First season breeding balls and though I've been watching breeding threads for awhile, I never understood why everyone always seemed to be going nuts over the signs they were seeing. With corns, I always let them do their thing, never worrying. For the most part, I did the same with the balls. It started with trying to palpate for follicles and I thought I felt 3 in my pastave girl. Ok, that was going to be it. Next, I watched her build up so I kept palpating for follicles. They were getting larger and now, I could feel 5 (3 a bit larger than the other 2). Somewhere in here, I found the BP Breeding Chart which goes over the follicle sizes, days between sheds, heat seeking, cool seeking, etc. Just for kicks, I started to track things and when I thought I saw her ovulate, I marked when she should shed (thinking it wouldn't actually happen on that timetable) and lay. She went blue the day of the pre-lay shed marked on my trusty calendar, moved from cold to hot side within 2 days of that, and has been laying partially inverted and I can feel golfball size lumps (5 of them). Pretty sure that this is the reason ball python breeders go crazy the first few seasons and though it hasn't fully taken hold yet, it won't surprise me if it does by the end of next season...