What's happening here......

[Bernie]

Well I have a 2004 female Colombian that is about 7' long and weighs in at close to 20 pounds. At the start of September I cut her weakly meals in half and after two weeks she stopped eating completely. So I immediately added my 2005 male Colombian in with her (both het for Kahl Albino). I have never noticed any definite signs of courting or copulation or ovulation but I am a beginner at this as well as the fact that I work 7 days a week and I go to school. So I am not able to watch them like I would like to. However I continued to offer food to the female every other week and she still would not eat. The male on the other hand would agressively eat a small rat when offered. On Dec. 16 the female started a shed cycle and has still yet to shed. I have logged every shedcycles of every one of my snakes and her cycle has ranged from 11-14 days. The average being 12. It has now been 17 days and still no shed. I have kept the temps and the humidity the same as they have always been. I still have the male in the cage with her. He has almost always been coiled with her or on her. But now she doesn't leave the warm side of the cage. The male does during the warmer part of the day but I have yet to see her leave the warm side. I am just hoping that she has ovulated and that she is right now nearing the end of her post ovulation shed. I don't want to get my hopes up but I was really hoping to have my first litter this season. Any opinions as to what might be happening are gladly welcomed. I haven't taken any recent photos of her but here are some older ones.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o201/Edbrunson/100_3687-1.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o201/Edbrunson/100_3688-1.jpg

[Linda]

I really can't say exactly what's going on with your boa.

I do know that my boas have had sheds that take longer than normal. They're not always a POS. Normally when I first put my boas together they go into shed cycle. Sometimes it seems to take forever for them to shed out. Sometimes they shed in a normal length of time.

If you haven't seen any courting or copulation, then you shouldn't assume this is a POS. Normally if I don't see an ovulation, I don't consider the shed a POS. Some boas don't have a POS.

There is a way I check my boas to see if they're....... If they're going in the right direction, as far as breeding goes.

I'll run my hand down their body. For my boas, if I feel a firmness in the area where they should ovulate. Then I know they're going in the right direction for the breeding season. It's not a swelling. It's a roundness/firming and it's feels pretty solid. It's almost like they've taken a meal, but they haven't. Anyway if you check your female and you feel this firmness, then there's a possibility something might be going on.

I'm sorry this is sort of a non-answer reply, but it's really hard to tell what's going on with a boa you've never seen in person.

[Bernie]

I wasn't expecting any answers, just some info. Which is what you shared. So thank you Linda. I went up to feed my little ones and checked on her and she was coiled up as usual but after eating dinner myself I checked one the little to see how dinner was going for them and she is in the midle of shedding. I have only encountered a longer than normal shed once in another one of my females last year. So I will not assume that she has ovulated and go on with life as usual. Thanks again Linda for the reply.

[Bernie]

Well here she is all done shedding. Back on the warm side of the cage all coiled up. With her is the male.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o201/Edbrunson/100_4451.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o201/Edbrunson/100_4446.jpg