Breeding for "Dummies" haha

That's awesome. Thank you so much! :D
Keep them coming!

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Originally Posted by BHReptiles

4. Brother and Sister - this should be fine. A lot of morphs are proven by breeding siblings, mother-son, and father-daughter. It's not like in people.

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How many times is safe?? I don't think I can handle dealing with a 2 headed snake or one with no eyes!!



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by KRAK

How many times is safe?? I don't think I can handle dealing with a 2 headed snake or one with no eyes!!

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Deformities can happen due to temp issues during incubation, genetic incompatibilities, and other reasons. Make sure you are prepared to deal with this possibility before pairing.

I am one of the people who does not cool the snakes and I never had an issue with it. I do light cycles starting in October through the end of March and start my pairings in October. Once I notice a male will not lock with a certain female she is done breeding and will not have a male with her again. I put the male in for 3 days with the female and then out for 4 days. That is about it honestly. All my temps stay the same and feeding stays the same. Each is always offered and if not taken then they are offered fresh the next week. I found this is what works best for me. Here is a link to Ralph Davis Reptiles who does the same thing and has it more detailed http://ralphdavisreptiles.com/matrix...l_breeding.asp also on that site has an area for the terminology and also punnet squares and all that fun stuff.

http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html

This is my go to guide. I see someone else posted it as well.

Its really hard to explain all this stuff in one go. Honestly, most of these things you will learn over time. Don't overload yourself with too much info!

I joined this site nearly 5 years ago. I spent the better part of 4 years absorbing information through other members. I followed interesting breeding threads, learned how to make my own incubator, started to breed rats, built my own rack. Finally I've produced my own babies and it is such a wonderfully rewarding experience.

You can read the guides and those are great for learning basic terms and timeline.. but I think just reading about peoples real experiences through the breeding season is the most beneficial. Everyone has different methods, tips, and tricks. It is up to you to take in all that information and decide for yourself what the best.


This year was my first breeding season. I paired up 3 females and I got 3 clutches. I didn't cool my animals this year and I probably won't next year either. I started pairing in may of 2012 and I saw my first clutch of eggs a whole YEAR later. This just goes to show you how much patience you need in this hobby. Prepare yourself to wait wait wait!!

My second clutch was a complete disaster. I paired my pastel female to my mojave and pewter. I was really excited for this clutch! It was to be my only multiple gene clutch this season. Before her lay date, she laid a couple of slugs :( Then a few days later, more slugs. She retained one of the eggs and while I was hoping it was fertile, I knew I had to call a vet to deal with the retained egg. I had to have the egg aspirated ($300) and I am currently still waiting for her to pass what remains of it. She did pass some ovum (unfertilized eggs without shells), but not the pesky egg shell. While I feel so badly that my poor pastel had to go through this, it is also a very valuable learning experience for me as a breeder. There are going to be some clutches that just don't turn out like you plan. Whether they are all slugs, deformed, die in the egg, it is something to prepare yourself for.

My last clutch is hatching as I type. Even though I've already seen babies hatch this year, it is still SO exciting. I paired multiple males with a normal female and I was overjoyed this morning to see that I had a multi-sired clutch (two fathers). And to top it off, I have my first double gene animal! It really is an amazing feeling and I can't wait for all of my future pairings and subsequent babies :)


I would not have been able to breed successfully if it wasn't for the awesome people on this site. I felt like I knew exactly what to do when I got my first clutch of eggs, even though I had never even seen real eggs in person before. This site has given me a lot of confidence :) I hope you can learn as much as I did, if not more! So please don't be afraid to ask lots of questions and most importantly, keep learning! I'm still learning new things everyday!

I'm a newbie as well and I've learned so much from this site and all the people here. I've read so many threads I've lost count, this thread has helped me learn even more that I will be able to use when I do finally breed, so to the op thank you so much for starting this thread and to all the veteran breeders and far more knowledgeable people thank you for chiming in :) I know unhelpful post but I just wanted to share my appreciation :D

I'm the OP, just on a newly made joint account. My spouse wanted an "us" account so he could come in and lurk as he pleases lol.
But ANYWAY, to Artemisace, you're welcome! I found the info others posted in here EXTREMELY helpful. So excited to start pairings in the next year or so.