To breed or not to breed? and ? on male BCO

[reptilemama]

Before I start asking questions, I need to give you a little background info. At the moment we are staying with my parents, until we can get moved. It will probably be Feb. or March before we finally get moved. When we do, we will have a two hour drive with all the reptiles. At the moment, most of the reptiles, including all the snakes, are in my parents basement. My adult male BCI is in the largest rubbermaid tote I could find, but he does not seem very happy in there. Every time I open the tote, he is right there with his nose in the corner, waiting to come out. He's not really cramped, but he still doesn't like it. I'm worried that he's going to end up with a bad nose rub. My adult female is in a "closet" type cage that my dad helped me build under the basement steps. It's basically a decent sized closet with a couple shelves, a heat mat on one of them, a branch for her to get back onto the shelf if she happens to go down to the floor, and a light bulb for extra warmth and light during the day. There is plenty of room in there for her. I have been thinking about putting the male in there with her, so he will be happier, but I'm worried that if they breed, she will have problems if I have to move her while she is gravid. I could leave her here if I had to, and come back once a week to check on her, clean, and feed her if necessary. My mom would have no problems with making sure she has water. What do you guys think? Should I put him in with her, or leave him where he's at? At the moment, I really don't have any place else that I could put him. Neither are proven, so I'm not even sure they will breed, but I don't know if I want to take a chance on causing problems if she does end up gravid. Not that I would mind having babies, but since we have to move again, it's not the best time. Also, is it normal for an adult male argie to stop eating this time of year? Mine stopped eating just before we got here, in October, and hasn't eaten since. He doesn't seem to be loosing weight, and he just shed, but he isn't interested in food. Last winter he ate fine, but he was a juvie. Should I be worried, or is he just hoping to find a girl? Thanks in advance for any advice.
[addsig]

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

[Flood]

Well, noone else is replying, so here goes. First of all, it IS ultimately your choice. Second, Before 'dropping" another snake in, you should make sure both are healthy(obviously)and make sure that you female has a bit of girth to her in case she does become gravid. If you do put them together keep a close eye on them, I would personally be wary of putting them together if they have never had contact with eachother before, have they?
[addsig]

	Gravid Gravid term used in biology to describe the condition of a female oviparous when carrying young internally.

[faze]

hmm i have to agree with flood on this one it is basicly your option as you said worst case scenario she stays at your moms for a while longer i wouldnt leave it up to your mom to care for it though if it came down to it due to the fact that i dont know how much exp. she has with large boids that would be a lot of guilt on your conscience is something where to happen to her
[addsig]

[hisba]

That's a tough one... I kinda of want to say to put him in with her only because my
het and albino were in non-transparent quaranteen tubs before I put them in my
snake room and they both didn't seem to like being in the tubs, esp the male, both
ended up getting some nose rub, the male got it really bad and I had to pay $400 for
surgery and antibiotics since it went thru the mouth. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] Not a good thing...
I have a possibly gravid boa now, and I will be moving in about 2-3 months... and it
will be an 8 hour drive. I have no idea how bad or difficult this will be on my gravid
boa but I don't really have a choice. Does anyone else know anything about what this
could do? Sorry I can't help more... if your mom really would be ok with just making
sure there's water that prob would be best, but beware, gravid boas can be fiestier than
normal... my female strikes and lunges at me *everytime* I open her cage, even just when
I'm checking water or whatever, she strikes once, not really trying to get me, just warning
me she's big and tough.
[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
[addsig]

	Heterozygous Heterozygous - the animal carries the gene for a genetic trait but does not outwardly demonstrate the trait. Example: A boa that is het for albino looks normal but carries the albino gene. When it is bred to another het for albino boa or an albino boa, a percentage of the offspring will be albino.