Uh-oh...Ball Pythons up to no good...

:shock: Well,
I walked in on my male Apok and my female Trinity doing the wild thing...I may be wrong being as I am a mere beginning herper with only about a years experience with snakes but from what I have seen in numerous books it appears that they were mating.Their tails were intertwined and the cloaca/vents were together - I guess I will have to wait and see if it was a successful (albeit unitentional ) breeding. :wink:
I am pretty sure that it was though...I just left them alone and allowed them to complete the act as I wouldnt really mind trying my hand at rearing some baby balls...this IS my main hobby in this crazy world that keeps me from going nuts :roll: so I do not mind getting deeper into it...I will keep all of you advised of what happens.

EyeLashViper

wow thats pretty exciting. If the female is carrying young, how long does it take to lay eggs?

That's great to see! How long were they copulating? BP are common to do "it" also for fun! Only after a long copulation (sometimes over 24 hours) the female can get gravid.

First of all, is your female at least 1500 grams? If not I wonder if there is a day after pill for bps...

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Originally Posted by Naära

That's great to see! How long were they copulating? BP are common to do "it" also for fun! Only after a long copulation (sometimes over 24 hours) the female can get gravid.

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That is untrue - ball pythons do not have to copulate for extended periods of time to become gravid, it just increases the chances that the female will become gravid. I've had a female breed a male ONCE all season & still give me a great clutch of eggs.

K

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Originally Posted by KLG

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Originally Posted by Naära

That's great to see! How long were they copulating? BP are common to do "it" also for fun! Only after a long copulation (sometimes over 24 hours) the female can get gravid.

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That is untrue - ball pythons do not have to copulate for extended periods of time to become gravid, it just increases the chances that the female will become gravid. I've had a female breed a male ONCE all season & still give me a great clutch of eggs.

K

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How long were they hooked up during that copulation? I always understood that a copulation of only a few minutes has hardly no chance of getting the female gravid.

I don't mean that they have to copulate mutiple times. I learnt (from reading and breeders) that the copulation itself should take some time. Sometimes they are even hooked up for over 24 hours.

Actually, they may do it for fun but they get no pleasure out of it. The only other species other than humans that "does it" for pleasure is the bottlenose dolphin.

Gee, I knew those Dolphins were smart :lol:

LOL...Hopefully Eyelashviper, you're female is of breeding age and weight. I would hate to see her lose so much energy and weight because of an accidental breeding session. Breeding, laying the eggs, etc., takes A LOT out of a female. Is she over 1500 grams?

Jennifer

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Originally Posted by Naära

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Originally Posted by KLG

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Naära

That's great to see! How long were they copulating? BP are common to do "it" also for fun! Only after a long copulation (sometimes over 24 hours) the female can get gravid.

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That is untrue - ball pythons do not have to copulate for extended periods of time to become gravid, it just increases the chances that the female will become gravid. I've had a female breed a male ONCE all season & still give me a great clutch of eggs.

K

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How long were they hooked up during that copulation? I always understood that a copulation of only a few minutes has hardly no chance of getting the female gravid.

I don't mean that they have to copulate mutiple times. I learnt (from reading and breeders) that the copulation itself should take some time. Sometimes they are even hooked up for over 24 hours.

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Right. I'm aware that females don't have to copulate multiple times to become gravid. I'm simply saying that the statement of "Only after a long copulation (sometimes over 24 hours) the female can get gravid" is very confining, considering the surprises that snakes are capable of pulling. I've seen females of several species (balls included) breed once in a season, sometimes for short periods of time, i.e. 10 minutes to an hour, and still become gravid. Am I saying that this is a rule rather than an exception? No. Female snakes are much more likely to become gravid over a period of time involving multiple copulations, however, I also feel that it is closed-minded to put things like breeding in terms of "only." There are very few absolutes when it comes to breedings snakes - these animals are very good at resetting the parameters of what we think we know.

Just my $.02

K