Earliest breeding

Whats the earliest you have bred a pair of snakes? The reason I ask is I have a spider that is 755 grams and a pastel thats is a little under a 1000 they are both 08. Would they possibly be ready by fall if not what about spring?

Assuming the pastel is female, you should be waiting alot longer to breed her.

She will only be a year old!!!

The spider (if male) should be fine at that weight.

General rule of the thumb the bigger the female the better. I would say you should wait till she is at least 1200g. But most people I know weight till 1500+

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Originally Posted by derrabe

General rule of the thumb the bigger the female the better. I would say you should wait till she is at least 1200g. But most people I know weight till 1500+

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Is 100 grams a month too fast? If he waited until winter she might be between 1200 and 1500 grams, but is that still too young? Thanks.

Best,
Red

From what I've read the females don't reach sexual maturity until 2 years of age reguardless of size. I may be wrong though.

All our females are left until they are 2 years old at the very least.

I also prefer to breed them larger than most people say is ok.

The only time I would consider a female less than 1500g, is if she is an older snake that just is not a large,heavy bodied animal.

I wouldn't breed a female that young- think of her health, and clutch size and outcome, too- if she's even capable so small.

I'm going to go against the grain here.. if the female is sexually mature, and physically able to produce eggs she will regardless of age or weight. It has been the industry benchmark that most females are mature enough by the time they hit 1200-1500 grams or are in there third winter to produce viable clutches with out significant and dangerous risk to their body.

Is there any harm in trying to breed them that early.. Well that depends on what your goals are would you rather rush things and get a small 2-4 egg clutch out of a 1000 gram female stress her body and have her not be ready for the next year, or would you rather wait a few more months and get 6-8 of of a 1500-2000 gram girl??

I can tell you I have a mojave female that is an 06 shes only 950-1000 grams.. Guess what she's getting bred this fall. She may slug out but it'll cause her to start eating and start putting on the weight for the next year. :D

My minimum is 1500 grams and 20 months for females. Although I have had one lay at about 2 years old and began breeding at around 20 months, most dont take until their third winter.

Males is 600- 700 grams minimum.

Now thats just my requirements, there are people who go smaller, to each his own.

males can breed even before their first year. The smallest male I've heard breeding was under 300 grams. Yours should be fine. For females I like them to be at least 1500 grams OR over 3 years old. I've produced several nice clutches from females that were less then 1000 grams, but they've all been over 3 years old. Personally I think age is a much more important factor then weight.