Jamaican Boas Breeding

Holdback #2 (H2) who was more than calm enough to handle, but did musk a little:

Holdback #3 (H3), who has one of the best appetites in the group:

Holdback #4 (H4) was a bit irritable, despite usually being one of the more docile babies. I assume this is largely because of the little bit of stuck shed, which you can see on the head region.

Holdback #5 (H5) was looking a little duller than normal, so I think a shed is imminent:

and finally, Holdback #6 (H6) who was recently added to the group from the non-holdback group. Pictures should explain why.

Loving the photos - they all look great!

Based on T3's eating schedule (and also to make up for all time spent not eating), I decided to see if Harper would eat again tonight. Another success. Seems like giving them a good amount of time to themselves will get them back on food pretty quickly. I'm going to try handling him in a few days, since I've largely been leaving him alone, to see if it will dramatically affect his appetite.

Originally Posted by GillianC

Loving the photos - they all look great!

Based on T3's eating schedule (and also to make up for all time spent not eating), I decided to see if Harper would eat again tonight. Another success. Seems like giving them a good amount of time to themselves will get them back on food pretty quickly. I'm going to try handling him in a few days, since I've largely been leaving him alone, to see if it will dramatically affect his appetite.

Thanks. Let us know how the handling goes. As far as the sped up feeding, you could probably shorten it to every 5 days at a minimum, but I wouldn't feed any more frequently than that for an extended period. I've heard from more than a few people that it can cause serious health issues.

With regard to handling- a quick tip, I've found it is easiest to pick them up with some sort of metal (hook or tongs) and then VERY carefully and slowly, slide them onto your hand. They tend to be a lot less snippy at things that approach slowly and from beneath. In fact, I've had a few take shots at my right and while curled rather insistently around my left. Good luck.

Originally Posted by cguarino30

Thanks. Let us know how the handling goes. As far as the sped up feeding, you could probably shorten it to every 5 days at a minimum, but I wouldn't feed any more frequently than that for an extended period. I've heard from more than a few people that it can cause serious health issues.

With regard to handling- a quick tip, I've found it is easiest to pick them up with some sort of metal (hook or tongs) and then VERY carefully and slowly, slide them onto your hand. They tend to be a lot less snippy at things that approach slowly and from beneath. In fact, I've had a few take shots at my right and while curled rather insistently around my left. Good luck.

I definitely have no intention of keeping him on an every other day feeding schedule. I've never really been a huge supporter of "power feeding" - I don't think it's particularly healthy for any snake, and I remember your warnings about the potential side-effects when these guys overeat. That being said, I've been giving him small pinkies to ease him back into things, so I think for now he's safe. Handling may very well put him off feeding for a day or two, so he'll be bumped down to every 4 days for this next week anyhow. After that, back to 5 days.

As of yet, Harper has a mild demeanour - he has yet to strike at me, and surprisingly doesn't even flee back to his hide when I find him out at night. I'm hoping I got lucky and got one of your good-tempered babies!

Originally Posted by GillianC

I definitely have no intention of keeping him on an every other day feeding schedule. I've never really been a huge supporter of "power feeding" - I don't think it's particularly healthy for any snake, and I remember your warnings about the potential side-effects when these guys overeat. That being said, I've been giving him small pinkies to ease him back into things, so I think for now he's safe. Handling may very well put him off feeding for a day or two, so he'll be bumped down to every 4 days for this next week anyhow. After that, back to 5 days.

As of yet, Harper has a mild demeanour - he has yet to strike at me, and surprisingly doesn't even flee back to his hide when I find him out at night. I'm hoping I got lucky and got one of your good-tempered babies!

That could very well be. Because they were all so late to start feeding, I tried to refrain from handling the entire "troublemaker" group unless absolutely necessary, so I really don't know what his demeanor would be. It also my help that you are handling him later in the day. I don't generally mess with mine later in the day, and it would stand to reason that they'd be crankier after being woken up during daylight hours.

T3 did not eat last night either. So far, the pattern has been pretty much every other day. Tomorrow will be the last morning that I can check on the experiment before leaving town, so I will update that information. After that, it will get difficult to update the experiment, other than to see how many disappear over an extended period.