How young is to young?

I have a question for all the breeders out there. At exactly what age do you start breeding your females? I am just very curious.

This is my first season breeding, but I believe it has more to do with weight than age. From what I've read the general consensus is a female in her third winter at about 1500g+ when empty.

I'm breeding a female right now that is just over 1800g, and I personally wouldn't feel comfortable breeding one less than that.

Agreed. It has much more to do with weight. I have a 2 yo that is 1600g but she's long and lean so I'm not comfortable with her being bred yet. Girls can take a while to get to breeding weight. I basically look for good weight, but nice and chunky. And about 2 1/2-3 years.


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I have two girls that grew like weeds. They were 18 months old and ~1400g when they started breeding this season - now pushing 1700g. If they had grown any slower, they would not have been bred this year.

I bred a female last year that ws only 1200g when she started, but was 4 years old. She's over 1600g now and looks like she's going to go for me again this year.

In short, it's a combination of age and weight. Smaller is okay if they're older, but size is a bigger indicator if they're younger (although I still won't push her under 18mos).

A few months ago i acquired a (just over) 1100g female reduced pattern. The previous owner already had her locking up with a male lesser. I personally wouldnt have bred her that small but since she was already locking up for previous owner ive continued to pair her. Shes almost 1400g now and im pretty sure shell give me a clutch this year. Probably wont be a big clutch,but thats ok. They wont breed if their bodies arent ready, but you should still have a good amount of weight on them before attempting.

I have an 18 month old black pastel female who is now weighing 1850 grams the girl is a beast and is being bred by my bumblebee. Now these type of girls are special, I've noticed that there are three types of ball python female feeding responses, great, average and poor the poor ones usually change and get better after laying their first clutch.

The poor feeders can take up to three years to get to about 1200 to 1400 grams the average feeders here get bred at 24 months 1600 grams.

Now I'm not gonna sit here and recommend breeding 18 month old females BUT. If you have a female who is 2000 grams I believe it safe to say that you will get a nice sized clutch if she is ready only she decides that.

Age is the reason a female will breed or not. Weight has NOTHING to do with a female taking or not.

Ive had females 1500-2000g before they were 2 and didnt take till their 3. Each female ages sexually at different ages and different sizes. I never go by size but by age.

ive heard of some people breeding within that calendar year (he got a 2011 up to size by november) and shes breeding just fine.. hes done this in the past and has worked out fine... i wouldnt do it personally but it has been done

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Age is the reason a female will breed or not. Weight has NOTHING to do with a female taking or not.

Ive had females 1500-2000g before they were 2 and didnt take till their 3. Each female ages sexually at different ages and different sizes. I never go by size but by age.

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I disagree. I think that both age AND weight are what is required. A female needs to be sexually mature, but she also needs to have the necessary fat stores so she can produce good eggs. I think that they walk hand in hand for the most part (a sexually mature snake weighs enough) but there will always be exceptions when dealing with animals.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

I disagree. I think that both age AND weight are what is required. A female needs to be sexually mature, but she also needs to have the necessary fat stores so she can produce good eggs. I think that they walk hand in hand for the most part (a sexually mature snake weighs enough) but there will always be exceptions when dealing with animals.

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We put the this so called weight requirement on a species we only know of in captivity. Wheres females out there never get over 1000g, that drop healthy clutches year after year. As I have on of them females. Gave me 7 eggs last year and 6 year before.

Someone I know, has a female Ball over 7 years old only 800g max. Might be a genetic dwarf ball. She has bred and laid eggs many times in her life time. Age is the MOST important factor on a females ability to breed.

Weight dont play a role like most think on having a successful clutch.