possibly gravid boa need help

[hardrider220]

my female boa showed signs of swelling in november, i placed a male with her in december. i never actual saw
them breed but now she refuses to eat and has actually
become wider in her lower mid section and stays on her
heat source. what do i do now??????????????????

[Linda]

Hello,
I was wondering if your two boas are still together? Has the male lost interest in her? There's actually two times you can notice swelling. There's the pre-ovulation swell and the ovulation swell. The pre-ovulation swell can be 2 1/2 to 3 months prior to ovulation, but is normally 2-3 weeks prior to ovulation. (I got that from The Boa Constrictior Manual). So what you're seeing now could be a gravid boa or it could be the ovulation swell. Did the female have a shed after you noticed the last swelling? Did her color get darker and stay dark? Has she lost weight in the upper part of her body? I'm asking, because these are some signs she could be gravid. I've gotten all of my info from Jeff's Breeding Video and the Boa Constrictor Manual. I'm not an expert on these things, but I'm trying to learn. :D It could be all you can do at this point is wait. As I've said before, "waiting is the hardest part". LOL. I hope she is gravid. Only time will tell for sure.
Good Luck,
Linda :)

[redtailboas]

If the male has lost complete interest in the female and the female meets all the conditions of being gravid, then you should remove the male from the enclosure.

I also raise the ambient daytime temperature to 84/85 instead of 82 for gravid females.