New Ball Python Breeder - Needing Advice

[Slick Serpents]

Hello, first-off let me introduce myself. My name is Zac, 1'm 14 years old, and my passion is reptiles. I am now able to pursue my dream to be able to breed these beautiful creatures. I have typed up a sort of "manual" to breeding BP's. The information on here is gathered from many sources and put into my own preferences. I was hoping that the people who read this will put their comments, suggestions, and helpful notes below. Thanks Guise!!

Before the season begins:
The males should be approx 600 grams.
The females should be AT LEAST 1500 grams.
Temperatures:
Begin lowering cage temperatures on the first Saturday of November. This will last until the last Sunday of March.
The normal day time temperatures will be 78 – 80 F.
The night time temperature will be 75 – 77F.
Heater tape is off. Let this cycle happen for 14 days before introducing males.
In breeding:
After 14 days, introduce the male into the female’s enclosure.
Leave the male in her tub for 3 days.
Then take the male out for 2 days to rest and offer food.
Then reintroduce and repeat the cycle until no interest is shown or you see ovulation.
Ovulation only happens for a few days, so watch carefully. When you see her ovulate, she will be unusually large ¾ of the way down her body. Stop introducing the male at this point.

After she ovulates, she will shed after around fifteen days. When this happens, record the date. This date can be used to determine the day she lays eggs.
She should lay eggs within 25-35 days.




Preparing for the clutch:
Incubator should be at 88 – 90 F
The egg box should be a plastic shoe box container like the one used for tubs with a lid.
Drill two hole on both sides of the box.
The substrate should be a 1/1 ratio of water/vermiculite by weight.
Place 2 inches of substrate in the box.
Place a thermometer and hydrometer in the box and place the box in the incubator.
The temperatures should be roughly 89F with a humidity of 90-95%.
Over the next 25-35 days you will see the lower portion of the female’s body grow. After this time she will lay an average of 4 – 8 eggs.

The clutch is here:
Remove the clutch from the female by slowing unraveling her and placing her into a temporary tub.
If you can, take the eggs individually and place them into the egg box. Make sure not to roll them or turn them over.
If you cannot take them individually then place the entire clutch as a unit into the egg box.
Place the egg box in the incubator. The incubation period is approx 58 days. During this time open the incubator daily to allow fresh air in. Make sure your temperature is approximately 89F and your humidity is in the 90 – 95F range.
Somewhere around the 58^th day you will notice the ball python begin to cut the egg with their egg tooth. Do not try and handle the newborn snakes. They will need a day or two to absorb the egg yolk.
They will completely exit the egg after they have absorbed the yolk. At this time you can remove them, wash them with slightly warm water, and place them into their enclosure.

[hondo1967]

sounds good

[RoseyReps]

I have not bred yet, so take this with a grain of salt and hopefully some breeders can chime in. I've never heard you should open the incubator that often. I was under the impression, that you basically leave them be as much as possible. It seems like opening the bator that frequently might cause temperatures to fluctuate a good bit. I've read quite a few people who don't open the bator / tubs at all in the first 30 days. If you're set on this though, I would suggest having water bottles (filled) in your incubator to help maintain a steady temp / bring the temps back up quickly.

Also, you mention putting 2 holes on each end of the tub. Now, IMO that would vary highly depending on your locations normal humidity. I think a better approach may be to test run an egg box with humidity gage. Starting with no holes, and only adding 1 hole at a time until you reach you ideal 90-95%. You would be surprised how much humidity escapes with zero holes when you're not using press and seal on the tub in addition to the lid.

One last thing, after the babies are out they should be on a wet paper towel substrate until after their first shed. Then is the time most separate them and feed their first meals.

It's very well written, and I commend you on your research and thoroughness! I'm sure you are well aware, but just in case, I'm going to do the mom thing and remind you: before you start pairing, make sure you have adequate accommodations for the babies.

Good luck! It looks like you have a great start

[RobNJ]

My suggestion(and not meant to be offensive whatsoever) would be to breed for few years, reread your manual, and see how well you've stuck to it. For every "right" way to do things, there is another equally fine way. I'm only into my 4th year breeding, and my approach has changed drastically from year one to now, with no noticeable change in end result...and 3-4 years from now, it may very well be different than what I'm doing this year.

[Wapadi]

You might want to change the line about how big a female HAS to be before being bred. A lot of people forget about the age factor as well...I personally have 2 different female that were 4 yrs old and didnt break the 1000g mark till AFTER their second clutches. They both laid 4 eggs and are absolutely fine. All 15 eggs (both years) hatch perfect babies.

[CoolioTiffany]

You will not have to open the egg box daily, it is best to leave them be. The more you open the egg box, the more humidity that escapes

[1nstinct]

If it works for you great but remember there are 1000's of people breeding ball pythons and everyone does something a little different. Some do not cool down, some use maternal incubation, some use substrateless method egg boxes, etc. there is no one way to breed ball pythons.
Also shutting the heat tape off depends on your room temp. If you live somewhere the room is not heated and can drop down past 65 degrees it would not be a wise decision to have the heat tape off.