Breeding young females?

This is a topic that I see come up over and over and I fell a little like it’s one of those internet rumours that get repeated and repeated until it eventually becomes “fact”. I can’t say that it isn’t true, but I‘ve never see it verified with hard empirical data either. I’m curious is there some study out there that has attempted to control all the potential variables while tracking the long term health of really any snake, or reptile for that matter that has been “subjected” to “early breeding”. I do agree that $ has been the primary motivation to breed animals at increasingly lower breeding weights and to many this is seen as bad for the animals health and therefore obviously as irresponsible. But I have yet to see anything more than people’s opinions posted anywhere on the subject. Although on one hand the logic makes sense that an older more mature female with a higher body mass would be a more ideal candidate for the stress of reproduction. She would most likely be able to produce more eggs and recover more rapidly. But on the other hand once a female reaches sexual maturity and is able to reproduce in the wild she would most likely accept an available male and providing she had sufficient stores would produce and incubate a clutch of eggs.

first off, lisp, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

love you sig


.i personally feel its up to the snake to ACTUALLY breed when she is ready.
if she is she'll go.
if not than obviously she wont take.
but do agree that if she isnt above 1500 grams, than you risk the females
health and life if she decides to produce eggs.

and no
i dont think anyone has EVER done any kind of actual study thats been documented.

well there has been over 100 views and only one response. wich for the most part i agree with btw. and absolutly no evedience presented to support the claim that breeding females early will harm there long term health. hmmm.
interesting

Interesting fact (I am by no means an expert, just got into bps a few months ago and im trying to learn more about breeding)

I went into All Reptiles in Toronto, you may be familiar with them, and one of the employees told me this: Apparently for some of the females in that store, they power-feed every 4 days, im assuming its smaller meals, and when I mentioned it would take me at least 2 more years before I could get a baby female to the right size to breed, he advised me to feed every 4 days like them, so that they get big quicker. After reading this forum enough, you know that power-feeding is a pretty big topic and people talk about it frequently, so I knew in my head that 4 days seemed a bit unhealthy. I had only heard of 5-day powerfeeding and even then, I havent really done enough research to know the exact pros and cons or feeding 5 or 7 days.

He proceeded to show me a bumblebee and a pastel female both at around 1 years old and weighing about 1000 grams. I was stunned at how big they were. I was also stunned because both of them had pretty bad stuck sheds, no retained eyecaps though. What do you think of this?

They breed a whole lot of bp's every year and all of the hatchlings seem to be very healthy. The thing I want to know is if any of the breeder females have suffered from this agressive feeding cycle. Just my 2 cents ^^

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mattchibi

Interesting fact (I am by no means an expert, just got into bps a few months ago and im trying to learn more about breeding)

I went into All Reptiles in Toronto, you may be familiar with them, and one of the employees told me this: Apparently for some of the females in that store, they power-feed every 4 days, im assuming its smaller meals, and when I mentioned it would take me at least 2 more years before I could get a baby female to the right size to breed, he advised me to feed every 4 days like them, so that they get big quicker. After reading this forum enough, you know that power-feeding is a pretty big topic and people talk about it frequently, so I knew in my head that 4 days seemed a bit unhealthy. I had only heard of 5-day powerfeeding and even then, I havent really done enough research to know the exact pros and cons or feeding 5 or 7 days.

He proceeded to show me a bumblebee and a pastel female both at around 1 years old and weighing about 1000 grams. I was stunned at how big they were. I was also stunned because both of them had pretty bad stuck sheds, no retained eyecaps though. What do you think of this?

They breed a whole lot of bp's every year and all of the hatchlings seem to be very healthy. The thing I want to know is if any of the breeder females have suffered from this agressive feeding cycle. Just my 2 cents ^^

---

I do know All reptiles. and I have to say that every time I have visited the store there has been more than one animal with retained sheds on them. power feeding animals although generally increases growth in the first couple of years, for the most part causes obesity that in turn causes many health problems that can be directly related to that condition i.e liver issues. there is a fair amount of anecdotal evidence to support fat snakes being poor breeders as well, so for the most part people stay away from it for the animals health and their own interests as a breeder. that being said feeding every 4 days depending on the individual snake may or may not be power feeding. some snakes just grow faster than others and will not get over weight on a feeding schedule like that. at least not in the first year or so.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jason_ladouceur

well there has been over 100 views and only one response. wich for the most part i agree with btw. and absolutly no evedience presented to support the claim that breeding females early will harm there long term health. hmmm.
interesting

---

The book "The Complete Ball Python" by Kevin McCurley (NERD), states the minimum weight they breed at is 1000 grams. I agree with a lot of what you said about internet rumors becoming "FACT" just because sooo many people repeat them. You are very right in saying that in the wild if a female is sexually mature she will breed, plain and simple. That goes for any animal I am sure. In talking with more experienced breeders I have learned that basically smaller females make smaller clutches. That doesnt mean it's unhealthy, it just means you get 3 eggs instead of 9 or 10 from a big girl. I have also heard people say that if you breed too young and get a small clutch that the female will lay small clutches forever, I don't believe that is true either. I am comfortable breeding above 1200 grams empty weight for a female. If one of the biggest (if not the biggest) ball python breeders (NERD) breeds at 1000g and above, I am sure it is safe to say it's ok. If the female is ready to go, she will go...