# Brazilian Rainbow Boa Breeding



## JFinta

Hello kind people of rfuk!

At what age/weight would you safely introduce a male brazilian rainbow boa to a female? 
I have found a lot of information about the neccessary age/size/weight of a female and most seem to agree on this. However I've seen very little on the male and what I have seen seems to be a little conflicting. One care sheet by a breeder suggests that 3 feet long and 18 months of age is OK for the male, which seems rather young and does not mention weight at all.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## Oolong

Females need to be a minimum weight or size to safely carry to full term. She's giving up her body reserves to build babies.

Males on the other hand don't need to contribute much energy into breeding. It's more of a question of wether they are old enough to be willing/interested. I'd bet it varies a bit from male to male based more on hormonal development than weight.


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## sharpstrain

females are going to be around 3+ before breeding size - probably 5.5ft plus

if you google Brazilian rainbow boa breeding the first result will give you the answer

Brazilian Rainbow Boas should be of a good age and weight before they are allowed to breed to avoid problems. I would recommend that the minimum requirements for a female to breed would be at least 3 to 4 years of age, 5ft in length and 1400 grams in weight. Brazilian Rainbow Boas are oviviparous.

Sexing
Brazilian Rainbow boas can be probed to determine sex, but this should only be done by an experienced keeper or vet. Males tend to have larger spurs near the entrance to their vent, but this is not a 100% accurate way to determine sex.

Brumation
Brumation (cooling your snake down for winter) is not always necessary for successful breeding, as some breeders find that they have better results from shortening the light period rather than lowering the temperature. If you do decide to lower the temperature, only drop it by a few degrees at night time. This mimics the cooling down that Rainbow Boas experience in the wild and does not effect the humidity levels too much. A good brumation period is about 6 to 10 weeks. The temperature needs to be dropped gradually at nighttime and maintained until gradually raising it back up after the recommended brumation period.

Mating 
In the wild the Rainbow Boa mating season is usually February to June, so this is a good time to introduce your male to the females vivarium for copulation. They can be left together for a few weeks. If the copulation is successful, the female will become gravid (pregnant). Rainbow Boas actually have two seasons and can be mated in the autumn for hatchlings in the spring.

Gravidity
Females may go off their food whilst being gravid, but should still be offered small prey items just in case. Gestation averages at about 5 months, with females becoming increasingly large at the back end of their bodies. Do not disturb your female while she is giving birth to the hatchlings, as this could upset her and increase your chances of still borns. Remove the hatchlings as soon as they are born to avoid the mother mistaking them for unfertilized slugs and eating them.


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## JFinta

Oolong said:


> Males on the other hand don't need to contribute much energy into breeding. It's more of a question of wether they are old enough to be willing/interested. I'd bet it varies a bit from male to male based more on hormonal development than weight.


Thanks for the info, that makes sense. I know I'm going to be waiting at least another year before my 2yo male is going to be introduced to my 7yo female. Just seemed a bit of a strange thing to not know about.



sharpstrain said:


> females are going to be around 3+ before breeding size - probably 5.5ft plus
> 
> if you google Brazilian rainbow boa breeding the first result will give you the answer


Thats exactly the information I was finding, you can see what I mean when I said there is no mention of the male. Made me curious. Not really sure why you posted that about the female when I was asking about the male, but thank you anyway.


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## evilsheep

JFinta said:


> Hello kind people of rfuk!
> 
> At what age/weight would you safely introduce a male brazilian rainbow boa to a female?
> I have found a lot of information about the neccessary age/size/weight of a female and most seem to agree on this. However I've seen very little on the male and what I have seen seems to be a little conflicting. One care sheet by a breeder suggests that 3 feet long and 18 months of age is OK for the male, which seems rather young and does not mention weight at all.
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Ha, another BRB breeder, well at least in my case, a totally unexpected breeder  good luck with your plan. My male is 14 years old now.

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