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Viewed: 347 -- Replies: 9 |
| Posted | Dead baby boas |
| 29-11-2006 by Kim405 | HELP. I have my two boas for sale on here and i woke up this morning to find 6 (possibly more) dead baby boas in my viv. I knew that my common was female but did not know that my redtail was male. I did not even know that she was having them. I need some advise as i know that they have been born dead, but does my female need any special care. Any advise would be appreciated. |
| 29-11-2006 by KAY | I could be that your snake was not in the right condition for breeding.
i may not have been fattened up enough so that enough neutrients was not given to the young. I have found an article on another forum taken from a book that might help you reason with why your babies died.I know it mentions red tailed boas but through reading other articles on corn snakes king snakes etc there is not much difference in the up keep. Breeding In their book "The Reproductive Husbandry of Pythons & Boas", Ross & Marzec state that "Captive breeding of Red Tailed Boas is generally accomplished by advanced rather than amateur herpetoculturists". (p210) The aforementioned book is certainly one of the best volumes on the breeding of Boas, and should be purchased and read if at all possible. However, there is no reason why a patient, dedicated amateur cannot breed the Red Tailed Boa in the correct conditions. Being tropical snakes IT IS VITAL THAT THEY ARE NOT HIBERNATED OR BRUMATED. When a female Boa is put into a breeding schedule, as opposed to a maintenance schedule, the food intake should increased where possible to the point of being slightly overweight. A gravid Boa may not eat for up to 9 months so adequate reserves of body fat are essential. This should take place over a period of about 6 months, during this period, the temperatures in the tank should be progressively changed to a cycle that has a DTH of 90F (30C) and a NTL of 68F (20C). The start of this temperature cycling should be mid October and reach the full NTL and DTH by early December, the male (whose should be kept separately in similar temperature conditions) should be introduced to the female about the 3rd week in December. Mating should begin and continue through until February, by the 1st week in February the temperature cycling should be reversed progressively so that by the 3rd week in March the DTH is at high 80's F and the NTL back to low 80's (25C). If the female is gravid, she will normally refuse food for the period of the pregnancy. It is EXTREMELY important to keep the temperature in the females tank within the correct range during the period of pregnancy, fluctuations above or below usually result in either severe birth defects, or loss of the young altogether. The gestation period of the Boa Constrictor is 4-8 months. As mating occurs over a period of time it can be difficult to state precisely when the fertilization took place. Temperature of the gravid female also seems to play some part in the equation so putting exact times on is difficult. Boas give birth to live young, and litter sizes vary from 6-65, the young are independent from birth and should be separated from the mother as soon as possible, Boas are not usually cannibalistic, but the young can be crushed by the bulk of the female. The young have been known to fight as well. Keep the young in small, separate containers, on paper towels with a supply of water. Change the paper whenever it gets soiled and keep a record of the birth date, sex if known, shed details and feeding record on a piece of paper taped to the top of each container. The young will shed, usually within 10 days or so of birth and will normally eat without any problem after the 1st shed. |
| 29-11-2006 by Kim405 | Hi thanks for that. I was told originally that they were both fe male, i brought them from different places but there was some doubt with my common so we had her sexed and she is def a female. so that must mean my red tail is male. I feel so guilty for putting her through that but i really did not know. Will she be ok.? |
| 29-11-2006 by KAY | As long as she is eating and shedding well and she is active and the temperature is correct,i wouldn't worry too much.
You can always use vitamin suppliments to improve any minor problems like shedding. Its just a case of the babies didn't have the right conditions. If you are still worried theres no harm in poping the snake down to your vet for a check up. just make sure your vet has has reptile experience.it might be an idea to take the deceased babies down too just so he/she can look at them.(thats if you still have them) I am no expert but i have worked with reptiles and have picked up general information and health care from my local vet in the uk(warwick area) |
| 29-11-2006 by Kim405 | Any advise is helpfull so thanks. Just was not expecting it, so it came as a bit of a shock. She seems fine but ill keep a close eye on her for a while. Still have the babys as i just put them in an old ice creme tub in the snakes fridge, so i will pop them down to the vets where i always take them. |
| 29-11-2006 by KAY | donot freeze them as they will be no good to the vet.
just in a tub would be ok |
| 30-11-2006 by Kim405 | No I didnt, just put them in the fridge part to keep them cool as i didnt want them to start smelling or anyhing. Had a look at them when I took them down there was eventually 10 in total when they were checked 7 looked perfect and three were very small and unmarked. Nakey (my female) is fine though which is good. I'm going to hold onto her for a while now though till she is back up to full weight as she is very slighlty underweight, but nothing to worry about. Still go to get Bo re homed though. Thanks for your advise Kay, it was helpful. |
| 04-12-2006 by nerys | Kim are you in london? i will be up that way on the 17th at the zoo on behalf of the BRC (british reptile club)
re the mother boa.. i would really advise running her down the vets for a check over.. if she gave birth to dead neonates i would be worried she could have retained a dead baby inside her... if she has, and it goes off inside her, it can kill her.. so, if it was me, then to be sure, i would get her checked just in case. if you want some more advice and info, or just want to chat to people about her, and about reptiles in general. then come over here http://www.britishreptileclub.co.uk and say hi! Nerys |
| 05-12-2006 by Kim405 | Yeah she went to the vets a day after they were born and he gave her a thorough examination and the all clear. Thanks for the address i will go on there. |
| 06-12-2006 by nerys | stick a "hello" in the intro page
on there, there are a few very good boa people, you'll see posts from them in the boa sections
glad to know she is ok
Nerys |
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