How long does it normally take before......

[Linda]

How long does it normally take before actual copulation takes place? I have a male that went right to breeding. No courting or anything. I cleaned cages put the two together and that night they were copulating. I took a picrture to make sure I saw what I saw. LOL. He bred her on Jan 28th and lost interest in her on Feb 1st. I never saw anymore copulation from that first day, but the picture was taken very late at night. I could have missed it if it happened again. LOL. I seperated them when she got mean. LOL. That was after she shed. So how long should it normally take? Was this unusual for them to breed so quickly? Let me know what you think.
Linda :)

OOOH snakey porn. cwm4.gif

[Linda]

Well, I read the books again and watched the tapes. According to what I learned copulation shouldn't have happened that quickly. The process should have taken a few weeks. I did have 2 other pairs of snakes breeding in the same room. Could being in the same room have stimulated her into developing egg folicles? Could cycling alone have cause her to develope egg folicles? Could it have been a combination of the two? I've read the females give off pheromones, but do male give them off as well to help stimulate the female? Could the male have forced himself on her? I'm starting to over analize here. LOL. She appears to be gravid, but could she be having a "false" pregnancy? Do boas have "false pregnancies"? I'm now keeping a diary on how her condition progresses. She was cycled for breeding. I did the whole temp and lighting thing, but I kept her on normal feedings. My hubby said she may have ovulated. He was feeding snakes and thought she had already been fed, because of a buldge in her. Fortunately he wrote that down as a feeding so I have an approximate date to go by. Going by the dates, if she's gravid she'll be due in May. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I'll post any results as far a babies go. Has anyone else ever had a boa copulate this quickly and if so what were the results?
Thanks,
Linda :)

[Erich_Gaertner]

Hi Linda,
I personally have not heard of copulation occurring that quickly. Jeff would be the best person to answer this question though. I have had males actively courting females within minutes of introduction, but never copulation so soon after introduction. I sure hope he got the job done for you :)! Your question about the false pregnancy is an interesting one. Last year I had a male work on a female for approx 5 months. During this time I witnessed definite copulation 3 times. He was clearly "In the Pink!" He was a definite stud 8)! By the end of March,
he had lost all interest in her. At this time she was HUGE !!!! and just starting to go into a shed cycle. I never actually saw her ovulate, I just assumed I missed it!The shed went as planned and she shed out in 11 days. I counted 105 days and had an approx due date. That date was July 26th. Throughout the "Pregnancy" she acted like I would have expected. She refused food except for a couple of exceptions, every afternoon(almost without exception) she would head to the warm side of her cage for a few hours and then head back to the cool side. She would then curl up in the heat conservation position and that's usually how I would find her the next morning cwm33.gif. Other than the excruciating waiting game, the "Pregnancy" went well. Shortly before July 26th I really started to pay attention to her habits. I never noticed her drink a ton of water and she never had the telltale strained "Pre-Birth Waxy Stool." I wasn't overly concerned, she was still pretty huge for a female that had barely eaten in  9 months. Not to mention that she very much acted like a gravid boa and went into a shed 6 days after the male stopped showing any interest in her etc. etc. Well, the 26th came and went. After about 3 weeks, I was really wondering what was up ???! She was still acting gravid, but no babies! I decided to offer her a rat and she nailed it with great enthusiasm! This was the second sign something was wrong. After eating that rat, she started to act "Normal" again. I started feeding her a jumbo rat every week which she took eagerly! It was now the beginning of Sept, more than a full month after her expected due date! The realization finally hit me that she wasn't gravid! I then went back to a regular feeding schedule and she did great! She never dropped a baby or slug and never showed any signs of possible ova retention! It was like I dreamed the whole thing! She is doing fine and will hopefully be bred succesfully this season! I do believe false pregnancies happen. I have no explanation for why, I just know what happened to me! Sorry for the long response, I just thought you would like to hear my experience! I would love to hear the outcome and hope it is a Positive one :)! Good Luck!!!!
Erich

[morti]

I have been through the false pregnancy thing myself, but last year in the only successful breeding I have had, I only observed actual copulation on the first day I had them together. I never saw it again, but he continued to court her all the way up to her shed. I had a great litter of 20 babies and 4 slugs. Hopefully you will have something similar.

[Linda]

Thanks Erich, Morti, and TC,
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed, but I'm not expecting babies. If they come I'll count that as a plus ;D. I'm actually having fun with the diary/journal thing. You notice a lot more things when you write everything down. I'll update any results. If babies happen I'll post pics. I love taking pictures. My children and my snakes are my favorite people to photograph. LOL.
Thanks again,
Linda :D