Gearing up for first breed..

[SnakeBalls]

Wow, this is a touchy topic on the internet and with local rat breeders!

I have a 6 month old ball python, named Ulfric. He is a Yellow belly male, beautiful black, browns, and yellows! Close to 2ft, unsure of his weight at this time. ( I don't have a decent scale yet, I know, I know )

I know my snake collection will grow in time and the highest quality food is my goal for any of my animals (You should see my monthly dog food bill!!), so the time to hone my rat breeding skills is now!

I plan on starting with 2 females and a male of good lineage. I will be getting my buck from a seperate breeder as the does, to elimate the chance of inbred issues. I have quite an inquisitive mind, so all work will be carefully logged and kept in a journal.

I am looking for some feedback on the route I have purposed from the more experienced breeder. My plan, is to get a medium sized rubbermaid container with 3 smaller containers (Momma 1 & 2, with an estate for dad) inside. The tops of the main container and the 3 smaller will be cut and replaced with a wire mesh. My 3 small containers will also have an opening for the rats to come and go. For water I will be using hanging bottles. I have looked into the more eleborate watering systems and while tempting, for what I want to do at this stage, I feel is not practicle. The smaller containers will have some kind of rodent bedding, while I will be using recycled paper for the bottom of the main container. I plan on having 2 exercise wheels of proper sizing, to avoid skeletal deformaties.

I had a few querstions pertaining to this setup. Should my male be kept away completely from the females until the 2 week breeding period? Will my mommas figure out that they each have their own nesting area or will I need to segregate? Would it be better to have 3 seperate containers with no main container?

Quality is the goal over quantity, diet and exercise of my breeders will be my main focus. If I should run out of feed, I can always make trips to the ma&pa pet store to suppliment inbetween litters. I plan on keeping the breeders in rotation for a year and a half then retiring them to the craigslist adoptions page.

As I only have one snake at the moment, I had planned on feeding at the pinkies and hoppers stage. When Ulfric is bigger I will be using co2 and my freezer when the size is right.

Thoughs, questions, critisism?

I am in Vancouver, WA. Anyone know of breeders in the area? I'm not going to lie about what the rats will be used for.. but I won't be bringing it up either unless asked

[artgecko]

Rats are social and if you do choose to separate out the male, then you will need a male "buddy" to put with him. A lot of people that do this have a tub for males and a separate tub for females, then tubs for "grow outs" and smaller "birthing" tubs to put females in right before they have babies. Other people house a male and females together all the time but this can be harder since females can get pregnant right after birthing and this taxes their system. If keeping the babies until older, you will need 2 grow out tubs, (m/f) as they can breed at 5 weeks of age. I use bins with some of my rats and I put hardware cloth on the top and 2 of the sides. This really helps keep ammonia down (having it on the sides). and allows you to hang a water bottle normally and gives them more climbing space.

If you are keeping just one snake, bulk ordering f/t from a good dealer might be a better option for you... I use big cheese and perfect prey and order several months worth of feeders at once, it is much cheaper than buying from a store and the quality has always been good for me.

If you are open to trying that but might still want to have the rats, maybe keep them as "pets" for a while and get a handle on how much upkeep / work they are... Then you can decide if you want to breed your own.