Boa breeding ages

[richardhind1972]

I know we talk about minimum ages for breeding boas as it generally doesn't go in weight like pythons rather lengthy/body condition etc but after certain ages do they get infertile or less productive as they age, as humans can still be fertile over 60 as many ageing celebrities have proven ,lol
I've got a Friend who doesn't go on any forums .he text me this morning to ask my opinion. He has a 16 year old boa and wondered whether it would still be able to breed, to which I'm not sure, I said I thought he would be able too but thought I'd ask a larger panel of herpers

So what's anyone thoughts?


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[Valyrian]

I've got no information to back this up but I would assume it's a similar situation to humans as they are both vertebrates that bear live young. Males can produce fertile sperm throughout their lifetime however females may have a time limit as they are the ones carrying the offspring.

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[richardhind1972]

Thanks that's what I presumed too, cheers

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[paulh]

As far as I know, males should be breedable until death. Healthy females should be breedable till over 20. A friend had a female bullsnake (Pituophis) that laid viable eggs at 19, and boas live longer than bulls.

[richardhind1972]

Thanks Paul, I had a feeling the male should be ok but wasn’t quite sure on a female, good to know


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