Jamaican Boas Breeding

Feeding update:

I went to give a live, medium anole to T3 and realized that there was already one in there, which I mistakenly belived to have been eaten last week. This means that T3 has only eaten one anole so far. A small, live one. T3 and T2 switched cages, and T3 was offered a small, live anole. If he eats this one, he will be offered a small, frozen one next week.

As a result, T2 has also now been put into a cage with two live, medium anoles. I am interested to see if both get eaten right away, or if T2 opts to wait to eat the second, and if so, for how long.

T1 (now in a tub) was offered a chick thigh, as I had an extra one and figured, what the heck.

All of the others have been fed the usual (thighs/scented pinkies). I will update with results in the morning.

None of the three troublemakers chose to eat. T1 refused the chick thigh, and T2 has not eaten either anole. I assume this is because they both ate a few days ago. However, T3 should be more than ready to eat again, and has refused the anole given. I think I need to try a smaller anole.

One more non-holdback has taken a scented pinkie, and has been moved to the "pinky eater" group. In addition, one of the "pinky eaters" has been moved back to the other group, as he has refused a scented pinky three times now. He will periodically be given scented pinkies in the future to see if he goes back on them.

Otherwise, everything is as expected, with one exception. Holdback #4 refused to eat, presumably in protest over her photoshoot the other day. I have no doubt she will be back on feed next week, though.

Some good news. On a hunch, I put the smallest frozen/thawed anole I could find into T3's cage, and this morning, it is gone. T3 is looking nice and fat, so I think it's a safe conclusion to draw that he ate it. This is interesting, because the slightly larger, live anole is still present in the cage, and has been for a couple of days without being eaten. I think this means that size is significantly more important to T3 than freshness, so I will make an effort to continue feeding him the smallest anoles.

T2 still has not eaten either of the live, medium anoles, presumably due to not being hungry and/or going into blue. I will update when one of them disappears.

1-If live anoles of appropriate size are not taken, kill the anole and leave it in o/night.

2-Slit an anole open and rub a small PM around in the guts until it is coated with body fluids. Leave the PM in o/night. Rarely fails to work and beats cutting up chicks.

3-Always save the shed from anoles-works just as well.

4-Anole soup can be used several times if frozen between feedings. Simmer 2-3 anoles in a small saucepan (when the wife is not looking). Leave PM in the soup for an hour or so and leave the scented PM in o/night. Refreeze the soup-can be used around 4 times before you discard it.

5-Wash PM to remove any scent. Leave wet and toss in a deli cup full of chick fuzz. Shake until the PM looks like a chick-it should be unrecognizable as a PM. Leave in o/night. Rarely fails.

Subflavus eat when they want to-not when you are ready to feed them. Males are notorious for refusing to eat at any age for long periods of time. Be prepared to discard any food that did not get eaten. Never offer it to another boa-a terrible habit to develop.

It sounds like they are doing very well. Your real challenge will be to decide what to do with them all. Once you saturate PA with subflavus, your options quickly dry up. After all, they are CITES I...

Good news on T3!

Maybe T2 wants a smaller one as well?

Jeff, great tips. That said...I hope your wife does not have an unposted Fauna login. ;-)

Originally Posted by boidsonly

1-If live anoles of appropriate size are not taken, kill the anole and leave it in o/night.

2-Slit an anole open and rub a small PM around in the guts until it is coated with body fluids. Leave the PM in o/night. Rarely fails to work and beats cutting up chicks.

3-Always save the shed from anoles-works just as well.

4-Anole soup can be used several times if frozen between feedings. Simmer 2-3 anoles in a small saucepan (when the wife is not looking). Leave PM in the soup for an hour or so and leave the scented PM in o/night. Refreeze the soup-can be used around 4 times before you discard it.

5-Wash PM to remove any scent. Leave wet and toss in a deli cup full of chick fuzz. Shake until the PM looks like a chick-it should be unrecognizable as a PM. Leave in o/night. Rarely fails.

Subflavus eat when they want to-not when you are ready to feed them. Males are notorious for refusing to eat at any age for long periods of time. Be prepared to discard any food that did not get eaten. Never offer it to another boa-a terrible habit to develop.

It sounds like they are doing very well. Your real challenge will be to decide what to do with them all. Once you saturate PA with subflavus, your options quickly dry up. After all, they are CITES I...

Good tips there. I especially like the one with the chick fuzz. I'll have to give that one a shot next week.

As for the market, I'm not overly concerned. The reason I got into subflavus was for the conservation of the species, so inundation of the PA market would be a goal achieved, haha. I have plenty of other programs that are more economically conscious. This one is purely for the love of the animals.

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

Good news on T3!

Maybe T2 wants a smaller one as well?

T2 ate a medium frozen less than a week ago, so I'm not overly concerned. If he stops eating, I'll certainly try something smaller, though. The only reason he even has anoles in with him are that I accidentally put two in that cage and don't feel like trying to catch them. Haha.

2 anoles work better than a single anole-even if just 1 gets taken. Trick is to always have 2 anoles in at all times. They cause each other to move-a single anole may stay frozen most of the time and is difficult for the boa to zero in on.

Other tip:
-wash a PM. Remove a small section of an anole's tail and rub the open wound all over the head of the PM. Smash a tiny section of the tail and place on the PM snout. Remove small sections from a live/frozen anole as needed-one anole and its tail can go a long way.

Also good tips. With regard to pinkies and anole soup, would it make sense to scent a large number of pinkies and refreeze, then to thaw as needed? My thoughts are that it would eliminate the need to discard the soup after 3-4 thaws if I used it all at once.