noob question (as if u dont get enough already!)

[dprballs]

Right ive got two female normals, 1 proven (2kg) 1 un proven (1.4kg). My plan was to breed em next year and acquire a male and poss a few more multi gene specimens also.I got the normals so i have a greater chance of hatching something in my first year(next year i was planning). Now ive only just got these last week (earlier than expected had a deal to good to turn down) so i was gonna keep them and slowly build my collection next year ready for the winter.

Trouble is now ive got the females, im looking at the calendar and thinking theres time to go this year. Found a guy whos splitting with his mrs and needs to sell asap so i can get a male 600g spider het pied for a good price.

Assuming i quarantine them for 3 months i could still pair in december. Obviously this is dependant on them settling in OK but what do you guy think? BTW ive only read up on husbandy so far so if any of my breeding plans are ridiculous please dont assume im just some idiot who cant be bothered to research and point me in the right direction. i Really want to get some experience under my belt this year ready for next year when ill have some more exciting/expensive animals

I have the ECO complete ball python book arriving in the post tomorow (im in the uk and the VPI books a nihtmare to get over here) and i will be reading that extensively the next two days to get up to speed on the breeding side of things just want to know i this is viable.

[Flikky]

Breeding in captivity really doesn't need to follow a season. Some people drop their temps, others don't. I don't have any personal experience with breeding but this is just what I've seen on here so I wouldn't worry about having them ready by December

[Kaorte]

I think that sounds fine. I'm starting my first season now with my virgin 4 year old girls.

Just make sure you have your incubator ready to go and space for the babies!

Sounds like you have been doing some homework. Even if you start pairing now, eggs are at least 4 months away. You have lots of time to read and get acquainted with the process. Asking questions is also good!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

I think that sounds fine. I'm starting my first season now with my virgin 4 year old girls.

Just make sure you have your incubator ready to go and space for the babies!

Sounds like you have been doing some homework. Even if you start pairing now, eggs are at least 4 months away. You have lots of time to read and get acquainted with the process. Asking questions is also good!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Exactly!!!

Just quarantine and then be SURE you have an incubator, proper egg boxes already set up, and either a baby rack, or plenty of small tubs available in your own rack for each of the babies..

Just be prepared for everything and everything will be ok!

[dprballs]

I think that sounds fine. I'm starting my first season now with my virgin 4 year old girls.

Just make sure you have your incubator ready to go and space for the babies!

Sounds like you have been doing some homework. Even if you start pairing now, eggs are at least 4 months away. You have lots of time to read and get acquainted with the process. Asking questions is also good!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Wow. this seems lk a gr8 place! if u seen the forum i post on in the uk ud understand the tone of my post... the people there are just waiting to pounce on you if you have the slightest bit of info wrong!! They expect you to know EVERYTHING before you even contemplate owning a snake haha. Ill defo be sticking round here Obviously i do my homework but theres only so much u can learn from a book/ the internet so im keen to get some real world experience under my belt before inveesting loadsa ££££ in snakes and then being super paranoid about all the potentially valuable eggs. Also i have literally no one i know in the real world to turn to if i have problems. (im not some weird loner btw jus none of my buddys keep snakes ha!)

- - - Updated - - -

Exactly!!!

Just quarantine and then be SURE you have an incubator, proper egg boxes already set up, and either a baby rack, or plenty of small tubs available in your own rack for each of the babies..

Just be prepared for everything and everything will be ok!

Thanks for the help....another noob question. currnently i have a GTP (my first snake), did my homework so have had not 1 missed feed (apart from when in shed) / bad shed and no other problems in 2 years) and a Dwarf Boa. they are currently housed in different rooms so quarantine was never an issue.

Whats the deal with it. obviously ive heard it talked about on the net but never really paid much attention. Do i just seperate the snakes for 3 months and as long as they are not exhibiting any signs of illness assume they are ok?or do i get them vet checked??

thanks so much fr ur replies btw

[Kaorte]

Vet check isn't a bad idea. I generally get my snakes from reputable breeders, but I still keep them apart from my established collection until I've determined that they don't have something obviously wrong with them. I'm looking for mites, RI's, infection, scale rot, mouth rot. Those sorts of things. If they eat weekly, shed and poop like they should over the period of 2 months or so, I take them out of QT.

The idea is to keep them away from your established snakes so you don't spread any unknown diseases between the two. Sticking to getting snakes from reputable sources will greatly reduce, but not eliminate the risk. That is why QT is necessary. You never know what the snake could pick up at a show either.

Some people have stricter QT proceeders including a completely separate facility for their QT animals. I can not afford such luxury at this time
There is a sticky somewhere here that talks all about the QT procedures.

[dprballs]

Vet check isn't a bad idea. I generally get my snakes from reputable breeders, but I still keep them apart from my established collection until I've determined that they don't have something obviously wrong with them. I'm looking for mites, RI's, infection, scale rot, mouth rot. Those sorts of things. If they eat weekly, shed and poop like they should over the period of 2 months or so, I take them out of QT.

The idea is to keep them away from your established snakes so you don't spread any unknown diseases between the two. Sticking to getting snakes from reputable sources will greatly reduce, but not eliminate the risk. That is why QT is necessary. You never know what the snake could pick up at a show either.

Some people have stricter QT proceeders including a completely separate facility for their QT animals. I can not afford such luxury at this time
There is a sticky somewhere here that talks all about the QT procedures.

Thanks a lot ill be sure to check the sticky tomorrow. (its 3am here now so im off to bed) . As it happens the two royals iv bought have been purchased from a practising vet so they are in prime condition as you'd expect. Im hoping to collect the Spider in the next couple of days and this guys seems quite an established breeder athough i shall do some more digging on him tomorrow and see how reputable he really is.

Thanks again guys,
Dai

[BFE Pets]

First: glad to have ya here. Second: congrats on the pick ups. Third: noone is perfect and I'd like to think this forum understands that better than most. So glad you like it here. I'm pretty new on this site but really like the members here. Best for bp's on the net imo.

[DooLittle]

Welcome, glad to have you aboard! Here is the qt sticky-

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?p=867421

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[dprballs]

Thanks a lot guys this seems a great place, with great people. Im shocked no ones shot me down for not doing research. The uk forum i use is terrible for it, im usually afraid to ask anything there !! ill read that sticky now (and any others i can find) and have a good nose around. TBH last night i had done so much reading and was so tired i was just looking for a big ball python forum so i could ask my original question. If id have asked on my usual UK forum(not sure if i can mention the name here as i havent read the rules yet - ill get on the case now ) id have been shot down for rushing into things and not researching, by all the resident 'internet experts' there. this place is so refreshing so glad i found it!! Keep up the good work guys