Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I thought I would post some info on my pair. They have been in brumation since September, and I checked their weights tonight. My male is 59 grams, down from 62 grams at his last weighing in August. His last meal was July 1. The female is 122 grams, down from 129 grams in August. Her last meal was August 31.

My wife said she would be very disappointed if that was all she lost after not eating for 4 or 5 months!

I am happy to see they are doing well. I will starting warming the male up in mid to late February, and the female in March. I will post some new pics then. Hopefully I will get some babies out of them this year. I guess last year the female wasn't quite ready.

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Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) corn snakes, 2010
1.1 Gray-banded king snakes, blairs phase, 2008
6.10 Gray-banded king snakes, 2011
1.1 Oregon rubber boas, w/c 20??

Very nice! I'm enjoying the proliferation of rubber boa postings lately

I agree!
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Carl

Thanks for the update...keep keeping us posted!
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Carl

Kent:
The information you provided on minimal weight loss during brumation for your two Rubber Boas is very typical for the species. Years ago I read something to the effect that for some species, considerable weight loss occurs during brumation which I believe the authors indicated contributed to some mortality during the winter months. In contrast, I have found that both captive and wild boas incur very little weight loss during the brumation period.

Here is the information on the two adult male boas I recaptured on Feb. 11th and released the following day.
KVB male #15 Recaptured 10/17/11 at 64.3 grams and released 10/23/11. Recaptured 2/11/12 at 61.8 grams. Wt. loss = 2.5 grams (3/9%) over approx. 4 month period

KVB male #17: Recaptured 10/17/11 at 58.4 grams and released 10/23/11. Recaptured 2/11/12 at 56.7 grams. Wt. loss = 1.7 grams (2.9%) over approx. 4 month period

And it's safe to assume neither boa fed after being released last October 23rd.

Richard F. Hoyer (Corvallis, Oregon)