Is this Boa gravid or just a big fat pig?

[The_Boaphile]

Take your best shot. :'( There is no prise. :-/ No reward. :-/ Only the satisfaction that yes you can tell the difference between a gravid Boa and a big fat pig Boa. >:(

I will anounce the correct answer sometime in the future. :P

:P Hopefully by the end of June. :P

Good luck! :'(

Jeff
:-*

[The_Boaphile]

By the way. Here is the beast!

I know I know, it's one of my old yucky melamine cages again. They will all be outa here by the end of the Summer.

Jeff

[Randy_T.]

I would say gravid...since for one you are waiting yourself to see.lol. and two she looks quite drastic in appearance from front to back...Later Randy T. :'(

[denny_rimes]

How about a BIG fat GRAVID pig, that I would kill to get my hands on cuz she definitely doesn't look like ANY of my average bos????? :D

[Blackwidow69]

s4.gif ::) wholy cow!!!!! Shes one huge mama!! LOL!! you are gona have ALOT of babies on your hands... Unless shes just a pig and had her self one HUGE meal..hehehehe!!!!! :) :P

[Sojourn]

I'm thinking time will tell... because my real anwer wanted to be all of the above. ;D

[John_Lokken]

Gravid for sure!! :)
John

[honkyfb35]

I'd say gravid as well. She looks huge and there is a drastic difference from the head to tail. Kyle

[boyle102]

shes a pig :'( :P

[Brandon]

i would say she is a gravid momma.

[jayson_tampa]

::) gravid to the max!

[The_Boaphile]

For those who voted "Gravid". You are correct! I should say you were correct for she is no longer gravid! I found these little guys this morning. (June 17, 2003). Here is a shot into the same corner from inside the cage.

[The_Boaphile]

This is bar none the reddest Boa I have ever bred. She is in the top three I have ever seen and she was bred by a Salmon Hypo. She had zero slugs. I count 35 little heads up and about. So we have at least 35 and likely a few more that I just can't quite see yet. It's kinda hard to count them while they are still in the goo.

Now I begin the long wait for them to shed! I fully expect these to end up being the most colorful Hypos I have ever seen.

[The_Boaphile]

Here is the Momma while she was gravid.

http://www.boaphileplastics.com/pastelgravidtempature.jpg

[Simbo]

Amazing Jeff!!! Congrats!
- Eric

[honkyfb35]

Congrats Jeff! Add another success to your list of successes for this year. GJ! Kyle

[HerperCCC]

Very nice Jeff. Looks like those are going to be some smokin' babies when they shed. (Heck, they look great already!)

[BIG_dan]

Hey Jeff! Thanks for great pictures! I was wondering what the momma boas age was? What is her length and weight? Shes a doll! :'(

[ratman]

I knew you would never let one of your girls get that obese. Congratulations!!!

[The_Boaphile]

http://www.boaphileplastics.com/pastelgravidtempature.jpg

OK, it's good and it's bad. This is by far the reddest Boa I have ever bred successfully. This was her first breeding. She is four years old, seven feet and very lovely.

She had 41 babies. Four of these dead and 37 still are living. Now this female gave birth on day 95 after the Post Ovulation Shed. This is not a good thing. It is more normally that females drop their babies between 104 and 111 days after the Post Ovulation Shed. Had she hung onto them just a week longer three of the four dead would likely be fine when born. These babies were all born with massive bellies full of yolk. This can be a fatal situation. The problem is that many times these babies with the huge bellies have that yolk solidify and become unable to digest or absorb all this food. I am trying something a little different this time. Normally, the female would still be carrying them. They would not be born if held till full term for at least another week. Perhaps two weeks. Anyhow, so now what do I do to maximize the likelihood that these babies survive? I am leaving them in the cage where their Momma had them. Still turning the heat on during the day and off at night. Their Momma if she was still carrying them would be subject to these same conditions so I am guessing this is best as opposed to all heat all the time. She would move toward the heat during the day and away at night when the heat is turned off anyhow. I am hoping that they are all able to absorb this stuff. Here is a picture of one of the babies with the massive gut. We shall see...

[The_Boaphile]

Here is another with the big belly: :-/

[The_Boaphile]

This one is still in the sack fully 60 hours after being born. Must be too much like home huh!?

[HerperCCC]

Wow! I sincerely hope your little experiment works! Hang in there little guys!!!

[John_Lokken]

Me too. I really hope those little ones tough it out. Thanks for sharing Jeff. I can't wait to see when they all turn out to be ok.
John

[ratman]

Thanks for sharing! You never know when this could happen to one of us and it is great that you let us learn from your experience. I hope it goes well. I bet it does. You have great instincts when it comes to boas! Let us know!

[The_Boaphile]

Well, they are 5 days old this morning and looking much thinner. I think the plan of leaving them in the cage where they can still get access to good heat and move away when they like is the ticket. They should be shedding on Friday hopefully. Although, I can't remember if big belly babies shed a little late or not. I have noticed one change since I began heating my baby room vs. heating in the racks and that is that babies shed now the first time when 11 or most times 12 days old. I know it's hard to wait the extra day or two but they definitely do better in a heated room rather than heated racks.

Now if I can wait for these most red of all Hypos I have ever seen to shed! The waiting is killing me but I'll get over it I guess.

Jeff

[The_Boaphile]

OK,

A little update. These kids are 8 days old this morning. As planned, I have left them in the cage so they could have access to the same much warmer temps than I normally give babies that their mother would have access to. They all seem to be doing very well. Their tummies are much much smaller and they are all opaque. I hope this will work. At least it looks very good so far. I don't want to touch them as I am afraid that any unnecessary stress may cause some problems with the yolk still not completely digested in their bellies. So I will just wait. I am hoping that many of them begin to shed on Friday on schedule and THEN we will begin to see what these little lovely beasts will bring us! I can hardly wait to see these guys. I was looking forward to this breeding more than any other one this year. I am very anxious to see how red these little hypos end up. I will keep you posted!

Thanks,

Jeff

[John_Hedger]

That's great news Jeff !! It looks like those bables may be through the critical stage. The large belly issue (or yolk outside of the belly) is one I often have seen with newborn tree boas and is an issue of concern with me. Often they die within a day or two. Until you mentioned it on a thread once, I didn't realize the problem was due to yolk hardening within the belly. What temps were you keeping them? Did the babies gravitate or stay in the warmer areas of the cage?
Good luck with that litter!!
JHedger

[honkyfb35]

GL Jeff! Looking more and more hopefull now and can't wait for the desired good outcome to occur and when u get the chance post the pics ;D! Kyle