Boa just gave birth, what to do?

[iceschlie]

I am house sitting and the boa just gave birth to 17 snakes. What is the best thing to do from here? ARe there anytips that people could share? I am a total amature and could use any helpful advice. Thanks.

[ratman]

You need to try to get the mother out of there as soon as possible if you have another cage set up because she will get nasty after she rests. If it was awhile ago or you don't have another cage set up right just leave her and let the owner deal with it. Of course the best thing to do is get in touch with the owner and ask them! But, most importantly post pics for us.:'(

[Jon-e-Boy]

Yeah, number one is to post pics for sure! Anyway, I would just easily open the cage without getting too close to the mother because she will be nasty and spray a little water on the babies with a spray bottle. Then just wait until the owners get back. The babies will be fine in there for 3-4 days or even a week. If you know that the owner is going to be away for longer than 3-4 days, I would suggest putting some type of towling over the mother (so to protect yourself) and firmly grab her and place her in another cage without harming the babies in the process. But if the owners will be home within the next few days, follow the first suggestion. Good luck!

[iceschlie]

Thank you for posting back. I have them separated from their mother and father in a carboard box, but they are all in an atrium. It is the warmest place in the house, but they are secure in the box so that the big snakes cant get to them. How long do you keep them apart? What else should I do (like to keep them warmer?) Does anyone know of a website that would have specific instuctions on what to do after the birth. The mother gave birth today 9/27 around 3:00 pm mountain, so the babies are only 6 hours old. I will squirt them with water right now, but how often should this be done? Every couple of hours/days? Also, for those of you out there reading this, we gave the Mom a shower and she was very happy. Thank you again for the help. I am working on getting a digital camera so I can share with all.

[Panama_Red]

I dont think the cardboard box is going to cut it for long, those babys need to be in a properly controlled envirorment, with correct temps. Baby boas are also escape artists and will make short work of the cardboard box. A rubbermaid sweaterbox with some air holes, moist paper towels for substrate and a shallow water dish will be a good start. Look at one of the boa care guides posted here on the forum it will help for temps and things, and if your friend dosen't have additional heating equipment go to a pet store and buy a heat pad for one end and a rheostat to controll the temp. Im sure your friend will be glad you did and pay you back when he gets home. Good luck..

(I'd ask for a baby)

[ksshane]

put damp papertowels down for them to crawl on. If any of them have not absorbed their yoke sac... This will help.

How long will the owner be gone... A day.. a week... a month?

[iceschlie]

Well, the owners of the snakes are home, but this is new for them too. The babies made it through the night and all seem to be healthy. How long do you keep the babies separated form their parents? Should we keep all of the baby snakes separated from each other(I read that somewhere)? They seem to be getting along well. What did you all out there do?

[ksshane]

no need to put the parents with babies ...

you can start seperating them today if you like.

I usually seperate mine after a day or two, and put them in their own little enclosure (rubbermaid shoe box with holes in the sides works good for me) with a paper towel for bedding, and a shallow water dish.   If any of them still have their birth sac exposed keep their paper towels damp until they have completely obsorbed it (but most should be obsorbed by now).

keep us posted, and we look forward to seeing pics

[ksshane]

Oh, and they should shed for the first time in about a week or so. Then you can offer them their first meal. I recommend a pinky rat.

[iceschlie]

Why should we separate all the babies from each other? Will they get aggressive to each other? or is it easier to feed them that way?

[ksshane]

You always want to seperate boa when feeding. They could both go for the same food item, and end up eating one of the other boas, or be eatin

It is very rare, but just about a month ago. A very good friend of mine had a pair of boas together. He seperated them to feed them, and then put them back together. A couple of hours later he came back to check on them, and one boa had ate the other.

[iceschlie]

feeding not included, but when the snakes are just doing their thing during the day/night, should they each baby snake be separated in individual container, why? I don't know what they are going to do with 17 baby boas, just wondering the best way to house them until we figure out what to do with them.

again, if so why?
and by the way, thanks for sharing your snake knowledge with us. It is really appreciated.

[Panama_Red]

Even if you were to feed them seperatly, when you put them back together there is a possibility that they will attack each other because of the smell of the rodent on the freshly fed boa. Look at some of the caging (rack systems) available for housing multiple babys on the web. You can buy one ready to go or build your own. If they are housed together and you don't have any feeding mishaps theres always the possibility that one could get sick and infect all of the others rapidly.

[ksshane]

Panama,  
Good point.. I forgot to mention if one got sick they could all get sick if they are kept together.

Probably one of your biggest problems right now.  Is going to be heat for all these cute little boogers.

Here is what most people do:

purchase a rack with built in heat running through the back

build a rack with heat running through the back

or go to walmart buy alot of rubbermaid type shoe boxes (buy some extras.. makes cleaning a little easier), and a box of large heavy duty rubberbands.  Then go over to electronics and pic up a soldering gun.  The kind with the pointed tip.  While your there pick up a dimmer switch, and a digital temp gauge with the an external probe.  On your way out of the store pick up a couple of rolls of paper towels.

Then go to some place that sells 3" heat tape by the foot, and buy enough to run between each of the shoeboxes once they are stacked.  Pick up a thermostat also while you are at the pet store.

On your way home stop by the grocery store (any grocery store with a deli).  Go back to the deli, and tell them you want to buy a 50-100 of there small deli cups (the ones big enough for a baby boa to get its little body in).  Dont worry, these are dirt cheap.

Then go home and break out the soldering gun, and the plastic shoe boxes.   Let the gun get hot, and then start putting hole in the shoe boxes.  I put 3 in the top, and 2 at the bottom on both the right side, and the left side.
Once that is done put a paper towel in each of the shoeboxes you plan to use.  Then get a deli cup, and fill it with water, and place one of those in each shoe box that you are getting ready to use also.  
Now put a boa in each container, and put the lid on.  The lids should snap shut, but just in case break out the rubber bands, and put one on each end.  Securing the lid, and making sure it stays closed.
Now get out the rheostat, and the thermostat.  Wire the rheostat into the thermostats wiring.   Somewhere between the thermostat itself, and the plug in.  
Next  (if you have a coffee table or something to keep the shoeboxes directly off the ground.  That would be great.  The floor is the coldest part of the room)  lay the heat tape out on a smooth surface where you plan on keeping the boas for now, and set 4 or 5 shoeboxes on the heat tape.  You wont the heat tape in the back part of the shoe boxes.  Now take the excess heat tape, and lay that on top of the 4 or 5 shoeboxes, and then put another 4 or 5 shoeboxes on top of that.  Keep doing this until you have all the shoeboxes with boas in them stacked on top of each other.  For the top line of shoeboxes I would place the heat tape on top, and then use your extra (you did buy extra) shoeboxes to hold it down.
Now place the probe from the thermostat inside one of the shoeboxes.  The best place for this is right over the heat tape in the back.  Plug the heat tape into the thermostat.  
Now take your temp gauge with the external probe, and place the probe right next to the thermostat probe.   Now you can start raising your temps.   Slowly bring them up until you get your hot spot around 90 degrees.

Now take your temp gauge probe, and start checking all your shoeboxes to make sure everyone is getting addiquate heat.



This will get you by, but it is a real hassle dealling with all the stacked container... the heat tape... the rubberbands and the lids.   But it will save you a little money, and keep your boas nice and warm (and safe).

I would recommend buying a rack or building one, but like I said... this will get you buy.

Sorry for all the misspelled words, or incorrect grammer.