Female Advice... for boas that is

[joseigh]

OK, so first I'm a long time reptile enthusiast and have owned different breeds (albino corn, rosy boa, and now columbian boa) throughout the years strictly as pets. After purchasing my BCI (I'm pretty sure) last year at a local reptile show here in Houston, I began researching housing knowing that he would soon outgrown the 20 gal tank I had. Anyhow, as I've read and learned I have really gained a stronger interest in the hobby. I would like to try my hand at breeding, but am obviously very green. My current boa, according to what I've read, is mature enough for a male for breeding (he's an '04). The next logical step I suppose would be to get a female for my stud :) I have some different morphs that I really like, but I'm not opposed to breeding norms at least the first time through. My problem is I would rather not wait 3 years for a female to reach sexual maturity. I read these forums and your posts about all your breeding success, but did everyone start with babies and wait it out until they were ready or is there another way of going about finding a suitable female to get started? Also, I live in Houston, TX and one thing that has been rather illusive in the things I've read is if there is in fact a time of year that boas breed in exclusively. Any information on the questions above and other information I should know is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Josh

[denny_rimes]

First of all welcome to the forum! It is a great place to hang out and learn about boas. In my experience, there are no shortcuts to successfully breeding boas. I would suggest that you read a LOT, there are many good books available that are full of useful information. "The Boa Constrictor Manual" is a very good start. Another good source of information is the breeders themselves. Go to some of the larger reptile shows, Daytona in particular, and talk to the breeders. I can guarantee there are PLENTY of folks at these events that love to share their knowledge, and maybe even a beer or two.:D

Ultimately you will find that the greatest joy in keeping boas is raising them from little babies and watching them breed as adults.

Best of luck to you

[Bernie]

I agree that it is much more enjoyable to raise your boas from babies and watch tnem breed as adults. However you can still find adult females for sale if you do not want to have to wait to raise one yourself. However it would probably be easier to find a baby if you are pretty picky. One spot to look is in the classifieds at Kingsnake.com.

http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=8

[nickstone]

The first female boa I ever got, I got as a baby, about a year after I got her I met a guy on an online classified site that had 2 adult females that he was giving away due to them being a little on the nippy side. One of them gave me a litter of 13 this year and the other one gave me 15 slugs. I gave him a pair of babies for the favor a few months ago. There are adult females out there like the free ones that I got but I hear alot of horror stories about ones with RI's, mites or some other health problem. If I were you I would just look around and accept only an animal in perfect health. Also be careful of adults that are being sold online from somebody without an excellent reputation, theres probably a good reason why they are getting rid of them. Good luck

[lhcfireman]

The first female boa I ever got, I got as a baby, about a year after I got her I met a guy on an online classified site that had 2 adult females that he was giving away due to them being a little on the nippy side. One of them gave me a litter of 13 this year and the other one gave me 15 slugs. I gave him a pair of babies for the favor a few months ago. There are adult females out there like the free ones that I got but I hear alot of horror stories about ones with RI's, mites or some other health problem. If I were you I would just look around and accept only an animal in perfect health. Also be careful of adults that are being sold online from somebody without an excellent reputation, theres probably a good reason why they are getting rid of them. Good luck

Man I just read this. I hope it doesn't jinx me. I am going tomorrow to look at an 8' normal that dropped 60 2 years ago. They didn't try last year. Wish me luck.

[Snakes Incorporated]

I am looking for information on how to breed Common Red-tailed Boas. Has anyone got info to share?