Breeder Males Size

Do you guys keep your breeder males small or just let them grow like you females?

Also has anyone found that by keeping males smaller they get better breeding results?

I like my lean :)

All my snakes get fed the same.

Regards,

B

I give my males the same opportunity to eat as the females do... I like having males with some size so I don't have to worry when they stop eating during breeding season...

I feed my boys like I feed my girls.

Everyone gets fed once a week around here... Some boys are naturally bigger while some stay lean and mean... It all depends on each individual snake...

I think keeping males small is silly.

I bred 4 males this season and the only one that performed flawlessly was the 2100 gram clown male.
That male could breed 10 females, lets see you try that with a small male....:P
IMO small males are NOT better breeders, you don't want a fat male but give me a big male over a smaller male every time.

I dont try keep my male on Small size not try over feed him... My female is on every week schedule..
My male on the other hand is on every 14 days schedule.... and he still growing..
When i got him in April 2010 He was 808 07 proven breeder...
Now he is almost 500g bigger than I got him with every 14 day schedule...
I believe that with small collections or breeding projects You can watch and feel every individual Animal and just do stuff right...:gj::gj::gj:

They get fed the same as the females do. I have actually found that the big guys are the most reliable breeders, though none of my males has grown as large as a typical female. They simply don't eat as much, even when it's offered. The best eaters are the biggest, and are also the best breeders. I agree that you can put a large male with more females, and his fertility is just fine.

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Originally Posted by JasonG

Everyone gets fed once a week around here... Some boys are naturally bigger while some stay lean and mean... It all depends on each individual snake...

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x2 :D

IMO, anyone who doesn't feed their males as much as they'll eat is just a money hungry breeder with nothing in mind but profit. They're only going to be selling it after two seasons anyway when the "next big thing" takes its place in the rack...

Blunt but my opinion.

Chris

So why do the people who keep males smaller do so?

I personally do (at the moment) as I have been led to beleive that males get 'Lazy' if they grow larger than 1500g. I will now increase the size of their food over time to let them grow as they should. :)

Thanks for your help guys :)

I personally have males over 1500g with my mojave being around 2500g and I have never had a problems with "being lazy" they are actually my best breeders and have seen very few slugs if any from the females they have been bred to. I find my bigger boys are just straight up studs locking with every female their put to and not having to worry about them not eating is a plus.. :D

Kaa, my old BP "love machine," got so big and fat that he looked like a breeder female. He never met a female ball python that he didn't want to service. He ate normally all through breeding season. If you took him out of the female's cage for 10 minutes he was ready for a meal.

I never tried it but it wouldn't have floored me if he had eaten while he was in a lock.

They're individuals.

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Originally Posted by Redneck_Crow

I never tried it but it wouldn't have floored me if he had eaten while he was in a lock.

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Your not sposta eat when your "locked"?

I never really thought about it before but we don't withhold food. That seems kinda like the pet stores telling people to feed twice a year to keep them small and manageable. I will say we are currently are feeding once every 5-7 days appropriate sized prey, but I guess I could see us going to every 10 days for the big girls and boys, but that would be it for us.

I feed all mine just as often as I do my females. No special treatment. My 1800g spider male was all over my pastel today without issues in the first 10 minutes, not lazy at all.

Males and females all eat on the same schedule here. I have also found that some males don't grow as quick as other males. My females on the other hand will out grow any of my males for some reason.

Good thread. I've been wondering about this myself.