繁殖哥伦比亚红尾蚺(四)

PARTURITION  

分娩 

    Most boa breeders produce their babies in June and July. However, because I take advantage of the “window of opportunity” method my babies are born over a greater period of time. Although most of my litters are born from March through June, I have produced Colombian boas in very month except September and November. Female boas, maintained as I have described, will give birth on average 105 days after the “post ovulation shed” or 123 days after the final ovulation, give or take about 5 days.

    多数繁殖者的母蛇是在6-7月开始分娩。由于我使用“window of opportunity”方法,除了9月和11月外,其他月份都有雌性蛇生产,比较集中在3-6月。母蛇在“排卵后蜕皮”的105天-123天左右开始分娩,误差大概是5天。

    A gravid female will begin to be restless 1-7 days before giving birth. She will cruise all over her cage looking for the best place to deposit her young. You may observe her moving constantly over a period of days. However, don’t be alarmed, as this it normal. The thick body mass, often appcars to move down slightly in the last week or so. Parturition, usually but not always, occurs in the nighttime hours on a day when there is a drop in the barometric pressure. Rain or some precipitation usually accompanies this pressure drop. It is possible, that in the wild, rain may help cover of wash away the odor associated with the birth of the young. This “cleaning up” may make the newborns less likely to become a meal for some other animal immediately after birth. There is a subtle but distinct odor of newborns, or probably the fluids associated with their birth, which I can attest that I have smelled many times before actually finding the newly deposited young.

    临分娩前1-7天母蛇会显得不安。走遍整个饲养箱以确定一个最适合进行分娩的地方。母蛇几乎整天都在移动,你不需要担心,这是正常现象。分娩大多数发生在气压下降的日子,通常下雨或下雪的时候就会出现气压降低。根据推测,母蛇之所以选择雨天分娩,是未了利用雨水冲洗掉刚出生小蛇身上的血迹和气味,防止野外其他的食肉动物根据地上的气味追捕小蛇。刚分娩出来的小蛇身上的味道确实是很特别的。

    My females usually deliver deliver their young under the 10-15 layers of newspaper I typically use a substrate. When the female finds the best place to give birth she will stretch out as much as possible along one wall of the cage, usually at the cooler end. Her body will become extremely tense and form a series of tight subtle “s” curves. She will begin contractions gradually and deliberately, delivering her young. The neonates may come out in bunches or singly, in the membrane or out. I have found that boas born slightly on the early end of the possible gestation period are more likely to still be inside the relatively tough sack, usually with huge bellies full of yolk or a yolk sack still remaining on the outside of the neonate itself. Babies born at the tail end of the possible gestation period are more likely to have absorbed all of their yolk and will came out of the female already out of the sack.

    我的母蛇通常钻到10张厚度的报纸下面进行分娩。她会在自己认为最适合的角落尽量伸展身体,通常是在较凉的一边。身体绷紧并形成S形曲线并逐渐开始收缩分娩。小蛇可以是一条一条的被分娩出来,也可能是几条同时分娩,体外可能包裹着粘膜。稍微有点早产的幼蛇可能腹部还带有一些卵黄,而正常发育分娩的幼蛇则多数卵黄已经吸收完毕。

    The birthing process can be completed in as 10 minutes or may take 6 hours or even longer. Generally the higher the baby to slug ratio, the faster the whole process takes place. Baby boas are born with a lot of a albumen or birth fluid as opposed to slugs, which are quite sticky and much more difficult to pass. An average 6’ female should have about 25 neonates. She will have lost between 10-40% of her prebreeding weight. After parturition the female will be very tired, In spite of this she will often viciously defend her young even if she had previously quite docile. Sometimes the female will, after delivering her young, take a short rest of 15 minute or so before assisting her babies to disperse. Different females seem to have different ways of accomplishing this. Some will slide and crawl right through the mass of babies, pushing them around with their sides, being very careful not to crush and of them. Others will plow through the mass of babies with their heads making quit a mess of themselves. Yet other females seem to be content to just look over their babies taste/smelling them with their tongues. Observing these behaviors, if you can tdo so without the female being aware of your presence, is one of your presence, is one of the most rewarding and fascinating parts of being a herpetoculturist.

    分娩过程一般持续10分钟—6小时。如果幼体在母蛇体内发育正常的话,分娩过程一般都是很快的。如果小蛇发育还没有完全,或者还有很多未受精卵,是比较难到达繁殖孔的,那么分娩的时间就比较长。一般6英寸的母蛇可以生下25条小红尾蟒。她会消耗掉怀孕时的10-40%的体重。分娩后,母蛇会非常疲惫,但是仍会很奋勇地保护小蛇。有时候母蛇分娩后要小休一下,然后开始帮助小蛇脱离粘膜。