First crack at it

My pastel female has refused food the past two weeks and hasnt really left the cool side so I think she is ready for a male...

1. This girl is kept in a 4x2 cage and she has a couple hides... do I take them out so she cant run and hide when my male goes in?? I assume you take them out when the male is in there... should I put em back in when hes resting for a couple days so she can hide/sleep??

2. Does it matter what time of day you put the male in?? I am planning on putting him in tonight when they are both awake so they can be properly introduced.

3. 2 days on and 2 days off to give the male some rest? I read in another post if hes getting down n dirty to leave em be but I just wanted to make sure I had the days correct.

Thank you for the help in advance... Its been two years since I aquired my first snake so it is SOOOO nice to FINALLY be there and have a couple females ready to breed.

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

1. This girl is kept in a 4x2 cage and she has a couple hides... do I take them out so she cant run and hide when my male goes in?? I assume you take them out when the male is in there... should I put em back in when hes resting for a couple days so she can hide/sleep??

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I pull all the female hides when I start pairing males with females ... I figured the stress of taking them in and out as well as lifting them constantly to look for a copulation doesn't make it worth having them in there. BUT, with a cage that large, I'd probably just leave them in and back off on the "checking" a little.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

2. Does it matter what time of day you put the male in?? I am planning on putting him in tonight when they are both awake so they can be properly introduced.

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It doesn't matter.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

3. 2 days on and 2 days off to give the male some rest? I read in another post if hes getting down n dirty to leave em be but I just wanted to make sure I had the days correct.

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That is really just a guide. It all boils down to the health of the animals and your personal preference. For example, if the male shuts down eating right away, I would do more rest than 2 days between pairings ... or, if every time you put them together, they lock up for long periods of time, you could slow down the pairings to once every week or once every other week for a couple of days. The important thing is to observe and know your animals and make decisions based on what they are doing instead of trying to follow a breeding "blueprint" or "recipe".

Hope this helps and good luck.

-adam

Thank you Adam, The hides I have in there will only fit one snake so I dont think I'll have to worry about not being able to see copulations... Would it be a good idea to unplugg my heat pad and just keep the whole cage @80 degrees and keep 1 hide in? This way they would have a lot more room on one side to do the deed and then she would still have a hide on the cool side for when the males not in there. I'm sure they dont care about space and arent going to be like "hey lets go over to the other side theres more room" haha... Thanks again

I think you'd be surprised on how they will end up arranging themselves during copulations, even with small hides. I've had pairs that lock up inside the hide while their upper bodies stick out from underneath.

As far as heating in a cage like that, I've never used an enclosure that large for breeding, so I really couldn't give advice about how to heat it with any certainty. Although, I personally wouldn't do anything different heating wise just because of hides. If it were me, I'd leave the normal setup in the enclosure and just start pairing them up as planned. As the season goes on, you'll have plenty of time to make adjustments based on your animals behaviors.

It's a long breeding season and it certainly doesn't have to be "perfect" on day one. Take your time, watch your snakes, and follow their lead. ;)

Hope this helps.

-adam

Thanks again Adam. I left the hides in and put my male in last night. Nothing was going on before I fell asleep but I woke up several times throughout the night and took a peek. Around 130AM she was bowl wrapping and wagging her tail... almost smacking him with it! I passed back out and @7 I got up to check again and I had a lock!!! It's such a nice feeling knowing all the hard work is just starting to pay off... Several more huge hurdles to leap but the first one has been done. Below are the two snakes I paired up.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0051143048.jpg


https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...7/3/Gamble.jpg

Congrats! ... Amazing looking animals ... Best of luck with your season.

If there's any way that I can help, please don't hesitate to ask.

-adam

WOW those animals are amazing!!! That pastel is just, insane. I can't believe she is still so bright and is old enough to breed.

Dude ... you've heard of "they glow before they go" right?? You better consistantly have a pair of sunglasses with you when you check her tub, because she might be "glowing" and you might be "going blind!"

Whats the story with that male? He's out of this world too! I cant WAIT to see the babies from this pair.... :gj:

wow that was fast, lock up in 7 posts lol
nice snakes i was gonna wait a month but seems like everyones gettin locks while im just droppin temps
think i,ll feed em tonight then wait 2days and dump him in
im doin a pastel to an unproven granite, then norm then banded
(hopefully)
i shoulda had a lemon but couldnt get the money up in time so work with what i got i guess
gj

GJ I'm in NY and its already getting cold here and my snake room has gotten down in the mid 70's a couple times. I turn on the heater to get cool side temps around 80 then turn it off and it's usually good for 24hrs before I have to turn it back on... I was going to wait a bit but my female has refused food the past two weeks and has been hanging out on the cool side so I figured it couldnt hurt to throw in a male and get her thinking about him. About 10hrs after I put him in I had a lock so its looking good right now.

Adizzie - Thank you for the compliments. Yes that pastel female is holding her colors very well. Right now shes a little over 1750g and I can say she was well worth the extra 300$ the breeder was asking for compared to other pastels. That male is an 06' captive hatch out of Africa. The guy who acquired him tried to breed him early in 06' but he didnt get the job done. He needed some cash and didnt want to wait another yr to potentially prove him out so he let this guy go. I didnt have any females big enough to breed last year but I think the wait may have paid off... so far he seems pretty motivated. Hopefully good things come out of this pairing and he is genetic.

Aww man I can't wait to see those babies they are gonna be gorgeous. Thats an awesome pairing. :gj::gj::gj::gj: