Question about my new boa?

wildbillstoner · 03-17-10, 08:51 PM

i picked up a five n six foot foot boas redtails they mated a few times the female the bigger of the two regergatated two rats after holding them in her for a week and wont eat.she usually kills the rats on site now she lays on heat pad all day long hasnt ate in a month the other two snakes eat fine theres a ball python in tank too

Freebody · 03-18-10, 12:01 AM

hmm how large is the tank? 3 snakes in i cage i would hope it a very large cage, even if it is you may want to take out that ball python with 5-6 foot boas in there,for the balls safety/health. she could be uncomfortable with the new tank mates, she may be used to being solo. did the other owner have here alone in her own tank? a month with out eating is not that bad.does can you see if she has any mites on her? i had a snake that did the same thing when she got mite years ago. im sure somone smarter than i am on this forum will help you real soon. this may make it easier for them to give you a better answere. welcome to the forum

marvelfreak · 03-18-10, 05:49 AM

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE FORUM! DUDE NEVER, EVER keep boas and pythons together. Boas can carryBoidIncluion Body Disease. A virse that can cause respiratory, digestive, and neurologic problems in affected animals. Boas can live years with it, but for python it's a death with in a couple months. I use to keep 3 boas and 2 ball python in a 10x7x3 foot cage together and one of my boas had it. It killed all of them. The last redtail i got had it. The two balls were the first to die. First one no signs. Second one got where it couldn't move or lift it head to get a drink. Next where the other two boas. No signs either. I took the last one to the vet and had it put to sleep. After he told me what it had and that was what most like killed the rest. keeping boas together or python together ok,but you never want to keep boa and python together. If you don't have a cage for the ball go to the store and get a plastic tub with lock down lid. Cost about $10.00. Put a heat pad under one end. Add a water bowl and a coulpe hides an your good to go. As far as your Big female boa you might have baby on the way.

shaunyboy · 03-18-10, 07:01 AM

i was thinking your female may be gravid (pregnant).if she is she might decide to kill her tank mates before her baby's arrive.the wee ball should not be in with the boa's mate.there is a big threat of her being killed.marvel freak ive not worked with boa's but their live bearing i'm sure mum wont want tank mates when she drops a load of live young in the tank.with IBD you usually notice wierd head movements,shaking,wobbling and star gazing (looking up,with her head up side down
).a gravid female needs her own tank.
cheers shaun

citysnakes · 03-18-10, 07:33 AM

marvel, IBD killed the ball pythons faster than it killed the boas so for this reason you feel balls and boas should never be housed together? IBD killed all your animals though so wouldnt that maybe suggest housing all snakes separately? sorry i guess i just dont understand...

wildbillstoner, you need to separate all those snakes for many reasons, one being what you just heard whether it be IBD or some other contagious illness, if one has it the other three will get it.

if you want to bring your female back to health you need to start by providing her with proper conditions. remove the presence of competition for resources and the stress of a male trying to copulate with her by separating her and the other animals within the enclosure.

shes been regurging so correct her conditions, keep her hydrated and stop feeding her. if you see no improvements, dare i suggest a vet visit...?

anyways, good luck with that...

marvelfreak · 03-18-10, 11:09 AM

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Quote:

quote=citysnakes.com;557632]marvel, IBD killed the ball pythons faster than it killed the boas so for this reason you feel balls and boas should never be housed together? IBD killed all your animals though so wouldnt that maybe suggest housing all snakes separately? sorry i guess i just dont understand...

I keep all of my snake housed by themselves.(Now) An that is the reason why. I know some people don't. What i was saying is IBD is faster acting in pythons, and boas tend to be the main carriers. This is what the vet told me. And if you do house together all new animals should be Quarentine for at least 6 months. If i am wrong correct me. (sorry for the misspell). I believe if you are going to house together it should only be the same kind of reptile. IMO you should never keep any kind of boas and python together.

wildbillstoner · 03-19-10, 07:55 AM

i think my male knocked up my female i caught them several times mating she was eating like a pig .last feeding she killed all 4 rats ate 3 regurgetated 2 and wont eat getting bigger fat

wildbillstoner · 03-19-10, 07:49 AM

my snake looks fatter and she hasnt eaten in a month the others are active and moving

wildbillstoner · 03-31-10, 06:04 PM

I took the python out, but she's still not eating. And it looks like theres lumps in her. I haven't been handling her in the past two months, also she still hasn't eaten in almost two months. How long does it take before she's gonna have these babies?

Will0W783 · 04-01-10, 10:58 AM

You should keep all your snakes separate unless you are prepared (space-wise, experience-wise and financially) to care for a litter of babies that can be close to 50. If you bought them intending to breed them and have done your research, congratulations on the possible success.

Here is a link to an article about captive breeding of BCI Husbandry and Breeding of the Common Boa in Captivity

Since your female is showing signs of either being gravid, or possibly of illness if she is not gravid, you should separate the male and the female. If the female is lying on the heat pad all the time and never moving to the cooler ends, perhaps raise the overall temps a bit to allow her to move about and still maintain the warmth her developing babies need.
There is a lot of information on various websites and in books about the captive breeding of boa constrictors and other boid snakes. I would recommend investing in one, or several, books on the breeding and captive care of boas. I have at least 10 books on the various species I keep and pick up new ones all the time at shows and at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. No matter how much you think you know, there's always more to learn is my motto!

Another thing, if you are still providing a nighttime heat drop, you can remove that so the female has constant heat for her gestation.