True or false egg question

[Scirlygirl]

So I've heard that if you hold back a sexually mature female a couple years before breeding, the snake being 4+ years old and never bred, That she will produce a large clutch. And that if you start them young then they will always have a small clutch for the rest of their lives. I don't remember where I heard this, either on this forum or another one. Coming from you experienced breeders, is that true? Doesn't sound like it makes sense because I would think clutch size depends on the females size and age.


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[Jt balls]

In my opinion u r correct in what u say. Its about weight. A larger female will tend to lay bigger clutches. Female that start to breed at 1200gs will lay a small clutch and consequentially will b smaller the following season than they would have been if they wasn't breed. If a female takes a year off to catch up the clutch size and viability will improve considerably. I am by no means a pro breeder but Hope this helps.


Joe Tully

[kylearmbar]

So I've heard that if you hold back a sexually mature female a couple years before breeding, the snake being 4+ years old and never bred, That she will produce a large clutch. And that if you start them young then they will always have a small clutch for the rest of their lives. I don't remember where I heard this, either on this forum or another one. Coming from you experienced breeders, is that true? Doesn't sound like it makes sense because I would think clutch size depends on the females size and age.


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What they are referring to is when you breed a female to small, if you do so she may always lay smaller clutches. They say 1500 grams, but not skinny, slightly smaller is usually fine if the girl is older then say 3+ years

[Scirlygirl]

Ah, okay, thanks for the inputs guys I have a 4,000 gram female about 5 or 6 years and has never been bred, and that reminded me to ask about the egg question. So it's probably likely that she will have a larger clutch and continue to have one as long as her weight is good right?


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[coldbloodaddict]

False.

[John1982]

So I've heard that if you hold back a sexually mature female a couple years before breeding, the snake being 4+ years old and never bred, That she will produce a large clutch. And that if you start them young then they will always have a small clutch for the rest of their lives. I don't remember where I heard this, either on this forum or another one. Coming from you experienced breeders, is that true? Doesn't sound like it makes sense because I would think clutch size depends on the females size and age.


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I would say it's false.

Here are my results from a 2008 female pastel that I started breeding in late 2010:

In late 2010 she was a virgin right at 1200g when I began pairing, she laid her first clutch of 5 eggs in 2011. She got back up to size and I began pairing again in late 2011, laid a clutch of 7 eggs in 2012. She got back up to size and I began pairing again in late 2012, dropped a clutch of 6 eggs in 2013. She did not add additional size between the 2012 and 2013 seasons so I figured she was pretty much maxed out at ~1800g and would hence forth be a 6-7 clutch layer for me. Then this season(2013/2014) she really exploded in size and is now over 3000g and building. Even though this girl has been bred and laid 100% perfect clutches(no slugs, no reabsorbs) every year since she was 1200g she has continued to grow and, for at least for 2 out of 3 seasons, put on additional size in the off season. I'm expecting this next clutch to be her largest yet and will update when they're on the ground.

To make it more comparable:

Female was smallest in 2011, laid 5 eggs.
Female was larger in 2012, laid 7 eggs.
Female roughly same size in 2013, laid 6 eggs.
Female MUCH larger in 2014, impending clutch.

[Scirlygirl]

I would say it's false.

Here are my results from a 2008 female pastel that I started breeding in late 2010:

In late 2010 she was a virgin right at 1200g when I began pairing, she laid her first clutch of 5 eggs in 2011. She got back up to size and I began pairing again in late 2011, laid a clutch of 7 eggs in 2012. She got back up to size and I began pairing again in late 2012, dropped a clutch of 6 eggs in 2013. She did not add additional size between the 2012 and 2013 seasons so I figured she was pretty much maxed out at ~1800g and would hence forth be a 6-7 clutch layer for me. Then this season(2013/2014) she really exploded in size and is now over 3000g and building. Even though this girl has been bred and laid 100% perfect clutches(no slugs, no reabsorbs) every year since she was 1200g she has continued to grow and, for at least for 2 out of 3 seasons, put on additional size in the off season. I'm expecting this next clutch to be her largest yet and will update when they're on the ground.

To make it more comparable:

Female was smallest in 2011, laid 5 eggs.
Female was larger in 2012, laid 7 eggs.
Female roughly same size in 2013, laid 6 eggs.
Female MUCH larger in 2014, impending clutch.

Thank you for the details! So happy to know that they won't permanently lay small clutches if you breed them early! You must keep me updated on your females next clutch size, very curious


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[Slim]

My answer is B) False. Final answer...

[satomi325]

False.

Each female is different. Not all females will get huge and will stay small their entire lives regardless of breeding young or not, just like humans.


And determining a breeding candidate isn't just about weight. Its a combination of maturity, body condition, and size.
Some girls are small, but have a healthy and good body condition.
For example, I would rather breed a short chunky 1200g girl than a long skinny 1800g female of the same age. That 1200g girl has the better body condition and fat reserves to endure the breeding cycle.