newbie needing m/f ratio help

my wife and I are going to pick up 4 BPs from a local seller (15 dollars a piece...not a bad price at all for healthy BP 1 footers!) the question is we are looking into raising them to breed, with others you know and what is a good m/4 ratio? even 2/2 or 1male and 3 females? this would help a lot as it will also note how we house them, we have a 40 gal and two 30s tankwise we arent using, should we house all 4 in there or use the clear plastic bin way of housing? i am voting no but my wife says yes due to the ease of the bin, but i have heating issues with the bin that can be eased by just doing a nice large tank setup...i know i have a ton of questions but i just wish it to go well...any help would be appreciated.

also will this produce more generic BPs or will we have a chance of getting morphs and the like? as i said we are new to this aspect of BPs and breeding.

i'm not a breeder but....


m/f ratio... it depends on how many babies you want. really all you need is one male to "take care" of all the females. so, 1 male and 3 females would be fine if it's breeding you want.

housing... each snake should have it's own enclosure... this is mentioned in quite a few threads... maybe someone else will post a link for you! lol. also, i think 40 and 30 gal tanks would be too big for your babies. don't want to get them too overwhelmed!:)

and as far as morphs, you can't get any if you only have normals. but if you get one morph and breed it to a norm... or get normal looking hets....

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what is a good m/4 ratio? even 2/2 or 1male and 3 females?

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1.3 is a good ratio to breed as male can breed several females without any problems.

If you plan on breeding I would suggest you to buy all 4 females and buy a male morph in a year but this is just my :2cent: and breeding normal is fine too.

Just make sure you know what you get into it takes time commitment and knowing how to care for them should be the first priority.

Breeding will mean you will have to raise the females up for the next 2 to 3 years, after that you will need to be prepared to buy or build an incubator, buy or built a rack for all the offsprings, be prepared to provide for them if they don't sell, know how to get hatchling started, etc.

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we have a 40 gal and two 30s tankwise we arent using, should we house all 4 in there or use the clear plastic bin way of housing?

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Each of them will have to be house individually here is a basic check list of what will be required for each individual http://www.geocities.com/gaballpythons/

I will really insist BP cannot be house together regardless of their gender, age or size, many problem have been documented including cannibalism due to stress.

BP are solitary animals and do better alone
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ltiple+housing

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ltiple+housing

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i am voting no but my wife says yes due to the ease of the bin, but i have heating issues with the bin that can be eased by just doing a nice large tank setup...i know i have a ton of questions but i just wish it to go well...any help would be appreciated.

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Plastic tubs are easier to clean and maintain as far as temps and humidity, the heat will be the same whether or not you use a glass tank or a plastic tub you need to provide belly eat and have a thermostat to maintain proper temps and avoid over-heating that can lead to burns.

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also will this produce more generic BPs or will we have a chance of getting morphs and the like?

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If you get 1.3 normal you will get 100% Normal

This should help you understand easily the genetic part of breeding http://www.ballpython.ca/genetics.html

And again patience learn how to care for each of them and watch them grow for the next 2/3 years and while you do that research breeding thoroughly.

I forgot before getting your BP make sure every single enclosure is perfectly running to avoid any setback.