How old is too old???

At what age do you stop breeding your females??

Is there an age at which they are too old to safely produce eggs?

Not that anyone knows of.

There are several breeders that are producing clutches each year from some of the longest lived girls in captive collections ... 20+ years.

More than likely, if a female gets to a point where she's too old to produce eggs, she just won't ovulate ... they're very good about regulating themselves when it comes to safely producing clutches.

-adam

I've got a female that took last year off, but has given me good 12 egg clutches for years. I've owner her since I was 7 years old, bought her as a baby and she is currently entering her 21 st breeding season now. I'll update the forum if she goes this year or not. She's never taken two years in a row off so I've got my fingers crossed.

I see.

I am kind of in a moral dilema. I might be getting a BP that is 22 years old but the guy requested that I go to a non breeding home as it is too old to breed. I told him i would give him $50 to give it a good home and not breed it.

I'd be happy to have it and keep it as a pet, But if I can safely breed with it and have no danger to the snake then i am not sure what I should do.

Well, the man specifically requested that she not be bred.

Seems like a moral dilemna to me.

I would personally pass on it, as I wouldn't want to decieve the man, or keep her as a pet, or try and see if he would be willing to change his mind??

But as it stands, it doesn't seem to honest to me.

I guess if it were me I'd pass on it too. At 22 years the female should have no trouble breeding, though if she has never been bred that whole time I don't know if that would cause a problem or not. The only problem I've ever had with a female was breeding her for the first time when she was 6 years old. That was the first and only time I've ever had an egg bound ball python.

Thats not the reason though that I would pass on the deal. I just don't want anyone else telling me what I can or can not do with MY animals.

Female ball pythons have been documented as producing fertile clutches up to an age of at least 32 years (from Dave and Tracy Barker's book).

So what about males, how long are you guys keeping your males?

I will try not to keep them any longer than a few hours post-mortem:D....

Yeah I think I am going to pass on this one.

Besides I sold my 30 gallon tank the other day and used that money to go out and buy me a 900g normal female (that is in Qt now :)). By the time she gets out of QT she should be ready to breed with my Pastel. :) and she only cost me $106.

This brings my BP count up to 7 now :). The addiction just keeps growing.