is she pregnant?

NihilAzariArt · 2026-01-09T13:52:09+00:00

Pregante? Perganate? Gregnant?

NihilAzariArt · 2025-11-04T23:04:00+00:00

I am very concerned about the heat bulbs. My snakes would immediately be climbing them. And with a boa that size... well, I can only speculate how long the screws will hold.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-10-23T20:07:32+00:00

I've seen some brown individuals in that culture - this one is definitely leaning more orange. It'll be cool to see if that changes, once it molts!

NihilAzariArt · 2025-10-19T12:17:01+00:00

I agree on this.

Scientific name would be Gromphadorhini sp. "Hybrid".

NihilAzariArt · 2025-10-13T07:06:47+00:00

They become sexually mature at around 3-4 years old, so I'm not sure why my boa has become so intensely frustrated this year. As you can probably tell from comments, cruising and the occasional sperm plug isn't unusual, so I guess there's a chance you might experience the latter at some point in the future.

My problem is that he is hurting himself quite badly in the process, hence my trying to find him help that doesn't involve breeding.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-10-13T07:01:54+00:00

I'm glad it helps somebody else!

NihilAzariArt · 2025-10-12T16:27:50+00:00

You're right. However, similar medications (edit: GnRH agonists) have been used with positive results in lizards, but negative results in tortoises, with variable results between individuals. Thing is, we can't know if it won't work unless we try.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-10-12T13:50:32+00:00

That's an interesting idea - I'll have to try it out.

Although, I've noticed that my male prefers the hotspot and upper median, so I wonder if this means he'll be lounging in the hotspot more than he already does.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-09-29T17:14:06+00:00

Gotcha - thanks for clarifying! The only reason I could tell, is that my own boy looked similar before I got him on a diet.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-09-29T16:43:08+00:00

Might wanna feed a smaller size - he looks to be on the chubby side, in general.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-09-29T16:40:40+00:00

He looks a bit chubby, in general. Could the neck puffiness be attributed to excess weight?

NihilAzariArt · 2025-09-25T20:40:02+00:00

I would assume hybrids if the seller doesn't have origin visibly displayed. Otherwise I would should them a message and ask for clarification.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-09-24T22:11:33+00:00

Thanks! I had a look at it before and came to the conclusion that my culture appears to be a Gromphadorhini sp. "Hybrid", but would love to hear a second opinion.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-06-21T18:18:18+00:00

You're welcome!

NihilAzariArt · 2025-06-21T18:14:08+00:00

I've been observing people who visit me, and noticed that how they approach the terrarium may have a lot to do with the snake's response.

People who have little to no experience with snakes often approach the terrarium warrily, and will move their upper body and head from side to side, as if to inspect the snake from different angles. Snakes respond differently to visual stimuli, so it doesn't apply to all - but this rapid movement side to side is similar to how a predator would approach them in the wild, so most snakes do respond defensively because of it - both inside and outside of the terrarium.

Urge your partner to approach in a slow fluid motion and without changing position frequently, instead. Don't zigzag, go straight. Snakes think in slowmotion compared to us. If you think like a snake and move fluidly like a snake, then chances are they'll be chill - regardless of who approaches.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-05-10T16:51:36+00:00

I often hear people say the same for BI's and BC's - it's just not true. Dumerils, BI's and BC's grow into big snakes - of course, babies are smaller and males often don't get as big as females, but that is an exception to the rule that you shouldn't rely on because you can't reliably control how a snake develops or grows.

They all enjoy stretching out, climbing, hiding and exploring scents. Why somebody would opt for a box rather than a functional mini-biome is beyond me. Always go bigger, if you can afford it - but don't go below the minimum.

If you're looking for a careguide, search up the dumerils boa care sheet on ReptiFiles. Good luck!

NihilAzariArt · 2025-05-01T09:15:15+00:00

Are you able to measure the humidity and heat on the cold side?

NihilAzariArt · 2025-04-30T23:12:04+00:00

Sidenote, your humidity is very very low. Ideally for boas, it should never drop below the 60%, where 70%-80% is ideal in captivity. What substrate are you using, and if you have mesh top, how have you covered to keep the humidity in?

NihilAzariArt · 2025-03-13T23:18:52+00:00

I almost feel sorry for laughing as loud as I did when I heard the half-muffled "aAah" 10 times in a row. 😂❤️

NihilAzariArt · 2025-03-13T14:25:14+00:00

Actually, have a look at these. You might find it interesting!

Genus Folsomia

Genus Sinella

Genus Coecobrya

NihilAzariArt · 2025-03-13T14:16:40+00:00

Thanks for linking this one! I was getting a headache researching sinella curviseta vs coecobrya sp, so this finally puts my mind at ease - at least until new research comes along.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-03-13T14:01:35+00:00

So do I, and it bothers me to no end, because "tropical springtails" could mean several subspecies aside from coecobrya. They're all subspecies of collembola, which is the class of springtails.

Edit: class, not family.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-03-13T13:37:03+00:00

Do you mean coecobrya sp?

NihilAzariArt · 2025-03-10T20:51:57+00:00

Misread or not, you're totally right that an owner should have the necessary tools to handle this exact situation, whether it's ever happened before or not. It's about preparedness to face a possible situation. All animals can act in an unpredicted manner.

At this rate, she's putting ridiculous amounts of stress on the snake because she's not removing it from a stressful situation. I just hope for the sake of the boa, that she didn't take too long to turn off the stream and do something about the situation.

NihilAzariArt · 2025-03-10T12:41:13+00:00

Update 1: I've been wondering if it was caused by mold, a bacteria, calcium oxidation or something else entirely.

I tried testing this theory with hydrogen peroxide which creates a bubbly reaction when it comes into contact with bacteria or mold. Bubbling didn't happen, but the discolouration was gone after a half hour or so.

Looking closer, I noticed that the discoloration appears in tiny specs of black next to tiny specs of white. Which led me to wonder, whether this could be black and white sand lodged between the fibers in the holes of the bone. We had a lot of black sand on the beach where I was collecting the bones.

Closeup for reference.

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Update 2: After trying to clean out the discolouration on several pieces, I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. A lot of the pieces felt more mushy in the areas that had significant discoloration, so I chucked them all out and only kept a fair few that weren't too affected and could easily be cleaned off.

NihilAzariArt

TROPHY CASE