07 ready?

Ok I know there is a lot of debate on this subject. Just want to know what you guys think. I bought a 07 female from king snake saying she was 700 grams. when she got here i weighed her she was 580 very small, I think for a 07.
Well she has been eating well for me. 1 small rats a week. I have her weight up to 700 grams. I was going to try breeding her at 900 grams. Im thinking she might be a small girl allready being a 07. what do you guys think should i give it a go or see wear she tops out at.

Ok this will be my first breeding season so take my word with a grain of salt, but I have been reading a ton and Im a long time keeper.


My guess is that she is really an '08 or that she was underfed as an '07. either way she probably wont be ready but my opinion about breeding small snakes (again after a lot of reseach and no expereince) is that if she is ready to breed she will take and if she is not then she wont. I suspect that she wont take this season though so I wouldnt be to optimistic.

Wait atleast another year and then see how big she is. she could be a slow grower. I have a cinny that refuses to grow. But the animals health is my number one concern then breeding.

i wouldnt its just not worth it

I wouldn't breed her. 900 grams is really small to be breeding in my opinion. I am far from an expert, but I believe most of the individuals who have mentioned breeding a female in that size range have done it only after they are sure the female is fully mature and just happen to be a smaller female. Given how recently you acquired the animal, how much she has grown, and how small she still is, I would definitely wait. Think about how much extra weight she could put on in a whole year. If she were just a small female I don't thinks she would be gaining that fast. She is probably a late 07 who has been fed a maintenance diet by her first home/breeder, so she likely needs more time to grow. Just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt.

Thats what i was going to do i think just keep feeding her until her weight stables out. I have a 2000 grams female ready to go just waiting on the spider to get up in size. I will wait, just i dont think she is going to be a big girl. I will see where im at in a couple of months with her, if she is still gaining good weight i will hold of on her.

I have a late 07 girl that is only 550g. She was not underfed at all. She was a picky eater for a while though, so that may have something to do with it. I have another 07 girl that is close to 1200g. She has never skipped a meal.

Anyway, I would not breed her at 900g. If you've gotten her this far, you can wait until she is a little larger. My biggest 07 girl is almost 1200g and I'm still going to wait until she hits 1500g.

Just wait until next season. Your odds at a more successful clutch will be higher if she's given time to bulk up. Remember it's not a race, you should put the health of your animals above the need to breed them. I have a 900g 07 girl and an 800g spider girl(which I believe is also an 07), both of which won't see a male until next year even if they hit 1200g this fall. I'd rather them build up the weight and sustain it than to start thowing males at them the second they're big enough.

That would be really bad if you bred her at 900 grams because even if she did get a fertile clutch you would maybe get like 1 egg then when she gets bigger there's a probability of her only ever being able to produce 1 egg.

I've heard that a lot. but correct me if i'm wrong??

I dont totally agree about it being very bad. From what I have read there are people who do breed females at 800 grams. Not saying I am going to. I think it depends on the snake. Granted it would probly produce a small clutch.

if its something cool like a 100% het pied and theres a 1/4 chance of a pied and your female can only produce one egg. the odds kinda sucks but you can get lucky

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Originally Posted by henry

I dont totally agree about it being very bad. From what I have read there are people who do breed females at 800 grams. Not saying I am going to. I think it depends on the snake. Granted it would probly produce a small clutch.

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And normally those who breed those 800 gram females, were because it was not on purpose, or they have years of experiance under their belts and know what to do should something go wrong.

Is it really worth risking her for one or two eggs? Wait until she is at least 1100 grams.

Also, since she was alot lower in weight than advertised, have you double checked to make sure she is a female?

I wouldn't, personally. Snakes, like people, grow at the rate they're meant to grow. There's an average, of course, but some of them are going to grow a bit slower and stay a little smaller, and some are going to be powerhouses.

I have an '05 female pastel who's tipping the scales at around 800 grams. She's never been underfed, but she's a very picky eater. She IS still growing, and she's been to the vet, had blood panels, and two different types of fecals done. She's healthy inside and out, but we're still going to wait until she gets up to wait to breed her. We think she might finally be up to wait towards January, especially because she's on an eating kick right now, which would be AWESOME.

I would probably give your female at least another year and see what her weight looks like next season. She'll have an easier time with the breeding and most likely give you a bigger healthier clutch.

Like i said before i am not breeding her I am going to wait. All i said was there are people who do and their snakes are fine.

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

Also, since she was alot lower in weight than advertised, have you double checked to make sure she is a female?

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Good idea. And I know I'd be peeved if I bought a snake and found out that she was 120g lower than advertised. That's a big difference when they're smaller.

I know i was frustrated. I had to go out and buy another breedable female.