Starting Out - Questions About Quantity

Well, I have a baby ball python who approximately 16 inches right now (born on July 9th). He was fed last Saturday by his previous owner and I obtained him Tuesday. Needless to say, I'm gonna have to feed him in the next week or so.

So, I was planning to head to Petco tomorrow and check out what they have for mice so that I could start my own feeder colony. Here's where my questions come in.

Since I only have one snake (and plan to have only him for quite some time), how should I set up my colony (in terms of a male to female ratio)? I planned on doing a 1.2 ratio or maybe even a 1.1 since I'll be using the babies quite young at this point in his life. However, I did plan on keeping a male and a female from that first litter in the event that one from the pet store died, was sick, etc.

Also, I know I'm going to need multiple tubs because I've read that you are supposed to remove the male from the enclosure that the females are in so that he doesn't eat the babies. So, I was going to have 3 tubs. Tub1-females. Tub2-male when the females are pregnant. Tub3-babies when they are ready to be removed from mother. If I need more space than that, it won't be hard to add on but is it true that the removal of the male is necessary? I've heard mixed things.

Thanks! Please educated me :P I've been reading a lot but everyone seems to breed for upwards of 10 snakes and I only have my one little guy. It might seem silly to breed just for him but in a few months I'll be back to being a relatively broke college kid, so the breeding with cut down his feeding cost some.

I would probably do a 1:2 ratio, just incase one of the females does not produce. I used to breed mice about 15 years ago and I always used to seperate the girls after they got prego. I just started breeding again and the first female that got prego, I put in a seperate tub. I was running a 1:3 ratio. She had a litter of nine pups. When the second gal got prego I decided to leave her with the other female and male. She dropped a litter just yesterday of fourteen pups and all seems to be going well. Last I checked on them, none had been eaten. And I think she is going to need the extra help from the other female to nurse them.
Also was just wondering. You mentioned that you would be feeding the mice off fairly young. I have four BP's that were born in late July early August and they are all eating adult mice. Are you sure your snake can't handle a bigger meal?

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Originally Posted by snakecharmer3638

I have four BP's that were born in late July early August and they are all eating adult mice. Are you sure your snake can't handle a bigger meal?

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There lies the mystery! Lol. I adopted him from a woman who is breeding BPs and had two males of the same het. Not needing two for breeding, I was able to take one. She told me that he eats 2 live mice but failed to tell me what size (and in my excitement, I didn't ask). He's about 16 inches right now but he does look a little skinny so that's why I'm a bit puzzled. I shot her an e-mail asking what size she was feeding him and now I'm just waiting for her to get back to me. If she gets back to me soon I'm going to head out to Petco and pick up what he eats and then maybe next week I'll begin my mouse colony. I want to get a feel for his eating habits before I start my little rodent family.

Do your snakes eat one or two adult mice?

First I have to say, for just one snake I would buy frozen, tons cheaper!

Second, I would start with 2 females to one male. Some will say remove the male some will say leave him in there, so this is up to you, if they young get eaten the first time remove the male, if not leave him in there.

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Originally Posted by Clear

First I have to say, for just one snake I would buy frozen, tons cheaper!

Second, I would start with 2 females to one male. Some will say remove the male some will say leave him in there, so this is up to you, if they young get eaten the first time remove the male, if not leave him in there.

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I was thinking of buying frozen but she said she fed him live and because he's so young & BPs are so picky (sometimes), I didn't know if he would take it. Grr. This is a puzzle!

Just thought of another quick question. When I start with my original 3 (1.2), do I then bred those babies with a dif. litter from the same parents?

All this gender crap is so confusing :confused:

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Originally Posted by Clyde Frog

Just thought of another quick question. When I start with my original 3 (1.2), do I then bred those babies with a dif. litter from the same parents?

All this gender crap is so confusing :confused:

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I dont think that it matters.

For ONLY one snake breeding will cost you TONS more than just buying a frozen or live mouse. Then theres what you want to breed (mice) once that snake gets past 6 months a mouse will NOT be enough of a food source and you will need rats or ASFs. Breeding rodents for anything under 4-5 snakes is just way too much cost in my opinion and once your colony gets big which it probably will you will have tons of "left overs" to either sell or kill off. It sounds simple but breeding 2 colonies of rodents is alot harder than keeping 20 snakes, I spend FAR more time in my rodent room than my snake room.

I,personally, can't find the logic in starting a breeding colony for one snake. I would just buy his meals as he needs them. As far as size, he needs to be eating something a little larger than the largest part of his body. I would also feed him rats instead of mice. If you are going to start a colony you will need to do mice so they don't outgrow the bp. I for one feel like a med rat is better for an adult bp than 3 or 4 adult mice.

When I was still living in the dorms, my friend (Tweets) and I decided to try breeding Rats for our 3 snakes. In between buying feed, substrate that needed replacing EVERYDAY to keep the smell down, and replacement hides/toys that they would chew up overnight, it was costing us well over three times the price of our normal feeding bills for just three BP's (four BP's near the end of when we had them). I would agree with either buying frozen or live unless you have 6+ snakes to feed.