Yellow Anaconda Stillborn Pic

reticguy · 05-15-03, 09:08 AM

This was a sight I woke up to early Jan this year. This was my 3rd unsuccessful breeding of yellow anas, but my first to see some actual stillborns (always 100% slugs in the past), so I'm getting closer and closer each year to producing yellows.

That's dad checking out his stillborns. He sure did take an interest in them. Almost looked like he was concerned. :-)

Nathan

Scales Zoo · 05-15-03, 09:26 AM

I do not remember where I read that anacondas have been observed eating the stillborn young, both in the wild and captivity. It seems to me that this would prevent the attraction of predators to the nest, serve as possibly the first meal the mother will have if she has been fasting, and give the surviving young a better chance. I am thinking it was Desmond Morris who wrote it, or someone with the same sense of observation he has.

mk-ultra · 05-15-03, 09:46 AM

yep thats right they do eat stillborns

reticguy · 05-15-03, 11:12 AM

I've read this about FEMALE green anacondas, but nothing specific to yellows, nor mention of males consuming stillborns or birth waste. That said, I would assume the same would hold true for yellows...not sure about males though. As a test, I left the stillborns in the cage for 24 hrs and not a single stillborn nor slug was consumed that entire time, so it's definitely not a 100% sure thing, just a "could happen".

Common boas are also known to do the same. The female from my 1st litter of commons this year ate ALL of the birth waste. I couldn't even find a single birth sack anywhere in her cage. She sure as hell did a good job cleaning up after herself - lol.

Nathan

Scales Zoo · 05-15-03, 11:20 AM

I had neglected to say that the article referred to the green anaconda, and I am presuming females only as it was referring to the mother eating the stillborn young. I did wonder if males would eat them as well, but figured the chances of a male being in close proximity to a female giving birth in the wild were slim.

I wondered about the boas as well, and it is good to know that they will do that. I would have wondered what happened to the waste had I found baby boas and no remnants of eggsacks and such.

SnowSnake · 05-17-03, 12:07 PM

Are stillborns what they call slugs?

Herpkingdom · 05-17-03, 12:15 PM

In the wild the males are not around when the female gives birth. That is why the article or the show (where I saw it) states that the female will consume stillborns, and undeveloped young (those big orange balls of stuff) as a way to both prevent predators finding the birht site and to replenish herself after giving birth.

My question is why do you have the male in the cage with the female? This may be why you are not having luck. Too much stress on the female. Next time try housing them separate after you are sure she is gravid.

reticguy · 05-20-03, 08:46 AM

Tried removing the male on the previous 2 attempts, which had worse results (no stillborns, only slugs)...so keeping the male with the female actually got better results this time. Also had absolutely no problem doing the same with my 2 Colombian boa litters this year. As long as a large enough enclosure is provided, stress shouldn't be a factor.

In talking with many anaconda breeders, I understand that just having a male that will take interest in the female is half the battle. Anacondas aren't easy snakes to successfully breed, so not only having copulations in my pair, but fully developed stillborns as well, was a motivating thing for me.

Just to set the facts straight... slugs are not undeveloped young nor are stillborns slugs. Slugs are unfertilized ova (only the female's genetic material...no sperm from the male). Undeveloped young would be fertilized ova (female + male genetic material) that failed to fully develop for any number of reasons (incorrect temps, congenital defects, female handled too often late in term and offspring expelled too early, etc.) Stillborns on the other hand are fully developed young that did not survive...in my case, the female kept them inside her too long, as the young had emerged from their sacks while still inside mom. I provided an XL water reservoir for her to give birth, but next time will also provide a covered nesting box, much like keepers do for pythons to lay eggs. Maybe she prefers a terrestrial depository area and if so, this will help her deposit young earlier.

Nathan

Herpkingdom · 05-20-03, 03:36 PM

I read somewhere about getting annies to breed, it is better to have more than one male together with her.

The males will do the "Ball" thing they do where the competing males get togehter in a mass to compete over the ready to breed female and this gets the females attention.

I know I saw it on the TV, but I just read it somewhere too, but I cannot remember where......

reticguy · 05-21-03, 08:47 AM

You bet, saw this on a few different programs....always with greens though. In speaking with several anaconda breeders, it's not necessary to have multiple males, just helps to get more breeding activity out of a male (and therefore a greater proportion of young to slugs). Same with using multiple males with boas. If a male boa isn't showing interest in the female, having a 2nd present helps to encourage both to get with the program and check the female out.

I'm in a situation where my male anaconda is a fantastic breeder from the perspective that at the right time of year he will show more than enough interest in the female. He'll follow her all around the enclosure, both in and out of the water, and constantly court/copulate with her. Having a 2nd or even 3rd male would be nice, but I haven't had luck locating a sub-adult or adult male yellow anywhere over the past couple yrs. I've even bought a couple yellows of unknown sex in the past from cross-country sellers with the hopes that one would turn out to be a male...but no luck.

I think my 1st two attempts at breeding these guys failed mainly because I had assumed the female was gravid and pulled the male out too early, which is why I kept the male in with her full term this time around. Look what happened when I did this - fully developed, full-term stillborns with no observable birth defects that had even emerged from their sacks. It's the female that I need to concentrate on - having a good terrestrial depository site should help her deliver young on time next year.

Nathan