Albino dropped litter

Came home for lunch this afternoon to find my Albino female dropping babies. She dropped 18 total = 12 slugs, 5 Albino still borns and 1 Anery Het that is barely holding on. I kind of expected her to have a small litter or slug out, she wasn't really swelling up much compared to my other girls.

Good news, if any out of this, I proved out my Hypo Poss Het male. This is one of the sad possibilities we face when breeding, but one we all face sooner or later. I'm just happy mom seems healthy and recovering well, my heart goes out to those who have lost their females during this process this year.

Some things are just out of our control no matter how well we plan and prep for them. I still have 3-4 girls that should drop some nice size litters in the next couple weeks.

There's always next year for this girl...

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Sorry to hear Gerry. Glad mom is ok though...

Awwww....I'm sorry to hear that one didn't go so well. But it's good to hear that the mom is ok. And we have hope for the wee little survivor...sending happy, healthy snakie thoughts his way!

Glad to hear the female is okay; I hope she takes a big nice rat for her efforts.

Sorry the litter didn't do well. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to see still borns. :(

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Originally Posted by cassandra

Glad to hear the female is okay; I hope she takes a big nice rat for her efforts.

Sorry the litter didn't do well. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to see still borns. :(

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Mom seems to be doing great, she's relaxing now that I cleaned all the afterbirth smells. She'll get a medium rat tomorrow night and another next Friday. Soon after she sheds, she'll go back on Jumbo rats every two weeks and gain back all her pre-birth weight in 8-10 weeks.

As for the miracle baby, he or she is barely holding on, but still there.
The next 24-48hrs will be critical and will decide if he/she makes it or not.

All fingers and toes are crossed for the little guy!

Sorry about the drop, good to hear mom is OK and I hope the little hangs in there for you.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon9.gifAwwww. im sorry to hear that. glad that moms ok and im praying for the survivor to survive!!!

Wow ... I'm REALLY sorry to hear that. Just the sight alone must be a shock. Let's all hope for the little lone survivor.

I know that it sometimes happens, but it still stinks! :oops:

Thank you for posting those pics. I knew boas gave live birth, but I didn't realized they just internalized the eggs. It was very cool to see those pics, even if they weren't of an ideal situation.

What a bummer.. so sorry to hear it. I hope your little anery pulls through!

Thank you for sharing the photos. I also did not realize that they did internal eggs like that, I read it and said... slugs.. and stillborns.. erg?
I am glad that your female is good, and you always have next year for her. I also hold out hope for your one surviver. but if it doesn't make it, you still know you did all you could for him too.

Oh Gerry what a sad event. I'm glad the female survived and pray the little anery hangs on and does well for you. What a rotten day you've had! That's not a sight anyone wants to come home to.

Oh man, that's the pits!!! I'm sooooo sorry to hear about the loss of the litter.


That anery is soooooo pretty, I hope it survives for you!!!! :hug: It's really sad to hear about the loss of all those pretty albino babies, but I'm glad to hear that mom is doing okay!!! I hope she continues to recover and that the anery survives!!!!

Happy, HEALTH snake vibes to you!

RuLyn

Thanks everyone, the mom is doing fine as of this morning and is ready for her 1st meal. Miracle baby is still hanging on for life, I will give him another 24-48hrs and hope for the best.

Hopefully the little guy will make it , and some good will come out of that clutch.The most important thing is the mommy is O.k. And she live's to breed another day.

Hope all is well, especially with your lil guy. If it can make it through, you got one tough lil snake there!

Thanks, unfortunately and sadly the baby did not make it. I came home a few minutes ago and when I checked it had passed away.


Mom is doing great, she just ate a medium rat with ease and should regain her pre-birth weight and then some in a few months.

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Originally Posted by ssscales

Thanks, unfortunately and sadly the baby did not make it. I came home a few minutes ago and when I checked it had passed away.


Mom is doing great, she just ate a medium rat with ease and should regain her pre-birth weight and then some in a few months.

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aww. that stinks. poor lil baby.https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon9.gifhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon9.gifhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon9.gifhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon9.gifhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon9.gif

:rainon: :( I'm so sorry to hear about that baby. I would guess every breeder has to acknowledge that some clutches and litters are not going to be successful. /huuug

I'm glad to hear the Mom is doing good tho. =) She'll knock our socks off next time!

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Originally Posted by ssscales

Thanks, unfortunately and sadly the baby did not make it. I came home a few minutes ago and when I checked it had passed away.


Mom is doing great, she just ate a medium rat with ease and should regain her pre-birth weight and then some in a few months.

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Ugh. I'm SO bummed to hear that! Heck, if that lil guy would have lived, I would have asked if I could buy the lil one. Well, atleast the mom is ok, and we have to remember, It's nature ... beautiful or sad, it's natures way.

That's too bad, Gerry. :( I know "these things happen"...but that doesn't make it suck any less. :hug:

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Originally Posted by Vomitore

Ugh. I'm SO bummed to hear that! Heck, if that lil guy would have lived, I would have asked if I could buy the lil one. Well, atleast the mom is ok, and we have to remember, It's nature ... beautiful or sad, it's natures way.

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if i ever had a lone survivor i would keep it for myself, cause it would be like, special!!https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif
again, im sorry to hear about the baby.

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Originally Posted by gmmuscle91

if i ever had a lone survivor i would keep it for myself, cause it would be like, special!!https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif
again, im sorry to hear about the baby.

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Haha I dont blame ya! I just had a REAL soft spot for that lil guy. Heck, I prayed for him last night!

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Originally Posted by Vomitore

Haha I dont blame ya! I just had a REAL soft spot for that lil guy. Heck, I prayed for him last night!

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ya, i know what you mean. i would have bought him too if possible.

Thanks everyone, if the baby would've survived I would've kept it. Unfortunately he didn't make it, hopefully next year we'll have plenty to hold back from this female.

Gerry, sorry the little guy didnt make it. Any idea why she threw so many slugs and stillborns?

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Gerry, sorry the little guy didnt make it. Any idea why she threw so many slugs and stillborns?

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It happens…I think only God can answer why it went sour.

She's a good age, had good size and weight, was in great health, we kept her temps right, she maintained a good body temp throughout gestation, she even ate a few meals here and there...it just happens.

Next year, we'll try again, do everything exactly the same and she may drop 28 healthy plump babies and 2 slugs, it happens.

Sometimes boas will slug out when the male is removed early, too much heat or too cold during gestation, female is not drinking enough water, etc. None of these were the case with this girl.

My only answer is, this year just wasn't her year.

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Originally Posted by ssscales

It happens…I think only God can answer why it went sour.

She's a good age, had good size and weight, was in great health, we kept her temps right, she maintained a good body temp throughout gestation, she even ate a few meals here and there...it just happens.

Next year, we'll try again, do everything exactly the same and she may drop 28 healthy plump babies and 2 slugs, it happens.

Sometimes boas will slug out when the male is removed early, too much heat or too cold during gestation, female is not drinking enough water, etc. None of these were the case with this girl.

My only answer is, this year just wasn't her year.

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Makes sense. Its interesting to me, not knowing a thing about Boa breeding. I was trying to figure out how common it is, but it makes sense that it can just happen anytime even when the conditions are perfect.

I'm so sorry about the bad clutch. I think both you and Vaughn are in the same boat with his last clutch. It happens and you can only keep trying.

My heart's with your little girl that she continues to stay healthy.

It happens, slugs are common in almost every boa litter, as is the occasional stillborn. As for losing an entire litter, it happens, and when you start breeding 6-8-10+ females, those chances of you experiencing it go up.

To give you an example, I read Frank Martin had 20 gravid females this year, 2 slugged out and I think 2 died in the process. As you start breeding more females, your chances of experiencing slugged litters and even losing a female goes up. I'm sure Frank did the best he could with all 20 females, somethings are just out of our hands.

He had 2 females that were birthing that died?

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Originally Posted by jglass38

He had 2 females that were birthing that died?

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I think they died during gestation, I'm not sure if it was while giving birth. Carrying a baby for 3 months or 9 months and giving birth is not easy!!

You guys should try it sometime...:O

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Originally Posted by ssscales

I think they died during gestation, I'm not sure if it was while giving birth. Carrying a baby for 3 months or 9 months and giving birth is not easy!!

You guys should try it sometime...:O

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Oh hell no. :)

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Originally Posted by ssscales

I think they died during gestation, I'm not sure if it was while giving birth. Carrying a baby for 3 months or 9 months and giving birth is not easy!!

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Which is why it is SO important to make sure your females are big enough and healthy enough to endure a pregnancy. I'm not saying Gerry or Frank Martin did anything wrong, but experiences like that can show that even healthy females can have complications. And the risk of severe complications skyrocket for underweight and/or immature females. (Of any species!)

Makes me sad when people push so hard to find the bare minimum age and size for breeding and so many chime in with "Well, I bred mine when she was 2 years old and 1200grams...she did fine." Trouble is, the losers who kill their females usually disappear and don't stick around to inform others how dangerous it can be.

:soapbx:
Sorry....I'll get off my box now.

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Originally Posted by JLC

Which is why it is SO important to make sure your females are big enough and healthy enough to endure a pregnancy. I'm not saying Gerry or Frank Martin did anything wrong, but experiences like that can show that even healthy females can have complications. And the risk of severe complications skyrocket for underweight and/or immature females. (Of any species!)

Makes me sad when people push so hard to find the bare minimum age and size for breeding and so many chime in with "Well, I bred mine when she was 2 years old and 1200grams...she did fine." Trouble is, the losers who kill their females usually disappear and don't stick around to inform others how dangerous it can be.

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Absolutely, I agree 100%!

You rarely see threads with failures or dead snakes caused by breeding, but I can guarantee you they happen every year to some extent! Most likely breeders just dump these litters, black bag the females and pretend the breeding never took place. All you read and hear about is all the successful litters and great experiences we all have.

What I've noticed is, with Boas there is more information in general that most breeders agree on. For example: females should not be bred until 3yrs of age, 6ft in length and be well muscled/thick/mature bodied. Usually people stick to this rule of thumb with the exceptional knucklehead power feeding, pushing growth, etc. But the basic information is out there and most/all breeders have agreed to it!

There is a lot of misleading information out there on BP's. For example: I've read and spoken to breeders that claim BP females can breed at 1200g-1500g-1800g, which is it? I'm still trying to figure this one out! I've read posts of breeders getting 1000g females to breed and thrilled to have gotten 2-4 eggs! What would happen if that female became egg-bound?

Some breeders claim 1200g is good to go, some claim no less than 1500g, others claim no less than 1800g. As for age, I've read from 2yrs to 3yrs, which is it? I'm still trying to get the beginner facts on breeding BP's.

So far, I'm going with 1500-1700g for my BP females as a guideline weight for breeding.

What we were told Gerry for female BP's was a minimum 1,500 grams, with that being a minimum of 500 grams per linear foot and approximately 3 years of age. Therefore a 4 foot female BP that is 1,500 grams would be considered underweight to breed by that calculation. I know when I talked with Adam he said also it's about knowing the snake, about experience....sometimes even if she fits all the requirements but just doesn't feel ready to go...you pass her by that year. For Mike and I, even with our limited number of BP's, if we feel in our gut that a female or male is just not quite "right" we'll wait a year. It's been said that BP breeding is chess not checkers so we'll just play it slow and thoughtful.

Just curious how the mom is doing?

Mom is doing great, she just took her 2nd meal after dropping her litter. She'll go into shed in a few days and once she sheds she'll go back to Jumbo rats every 14 days. Thanks for asking!

Great to hear Gerry! Hope the other projects work out well...

Thanks, I'm anticipating a litter of Hypos in 10 days and a litter of Hypo Pastels in 28 days. Along with some Hypo Hogs in mid June and possibly Salmon Hogs or Pure Hogs in early July. Luckily I've got all my racks set up and wired and all the tubs ready for filling!

Wicked!! Can't wait to see those baby Hogs..

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Originally Posted by ssscales

Thanks, I'm anticipating a litter of Hypos in 10 days and a litter of Hypo Pastels in 28 days. Along with some Hypo Hogs in mid June and possibly Salmon Hogs or Pure Hogs in early July. Luckily I've got all my racks set up and wired and all the tubs ready for filling!

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AWESOME!!! Any for sale????? I've been looking for a Hog for quite a while, and no one around here has any. I'm HOPING *fingers and toes crossed* that I'll get to go to the show in May and that someone might have some babies by then. If not May then maybe the next one in June.

Glad to hear that mom is still doing well, but (again) I'm sorry to hear of the loss of the litter, and that the little anery didn't make it. :(

RuLyn

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Originally Posted by sweety314

AWESOME!!! Any for sale?????

RuLyn

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I wish I could keep them all!
We'll keep a few hold backs and find it in our hearts to sell the rest. :)

Cooool! :cool: Then just let me know when you're ready to find the forever homes! ;) :tongue2: