I had a female that had a litter of premature babies last season. The litter consisted of eight "fully" formed babies and twelve slugs. She delivered the litter approximately two weeks before the 105 day mark.

My question is can a female that delivers early like this have a tendency to repeat premature delivery. I know there are alot of variables that could affect the birthing process. I am wondering if anyone has experienced or heard of a female delivering early more than once. Is it a fluke, could it have to do specifically with the female, could it be the temperature etc., or is it just nature? In this particular case she was pretty much consistently at 86 degrees during gestation. She had the gradient to be warmer or cooler. This is where she kept herself.

I have a big and beautiful boa that I really don't want to risk any potential harm to. The premature litter did not really seem to take much of a toll on her, at least visually. She was also checked out by my reptile vet recently and all signs are good. She is rock solid again and could breed this season. However, she doesn't need to, especially if she may need another year???

I would love to hear from anyone who has input, experience, or information on this. It would also be nice to hear from some of the old timers. Those who consistently produce litters and who have been breeding for a while.

Here she is.



Thanks for any input.

Steve Ihrig - sdi

[ Hide Replies ]

• Premature birth question - sdi, Sat Oct 14 22:34:45 2006
• RE: Premature birth question - drimes, Sun Oct 15 10:53:12 2006
• Thanks for you reply. - sdi, Sun Oct 15 13:02:47 2006
• Steve.... - CrazyBoidGuy, Sun Oct 15 16:02:36 2006