Can I do it?

[MorphMaster]

Well, I now know for sure that I will be breeding for next season. My question is do I actually know how to do everything right? I currently have a hot spot on a thermostat set at 94, they seem to like that. So, starting in October, I drop the hot spot to 84 at night, back up to regular during the day. From beginning of the season to the end I feed the female properly sized meals every 5 days. Male I'm gonna stay at 7 because he's only breeding one female and about every 3 weeks. Raise temps back to the regular 94 in February. I'm guessing continue to pair until ovulation? Incubate eggs at 89 for approx. 60 days and wella. Does that sound right? I have a lot of people doubting me and saying I'll never be able to sell anything or breed anything.

[Andybill]

I will be breeding for the first time this coming season too but I refer to this forum a lot and pay close attention to everthing that experienced breeders are doing.... I also use this as a reference too:

http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html

[1nstinct]

this is what i plan on using http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html
let people doubt you all they want, i wanted to get a male bd to breed to my female, gf said don't bother, "you will not be able to sell the babies" she said. Sure enough i got 6 phone calls and 3 emails from people i use to go to hs with wondering if i have any bd for sale(they remembered i breed them while i was in high school). and boy did it feel good to rub it in her face. to bad i didn't have any for sale tho.

[MorphMaster]

I use that too!!! I'm just going with what the snakes like for a hotspot now, and am gonna drop 10 degrees

[EAC Reptiles]

Don't listen to other people. If you want to do it then you will.

I will say there is no one way to breed balls. What you mentioned is all good stuff. Each breeder has their own way of doing things and I'm sure many people have had success on that formula.

The advice I will give you is: follow your current plan and document everything, and I mean everything. Go through your season and see what you results are. Next season try tweaking it and so on. Soon you will be telling others how to properly breed snakes (even though there is no one way to do it)

Best of luck with everything.

[MorphMaster]

Thanks everyone. Ive been studying all about ball pythons for 2 years now!!! I'm a wiz kid at the stuff, yes I'm only 14. I just haven't done it yet and I know that males can be really shy (especially in their first season) and I have a lot of people saying I'm wasting my time and my money. I really want to do it right and be successful.

[joebad976]

Don't listen to other people. If you want to do it then you will.

I will say there is no one way to breed balls. What you mentioned is all good stuff. Each breeder has their own way of doing things and I'm sure many people have had success on that formula.

The advice I will give you is: follow your current plan and document everything, and I mean everything. Go through your season and see what you results are. Next season try tweaking it and so on. Soon you will be telling others how to properly breed snakes (even though there is no one way to do it)

Best of luck with everything.

I couldn't agree more with this response. This is my second year and I have used a combination of breeding methods from various breeders to generate one that works for me in my environment. Good Luck

[brobertson]

Thanks everyone. Ive been studying all about ball pythons for 2 years now!!! I'm a wiz kid at the stuff, yes I'm only 14. I just haven't done it yet and I know that males can be really shy (especially in their first season) and I have a lot of people saying I'm wasting my time and my money. I really want to do it right and be successful.

Definitely keep everybody posted on how this venture works out! I'm 14 too, and looking to start breeding in a year or two. Seeing some success from others my age would be very encouraging. If you don't mind, how did you get your parents on board with the idea? My parents are still not sure about me breeding snakes. Best of luck in the coming years, I hope you hatch out some awesome stuff!

[mues155]

I also used http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html as a guide line for my first year breeding.
It worked very well for me.
As a beginner, breeding can be intimidating but let me assure you if you have a passion for it then thats all you need. Theres a lot to learn and you will make mistakes, I guarantee that, but you will quickly learn from them.

Do you think any of the big guys in breeding (Ralph Davis, Kevin McCurley etc.) didnt get any discouragment and criticism from people when they started out? I bet they did. But they stuck with something they loved and now they are a huge success and an asset to the herp community.

I will say that bps do sell quite well and you can find homes for them.
Don't listen to anyone that tries to talk you out of something you have an ambition for, that goes for anything in your life.
Breeding bps is VERY rewarding!
Good luck with your future in breeding!

[MorphMaster]

They aren't necessarily on board, but I'm really smart. I'm supposed to be a lawyer with the talents I have and they say it'd be a waist to the world to not go out and cure cancer and what not. I'm a wiz kid though (not to sound narcissistic), but they can't vilipend my intelligence. I recently go yelled at for taking over the house with them, but truth is, I only have 7 in one rack so... Not much space is being taken up. Originally how I got my first was I bought a albino and het. Albino pair (will be my first breeders), and warmed them up with them. Then a year or so later I got 5 more. Show them that you love doing it, and you won't be a forgetful little punk and quit taking care of them. I have a huge passion and that keeps me going through the cleaning and picky feeders. All breeders have 1 ultimate goal... BABY SNAKES!!!