Next Season

Well this ball python season is over for me. I bred two females and neither of them laid. Kind of sucks, but oh well. There is always next season. One female is 1800g, the other is 1500g. How long should I wait before pairing them up for next season?

I start November the 1st.

How are you sure they aren't still building? Did you stop putting your males in with them? Do they eat if you offer? If they eat then I'd start planning for next season.

One female had me thinking she was going to lay but I don't think she's going to lay. She had a weird shed cycle (shed and then 2 weeks later was in another shed cycle) but its been a month since she shed and she's not giving me any indication she is going to lay. I've stopped pairing and both are eating every week.

This season I began pairing in November. I have another female that has to gain another 400g before she is ready. So for next season I hope to have 3 girls going. (another female has 300g to go but she refuses to eat)

I had my first clutches(3) in 2008.
2009 --- only one clutch.
I had hoped for 5 this season but only 2 so far and waitng on the third to drop.
I pretty much consider myself as a hobbyist breeder, so I am happy and am enjoying the snakes and this hobby. The snake sells from the past seasons were used to fuel(help with the expenses) my hobby.
With ball pythons it takes time! I think ball pythons are great to work with. They are also not targeted by most of the legislation that is going to effect the big snake owners.

I recently(started in 2008) have added six boas to my collection. I'm pretty iffy about the future of that part of my hobby, because the boas are included on the "big" snake lists. I purchased high end expensive snakes to work with. Hopefully I can do what I planned as far as breeding. I know, kinda got off subject.

Anyway when you do finally get eggs and they hatch, you will be enjoying some of thew most gratifying parts of the hobby!

Emilio could be right--- you could get a surprize clutch.

Well the 1800g female surprised me last season. I saw the glow, ovulation and the pre-lay shed. Of course, we were moving around this time and on top of that we had a huge snow storm. It knocked out power at our apartment and we had to move the snakes to the new place before we could move their enclosures. 30 days after her pre-lay shed, I didn't see any eggs and figured she wasn't going to lay. 30 days after that (60 days after her pre-lay shed!) she gave me 6 eggs. Of course the clutch was a wreck and only one baby hatched. He died a few months later.

So who knows, but I didn't see a glow (not a full on glow. She glowed a little but not much) or an ovulation.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

One female had me thinking she was going to lay but I don't think she's going to lay. She had a weird shed cycle (shed and then 2 weeks later was in another shed cycle) but its been a month since she shed and she's not giving me any indication she is going to lay. I've stopped pairing and both are eating every week.

This season I began pairing in November. I have another female that has to gain another 400g before she is ready. So for next season I hope to have 3 girls going. (another female has 300g to go but she refuses to eat)

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I just had a 2400g Normal lay 7 eggs on Friday night. I had all but given up on her and was planning to sell her or beef her up for next year. No ovulation, no building and no glow. Yet here I am sitting on 7 new eggs in the incubator. Her last shed was 37 days ago.


Gavin

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Originally Posted by Gavin Cooper

I just had a 2400g Normal lay 7 eggs on Friday night. I had all but given up on her and was planning to sell her or beef her up for next year. No ovulation, no building and no glow. Yet here I am sitting on 7 new eggs in the incubator. Her last shed was 37 days ago.


Gavin

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Was she feeding during those last 37 days?

yep i had the same trouble i got no signs that i was looking for and she laid me 6 good eggs so they will suprize u from time to time

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Originally Posted by Jerhart

Was she feeding during those last 37 days?

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Not regularly, but yes she did yet during that time.


Gavin

i would keep pairing if they still lock up, one of my girls laid her eggs last sept. they dont look at the calenders like we do when they are ready they are ready. dont give up :gj:

Well I haven't paired her up in over a month and she no longer has follicles. There wouldn't be any point in pairing her up now, would there?

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Originally Posted by 771subliminal

i would keep pairing if they still lock up, one of my girls laid her eggs last sept. they dont look at the calenders like we do when they are ready they are ready. dont give up :gj:

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I agree I would still pair them up if they lock then the season not over yet if she shows no interest after a couple of pairrings then maybe start looking towards next season. It is not going to hurt anything to try even if you think she has no follicles. This seems to be a late season for a lot of us you might just be surprised... :gj:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Well I haven't paired her up in over a month and she no longer has follicles. There wouldn't be any point in pairing her up now, would there?

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Are you sure she had follicles? I ask, because I have about 6-10 females that I have been breeding for 3 or 4 years now with no clutches. While I have access to an ultrasound, I know many don't. Where I am going with this, is I believe my females cycle off season, and I plan on breeding them in july, August and September this year. So, with that said, if you weren't sure on the follicles, I would watch them close. If they start laying cool, or goo off feed, they may be ready at any time. Just to be sure, I would put a male in with them at least once per month, and see if copulation occurs.

Hope that helps,

Yes, she had 4 huge follicles. At one point the felt like they were the size of golf balls. Now they are gone. If you think she still has a chance, I'll throw a male in with her. The other female didn't develop any follicles so I might throw a boy in with her today.

If the male does not breed her, I would palpate her again very carefully. It is pretty rare for a female with follicles that big to reabsorb. I would bet that she may have ovulated and you missed it. Palpate her again very carefully, and I would bet that there is a high probability that she is carrying eggs. Eggs palpate very soft and squishy, kind of like a water balloon. (A slug will still palpate similar to a follicle, but generally more elongated)

Good luck,

Well when I palpated her yesterday I didn't feel anything. Of course this is my first season even being successful in palpating even follicles. I couldn't feel anything last season and she laid. And she went into a weird shed cycle. Not even 2 weeks after a shed, she was going into another shed cycle. Could that have been her pre-lay? I posted a picture of her and most were saying she was probably not gravid.