Breeding Rosy Boas

[aliceinwl]

I've got 1.2 borrego rosies. I'd like to breed my male with my big female in '06. Fluffy, the male, will turn two this October. I got the female, Princess, as an adult so I don't know her age, she is currently around 30". Both are eating weekly. I've bred a lot of lizards in the past, but this will be my first attempt with snakes.

Brumation
1. When should I cool them down?
2. What should the temps be?
3. How long should they stay cooled?
4. How long should they go without feeding before being cooled?

Breeding
1. How soon should I offer them food?
2. At what point should I put them together?
3. What should I expect in terms of feeding while they're together / after they're separated?
4. Should I feed them during the period they're together (if I do need to feed them I assume that I'd have to separate them for feeding and wash them prior to re-introducing them)?
5. How long should I keep them together?
6. Are there any measures I can take to ensure that the snakes stay safe?
7. In which cage should the introduction take place?

Gestation
1. Is there a certain ideal temp that the UTH needs to be kept at for the female?
2. Do females usually feed while gravid?

Did I miss anything? I figure that now is a good time to ask as it will give me plenty of time to get my act together.

-Alice

[reptilebreeder]

I'll try to answer what has worked for me.
Brumation
1. When should I cool them down?
2. What should the temps be?
3. How long should they stay cooled?
I brumate my Rosy's the same as many of my colubrids. 3 months at @52 ± degrees. I've heard a month ½ to two months works. The time period for me is dictated by the coldest months; Dec-Feb., some people are able to artificially cool so they may do it earlier to get a "jump" on the season.
4. How long should they go without feeding before being cooled?
Two weeks should be good, just verify that they had a good BM in that time.

Breeding
1. How soon should I offer them food?
after a gradual warmup, in about a week and a half, I start offering smaller than normal food. I feed the female more frequently than the male. The feeding before brumation is just as important if not more important than the after brumation feeding, particularly for the female. Yet, you don't want them to be obese.

2. At what point should I put them together?
For me about eight to ten weeks is when I see a lot of activity. I actually put them together for brief periods of time starting at about three weeks, just to see if the female is receptive, usually not though.

3. What should I expect in terms of feeding while they're together / after they're separated?
Once I start seeing activity, I sop feeding them
4. Should I feed them during the period they're together (if I do need to feed them I assume that I'd have to separate them for feeding and wash them prior to re-introducing them)?
5. How long should I keep them together?
Initially, in the testing period above, I can usually tell pretty quick if anything is going to happen, so don't keep them together that long. During prime periods you can keep them together all the time if you want.
6. Are there any measures I can take to ensure that the snakes stay safe?
7. In which cage should the introduction take place?
I always place the males in the females cage, based on the theory? that in the wild it's the males that roam far and wide to find females? Apparently people have just as much success the other way around.

Gestation
1. Is there a certain ideal temp that the UTH needs to be kept at for the female?
A "basking" temp of 86-88 should do okay.
2. Do females usually feed while gravid?
I may feed them a small food item or two during the begining, but I definitely don't let them gorge out.
Did I miss anything? I figure that now is a good time to ask as it will give me plenty of time to get my act together.