Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I hope this works.... Also if anyone can see anything unusual in pics, please let me know. Thanks Andy Federico

................

AJF Reptiles

That's terrible. I'm not vet, but those babies consumed every last mm. of space in the entire last two thirds of that snakes body. Mabey she just produces too many young. Were any of the young breathing or did they have heart beats? It's always good to make the best out of a bad situation and you can at least use this oppertunity to get a good look into the developement of your unborn boas. This story will also help everyone who reads it to know the warning signs of such a disaster.
I'm really sorry about your snake.

n/p

Thanks V, she was 17 pounds when breeding started. Now of course heavier, but she was more of a stocky type. She was only about 5'6" . She was born in early 2002, and should have been fine for breeding.
On the exterior she looked fine for breeding, but inside may be a different story. Maybe maturity of internal organs is far more critical than I know.... I am also questioning if morphs have more genetic defects than normals....

Last year I bred a normal that was smaller and weighed 14 pounds, had 18 babies and did perfectly.

Thanks Andy

that even though she had the age and weight she may have not had the length and internal room to carry such a large litter. I would assume just by looking at her with those eggs in her she looks way over loaded. I dont know what her feeding schedule was, as some boas just grow quick, but if she did have excessive fat and was small length wise to begin with that could have been the cause. Either way it is a shame and always is a risk when dealing with live animals. What other breeding projects do you have going on this year? Talk to you soon Vinnie

Andy,
....Very sorry. Everything I see in the PICs looks normal to me. Perhaps the liver is enlarged?? I know snakes have big livers but that one just looks a little plumper than normal. The white color around the lungs probably is due to lack of oxygen but that could be a result rather than a cause of her death. That is a BIG looking load of babies. You may be right that it was just such a big load on her that it inhibited breathing. It could have also impeded other functions, especially circulation. Perhaps leading to a blood clot? A clot in the brain might explain the neck being curled. I had a big female Bci die gravid 15 years ago. I opened her up and found things looking like your PICs. Great big load of good looking egg masses with some slugs mixed in. It seems to me that we have made giant advances in keeping snakes over the last 30 years. We can keep them healthy and living for a long time in captivity. The only time I ever lose any of my Brazilian Rainbows is when they are carrying or delivering babies.
Jeff

>>I hope this works.... Also if anyone can see anything unusual in pics, please let me know. Thanks Andy Federico
>>
>>................
>>
>>
>>AJF Reptiles

She was not housed in the container you see her in....
That was only used for opening her up...

Born 2002

She was 17 pounds prior to breeding and should have done very well for breeding....

She has been totally healthy in all other respects.

Andy

Sorry to see such a nice animal pass and I bet the babies would have been awesome. The only thing I see is possibly to much fat present. I have a number of '02 BCI and they now range anywhere from a low of just 4 lbs. to a maximum of 12 lbs. IMHO I think 17 lbs. is a bit to heavy for a three year old and obesity may possibly have been a factor when coupled with the stress of being gravid. From the pics I see a LOT of fat there. I don't mean to criticize your feeding practices but I've read a hundred times if you want to end a boas life prematurely, overfeeding is one of the quickest ways to do it. I may be way off thinking she's to heavy but I've never had a boa get to that weight so fast, but then again I do tend to feed conservatively. One way or another it's to bad you've lost her.

That was my little girl right? I wanted to see her babies. Maybe that was just to big of a load. Sorry again.
Marc

np

..

.
-----
Linda Hedgpeth
lindafh@frontiernet.net
Sierra Serpents

"There is just as much horse sense as ever, but the horses have most of it".

im very sorry for your loss. she would of had a great litter