temps is natural for boas and one of the triggers to breeding. Gus @ rio bravo reptiles has a very good page about this on his web site...and I think he nails it.

n/p

http://www.riobravoreptiles.com/care_breedingboas.htm

Gus has a great article on this; see the link.

It is very important to first note whether you are working with BCC or BCI. I have never met nor heard of anyone whose BCC reproduce year round, without providing seasonality. Of those whom I have spoke to who have tried inducing copulations outside the normally accepted fall-spring season, all have reported less than normal success.

You’ll note from Gus’ temperature data, that MUCH LESS seasonality is required for BCI than BCC. It is my belief that many people who say they don’t cycle their boas are actually doing so, but inadvertently.

The radiative heat transfer will also be even more rapid when it is both cold inside the house AND outside due to any seasonal change. This means that the boa will approximate a cool temperature faster and warm back up more slowly, and thus remain at that temperature longer. Since the BCI respond to less seasonality, these simple, yet almost unnoticeable seasonal changes might be all that is necessary to push the BCI to the necessary threshold, especially where seasons are pronounced.

For BCC, I have used a stronger seasonality approach, much like what Gus had described. In doing so, I proved to myself, at least with a pair I have, that this seasonality is key. I have gotten the same pair to reproduce under identical conditions in two different parts of the country and have carefully monitored the data while doing so.

Seasonality, per what I have read and experienced, is associated with much higher success rates. I do not think that many breeders would unnecessarily expose their BCC to RIs and the like if it wasn’t necessary and most people’s BCIs are probably getting seasonality inadvertently to at least some degree.

I hope this helps and best wishes in your boa endeavors.

I should have read your post before I posted above. Your post said it all. Everyone keeping boas needs to read Gus's breeding and care pages. Later.