Small Breeders?

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Originally Posted by BHReptiles

Sometimes, I have my moments but I generally don't fail that epically! I was instructed to feel for follicles in this female (much like with ball pythons). If I feel follicles, it's too late and she's ovulated. If I don't feel them, it can't hurt to pair. We'll see. She just ate a mouse yesterday so I'll hold off a few days and let her poop (usually day 3 or 4 post-meal for her) before I go feeling for follicles.

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No, it's not necessarily too late to breed if you feel the follicles. Right after that pre-ovulation skin shed, you often can feel them and should pair them then. From my experience, the male corns only tend to be interested for a small window of time after that, which doesn't seem to last more than a couple of weeks, unlike ball pythons, who will mate for weeks to months before the actual ovulation, which you can see. Corns just have palpable lumps that you can often feel for a few weeks during the breeding season, and it can be hard to tell whether they are follicles, slugs or fertile eggs when you feel them. If your female corn has started fasting, though, you pretty much know she has already ovulated, and you won't be able to get a fertile clutch if you try to breed her. That has been my experience.

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Originally Posted by wendhend

No, it's not necessarily too late to breed if you feel the follicles. Right after that pre-ovulation skin shed, you often can feel them and should pair them then. From my experience, the male corns only tend to be interested for a small window of time after that, which doesn't seem to last more than a couple of weeks, unlike ball pythons, who will mate for weeks to months before the actual ovulation, which you can see. Corns just have palpable lumps that you can often feel for a few weeks during the breeding season, and it can be hard to tell whether they are follicles, slugs or fertile eggs when you feel them. If your female corn has started fasting, though, you pretty much know she has already ovulated, and you won't be able to get a fertile clutch if you try to breed her. That has been my experience.

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The only time my girl has missed a meal is the day after I brought her home over a year ago. Otherwise, she's eaten every time for me. None of my corns miss meals. I can guarantee they will all eat every week. Her last shed was May 20th and that was just prior to when i noticed the interest from the male. I don't feel any follicles, though I was very, very gentle with her having just eaten.

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Originally Posted by BHReptiles

The only time my girl has missed a meal is the day after I brought her home over a year ago. Otherwise, she's eaten every time for me. None of my corns miss meals. I can guarantee they will all eat every week. Her last shed was May 20th and that was just prior to when i noticed the interest from the male. I don't feel any follicles, though I was very, very gentle with her having just eaten.

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Breanna, sorry if anything I said in that message to you this morning did not make sense. I had just worked a long 12-hour night shift and was about to go to bed. It sounds like she may have been ready and reabsorbed. You do usually have to palpate a litte harder to feel anything on more hefty corns, though, but of course you don't want her to regurgitate her mouse.

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Originally Posted by wendhend

Breanna, sorry if anything I said in that message to you this morning did not make sense. I had just worked a long 12-hour night shift and was about to go to bed. It sounds like she may have been ready and reabsorbed. You do usually have to palpate a litte harder to feel anything on more hefty corns, though, but of course you don't want her to regurgitate her mouse.

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You made perfect sense to me!

Her safety is my first priority. I may put the male in with her in a few days and see if I see the same behavior. If I don't, then I'll just wait and do as planned this spring. That gives her time to do some more growing and I'm okay with that!

Maybe my other female (who's a month younger than the bloodred) will go through a growth spurt this summer. The male is a year later than her and he's already almost at her current size. She's my most active corn snake and I swear she's my slowest grower! I originally purchased the male for her (he's an Anery motley het amel and she's a snow motley) and a hypo lavender PH motley for the bloodred. However, it looks like I might use the anery motley on the bloodred to hopefully prove out her het amel and then the following year use the hypo lavender.

Corns are so interesting with their growth rates!
the two 2011s are 300g and 180g
the two 2012s 150g and 60g.

I've also got a miami phase corn that's more of a pet. She's a 2012 and about 110g. I sold an Alabama phase back in January. I bet if I still had her she would be pushing 200g by now. She was super aggressive but a killer eater and fast grower. I just find it amusing how slow/quick some of them grow.

Hey BH, do you also do leopard geckos?

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Hey BH, do you also do leopard geckos?

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no...I don't own any geckos, lizzards, or anything other than my corns and my ball pythons.

If the male's showing interest, go for it. Maybe you'll catch a second ovulation (second clutch of the season) and get a few. That will also ensure she doesn't end up double clutching on you unintentionally. As far as eating goes, the only meal my girl ever missed was the one the week she laid eggs. Other than that, she ate like a horse... or rather a corn snake. ;)

I thought I would post an update. I put Travis (my male) in with Anuna (the female) and Travis is very excited and twiching. He's chasing her around the tub and rubbing his chin on her like he should be. Anuna dropped a HUGE poop (I've never seen her poop so much at one time!) I thought I saw her twitch once or twice. There's definitely some courting going on. I went ahead and shut the tub and I'm observing from afar. Maybe I'll see a lock, maybe I won't. I'll give it some time.

So, did they lock?

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Originally Posted by wendhend

So, did they lock?

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Not that I saw. I left them together overnight and by morning they were on opposite sides of the tub.