First Time Breeding Boas...

[Jdw88rm]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum but not new to keeping reptiles. I've had many over the years but a stint in the marines halted the hobby for me but now back and have 2 boa constrictors.
I've had my male hypo hogg and female blonde t+ albino for a couple of years now and am starting to think about breeding them (both are now about 3 years old) but have a few questions before I even prepare to pair them, if you don't mind helping me?
They're currently housed separately, are a healthy size and are eating and shedding well.
Firstly, are they of an ideal age to breed?
Are there certain things I should start doing in preparation of pairing them?
When they do get paired up, should they be placed into a neutral tank that is new to both of them or in either the males or females tank?

Any help/advice would be greatly received!
Thanks,

Jonno

[Scubadiver59]

Welcome to sSNAKESs!! :D

Sorry I can't answer you questions since I just started collecting, but there are many here with years of experience! They will most assuredly chime in soon!

[dannybgoode]

Not a breeder yet myself but I do know boas and the female needs to get to 5 or 6 years old ideally before breeding her.

Those breeders I do know introduce the male to the female's viv.

On a practical note are the boas any particular morph? Bear in mind a boa can have a large litter and if they're all normals then they are only going to be worth £30-40 each. By the time you've got them feeding etc you'll lose money. This isn't to say don't do it, rather do it because you want the experience of breeding and not making money.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Agreed, 5 or 6 is best. Size isn't as important as age, but for regular Colombian boas your best bet is 6'+ and 10-15 lbs as a minimum. They can breed smaller than that if they're also a healthy weight and mature enough, plus any dwarf localities breed at smaller sizes.

I'm also not sure how easy it's going to be to move a bunch of het t-pos normal intergrades. People aren't fond of mixing bloodlines, and even any hypos aren't going to be sold for much, especially if they aren't higher quality ones. Even if you're not wanting to make money off of it, you still have to be able to care for any babies you can't sell. Which 20-30 babies is fairly average, with the largest litter I've heard of being 60+.

I'd introduce the male to the female's viv, you're not going to want to move her at all if you can help it once she's gravid.

[Jdw88rm]

Thanks for your replies! I'm reading ALOT of conflicting advice/opinions on this subject but will take everything on board and I guess it'll mostly be a case of trial and error.
As for the babies (if any), I have enough space and money aside for them if they don't sell. I'm not remotely interested in making profit out of them... I just want to be able to say I've bred them successfully.
I'll be sure to keep this page updated with my progress.

Thanks again guys!

[Aaron_S]

Thanks for your replies! I'm reading ALOT of conflicting advice/opinions on this subject but will take everything on board and I guess it'll mostly be a case of trial and error.
As for the babies (if any), I have enough space and money aside for them if they don't sell. I'm not remotely interested in making profit out of them... I just want to be able to say I've bred them successfully.
I'll be sure to keep this page updated with my progress.

Thanks again guys!

I'm curious on the conflicting information. Can you tell us what some of them are?

[Jdw88rm]

Sorry, I didn't mean that I'm reading conflicting advice/opinions on this forum if that's what you thought. I've read various pages elsewhere online and also been in contact with a couple of breeders via email. For example, I'm hearing that some people cool the snakes, some don't. Some people put the male in earlier than others. Some people breed their snakes at an earlier age than others.

[dannybgoode]

Some snakes will breed at a younger age but boas mature slowly. Some people are also happy to push their snakes to breed younger than is strictly healthy. Personally I'd take an awful lot of advice from a lot of sources with a big pinch of salt.

Best thing to do is invest a couple of quid in an ebook by Vincent Russo. Search his name on Amazon under Kindle books and you'll find it. Some of the text is a little dated these days but Vin is one of the most respected boa breeders in the world and there's enough in that book to give you a grounding.

If you're on Facebook perhaps drop Ian Kerr a line and see if he is willing to pass on any tips. Again an internationally known boa breeder who's in the UK.

[Jdw88rm]

Cheers Danny! I've been looking through the forums and you have some gorgeous snakes mate!

[dannybgoode]

Cheers Danny! I've been looking through the forums and you have some gorgeous snakes mate!

Thank you - I'm pretty lucky to have stumbled across some of the animals I have but his have a solid network to call on for interesting stuff.

I pick up 4 more tomorrow at Donnie and then that'll be it for a while :)

[Jdw88rm]

Is Donny the show to go to in the UK right now?
When I kept reptiles before (2000 - 2007) I used to go to the Norwich reptile shows and loved them! Always came away with more than intended! Haha

[dannybgoode]

Is Donny the show to go to in the UK right now?
When I kept reptiles before (2000 - 2007) I used to go to the Norwich reptile shows and loved them! Always came away with more than intended! Haha

It's the only show left these days. It's only up the road from me so I try to go to them if I'm free.

It's ok - far too many retics and royals but the odd interesting fine and a good place to meet the various breeders and other contacts I've built up in person.

[Jdw88rm]

How come all the shows have died away? I would have thought they would have grown in popularity!
Same goes for the forums... there used to be a fair few decent UK based forums in the 'noughties' but nothing now!? Real shame.

[dannybgoode]

How come all the shows have died away? I would have thought they would have grown in popularity!
Same goes for the forums... there used to be a fair few decent UK based forums in the 'noughties' but nothing now!? Real shame.

Mainly through pressure from the 'animal rights' lobby (who are usually anything but).


To be fair Donnie is on borrowed time. It's meant to be a breeders only thing but they skirt round the issue.

It's also meant to be captive bred animals only but again the rules are twisted and people turn a blind eye. Commercial breeders and pet shops aren't allowed to sell there but they do.

There's a whole load of shenanigans that go on behind the scenes that shouldn't and to be honest I'm a lot of ways it does the hobby more harm than good.

There's a ton of unscrupulous dealers selling sub par animal's, offloading the sick ones and happily selling unsuitable snakes to anyone who turns up.

[Jdw88rm]

That's gutting mate. A fantastic hobby has decreased in popularity rather than increased.
Enjoy Donny today!!

[dannybgoode]

It's not so much decreased in popularity as allowed unscrupulous practices to pervade for far too long which has damaged its reputation and allowed the antis to get everything shut down.

Luckily all my snakes are pre-bought for today though so I will just take a stroll around and pick up some dry goods for now and collect the snakes :)

[Jdw88rm]

Ahh ok, I'm with you.
Be sure to post up some pics of them once they've settled in?

[dannybgoode]

Oh I will. I'm particularly excited by the Natrix natrix. A snake I've wanted for some time...

[Jdw88rm]

Had to google that name but knew I'd seen it before... grass snake?!

[dannybgoode]

Yep - just a grass snake :)

Lovely little things - should be more common in captivity, particularly in the UK.

[Jdw88rm]

Used to see them all the time when I was a kid. Give off one hell of a pong if caught.