Re: tricks to get ball pythons to start breeding for the 1st time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MrLang
Related question - has anyone correlated security to locking? Everyone always says they remove hides during pairing... any thoughts as to whether or not that affects their behavior?
Not everyone removes hides. I never do. Leaving them in doesn't stop breeding so long as the female is receptive. Or the male has figured out how to push them up and trap the girl inside.
I do have an old barometer in the studio. Anytime there is a big swing seems to work, either rising or falling. It seems to be the abrupt change that does it, at least from what I've seen here.
Also, I start placing a newbie male I want to use in the clean shift right after a female and watch his reaction, see if he starts showing interest. And vice versa. I have to put them into the clean shift at some point anyway, and my hunch is that being exposed to each others' pheromones slightly replicates what they would experience in nature leading up to the breeding season.
Other than that, I let the ambient temps in the room lower a little with the season, then level out when the heater kicks in. About that point, ambient humidity drops and I usually start pairing. Sometimes they start right away, sometimes they don't, regardless of whether or not they've bred before. Maybe the change in daylight hours helps, too, but I don't know.
Re: tricks to get ball pythons to start breeding for the 1st time
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ARBallMorphs
you havent lowered the temp going into the breeding season?
i always thought this was needed with ball pythons?
NEVER. It's not mandatory, but helps.
