slugs

[Tighe]

Has anyone ever figured out what actually causes females to have slugs?

[2ND_ALARM]

I don't so. It's still alot of specklelation about why females produce slugs. So I can't help.

[ladyboid]

slugs are just infertile ova.... the ova might not of been fertilized for many reasons some of them being the ova was not a healthy viable one in the first place, another reason could be that no sperm got to it or could fertilize it, yet another reason is that it was fertilized but did not start to form because there was something wrong with the sperm / ova or both... after the ova have been made they have to go somewhere so it makes sense that they come out with the healthy ones (new baby's) when they are pushed out ;)

[Jason Dowell]

I wish I could talk to someone that farms Boas.
For anyone not familiar, farmed Boas are wild, gravid females that are caught, and held until they give birth. It would be interesting to find out how common slugs are in the wild. Finding that out could be a step towards figuring out what causes them, and ultimately getting rid of them!
I wonder if water quality plays a part... food for thought.

[ChrisGilbert]

Gus Rentfro of RioBravoReptiles.com has probably the BEST regimen for raising and breeding all subspecies and locales of Boa constrictor he has worked with.

Many of his founding stock were WC animals, notoriously difficult to acclimate. Not only has he been successful in this, but has bred them for years in a row without failure and perfect litters all the time.

I honestly do not recall the last time, if ever, that he had a slug or stillborn in his litters.

[snkchrmr_420]

*Insufficient temps, which kill off sperm and newly fertilized ova
*Exceedingly high temps, which destroy sperm and developing embryos
*Insufficient water intake by the female, often caused by the lack of available fresh or clean water
*Premature removal of the male, which normally continues copulating with the female until just before ovulation

These are the probable causes listed in The Boa Constrictor Manual by Philippe de Vosjoli. Hope this helps.

[The_Boaphile]

*Insufficient temps, which kill off sperm and newly fertilized ova
*Exceedingly high temps, which destroy sperm and developing embryos
*Insufficient water intake by the female, often caused by the lack of available fresh or clean water
*Premature removal of the male, which normally continues copulating with the female until just before ovulation

These are the probable causes listed in The Boa Constrictor Manual by Philippe de Vosjoli. Hope this helps.

Though I do not claim 100% success, far from it, I still stick with those reasons listed above from the Boa Manual. The listed reasons, taken from the breeding chapter, were not written by Philippe but by some Boa Whacko from Minnesota, who still gets slugs every year and admits it.