Pregnant? False Pregnancy? Constipated?

[Mark1887]

Got a weird situation, not having any experience with boa breeding or pregnant boa's at all. My wife got her for x-mas super sweet girl she was about 3yrs old 16lbs and around 6 1/2 ft. Was told she was on 2 Lg rat's every other week then was changed to 1 Lg a week. First 2 feeding's we gave her a Lg once a week, the Lg size frozen we have seemed small compared to her girth so we up'ed it to XL's and was planning to wean her up to 2 XL's every other week. First XL feeding was early Jan you cant even see a bulge and the XL's were still on the small side. She shed the first week of Jan also, 2nd XL feeding (mid Jan) we gave her a XL + a Lg from one my BP's that refused didn't make a noticeable difference in size of her girth. So near end of Jan we notice she's got a bulge going on without eating for week+ now


So same day she was moved from tub we had her in temporarily into a 75 Gal (temporarily again) until I can get her xpvc done.

Couple day's go by we offer a XL she takes it we offered a 2nd to see if she would want to start a every other week feeding, refused 2nd XL.

So now she has not passed any stool since early Jan around her shed time, she's been coiled up and staying in the dark cooler size of the tank and boom back in shed. Pics are from just now she started shed about 3-4 days ago we noticed her eye's hazing up.



So she has not passed any stool, 2 Shed's quick back to back and swelling, I don't feel any blockages up from her vent but not trying to agitate her to much.
Was "told" she did have a lock up in 2013 exact date unknown. So any possibility's on what could be going on? tips? ideas? All the signs I see say shes pregnant or ovulating at the least but the no stool for a month is what bothers me.

[DooLittle]

What are your temps? Another thought is if she isn't warm enough and digesting properly. I have boas, but have never bred them, so I'm no help there.

[Evenstar]

Aargh. Situations like this are sooo hard to determine. She does appear to have something going on, but whether she's constipated or gravid, I can't tell. The bulge is low down, but that would be the case in either scenario. I don't want to tell you to handle her much in case she IS gravid, but perhaps, in this case, you might see if you vet, if you have a qualified herp vet, can do an ultrasound. On reptiles, that isn't generally TOO expensive. And then you'd know for sure. Sorry I can't help you more.....

[bcr229]

Would there be any harm in just waiting a week or two until she sheds, and then re-evaluate? Don't feed, just keep her temps correct and her humidity up. Sometimes snakes will "hold it" until they shed, then they take care of everything at once.

You also may want to back off of her feeding schedule. My female is just a few inches bigger and takes a jumbo rat every 4 weeks. If you're feeding XL's perhaps try one every two weeks.

ETA: Has she passed any urates recently?

[Evenstar]

Would there be any harm in just waiting a week or two until she sheds, and then re-evaluate? Don't feed, just keep her temps correct and her humidity up. Sometimes snakes will "hold it" until they shed, then they take care of everything at once.

You also may want to back off of her feeding schedule. My female is just a few inches bigger and takes a jumbo rat every 4 weeks. If you're feeding XL's perhaps try one every two weeks.

ETA: Has she passed any urates recently?

At this point, yes, this is probably what I would do. The hard part is, we don't know what her due date is if she is, in fact, gravid. But waiting a couple of weeks to see what happens is not a bad idea. If the OP handles her very gently, a 20 min soak in tepid water wouldn't hurt either....

[Mark1887]

Temp should be around 85 last I checked, she may have pee'd in between this time. We clean every week even if the cage is clean and sometimes its wet from her going through the water bowl. We may have not noticed a full urate while cleaning if she dropped it in between paper. I really want to feel her better to check if there is a blockage but I don't want to put any risk if she is gravid. Iv spoke to a few people who claim boa's are really good at false pregnancy's ? If anything I hope it's that, I don't mind if she is gravid I have the space and food for that. If it does happen to be a small constipated blockage iv had great success dealing with them with BP's. We haven't offered her food at all yet, I don't plan too until situation is figured out.

Will a gravid boa be more firm or on soft when swelled up?


Btw the swelling has grown over time without having been offered food, forgot to mention that in whole thread.

[TheWinWizard]

You are feeding that boa way too much. I'd be fat too. large rat once every 4 to 6 weeks will be fine.

[Evenstar]

You are feeding that boa way too much. I'd be fat too. large rat once every 4 to 6 weeks will be fine.

I missed that the first time around. Yes, what the OP mentioned is feeding far too much too often. Personally though, I think going 6 weeks is a bit long. I don't want to muddle the waters too much with contradicting information, but a single large rat every 3-4 weeks is a better routine imho.

[Mark1887]

4 to 6 weeks seems a bit long, when she regulates/(figure out whats going on with her) I will try feeding lite and do 1 xl every 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. Pretty sure there is no blockage, we gave her a gentle soak today to see if it helps a little. Her swelling is about a foot long and not hard or stiff in anyway, pretty much just feels like fat very swelled and soft.

[DooLittle]

Boas metabolism is much slower than balls. She very well could be backed up. My boas that are not quite 2, get a small/medium-ish rat every 2 weeks. It could be she hasn't processed that last rat before you fed another, thus the swelling (undigested food). One appropriate sized meal every 3/4 weeks at that age should be fine.