Step-by-Step Guide to Successfully Breeding True Redtail Boas
- Eric Rollins
- Apr 21
- 5 min read
Breeding true redtail boas can be a rewarding experience for reptile enthusiasts. These snakes are admired for their striking coloration and impressive size, making them a popular choice among collectors and breeders. However, successful breeding requires careful preparation, knowledge of their biology, and attention to detail throughout the process. This guide walks you through the essential steps to breed true redtail boas effectively, ensuring healthy offspring and a smooth breeding cycle.
Understanding True Redtail Boas
True redtail boas (Boa constrictor constrictor) are a subspecies of the common boa constrictor, native to South America. They are known for their vibrant red or orange coloration on the tail, which contrasts with their darker body patterns. These snakes can grow quite large, often reaching lengths of 6 to 10 feet for females and 5 to 7 feet for males and require spacious enclosures and proper care.
Before attempting to breed, it is crucial to understand their natural behavior and needs:
Habitat: They thrive in warm, humid environments with access to hiding spots.
Diet: They primarily eat rodents and rabbits in captivity.
Temperament: Generally calm but can be defensive if stressed.
Knowing these basics helps create an environment conducive to breeding.
Preparing for Breeding
Preparation is key to successful breeding. This phase involves selecting healthy snakes, setting up the right environment, and conditioning the animals.
Selecting Breeding Stock
Choose mature, healthy snakes with strong genetics. Ideal breeding candidates are:
Females: At least 4 to 5 years old with good mature muscle mass. The breeding process and building follicles takes a lot out of the females as they should be eating sparingly during the breeding process that can last 3-4 months from the introduction of the male.
Males: Slightly smaller but mature, usually 3 to 4 years old.
Avoid breeding snakes with health issues or deformities. Genetic diversity is important to prevent inbreeding problems.
Setting Up the Enclosure
Create a breeding enclosure that mimics natural conditions:
Temperature: Maintain a gradient from 78°F to 82°F for ambient temps with a basking spot set to 86°F ,
Humidity: Keep humidity around 60% to encourage shedding and comfort.
Hiding spots: Provide multiple hides for both snakes to reduce stress.
Water: A large water bowl for soaking is essential.
Use natural substrates like cypress mulch, coconut fiber, or aspen to retain humidity. I use paper substrate that is easier to clean which requires that I spary the enclosures more to maintain proper humidity. I also use a whole room humidifer to keep the ambient humidity between 50-60%
Conditioning the Snakes
Conditioning involves preparing snakes for the breeding season by simulating natural environmental changes:
Cooling period: I begin to drop temperatures once our climate in AZ allows me to. This typically occurs around the end of December. My nightime lows drop down to about 70-72 in my snake facility. I still keep the hotspot of the cage set to 75 degrees. I do this for my entire collection regardless if they are breeding or not once they are at least a year old. This creates a seasonal enviroment that is important for the boa to be accustomed to at an early age. This increases the chance of your success in breeding them as adults.
Reduced feeding: Gradually reduce feeding frequency during cooling to about 1/2 the normal meal spread out to about once per month.
Hydration: Ensure snakes stay hydrated during this period.
Introducing the Pair
I introduce the males at the beginning of the cooling cycle. Most males spend the first month just courting and laying next to or on the female but not trying to breed. This introduction helps turn on the females instinct to begin building follicles. As the develops her follicles, the male notices and will typically begin breeding the female agressively until ovulation.
Observation: Watch for courtship behaviors such as tongue flicking, rubbing, and coiling.
Multiple introductions: If the pair does not show interest initially, try reintroducing every few days.
Avoid aggression: Separate snakes if aggressive behavior occurs. I've had several adult Peruvian females that are ready in terms of size and age aggressively refuse a male buy running from them in the cage and dropping urates as they run. Get the male out right away and try again a few days later. If the female continues to refuse, the best option is to wait again until the following breeding season. I had to do a couple of years in a row with some females and then one year they are ready and produce beautiful healthy litters.
Mating can last several hours, and successful copulation is often followed by multiple sessions over days.
Gestation and Egg Development
True redtail boas are ovoviviparous, meaning females give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. After mating, the female undergoes an ovualtion, count down 120 days from ovulation for an accurate birthdate. She should typically have a "POS" or Post Ovulation Shed about 2-3 weeks following an ovulation. Mark 105 days from the POS for an even more accurate shed.
Caring for the Pregnant Female
During gestation, provide optimal care:
Maintain stable temperature: Hot spot set to 90 degrees with maintaing 60% humidity.
Feed appropriately: I offer a meal half the size right after the POS and maybe one more very small meal about 3 weeks later. After that, no food until after she gives birth. I have had too many females drop babies 1-3 weeks early from feeding the female to late in the gestation process which resulted in entire litters dying almost fully developed. Trust me, the female will make it to the end without being fed if she had proper muscle mass when she began breeding. They will look pretty terrible in terms of weight a few weeks leading up to birth from my expierience. In my collection that is primarily due to the large size of litters my females have that range from 15-32 babies in a litter.
Minimize handling: Limit stress by handling the female only when necessary. I spot clean throught the entire gestation and never handle my females until after giving birth.
Birth and Neonate Care
When the female is ready to give birth, she will seek a secure, quiet spot usually on the cool side of the cage. The birth process typically takes 30-60 min for litters with a high fertility rate. Slugs or infertile ova are much harder for the female to push out. Babies almost come flying out which means the higher the fertility rate of the litter the faster the female finishes giving birth.
Setting Up a Nursery
Prepare a nursery enclosure with:
Warmth: Keep hotspot around 88-90°F until the babies first shed which typically occurs in 7-10 days from birth
Humidity: Maintain 70% to aid shedding.
Tubs: I keep the entire litter or split the litter into two 32qt tubs in a rack system until they have their first shed. After their first shed I set them up individually in their own tubs and drop the hotspot down to 86 degrees.
Water: Shallow water dishes for hydration.
Feeding Neonates
Neonates typically begin feeding 7 to 14 days after birth. Offer appropriately sized prey, such as pinky rats or fuzzy mice depending on the size of the babies, and monitor feeding behavior closely. Peruvians typically have very large babies compared to Suriname or Guyana babies.
Common Challenges and Solutions
Breeding true redtail boas can present challenges. Here are some common issues and how to address them:
Refusal to breed: Ensure proper conditioning and environmental cues. Remove male is female shows any agression or running away from the male.
Aggression between snakes: Separate and reintroduce slowly.
Health problems in females: Never pair up a female that is not in optimal health.
Neonate mortality: Maintain clean enclosures and proper temperature/humidity. Feeding small meals more frequently in true redtails reduces your chances of regurgitation which is common in true redtail babies.
Comments