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When to pull a male?

Scooter1685

Scooter1685

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Hey everyone,

So I'm attempting to breed this year, after ultimately deciding to wait last year. One pair of boas began courting/breeding almost immediately, and with impressive dedication. The female is VERY big compared to her usual girth, and I initially noticed swelling 24 days ago. She shed 9 days ago, which I have marked as her potential post-ovulation shed. Since her shed, the male hasn't really paid much attention to her.

The lower half of her body is swollen, she spends most of her time on the heat, she's already shed and he seems to have lost interest. I'm hoping this means she may be gravid. Since there has been no courtship or breeding activity actually witnessed (though it's always possible it happened and I didn't witness it) in almost two weeks, would it be practical to pull the male?

Some of the information sources I have been reading mention that a pregnant female can be more prone to stress when other boas are present after she has become gravid, and that this stress may have unwelcome consequences for the mother and/or babies.

I'm not exactly an expert on breeding boas, or caring for gravid females, and would like to know what you guys think. I don't want to pull the male out too early at the risk of having a litter of slugs, but I would also like to spare her any undue stress that could cause complications. I would appreciate any advice or insight you guys would care to provide.

Thank you!
 
It seems that the prudent decision would be to leave them in for a couple more weeks of observation. Two weeks with the male that has been breeding her seems unlikely to cause sufficient stress to negatively impact the mother or babies. Pulling him out too early could lead to a litter of slugs, which is undesirable for a few reasons.

I could be misreading the situation. I definitely have a distinct lack of personal experience in this area, which is the reason for my post. I'm trying to reign myself in and remind myself that these things require patience. Probably it would be worse to pull him too early than to leave him an extra couple of weeks.

Ok, totally going to stop rambling now. Thanks again for looking, and for all the questions you've answered for me. The information I've gathered from this site has proven very valuable to me, and I appreciate you guys sharing it.
 
Seems like sound advice. Thanks Cliff. Still new to this, so my footing is a bit uncertain at times. I appreciate your assistance.
 
I have a breeding pair of BCI currently housed together. The first month or two they were together the male and female were inseparable. He has let off a lot but still occasionally lays on top of her with their heads in close proximity. I'm 95% certain he got the job done but I will probably leave him in there another 5-8 weeks just to be sure. I don't think there is really a stress factor in leaving a male and female paired up a little longer if the housing accomadate them both adequately i.e., plenty of space, hides, and access to heat and water.

Best of luck!
 
I would separate them give them both a small meal. let them rest for three days then re-introduce them. The male could of bet tired and out of energy.
As long as the female doesn't seem agitated every thing should be fine.
 
Sounds reasonable. Thanks for that, I'll separate and offer food today. I have been separating for a day or two and offering meals on the regular feeding cycle, but they were so involved in breeding that I made the decision to put off their regularly scheduled feeding a little while. Now that you've mentioned it, it seems quite likely that he may want a rest and a meal.

Oddly, none of the boas in my collection that are breeding this year have gone off food. Only Ambrosius has, which is unfortunate because he isn't breeding this year. He refused a few meals and lost some weight before the season began, so I decided not to put him through breeding. I plan to offer him a meal roughly half the size of his usual meals today, in the hopes that he'll take something a bit smaller and easier to digest.

Thanks Joseph. It seems that I should have thought of that, but I didn't. Thanks for mentioning it.
 
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