Young male BP breeding opinions..

[Ginevive]

It seems like there are a ton of opinions out there, on the correct breeding weight and age minimums that are best for male BPs. I read somewhere that someone recommended not breeding males under a certain adult-sized weight.. well, I don't think this is true.. I have had a few reputable people tell me that breeding smaller males was fine, or have seen them post pics of theirs, some as small as 300g, getting it done..
Here's my view; I might not be a breeder who's hatched 1000 litters and done it for 50 years, but I will weigh in.. I am currently using my 550g male Pastel as a breeder. He was producing sperm plugs when I got him months ago, and was around 450-ish grams then. I let him acclimate and got him feeding, and saw no problem with using him to breed.
Now, I rotate him, letting him lockup with my female for however long he will (1-2 days.) I then put him back into his tub alone, rest him a day, feed, let him digest for two days and reintroduce him to his female. He is the picture of health, not one of those fat stuffed-sock snakes, but definately not at all thin or underweight; he is still steadily growing and gaining weight in a normal fashion.. I see no ill effects. And after a few more breedings it will all be over and he can go back to being a lazy boy and grow-on more..
As long as he's showing the interest and not refusing food or losing weight, how is this bad?

[Nate]

I think you may be right. But, i guess you'll never be 100% certain until he lives his life to the fullest. It seems like a "he said she said" game...some breeders won't breed them so young, some will. I don't see what the negative effects would be on breeding a juvy...but the way to find out for sure is through experience. Will breeding a young male result in "burn out" in later years? will it have negative or positive or no side effects?

[Adam_Wysocki]

It's very easy to kill a young/small male by over breeding it ... even if you rest it often ... if you don't have a lot of experience detecting URI's at their earliest stages, breeding young/small males might not be the greatest idea in the world ... of course many males will be fine, but I know dozens of inexperienced and experienced breeders alike that have killed very expensive animals because they did not want to wait for the animal to grow larger and stronger before breeding. Like so many aspects of ball python husbandry, it comes down to what you personally feel comfortable doing.

-adam

[Stewart_Reptiles]

It's very easy to kill a young/small male by over breeding it ... even if you rest it often ... if you don't have a lot of experience detecting URI's at their earliest stages, breeding young/small males might not be the greatest idea in the world ... of course many males will be fine, but I know dozens of inexperienced and experienced breeders alike that have killed very expensive animals because they did not want to wait for the animal to grow larger and stronger before breeding. Like so many aspects of ball python husbandry, it comes down to what you personally feel comfortable doing.

-adam

Adam at what weight (in average) do you start breeding your males?

[joepythons]

Its true everyone views the correct age or weight for males to be able to breed differantly.Last year my male pastel bred 2 females and 1 never laid a egg the other dropped 11(3 died) all 8 survivers were normals.I was told two things on what possibly happened here,1.he did not pass the pastel genes,2.the one female that produced eggs retained sperm from last year(this was my first season having her).A few said that he was to young to breed,around 500g and 7 to 8 months old.In my opinion each snake is differant and trial and error is a way to "get your feet wet" so to speak.

[Adam_Wysocki]

Adam at what weight (in average) do you start breeding your males?

Depends on the male ... With rare exception I always wait until at least their second winter and shoot for 700 grams ... some shy males, even at 700 grams in their second winter, will get beat up by large dominant females and usally stay on the shelf until the following year ... other males that are full of piss and vinegar at 600 grams make strong breeders in their second winter ... just depends ... it's important to know your animals as well as you know yourself.

-adam

[joepythons]

It's very easy to kill a young/small male by over breeding it ... even if you rest it often ... if you don't have a lot of experience detecting URI's at their earliest stages, breeding young/small males might not be the greatest idea in the world ... of course many males will be fine, but I know dozens of inexperienced and experienced breeders alike that have killed very expensive animals because they did not want to wait for the animal to grow larger and stronger before breeding. Like so many aspects of ball python husbandry, it comes down to what you personally feel comfortable doing.

-adam

I know of a few people that lost some high dollar snakes last year also .You are correct about watching your males closely for illness signs.

[djslurp1200]

It's very easy to kill a young/small male by over breeding it ... even if you rest it often ... if you don't have a lot of experience detecting URI's at their earliest stages, breeding young/small males might not be the greatest idea in the world ... of course many males will be fine, but I know dozens of inexperienced and experienced breeders alike that have killed very expensive animals because they did not want to wait for the animal to grow larger and stronger before breeding. Like so many aspects of ball python husbandry, it comes down to what you personally feel comfortable doing.

-adam

I would say that's a accurate statement... I personally wouldn't have bred my male if he was any smaller than he is now. I am pretty aware of how much is taken out of these animals by breeding... I've done alot of researching but not only that talked to alot of other breeders about their experiences and opinions. I then made my decision... I quarantined both animals, fed them on a regular schedule and have weighed them rather frequently and marked all of the information down.

Seeing how rapidly my male has grown and how healthy he is. He is not obese but he is not thin. In my opinion he couldn't have a better body structure. Of course this is my decision and if something WAS to happen then I would be at fault for knowing that he was a little underweight. Personally though, I feel he should be just fine. That's my honost Gut feeling...I'm being careful but...at the same time I'm giving him his chance to prove he is a man lol...

[djslurp1200]

Its true everyone views the correct age or weight for males to be able to breed differantly.Last year my male pastel bred 2 females and 1 never laid a egg the other dropped 11(3 died) all 8 survivers were normals.I was told two things on what possibly happened here,1.he did not pass the pastel genes,2.the one female that produced eggs retained sperm from last year(this was my first season having her).A few said that he was to young to breed,around 500g and 7 to 8 months old.In my opinion each snake is differant and trial and error is a way to "get your feet wet" so to speak.

Good post...

[Adam_Wysocki]

You are correct about watching your males closely for illness signs.

Or, you could just wait until your males are a little older and a little stronger.

-adam