Births and deaths - the good news - Fiji boas Candoia bibroni

Well, lost two more last week, so not great news, but the one remaining just ate his first hatchling gecko, so I'm hoping he will be the survivor....

Sorry to hear that, Helen. Might be a dumb question, but why is so little known about these guys' breeding habits and growth following parturition?

Originally Posted by ShadowAceD

Sorry to hear that, Helen. Might be a dumb question, but why is so little known about these guys' breeding habits and growth following parturition?

I think there just aren't many of them outside their native Fijian islands. There are other related species around, but these are endemic to these few islands, and as they eat geckos and frogs for the first few years, people have difficulty feeding them. There's one breeder in the UK who seems to be successful, but the main USA authority, Jerry Conway, has retired, and the captive population seems to be very small.

On a high note, the survivor ate his second hatchling gecko last night.

I'm not out of the woods yet, but the survivor is still with me, and now eaten 4 times.... so I thought I'd post a few pics, now 12 gms and eating geckos about once a week.

Oh, and it's definitely a boy, see rather personal picture below

LOL on the last pict!

Delighted to hear he's stlil with you, and eating and behaving fine!

He just shed for the first time - all clean and shiny....

Wish you luck on the continued "progress"

Well it's been all downhill from my last post.

He went on hunger strike after that first shed and is now only 9 gms (birth weight 11 gms).

Today I decided emergency measures were finally warranted, and this morning I force fed him a dilute suspension of Herpaboost paste, which has protein, amino acids and vitamins from Tasmanian Mutton Bird oil. He objected but seems to have survived it so far. I'm thinking of giving him a couple of days to digest that before trying it again.

I have been keeping him VERY humid - daily misting and always water drops on the tank sides (I have seen him drinking from those drops). It is very cold at night at the moment (18oC - 20oC some nights) but he has a warm spot rock which he uses sometimes, and he is often warm to the touch.

He's just determined to starve himself to death (maybe he has strong political views I don't know about... ) It's now a battle of wills.

Good luck with him Helen, im sad that this has taken a more sad turn, I hope that you can help the little one thrive in time!!!

Thanks Alicia, I'm not letting him go without a fight, but what will be will be.... it's so frustrating when they simply won't listen to reason...