Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We got a dum. from a man who was moving a great distance- several states and was flying and couldn't keep her. We've not had her too long. She had a URI when we got her and was and still is a bit of a stubborn eater- only ate a few times since we've had her- she's pretty plump so i wasnt worried about her 'starving to death'. We've had her... since the end of october. last week, she started rolling up on her side- I acutally thought she had died and was really worked up about it and I poked at her with the hook and she didnt move, when i reached in to grab her to put her in a trash bag- she scared the life out of me. Still alive!!! we went to the vet to see why she was acting "funny"- the vet couldn't find anything.
I've only recently started wondering if she could be gravid- the prev. owner said he had other snakes but this was the only one he hadn't gotten rid of- i didn't think to ask if he had another dum. and the # i have for him no longer works.
how can I "check" her.
whats the normal breeding season/gestation for Dum.s?
I think she has gotten a bit bigger around from when we got her and since she's not eating as much as i'd like- i don't think its a food thing.

we don't breed for the obvious reason but if i'm going to be expecting a load of babies soon- advanced notice would be oh so nice.
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

If he had it with a male Dumerils for some time, it's very possible, but not knowing that for sure would definitely make you wonder. In my opinion, there is a reason some people think Dumerils gestations are 10 months long, and I think it is because ovulation some times takes a while to happen after copulations. I have observed my females laying inverted shortly after ovulation, and they usually only do it for a few days, and then I generally don't see this behavior any more. Just taking a guess at the point she is at, IF she's gravid, I'd say late July/August you should know for sure. Since you don't know for sure, but got the okay from the vet on her health, continue offering her food...BUT, keep it to every couple of weeks, and keep the prey SMALL. There's always the ultrasound option as well. If she is gravid, it's really hard to say what to expect as far as number of babies. I have had females drop 1 baby, NO slugs, stillborns, etc...just ONE healthy baby. On the other end of the spectrum, I think Jason got 27 in one litter???? On average from what I've encountered, I'd expect 10-12 and it will be one of the coolest things you've ever seen. Hope some of this helps you out. Feel free to drop me an e-mail if you have any more questions as I check my e-mail much more than I check this forum.(It's pretty slow). Take care

Paul

Is there any way to check with the previous owner? If she wasn't in the best shape when you got her, it is rather important to know if she is gravid to potentially avoid later problems.

Good luck!
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Thanks,
Amy
www.myboids.4t.com
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1.14 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
0.0.1 Sinaloan Milk Snake
0.0.1 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
2.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
1.2 BCI
That's Just The Snakes!

Him/Her: E-mail, forums, or friends
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Thanks,
Amy
www.myboids.4t.com
----
1.14 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
0.0.1 Sinaloan Milk Snake
0.0.1 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
2.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
1.2 BCI
That's Just The Snakes!

I have the mans name, and tried to do a 'phone book' search for him- no luck, only pulled up the # and addy I previously had for him. He's moved half way across the country. haven't been able to locate him- and don't know any of his friends or anything like that.

She wasn't in that bad of condition- she's big, has good scales, was fed only f/t, had a pleanty large cage, the proper heating, hide, and water bowl. The only problem she had was a slight URI- only took a few treatments of amikacin to kick it. She was by no means morbidly unhealthy. (in comparison of other things we get anyway).

He just mentioned that he had other snakes and would call me back if he didn't find homes for any of them- the Dum. was the only one I got. He was in such a hurry to get to the airport, we didn't really have time to discuss her back ground- just quickie stuff- she's eating xxl rats, very laid-back, sheds good, doesn't need special soaking,etc. to do so. we brought the cage into quarantine and he was off. I usually have a list of questions for people to fill out but I didn't want to make him miss his flight. yha know.

I've just been keeping an eye on her. She's a little more active today than usual. don't know if that means anything- I really do not know anything about breeding but I did research a bit, and got a different box in her cage- just in case she decides to drop a load of bloody babies- hopefully she'll use the box.... I would like to see it and experience the reptile birthing process- i love seeing the pics here. amazing....
I've talked to the vet about a possible ultrasound- she said that for the money it would cost the rescue, it might be best just to wait and see- in the meantime, treat her as if she's gravid- small or no meals, etc... and looking through my records for her, she hasn't shed in a while either. but she is looking a bit dark.
this is just a mess..... we'll know soon i suppose.
Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

It sounded like she was worse off, and I'm glad to hear you got her R.I. taken care of. I haven't produced boas before, but I have heard not to use nest boxes with heavily bodied boas such as dums, BCI and the like as they have a tendancy to squish their babies. My gravid girl enjoys loads of crumpled and layed newspaper to "hide" herself.

Good luck!
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Thanks,
Amy
www.myboids.4t.com
----
1.14 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
0.0.1 Sinaloan Milk Snake
0.0.1 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
2.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
1.2 BCI
That's Just The Snakes!

The closest I've seen to "nest boxes" for boas is the way Rich Ihle keeps his gravid females. If you haven't seen it, it's a very simple set up and according to him it's very effecient. He sets up two large tubs, one on either side of the 4' cage and between them sets in two small(shoe box size) tubs. He says the females always drop their babies into this "depression" which makes collecting babies, and cleaning up the mess a cinch. It's shown on the boa constrictor video by the Barkers I believe. Take care

Paul

awsome- I'll work on that tomarrow- i'm sure i have storage thingy's around here somewhere,
Thanks!!!
Beth-
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue