This is a topic that I see come up over and over and I fell a little like it’s one of those internet rumours that get repeated and repeated until it eventually becomes “fact”. I can’t say that it isn’t true, but I‘ve never see it verified with hard empirical data either. I’m curious is there some study out there that has attempted to control all the potential variables while tracking the long term health of really any snake, or reptile for that matter that has been “subjected” to “early breeding”. I do agree that $ has been the primary motivation to breed animals at increasingly lower breeding weights and to many this is seen as bad for the animals health and therefore obviously as irresponsible. But I have yet to see anything more than people’s opinions posted anywhere on the subject. Although on one hand the logic makes sense that an older more mature female with a higher body mass would be a more ideal candidate for the stress of reproduction. She would most likely be able to produce more eggs and recover more rapidly. But on the other hand once a female reaches sexual maturity and is able to reproduce in the wild she would most likely accept an available male and providing she had sufficient stores would produce and incubate a clutch of eggs.