still trying

[stargirl]

about a month ago i read up on this site about breeding my boas. i have a new concern now... size.

my question really is, does size matter? because my male is MUCH bigger than my female (about 1 foot longer and much fatter). and we have tried keeping them together, and we have tried keeping them seperate. never any swelling, and always eating and shedding right on schedule.

does the female always shed after ovulation?

god, i have so many questions. i need someone to hold my hand through this, we're having such a hard time.

is there a such thing as snake aphrodisiac?! hahaha

well, any help or suggestions will be appreciated. thank you!

[chris_peterman]

Contact jeff and get his breeding video.It will answer alot of your questions.Its packed full of info.I've seen my about 50 times now (no joke) and everytime I watch it I pick-up something new.
Hope it helps,
Chris

[redtailboas]

Jeff's video, and the boa constrictor manual, are both great sources of information. AND one of the things you find in both of them is that it is recommended that the boas be compatibly sized. In simple terms what compatibly sized means, Is that the best practice is to use males that are smaller than the female. Is this because if the male is larger they will not breed? Absolutely not. I am sure it happens all the time. What pairing compatible sized boas together really accomplishes is a better breeding environment for the female

Here are a couple of reasons. Maybe other people will add more.

First if the male is much larger than the female, he can cause tremendous stress to her and often even do some damage to the female. Males can be very rough on females as they use thier spurs to stimulate her into developing egg folicles. They dig these spurs into the sides and tail area of the female. A huge male on a smaller female can mark her up pretty good. So reason one, is that is is less stressful for the female when the male is smaller.

Second. Larger males don't seem to be as good as smaller males when it comes to breeding. Some have said they just don't have the stamina to "stay" with the entire breeding cycle. However, Smaller, slender males are simply put, "breeding machines".

My male breeders never exceed 5 feet. The Dubay pastel bloodline male from Jeff, is just a little over 4 1/2 feet, and is close to 6 years old. Yet he is a breeding machine.

These guidelines are just simple recommendations that provide one of the best breeding environments, and have been proven to be successful while creating easy and less stressful times for the females.

There are surely many many other ways, this is just how Jeff recommends it, and how I have found it successful.

These pictures try to show compatible sized boas.
http://www.redtailboas.com/graphics/compsized1.jpg
http://www.redtailboas.com/graphics/compsized2.jpg

[stargirl]

well, clay...

according to your pics, my snakes are similarly paired... but both of my snakes are bigger than 5 feet.

is the fat snake the male or the female in the pic? because my male is the fat one. here's some pics...
http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/extern/345085.jpg this is pp the male.

http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/extern/345084.jpg this is kitty the female.

i wish the blue container was visible in both pics.

thanks a lot everyone for any and all information.

i'm still trying!!!

[morti]

I am not Clay, but I can answer that one for ya... The fat one in his pics is the girley snake. That is what that is all about. :-)

-Your Sick Uncle Morti b27.gif

[stargirl]

DARNIT!!! my fat one is my male... and we have even had them probed again recently just to make sure!!!

well, i guess we'll just have to get another, smaller male. anyone in eastern north carolina that would be interested in breeding?!  cwm27.gif

(their snake with mine... not me and another person! just wanted to make that clear!!!)    ;D

[Panama_Red]

Stargirl It never hurts to have a couple extra boas around, but I wouldn't give up hope with the male that you already have my best breeder is 8' + and probably more than 25 pounds he is now breeding his second female of this season. Larger males do take a little more preperation to make them want to breed I use skins from other males, If he has no competition he could care less about breeding. I also cycle the temps 86 during the day and 76 at night, he breeds each day when the temp gets over 82. Large males are just as good of a breeder as a small one just borrow a skin from someone with a male boa that is clean with no health problemns or mites, there is the hard part!

[stargirl]

well, the skin idea is a pretty good one...

i never thought of that!

my male is so lazy and lethargic though that i doubt highly that i'm going to have much luck with him. he was not well kept before we got him, sadly enough.  :'(

we have definitely discussed getting another male, a smaller one, and we have also considered that our female may not be old enough yet. we don't know her actual age, the guy at the pet store was just guessing. (my husband isn't the patient kind... he is not interested in raising a snake from birth, he wants them big now, so we have never raised a colombian from the start).

i have requested that i get a new, baby colombian for christmas, or at least a smaller male.

ah... patience. isn't it a virtue?

I WISH MY "KIDS" WOULD DO THE BABY DANCE!!!  cwm27.gif

[stargirl]

HOLY SOCKS, BATMAN! my female just shed last nite, and i honestly didn't know that she was going to, only because she had been in and out of the blue for about 2 weeks now. and she ate both weeks.

now that she has shed, though, she has been laying weird, and has been much more attentive to her surroundings than usual, and even going so far as to coil like she was going to strike at me (but of course the sweetie didn't!)

does anyone have some pics of how females act and look while they're gravid?

i hope this is it!!! (i can barely stand it... i've already started counting the 100 days already!!!)

what do you all think?