Introducing Snakes.

[-Jim-]

So, I want to introduce my new male to my female and was wondering if there are precautions that I should take. She's big enough to eat him so I'm sort of reluctant for them to say hi. Any pointers? Should I even be worrying about it and just toss them in together?

[Sakara]

is this for breeding? if not, DON'T introduce them...

if they are going to be breeding, how big are they? the female needs to be at LEAST 6ft and 10lbs... and the male should have a healthy weight on him... Pics of the animals?

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[-Jim-]

It would be for breeding. They each have their own enclosures to call home.

He is the guy in my avatar and is about four and a half feet long, lean but healthy and active. He's a hypo BCI.

She is around eight feet long and 25 to 30 pounds.

I held him up to her glass and she seemed curious but not hostile. He acted like he wanted in.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

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	Hypomelanistic Hypomelanistic - a genetic reduction in the dark pigment Melanin.

[Sakara]

oh good stuff then Put him in her cage... watch them!!! If she's not wanting him she could either push him away or even attack him O_O Depending on how persistent he is... Hopefully there is no problem and you get some copulation

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[-Jim-]

Ok, I'll give it a shot and see how she takes to him. It was funny, when I held him up to the glass, she checked him out intently for about 3 minutes, watched as he moved around, then she turned her back on him and started shedding. :S Don't know if that's a good sign or not.

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[Sakara]

If she is in shed I wouldn't put him in there until after she's done, lol

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[Tom]

Just keep an eye on them as I have had a 50 lbs female kill one of my 10 lbs male before and my 20 + lbs female has bit and constricted two of my males at different times. One male was only 8 lbs and the other was 18 + lbs. Both of the males are ok but I did have to separate them when she bit them. I got her to let go of them by putting her in the laundry sink and run cold water on her. This maybe the last year I try and breed her.

take care
Tom

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[-Jim-]

They are together now. She seems really curious about him but now he's playing shy. I'm keeping a close eye on them. She's really curious and wanting to check him out. Maybe they need to date first.

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[morti]

Well, it's too late now, and I guess the damage would be limited because you only have two boas, but before you add another snake to your collection, I highly suggest that you quarantine any new snake for at least 6 months.

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[-Jim-]

Damage? They both seem fine.

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[Aaron-Insular]

Originally Posted by -Jim-

Damage? They both seem fine.

I believe he's reffering to passing along diseases, such as ibd or the snake HIV (sorry, I forgot the proper name, but boas can carry a virus similar to human and feline aids) and since they are cold blooded and their metabolisms are slower, they tend to show symptoms more slowly... how long have you had him before the introduction?

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	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[-Jim-]

About a week. I've heard of IBD but didn't know it was transmitted. Something to remember for future projects, I suppose. I'll watch them closely.

She seemed very happy to have him. After he relaxed she started putting on quite the show, ruffling her feathers and strutting her stuff. It was pretty interesting. They tied themselves all up in knots, or seemed to at times. This morning they were settled down and just cuddling.

Is it customary to keep the male with her for a couple of months?

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	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[Aaron-Insular]

Originally Posted by -Jim-

Is it customary to keep the male with her for a couple of months?

Yes well many breeders cool (or season) them together so that when she comes into ovulation he doesn't miss his opurtunity. It is very likely that you have already missed that oportunity, and I think it would be wise to read all that you can about breeding before next years season. Maybe a more experienced breeder will chime in and give some pointers as I am geering up for my first breeding for next year. Good luck with everything...

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[Sakara]

the male that was in with Ruby was in there for about 3 1/2 months, lol... and most of the time they were messin around, lol... Then for a while he stayed away from her, and this was after her ovulation, so she denied him... and after there was no action for a couple weeks, we took him out...

also, IBD is deff. a serious thing... and if you get any other snakes, keep them in a different room as the ones you already have for a minimum of 3 months, longer is always better.... IBD or other diseases are not what you wanna mess with...

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	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[morti]

Originally Posted by Aaron-Insular

Maybe a more experienced breeder will chime in and give some pointers as I am geering up for my first breeding for next year. Good luck with everything...

Aside from the quarantine advice that I already gave, I suggest that you pick up a copy of The Complete Boa Constrictor.

The Complete Boa Constrictor

Also read Gus Rentfro's page on breeding boas:
Rio Bravo Reptiles: Boa Care

I used to also suggest reading Jeff Ronne's article from reptiles magazine that he used to have tucked away in a hidden corner of his website, but it seems to be gone.

The moral of the story is, it is possible to "Get Lucky" and have a successful pairing while doing nothing but putting a male in with a female and seeing what happens, but for long term success breeding, you will need to do a lot more hard work and research.

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[-Jim-]

I have "The Complete Boa Constrictor" and have been reading it through. It's surprising how little information there is on boa breeding given the popularity of the snake. Even this book doesn't spend a lot of time on the subject or maybe it wasn't as in-depth as I was hoping for. Regardless, there are some interesting theories and information in there. What I find lacking in information is best time to breed. I understand the temperature changes to simulate weather changes and such, but there just seems like there should be more.

I'm always reading and searching for new information so hopefully I'll come across something that will satisfy many of the questions that I haven't been able to find answers for.

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[Aaron-Insular]

Originally Posted by -Jim-

What I find lacking in information is best time to breed. I understand the temperature changes to simulate weather changes and such, but there just seems like there should be more.

I have yet to buy the Complete constrictor, but I do have Vins Boas in Captivity manual, and it very spesifically says that he starts to cool in November and begins raising temps in Jan, and he keeps his snakes paired through the whole time... I'd be very reluctant to believe he doesn't explain it in his much larger book... He has a lot of good info on his site as well cuttingedgeherps.com

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