Within "typical" time range?

[aleria]

Well I've had my boas together since Aug. but never really noticed any real obvious courting action going on. The male was almost always close to the female, but I never saw him crawling all over her. But just this past week he refused his meal and that same day she started keeping herself spread across the cage all stretched out rather than in one hide or the other like normal. She did take her meal last week, and she just took another today, he's still refusing.
But I have noticed significant swelling over this last week while she's been stretched out, even after her bm. Is this likely her pre-ov swell? And if so, is it odd for it to happen this late in the season?
And as a side note I did not drop temps to cool them for the breeding season, I have decided to just keep everything as usual.

[Linda]

Re: Within "typical" time range?

Well I've had my boas together since Aug. but never really noticed any real obvious courting action going on. The male was almost always close to the female, but I never saw him crawling all over her. But just this past week he refused his meal and that same day she started keeping herself spread across the cage all stretched out rather than in one hide or the other like normal. She did take her meal last week, and she just took another today, he's still refusing.
But I have noticed significant swelling over this last week while she's been stretched out, even after her bm. Is this likely her pre-ov swell? And if so, is it odd for it to happen this late in the season?
And as a side note I did not drop temps to cool them for the breeding season, I have decided to just keep everything as usual.

OK....

First, you sort of paired them up a bit to early. Most times, "my" boas will start breeding at the start of the "fall rainy season". Normally Sept/Oct. In warmer climate areas, it can be even later in the year.

So, that would explain why you haven't seen them doing anything yet. A picture of this "significant swelling" would be helpful. It really doesn't sound like a pre-ov swell. Mostly because she's still eating. I've yet to see a female continue to eat, when she's getting close to that pre-ov swelling.

It could just be the way she's laying that makes her look swollen.

Anway... I'd need more info on your boas to determine anything more.

Size/ age/ weight/last meals/is your female drinking more water/has your female been smearing urates/any change in behavior/body arching by the female/sudden aggression/male acting in dominant manner/ and anything else you can think of.

[aleria]

Re: Within "typical" time range?

As far as info goes the female is an '07 hog island at 6'10" and 15-18 lbs(weights aren't all that accurate as I'm using a human scale to get them). I haven't seen her drinking more water, but have noticed her near them more often. And I've never heard mention of smearing urates but hers were kind of all over the place this time, all along the wall she decided to use instead of in one small pile in a corner. I just figured she decided to get messier than usual. I haven't noticed any more aggression from her than normal, towards myself or the male, though she's not really aggressive at all to begin with, except for being a really aggressive feeder. She's the type to snap up her f/t rats and squeeze them to hell every single time as if they were live. And she's been on 1 xl rat every tuesday schedule for the past 6-8 months at least. Hasn't refused once. The biggest change I noticed was her lack of wanting to be curled up in her hides. I haven't seen her in one of them even once during the past week and I hadn't done anything but spot clean the week or so prior to that, so I know it wasn't a change I made that caused her to start doing so. And with the swelling, I'm noticing that she is swollen to the point of her scales just barely overlapping on that area, if at all.
As far as the male goes he's an 07 albino at around 4'6" and mayyybe 3-4 lbs(definitely not sure on that one). He has been on the slimmer side his whole life due to being a real difficult one to get off live feed. He seems to have been hiding more during this past week, even going as far as getting up under the thin towel I'm currently using on the floor of the cage. And this is now his second tuesday refusing a meal.
Pictures of her below, I've placed arrows where I believe the swelling begins and ends.

[Linda]

Re: Within "typical" time range?

As far as info goes the female is an '07 hog island at 6'10" and 15-18 lbs(weights aren't all that accurate as I'm using a human scale to get them). I haven't seen her drinking more water, but have noticed her near them more often. And I've never heard mention of smearing urates but hers were kind of all over the place this time, all along the wall she decided to use instead of in one small pile in a corner. I just figured she decided to get messier than usual. I haven't noticed any more aggression from her than normal, towards myself or the male, though she's not really aggressive at all to begin with, except for being a really aggressive feeder. She's the type to snap up her f/t rats and squeeze them to hell every single time as if they were live. And she's been on 1 xl rat every tuesday schedule for the past 6-8 months at least. Hasn't refused once. The biggest change I noticed was her lack of wanting to be curled up in her hides. I haven't seen her in one of them even once during the past week and I hadn't done anything but spot clean the week or so prior to that, so I know it wasn't a change I made that caused her to start doing so. And with the swelling, I'm noticing that she is swollen to the point of her scales just barely overlapping on that area, if at all.
As far as the male goes he's an 07 albino at around 4'6" and mayyybe 3-4 lbs(definitely not sure on that one). He has been on the slimmer side his whole life due to being a real difficult one to get off live feed. He seems to have been hiding more during this past week, even going as far as getting up under the thin towel I'm currently using on the floor of the cage. And this is now his second tuesday refusing a meal.
Pictures of her below, I've placed arrows where I believe the swelling begins and ends.

OK, being that she's only 2 years old, she may not breed at all this year. I realize she's got the size, but she may not be mature on the "inside". BTW that's really "large" for a 2 year old hog. I have a 4 year old that's not that big. My girl is about 5 1/2 feet and "maybe" 8 pounds.

Normally, when female boas are "forming folicles" they'll drink a "lot" more water. They will "usually" double their intake. It's important to change the water more often during breeding season.

Smearing urates and cloacal(spelling??) gaping are a sign that a female is "ready" for breeding. A female will whip her tail around and smear urates in order to "get the male in the mood". Of course, a female boa "normally" only does this tail whipping and smearing for an hour or so. If a female continues it longer than that, it means she wants him out of her cage. BTW did you put the male into her cage or her into his cage?? Just wondering, becuase it's best to put the male in the female's cage. There's just more good female scents that way.

Sometimes females will become aggressive. If she's showing aggression towards you, then it could either be a feeding response or she's telling you to go away. Could be a hormonal thing, but I think it's just a get lost I'm busy thing. However, if the aggression is towards the male, then it's time to remove him. If she shows "any" aggression towards the male you should remove him immediatley. Since she's not shown any aggression of any kind, you shouldn't have to worry about it.

As far as the swelling goes..... Well for the size of food she's been eating and as often....

I'm going to say that's not a pre-ovulation. Your girl has been getting a "lot" of food. It's actually time to "cut back" on her feedings/size.

During breeding season, it's alright to continue feeding. The thing is, you need to "cut down on the size". They should only be getting meals 1/2 the size they normally would and the meals should be more "spread out". For instance, if she's used to getting fed weekly, make her wait 2 weeks between meals. When your girl is getting close to a pre-ovulation/ovulation, she'll refuse food.

The size/age on your male sounds good. Males should be slimmer/smaller. That makes them stronger breeders. Of course, just becuase he's willing doens't mean he's producing viable sperm. He's still a younger male. He "should" be able to do the job, but you won't know until he acutally does do the job.

BTW If it were me, I'd give the female another year to mature. She's got the size/weight, but she may not be fully developed "inside". It's your call, but she is a bit young.

[aleria]

Re: Within "typical" time range?

Thanks for all of the extra info.
She's actually been eating rats of that size for close to 6 months now, and it wasn't until this past week that I noticed a significant change in the size of her midsection(even after defecation). And yes, even I was surprised at her growth rate and size. Considering most people say that their female hogs get 4-6 feet at most, when she so quickly surpassed that I just felt kind of lucky. She's never once refused a single meal and I've tried to keep away from over feeding her. The once a week schedule on the xl rats was chosen after watching her cycles of defecation and when she would come out of hiding all tensed up waiting for food. And every Tuesday(sometimes even Monday) on the dot she's tensed and ready for food. Prior to that I had her on a 10 day feeding schedule, but after 6-7 days she'd be snappy as hell when I reached into the cage for her. With the once a week feeding she shows 0 cage aggression except when it's time to put the food in. Once she's eaten, she's nice and calm again.
I currently have small rats for the male that I could use for the female's smaller size, less frequent meals, but that seems like quite a drop in size from xl to small.
Would it be better to pick up some mediums or large instead or just go with the small along with dropping her back to a 2 week feeding schedule?

[Linda]

Re: Within "typical" time range?

Thanks for all of the extra info.
She's actually been eating rats of that size for close to 6 months now, and it wasn't until this past week that I noticed a significant change in the size of her midsection(even after defecation). And yes, even I was surprised at her growth rate and size. Considering most people say that their female hogs get 4-6 feet at most, when she so quickly surpassed that I just felt kind of lucky. She's never once refused a single meal and I've tried to keep away from over feeding her. The once a week schedule on the xl rats was chosen after watching her cycles of defecation and when she would come out of hiding all tensed up waiting for food. And every Tuesday(sometimes even Monday) on the dot she's tensed and ready for food. Prior to that I had her on a 10 day feeding schedule, but after 6-7 days she'd be snappy as hell when I reached into the cage for her. With the once a week feeding she shows 0 cage aggression except when it's time to put the food in. Once she's eaten, she's nice and calm again.
I currently have small rats for the male that I could use for the female's smaller size, less frequent meals, but that seems like quite a drop in size from xl to small.
Would it be better to pick up some mediums or large instead or just go with the small along with dropping her back to a 2 week feeding schedule?

I'd go with medium rats. The process of pre-ovulation and ovulation "seems" to be a very uncomfortable process for the females. Females will "normally" refuse food, becuase it's too uncomfortable for them to eat. I've never had a female that was willing to eat during the pre-ov or ovulation periods.

If your female is getting "snappy" in between meals, it's becuase she's used to getting them so often. So, naturally, she wants food. I've never seen a Hog grow so quickly, but obviously your girl has. Hopefully, she'll give you a nice litter.

I'd still give her another year to mature, but that's up to you.

[aleria]

Re: Within "typical" time range?

At what point do most people usually pull their males from their females regardless if they know she has become pregnant or not? I don't think I'll pull him just yet, but considering I've seen no courting and he himself may not even be receptive to breeding at this point I'd be willing to pull him around the usual end of copulation time frame, whether he has actually bothered to try to lock with her or not.
So if she does actually get pregnant or not this season, at least he had ample time to attempt it. And if she wasn't mature enough at this point to be receptive to him breeding her, then I'll separate them and try again next season.

[Linda]

Re: Within "typical" time range?

At what point do most people usually pull their males from their females regardless if they know she has become pregnant or not? I don't think I'll pull him just yet, but considering I've seen no courting and he himself may not even be receptive to breeding at this point I'd be willing to pull him around the usual end of copulation time frame, whether he has actually bothered to try to lock with her or not.
So if she does actually get pregnant or not this season, at least he had ample time to attempt it. And if she wasn't mature enough at this point to be receptive to him breeding her, then I'll separate them and try again next season.

I don't pull my male until they're finished. "Normally" my males will let me know when they've finished. They court/copulate, mildly at first, then after the pre-ov they'll breed "non-stop" for about 2 weeks. Then they'll just stop. After few days or the same day, they stop, they'll be trying to escape from the cage. They just want away from the female.

Of course, sometimes you have a young inexperienced male that will continue to breed. This is rare, but it does happen.

"Most" males will breed aggressively/constantly after the pre-ov swell. Nothing and I mean "NOTHING" will stop them from getting what they want. The males will sometimes become aggressive towards you, if you open the cage to check on them. They don't want anything to come between them and their female. Then.... just as suddenly as they started this aggressive/constant breeding.. They stop.

Then you see, most times, a HUGE swelling in the female a few days later. Then she goes into shed cycle. At least, most times they'll go into shed cycle. Some females don't have a POS.