This Bolivian is about to ovulate!

[The_Boaphile]

How about this one?



This is a 20 plus year old Bolivian female being bred by a tiny little fellow. I acquired this female in 1990 or 1991. She was a 6' wild caught adult when I got her. They guy I bought her from said he had a friend that was a trainer of some sort with the FBI. This FBI friend was working in Bolivia training some guys to do something and found this Boa hanging in a tree. Since he knew his friend was interested in snakes, he grabbed it, stuffed it into a pillow case and brought it home for him buddy. This guy had her for some time before I got her. He was a colubrid guy who really didn't like Boas so he put it up for sale. This was at a time when few Bolivians were around and a large adult was at a premium. I was very happy to lay my hands on her. She was 6' when I got her and probably about 8 years old I would guess. Making her now 22-25 years old! Not too shabby for an old gal. Anyhow, I have tried breeding her every single year after that till she finally had 3 babies in around 1996. They were all premature and did not make it. I continued to try every year. I do not give up easy. In the winter of 2003 I introduced one of the very few legit "Silver-back" Bolivians produced by Joe Terry in 1987. This now old guy didn't know he was this old and bred her like a champ. Actually he had been breeding her every year since 1997 without success. This year, 2003, was going to the first success finally! I only had him in with her for about a month. I then removed him as it was the end of breeding season for all the Colombians. I was just too busy to put him back. I always bred Bolivians later in the year but because I was so busy I did not take the time to put him back. After all, he hadn't gotten it done in all those other years why would this year be any different? Right?

So let's move down the road about 3 months later. She refused to eat. She never refused to eat but this time she did. She was in one of my old melamine cages on the shelf and would NEVER come down. She still really likes the shelf but in her new "Boaphile Plastics" cage, she does come down a whole lot more. Anyhow, she was always on the shelf so I never really got a good look at her. I didn't crank up her heat like I would have had I known she was gravid. I just thought she was being fussy and didn't want to eat. She is not a striker but only eats after I leave the rats on the shelf for her to gobble up in the middle of the night. So she missed about three meals. I was now starting to worry about her a little bit. It's not normal for female Boas in late summer to skip meals. Then it happened. I was in her isle checking on a gravid het for Albino Boa across the isle from her when BAM! In an instant in knew in my heart exactly what had happened. You see she would never ever ever strike at food let alone at the door. Never! My mind raced to the fact that she had refused several meals and that she never strikes and it; hit me like a ton of bricks! BABIES!!! Yes!!! There were babies! These were not ordinary babies either. These were Silver-back Bolivians with tremendously reduced pattern. Some with as few as 11 cross bars from head to tail tip! Needless to say, I was beside myself with excitement and she was as hungry as a lion now! That is the one and only time she ever stuck at anything.

Now she is the biggest Bolivian I have ever seen. Many who have seen my 1997 video will remember this female I described in that video that was sitting on a huge rock in the video. She is pushing 9' now and 45 lbs. A horse. The male breeding her is one of the babies she produced in 2003. He has been on her almost every time I have checked since I introduced him December 1, 2005. She is as huge as a cantaloupe in the back half right now. If I didn't know better, I might think she was ovulating right now but I do know better. She is just in a pre-ovulation swell right now. Is she ever! She is just massive! I am really hoping to get her soon to be ovulation on video too! She is going to just about rupture she is SOOOOOO huge! One of the largest thickenings I have ever witnessed. Then we have to wait for the babies!

[Death_ADDER]

very nice BIG female... I hope you have some goodluck with this breeding.

Steve

[Peaches1926]

The babies should be awsome...just look at that male.

Also I think you answered a question I see many people asking around here.. about older boas being able to breed.

Good luck with that pair.

[Mishkam]

wow.. thats a BIG!!!! girl!

[Eclyps19]

that girl is beyond big... she's GINORMOUS!

[jwade1313]

Wow she is huge! That is one of the biggest swells i've seen. Congrats!

[HAWK]

Thanks for shareing that Jeff. Bolivian boas are very nicely pattern boas. I remember seeing some of the babies in your video they were Rocking!!!

[RobbinLara]

lol I don't know if I enjoyed the pic more or the story. Either way they're both pretty great ...she's huge...definitely the biggest ov I've ever laid eyes on, hands down.

[MormonBoa]

It looks like the male is posing, he's like, "Yeah, thats right...this is my good side." Awesome boas Jeff