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View Full Version : Multiple possibly gravid snakes in same enclosure


Chad
03-13-2004, 05:13 AM
Just registered and WOW what a fount of knowledge. I currently have 5 Red tails and as of a week ago we thought they were all females. This however is not the case as I'm sure you have guessed already. Brief history of the setup. 5 Boas, 8.5ft to 4.75' in length. Small one the big stud. All are in the same enclosure, enormous homemade cage btw so you don't think I'm horrible. There have been no personality conflicts between any of them, in fact they seem agitated when you seperate them. As far as getting one out, it is a bit of a strugle. They are very reluctant to leave the "herd". Last week I caught my "baby" joined at the butt with one of the others and a third doing everything she could to get in on the action as well. So I immediately moved all those who were not fornicating to a different location and isolated them there.

Now to my question(s):

1. I have only seen my male joined with one of the females and have my suspicions about him having visited the others. So playing the "what if" game, I am curious as to whether or not all the gravid snakes could be left in the same cage while removing the little horn dog?

2. Heating concerns for my future mother(s). Is it ok to use a "heat throw blanket" from say Walmart vice going out and dropping a ton of money at a pet store for basically the same item? ps-do use heat lamps and use a "night/day" lighting scheme.

3. Lastly, if only one female is prego that's fine. 30ish babies is no problem. However, should all 4 be knocked up, 120ish little ones would be a huge "problem" both financially and space wise. Any info on parties interested in buying bulk quantities of babies?


I thank you in advance for any and all information/advice you can possibly throw my way. I am extremelly excited and terrified all at the same time about this as I'm sure some if not all of you could imagine. I admit I had plans for getting into breeding eventually, guess Mother Nature and my kids decided to move things along a bit faster than I was expecting.


Chad

bambam
03-13-2004, 05:57 AM
Wow chad I dont know where to begin! First welcome to the best boa forum on the planet! I would strongly urge you to seperate your boa's always keep them in thier own enclosure unless you plan on breeding them. I would also say that if you have any females gravid do not handle them if you can help it. If you do have some prego girls (gravid) dont house them together. If your not sure of the sex of your boa's get a probe kit or have someone probe them for you i.e. a vet. As far as using a heat blanket. I would highly suggest buying the right equipment for your boas an undertank heat pad, or flexwatt, or heat lamp, please make sure you take safety precautions with all and use a thermostat or rehostat. You said you didn't want to throw down the big bucks for these things but they are worth it. You might want to think about all the stuff and space you will need if you do have babies. What are you keeping the boas in now? If you could let us all know we could better help you pick out the right kind of heating arrangement for your boa's. If your limited on funds my advice to you for right now would be to build yourself a rack and use rubbermaid tubs that will save you some money and space but you will need wood, tubs, flexwatt, some screws and a thermostat. I wish you the best lest us know some more info on them and we will try to help you the best we can. :'(

cahrens
03-13-2004, 12:46 PM
3. Lastly, if only one female is prego that's fine. 30ish babies is no problem. However, should all 4 be knocked up, 120ish little ones would be a huge "problem" both financially and space wise.
I wish I had this "problem" lol. Have any of your females ovulated? Remember just because you see them doing what looks like breeding certainly doesn't mean she or they are gravid. As far as housing is concerned I'll second everything bambam said. Good luck with your "problems". -Chris

cahrens
03-13-2004, 12:48 PM
By the way if a 3rd boa was trying to get in on the action of the other 2 then I'd guess that 1 to be male also. You really need to get them probed so you know what you have. Some pets stores will even do it for you if you let them know in advance. -Chris

ratman
03-13-2004, 01:47 PM
Welcome to the forum and good luck with all that! :'(

Chad
03-14-2004, 09:35 AM
Tried to post response with answers to your questions but whole post got deleted somehow. Anyways, Chris and bambam if you have time could you send me an email and I'll answer any and all your questions so further help would be possible. Thanks again.