Pacific Boa Constrictor Snakes (Candoia bibroni bibroni)

Just to show you where my snakes come from: we have Taveuni, Kadavu and Viti Levu snakes. See how different they are in the post below

I've mostly been posting about Thomasina lately because she may be pregnant, but I thought it was time to give the others some attention. It's the end of summer here, and they are eating like machines. Currently they are taking frozen (thawed) geckos and chicken portions every week. In winter they sometimes won't eat for a month or longer, but right now they are slamming it down and getting fat! They are also shedding their skins every 2.5 or 3 months, and putting on both length and weight. First, the original trio from Taveuni Island, two males and a female born in captivity in late 2006. One of these is (hopefully) the father of Thomasina's babies.... The Taveuni snakes have a very diamond shaped back pattern (Thomasina is from Taveuni too) , a lot like the Solomon Island Boas. These three are similar colours, but all can be very changeable. At the moment they all seem to want to be dark brown, but they are capable of changing to pale pink at times. They're about...

Well, Thomasina continues to grow wider and wider, and now I am finally beginning to hope. It's over 5 months since she was originally mated to Rifraf, and as the normal gestation period for this species is quoted as 7-9 months, we may have baby Fiji Boas anytime between mid May and mid August. Last time this snake gave birth she had somewhere between 20 and 30 live babies, so although there are no guarantees, I look forward to a busy time ahead! Here are a few snaps taken as I cleaned her tank - she is pretty grouchy at the moment, so I am minimising the amount of handling she gets, and trying not to flash the camera in her face too much, but it's pretty clear how thick her body now is, and how the scales on her sides are stretched apart. These photos were taken 4 days after her last feed and after she had defecated the night before, so it can't ALL be food.... Stretched scales on her side

It's now 4 months since Thomasina was mated to Rifraf (and still he hasn't called....) but I'm still not sure whether she's gravid (pregnant) or just putting on weight. She has a very hearty appetite and eats at least weekly, so she's quite likely to be just a little hefty, but she does feel very firm when handled. Here are a few pics - see if you can work it out! October 2009, the blushing bride before mating January 2010, 2 month after separation February 2010, 3 months after separation Early March 2010, 3.5 months after separation Late March 2010, 4 months after separation (and just fed) And here is Lilith - a smaller female, unmated, also having just fed, for comparison. Any opinions can be left in comments - guess we'll know for sure about June or July.

A beautiful large female Fiji Boa was brought in to Nature Fiji, a local nature conservation society, rescued from a development site in the forests of Viti Levu Island (the main island of Fiji). We photographed her, checked that she had not been hurt in the capture (she hadn't, so kudos to those who picked her up), and (I have to admit with considerable reluctance on my part and very active encouragement on Stuart's part) released her into another forested area not currently threatened by development. She is VERY dark, almost black in her main patterns, and has the black belly stripe we are starting to see is a characteristic of the Viti Levu Island snakes. She was also quite fat, so may have just eaten or may be about to give birth - either way we hope she (and her offspring) will do well in their new undisturbed home!

Santa brought 5 new additions! Our friend Peter had to leave Fiji, and as you cannot export these endemic species, has passed his group along to me. We now have 2 large females (from Kadavu Island), 3 small males (from Viti Levu Island) and our original group of 2 small males and 1 small female (from Taveuni Island). Plus our extended family (with other enthusiasts) has another small male from Viti Levu, and a large female from Taveuni, so we have a pretty interesting group forming. Although this is still a small sample, I am seeing different patterns from the three different islands, and I'm going to start recording and photographing this. For the moment here are a few snaps: Our original males from Taveuni (Zigzag and diamond back patterns and speckled bellies) New males from Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji(Blotchy back patterns and a black belly stripe) New females from Kadavu (Blotchy back patterns and plain or speckled bellies)