gestation question

Okay, so this will be my first attempt at breeding these amazing animals we call boa constrictor and I have a few questions arising.

I have had my male sunglow in with my female het albino for a few weeks and haven't seen any lock ups (but im never home so they might just be doing it when im gone.) I noticed that the female is going into shed, but she is also swelling up as well. I know the shed typically means babies are coming in the near future, but that would mean that my male and her locked up the first day, she took, and has been gravid for only two weeks tops?? That doesn't seem right to me..

She is still feeding well, I fed her a small meal two days ago, and this morning i noticed that she is rather thick in the area just above her tail. She likes to stay on the warm side of her cage under her hide.

I'm just curious as to why the shed is coming on so soon? I don't want her to have a premature birth or anything..I was thinking that maybe this is just a shed? And that it doesnt have anything to do with baby boas coming soon? I just haven't heard of anything like that before.

I figured I would ask around here and see what comes up.
Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks,
Jordan

her follicles are probably growing... females grow follicles and have 3 sheds... first is at 12-14 mm second shed is at 16-18 mm and third shed is at 20-24 mm... something ive learned through bryant tannery with ultra sounding females...

her follicles may just be growing... if she took she would ovualte and you would most likely see it.. and she would be tight on the heat

Well, I'm not sure that she is gravid..she was nice and big a few days ago, but now she is back to normal size. I put the male back in there, and he "cuddled" up with her under her hide, but now he stays out of the hide away from her. I'm not really sure what is happening, but I guess that's why they call it a learning experience right? Lol

Thanks for the info Chase!

if she was swollen up she took then, she ovualted... 105 days from her shed expect babies, keep caging perfect and handle as little as possible and you should have a good healthy litter your first time!

pull your male out if you confident she ovualted, youd know if she was they swell up quite a bit!

would she go back to normal size after the ovulation? I don't even notice any difference in size anymore. She definitely looked huge, like she ate a meal twice the size of a usual one, but I really have no clue..

do males usually lose interest in the female if she takes?

from my experince yes, males quit trying to breed the female or the female refuses... and yes the female will go back to normal size, youll be able to tell her acting different if you know your snakes well enough....

Well I have noticed that she has been spending a bit more time under her hide on the warm side of the cage. She hasn't been acting herself lately. But I can't be sure if that's due to the shed she's going into or not. This shed is supposed to last longer than normal correct?
Post Ovulation Shed right?

if she ovulated and all then yes it typically last long... i never pay much attention to it.. i just wait for it and count the days and mark her..

Okay. Lol
I just got home and checked on her. Is it common for them to sorta roll a part of their body onto its side when they are gravid? Cause that is what she is doing right now.

I can only speak for Brazilian Rainbow Boas, but yes, they do that frequently when gravid.