Subadult females

I am looking for a lesser subadult to raise up and breed next winter. I found one locally from a breeder which is a 2012 at 850g, which he admitted hasn't been a great eater.

Now, I know growth rates can speed up and slow down, but, all things considered I would assume mostly likely an animal would be most likely to continue their habit. That means it would only put on about 350g in the next year and be at 1200g and still too small. I'd much rather buy a 2013 at that weight. Of course, I'm trying to save a little money by getting it smaller than a 1500g adult.

What do you guys think?

My newest girl is a fire. She Is a late 2013 i believe and weighs over 1700 grams. A 2012 at that weight even if bred would take a while to get back up to weight. If you only want one clutch, sure that's fine. A older girl can be bred a hair small, Maybe pushing 1300 grams if she looks in good shape.

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Originally Posted by jplehmann

I am looking for a lesser subadult to raise up and breed next winter. I found one locally from a breeder which is a 2012 at 850g, which he admitted hasn't been a great eater.

Now, I know growth rates can speed up and slow down, but, all things considered I would assume mostly likely an animal would be most likely to continue their habit. That means it would only put on about 350g in the next year and be at 1200g and still too small. I'd much rather buy a 2013 at that weight. Of course, I'm trying to save a little money by getting it smaller than a 1500g adult.

What do you guys think?

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It's for sale for a reason.... it's a poor feeder. Don't expect that to change when you get her. It might, but don't count on it. Even a great feeder can go off feed with an environment change. I bet you could find 2 well started hatchlings for less and be much happier with the results while waiting an extra year.

Do yourself a big favor and skip the problem feeder. Once snakes hit the 300gram mark they can easily gain 100grams per month if they eat every 5 days or so. I know its hard when you want to get going on breeding but really look for a quality animal from a good breeder. Not just a lesser with size, but a lesser that makes you go "oh damn, thats a nice lesser". It will pay off down the road when trying to sell her offspring. Selling snakes isnt as easy as people think and you should breed only great examples of the gene and not rush in with ugly ducklings. Any reason your looking for a lesser specifically?

I would think you could get a few nice Butter Pastels for the same price as that Lesser.