Can two BP's same age breed?

I've been reading around and deciding on whether I should get a female 07 or 06.

Currently I have a male 07 pastel. I am new to the market, and I am already addicted and am looking to get into preparations for breeding. I have always been into working from the bottom up, and this time I want to raise my own babies before they breed.

I know that males can reach sexual maturity at ~18 months, and that females take longer. My question is if I have two 07 babies, male and female, and they BOTH wait the 36 months, can the male still breed as a healthy BP as if he were at ~18 months?

I don't see why not...Males don't breed for just one year and then they're done for good.

Remember that age is not the only determining factor. Weight is also a determining factor. I've not heard 18 months for males, but rather 800 grams minimum (although there are males that have bred much smaller, but it's not something that I as a first time breeder will do).


Females as a good guide, should be about 500 grams per foot in length, as well as in at least their third winter.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Remember that age is not the only determining factor. Weight is also a determining factor. I've not heard 18 months for males, but rather 800 grams minimum (although there are males that have bred much smaller, but it's not something that I as a first time breeder will do).


Females as a good guide, should be about 500 grams per foot in length, as well as in at least their third winter.

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I was reading the "how big are you balls" thread and some of the females that have bred are just naturally small so it seemed...some didnt seem to hit the 500g per ft. So just stick to 2-3 years and it should be close to full grown?

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Originally Posted by mricyfire

I was reading the "how big are you balls" thread and some of the females that have bred are just naturally small so it seemed...some didnt seem to hit the 500g per ft. So just stick to 2-3 years and it should be close to full grown?

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Part of it is about phyical condition ... This year I had some 10 year old girls that at the start of breeding season were long and thin ... they just hadn't recovered enough weight from laying eggs last season to be viable breeders for this season. In this case the 500 grams per foot was a good guide to help me decide to give them the year off.

The reality is that many factors go into a female ball pythons decision as to wether or not her body will produce follicles and allow them to be fertilized. Age, weight, weight to length ratio are just a few.

As far as the OP, your 07 male will be just as good of a breeder 10 years from now as a virgin as he would when an 06 or 07 female is ready for him to breed to.

Hope this helps.

-adam

So do you guys think an '06 male would be ready for breeding this winter?

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Originally Posted by CntrlF8

So do you guys think an '06 male would be ready for breeding this winter?

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He should be, but it's really up to him.

He'll be old enough ... depending on his length and weight, he should have enough size to remain healthy through a breeding season as long as he's not pushed too hard ... and if you didn't over feed him, he shouldn't be too heavy to breed successfully. Make yourself a good plan for inducing breeding behavior and go for it!

Hope this helps.

-adam

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The reality is that many factors go into a female ball pythons decision as to wether or not her body will produce follicles and allow them to be fertilized. Age, weight, weight to length ratio are just a few.

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What are some of the other factors? Probably genetics, recently laying or not, being bred multiple seasons in a row, what else

And speaking of bred multiple seasons in a row, how many years would you breed a girl in a row, provided that each time she has good size? Wouldn't she eventually just poop out, or would you keep going if there is no apparent reason to stop?

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Originally Posted by Petboy15

What are some of the other factors? Probably genetics, recently laying or not, being bred multiple seasons in a row, what else

And speaking of bred multiple seasons in a row, how many years would you breed a girl in a row, provided that each time she has good size? Wouldn't she eventually just poop out, or would you keep going if there is no apparent reason to stop?

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There are a lot of factors that will cause a female to decide to not breed, not develop follicles, or not ovulate. Stress is a big one ... regular availability of food ... temps ... humidity ... etc. If you're husbandry is solid and your animals are healthy you're doing what you are supposed to do, but these are living animals and sometimes, even when you do everything correctly, they just don't produce eggs ... that's the way the cookie crumbles.

I personally would never breed a female ball python more than two years in a row. That's just me. Lots of other breeders have their own "rules" for what they prefer. Ideally, I try and only breed my girls every other year, but I have a lot of really good girls that do well breeding 2 years on 1 year off. Breeding girls for too many consecutive years will cause bad things to happen. You've gotta rest them sooner or later or they'll get you back. ;)

-adam

Thanks for the response. I shoulda guessed regular food availability. If they know there will be food, they can let there guard down a little and loose the weight.