Normal weight changes before/during/and after breeding time?

[Billy305]

This is out first year pairing our ball pythons and just like everything else you learn as you go and things become much more familiar each time. We are pairing 6 females this year. 3 are proven and 3 are virgins. I'm trying to understand how the weights are supposed to look as far as changing during the process.

The proven girls were slamming food all fall long and got huge. Almost double what they were in some cases. They looked big and healthy when we started pairing them. After a couple pairings they mainly stopped feeding and are building. The others were eating normally but started eating a lot after being paired but after a month or so stopped eating too. None of them are currently eating except for 1 and she just started getting paired last month.

Now my main question is what is the typical weight change between when they stop eating and up to and through the ovulation period. Obviously they are going to drop a bunch of weight when they drop eggs but what about the development. I'd imagine they couldn't gain any weight as they aren't eating. So what should it typically look like?

[Billy305]

Normal girl that hasn't eaten for months but still has lost some weight. She currently 2200 grams. She was almost 2500 when she was eating during her first pairing. She still looks decent solid



Same as the pastel



This girls is 2648 now from 2900 3 months ago. She has looser skin and shows more folds then the others. All 3 stopped eating around the same time in late December. And have been since early November/ late October.

Does any if these seems normal for girls who are between breeding and ovulating? We haven't seen any of them do it yet.

The third big girl is currently in shed too.

[Mike41793]

They all still look pretty thick to me, id say itd be safe to pair still. My girl started pounding rats once i started pairing her. She's a virgin too

[Billy305]

So do they lose a little like they did then swell back up when they ovulate

[snakesRkewl]

I'd imagine they couldn't gain any weight as they aren't eating. So what should it typically look like?

Whose females aren't eating?
My girls almost always eat right into their glow and gain weight the whole season before going off feed.
Going off feed when they start breeding? not here.

[Billy305]

Half of mine aren't. 3 months after pairing they stopped

What I'm saying is If they have been locking but not eating lately does this mean they aren't going to drop eggs

[metalhedthree]

No. For example; one of mine just dropped eggs a week ago. The last time she had eaten was 11/16/12. i weighed her in on the 24th of the same month and was 2253g. She went 4 months, now going on 5 without food, but continued to lock with the male i had assigned to her. Its not like i wasnt offering her food every week, but I wasnt freaking out. She laid 5 good eggs last week so what does that tell ya? They know their bodies better than we do. Hell, if I could get laid 5 months straight at the sacrifice of food, I would. LMAO

[Billy305]

Lol. Do you know the weight before she laid?

[Solarsoldier001]

These are all the snakes weight changes over the breeding time. They all stopped eating in November.






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[joebad976]

I don't think you will see any major weight gains because they are developing eggs or even after they ovulate. I think that is what you are asking anyways. They should kind of stay consistent in weight as they use stored reserves for the eggs that is why they go on a feeding frenzy.

I have never documented the weight and what not so I could be wrong.