Breeding: 1 male how many females?

How many females can one male ball python breed with in one season?

I have done as many as 7 females to one male and got eggs from all the females. Most people tend to stick to 3-5 females to a male per a season generally.

Most people say 5 max. Not that the male can't handle more, but it will stress them out, so I wouldn't do it often.

I have heard up to 13, but I am sure that they could breed more.

I have heard adam mention he has bred 10 females before in a season with the same male. But it all depends on individual males.

I can't verify this information....I can't remember if I read it somewhere on here or somewhere else...but I believe that over breeding a male to too many females can result in a prolapsed hemipene or cloaca. (Again, I can't remember where I read this) And if it is true, "too many females" would be dependent on the individual male. Personally I would stick to 5.

A better question would be how many copulations can a male endure in one season. The male doesn't really care how many females he sees. I have heard males breeding anywhere from 1 -20 females. We typically breed our males to 6 females per season, and they see each female once per month. That would equal about 30 copulations per season. Using these numbers, as long as your male has sufficient weight, you should be safe. With that said, age plays a big factor as well. As long as the male is at least 18 months old (with sufficient weight as stated before), I have never had a problem with this before. If males are between 5 and 12 months, I typically will limit them to about 20 copulations, and that has worked for us as well.

By no means are these numbers set in stone, as I am sure there are breeders out there that have gotten more than 30 copulations in one season without any ill effects, but they are good starting points, and give some good insight into when to start paying attention to the health of your breeding male.

Hope that helps,

SUrley if the male is properly rotated and has the correct rest period inbetween he can go with as many females you are happy with during the season as im sure to him he doesnt mind if hes seeing the same 2-3 females every few week or so or lots of different ones. Id say as long as his health doesnt seem to suffer (which you would monitor anyway ) Chuck him in with as many as you are comfortable with.. Hell let you know when he isnt interested anymore

Lucky snakes 1 guy to 12 females... We humans have got this all wrong you know