Tag Archives: reproduction

Breeding the endangered Jamaican Boa, Chilabothrus subflavus

Boa, Captive breeding, Chilabothrus, Conservation, , , ,

Jamaican Boas have been bred as a measure of conservation since the 1970s.  Today the species is still listed as Vulnerable (VU) by IUCN and listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  The species is currently kept by multiple zoos and aquaria as well as private breeders.  We sum up the annual breedings of this boa that we are aware of.  Westindianboas.org provided over the years several breeders with breeding stock animals in the US.  Unfortunately, restrictions make the export of this species unnecessarily difficult.  Considering the good breeding successes on both sides of the Atlantic, it should be in the interest of conservation to exchange genetic material and thus continue to maintain a diverse genetic foundation for conservation.

Several litters of the Jamaican Boa, Chilabothrus subflavus, were born this season in the US, the UK and the EU.  This particular litter, shown below, was born 9 September, 2021.  Produced by Rob Stone of the US, the litter numbered 17 live with no stillborn or unfertilized ovum.  Neonate weights ranged from 10.83 g to 13.93 g, with a mean of 12.98 g.  SVL of the neonates was 25.72 cm to 33.18 cm, with a mean of 30.13 cm.

Sire of the litter. Photo Rob Stone
Dam of the litter. Photo Rob Stone
Sea of subflavus. Photo Rob Stone

The Jamaican Boa is highly variable in color and pattern; the ontogenetic color change will take 18 – 24 months to complete.
The following litters were also produced during the 2021 season:

  • UK:  12 live, 2 stillborn and 7 unfertilized ova on 3 October, 2021.  Bred by Tom Middlebrook and Faye Da Costa.
  • US:  15 live, 1 unfertilized ovum on 27 September, 2021.  Bred by David Muth and Jared Rager.
  • US:  34 live, 3 stillborn and 3 or 4 unfertilized ova on 26 September, 2021.  Bred by Tom Crutchfield.
  • Germany:  9 live, 1 stillborn and 6 unfertilized ova on 14 September, 2021.  Bred by Sebastian Hölch.
UK litter of 12. Photo Tom Middlebrook and Faye Da Costa

Visit the chapter for the Jamaican Boa here for more in depth information and photos.

Chilabothrus neonate season continues with Bahamas Boas

Captive breeding, Chilabothrus, Conservation, Natural History, , , , , , ,

The Bahamas Boa Chilabothrus s. strigilatus is a species that relatively few private persons keep and, to our knowledge, no zoo worldwide has these fascinating boas on display.  We are more than pleased to announce that a litter of C. strigilatus was  born on October 1st in Germany.

Chilabothrus strigilatus babies with snake mother

Birth began in the morning hours from 8.30am.  The moon phase was in between half and new moon.  The pressure system was high and the morning was sunny, however, in the evening a low pressure system came in and it started to rain.

The post ovulation shed of the female boa occurred on June 13th, thus 110 days passed between post ovulation shed and birth.  Noticeably, the yolk was entirely used up in all babies and only the allantois was present as extraembryonic tissue.

Chilabothrus strigilatus babies the first sight

The litter contained 27 perfectly healthy babies. weighing between 12 and 16 grams.  Average weight was 14.07 grams.  The length of the babies is around 43 cm.  The litter did not contain any unfertilized eggs, deformed or stillborn babies.

Chilabothrus strigilatus babies with mother

The relative clutch mass (RCM) indicates the amount of mass spent on the babies by their mother.  The babies had a combined birth weight of 380 grams and the mother weighed post parturition 1087g.  The RCM is calculated as: baby mass / (baby mass + mother mass post parturition).  The mother spent 25.9% of her mass in babies, not accounting for fluids and extraembryonic tissue which could not be accurately weighed.

Chilabothrus strigilatus babies
Chilabothrus strigilatus baby on hand

More information on the species can be found here.

Corallus cookii; documenting its life cycle in captivity

Captive breeding, Conservation, Corallus, , , ,

A small litter of Corallus cookii, born September 26 at approximately 10:00 p.m., consisted of six live neonates, three small unfertilized ovum and no stillborn.  The neonates weighed 5.51 g to 14.09 g with an average weight of 11.86 g.  The female moved away from the heat source immediately after shedding on 16 September.  She also dropped a large quantity of pre-birth material in the bowel movement.

Litter of six C. cookii born September 26, 2021.

There is a variety of pattern and color between the neonates, though this polymorphism is not as pronounced as it is with C. hortunalus or C. grenadensis.

The iconic rhomboids found on C. cookii.

The female  boa, once finished with parturition,  consumed all three unfertilized ovum-possibly the first time this behavior has been documented in the species.

A total of three litters was produced in 2021:

  • US:  6 live and 3 unfertilized ovum on 26 September.  Smallest neonate weighed 5.51 g and the largest weighed 14 g with an average weight of 11.86 g.
  • US:  5 live, 1 stillborn and 6 unfertilized ovum on 8 October.  Smallest neonate weighed 7.96 g and the largest weighed 9.89 g with an average weight of 8.65 g.
  • US:  5 live, 1 stillborn and 2 unfertilized ovum on 8 October.  Smallest neonate weighed 7.4 g and the largest weighed 12.0 g with an average of 10.18 g.

For more photos and a complete overview of the species, view the C. cookii chapter.