Breeder Females

I ( and I think everyone else ) know the recommended weight to breed a female is about 1200 grams or more, but I also know of a few people that breed their females shortly before 1200 grams. At what size do YOU breed your females?

I wait till the girl is at least 500grams per foot of length. That way I ensure that she's healthy enough to endure the process. An example I can give - I bought some snakes off of a breeder who was going out of business. His females were 1200 grams but were 4 feet long. They were skinny and un healthy and NOT ready to breed. People say 1200grams and that can work if they've eaten properly since they've hatched but you can't always be sure of that so the 500gram / foot is a safer way to go.

The way I look at it is if I lose my female on a clutch than its either gonna cut into my profits when I have to replace her or Im gonna take a female from the clutch and wait 2+ years before I can breed her.

First off I go by age. My females MUST be at least 3 years old.
Even if a female reaches (I go by 1500g) the right weight it doesnt matter to me unless shes of age.
If a female is at least 3 years old then I go by the 1500g rule.

If im investing money in my breeder stock then I wont risk the health of a female by being impatient.

Most people that start to breed females in the 1100-1200g range, are also increasing their feed schedule to every 5 days or so, so that by the time if they do become gravid they will be at a good breeding weight.

On the other hand, you can have a female that's at least 3 yrs old and is just small around 1100g, who will produce a nice clutch of eggs.

This upcoming year will be my first at attempting breeding. I have an almost 3 year old pair of het piebalds. The female is now over 1500 grams. She might have gone for me last year but I wanted to wait. I really want eggs but I think patience is the key for me, at least for my first few clutches, haha.

I was gonna stay out of this one :D Anyway, personally I would say it really depends on the female. Age is an important factor to consider as well. In my opinion 1200 grams, assuming she's mature, balance and distribution of weight is good, would be a good weight to begin breeding. Of course there are those who disagree with the whole weight thing ;) good luck!

My preference is to pair BIG girls, the bigger the better.

Usually they start getting paired around 1600/1700 grams and I do not pair female unless they are at least 18 months. Of course the look of the female has to be right as well.

Now this does not mean I will not breed a 1100/1200 grams female either it depends on age and also weight.

For example I will not breed a 1 year old 1500 grams female but I will breed a 3 or 4 year old 1200 grams female.

i picked up some normal girls last year that were all 1300 grams. they were very well fed just smaller. it has taken me over a full year to get them to gain only 2-300 grams. so at 3-4 years old they are only roughly 1600 grams. more than breedable. but most girls at this age should be closer to 2000 grams or over imho. i have 2 year olds that are the same size. it all depends on each individual animal. if you dont have the experience to know for sure then you should wait till at least 3 years old and at least 1500 grams to have the best chance at success and have healthy fertile clutches.
adam jeffery

You have to look at the body type of 1200 gram girls. There are some that have good muscle mass versus skinnier animals. Personally i dont breed till they are 3 and in the 1500 gram range or bigger. You have to ensure they are sexually mature as well are big enough. The 1200 gram rule isnt always a good gauge. If a girl is 1200 grams but.not sexually mature then it doesnt do ya any good. For example i have a mojave hypo girl that was hatched in june 2010 and she is already 980 grams. Shes a friggin pig. Even though i know shes gonna be big enough next year shes not in the plan till 2013. By then she may be a ton lol. Also i have found that guys that breed their snakes early and light tend to have those same animals not breed the next year so i wouldnt push it. I like big big girls. Ive got some over 3500 grams that are crazy good producers of large clutches. They are 8 to 11 egg girls. They never bred till they were 3 so i stick to that guidline for my girls

Smallest females I have had lay was an accident, I picked up a trio of 1.0 Caramel and 0.2 het Caramel females and I did not know it but the person put them together because of room for 3 days or so and I got 4 eggs and 5 eggs. one female was only 917 grams with the eggs in her!!!! I had her in my grow out rack and I noticed she was nesting so I called to find out if she was with any males and sure enough eggs and 2 survived, got 1 caramel and 1 het, the other 5 eggs are all good so 30 days to prove her out she was around 1280 grams.

The thing that I believe hurts is small girls and boys seem to take longer to start eating after breeding or egg deposition compared to a 3 or 4 year old.

http://pdpythons.com/pic/100_0121%20(Large).JPG
http://pdpythons.com/pic/100_0122%20(Large).JPG

Im planning on breeding later this year my 1st time ever. In my plans ive got a 3-3.5yr female whos at 1250gr, a 2-2.5yr female whos at 1050 gr and a another girl whos just about 2 or just over 2ys old whos at 998 right now. Im holding off the temp turn down for another 2-3 months they have all been eating solidly for a good while now and the weights r about 2-3 weeks old. If the youngest doesnt go over 1350 i wont breed her, but she is 6 inches shorter then the oldest girl and head si the same size and almost same girth. I havnt power fed her either she is just a giant.