When do you stop pairing...

When do you give up on a girl and stop pairing for the season? I have one female who is breeding size this season. I have been pairing her since October or November and I have witnessed at least 8-10 solid locks with my proven breeder male mojave and a couple locks with my pastel YB. She has been off food for 3 months now (93 days to be exact). I haven't seen any signs of building, no ovy, or any other distinguishable signs. I don't have any experience trying to palpate, so I don't know if she has follicles either. She shed a little over a week ago so I thought I might have missed something, so I put my mojo in with her again and they locked up again.

My question is, even though she's continuing to lock with my males, when do you decide the female isn't going to take and stop pairing for the season?

From what I have heard, some people breed all year long. I would say keep pairing until they stop locking. As long as you are giving the male adequate rest and he is not losing alot of weight you should be fine. I'm sure you'll get alot of answers on this topic though.

This is my 1st year breeding and I only had 1 female up to size and she did go but I'd sort of decided that if she didn't go I was going to stop pairing somewhere around April/May or if she lost a whole bunch of weight. That way I'd have time to get her back up to size to try again next year.

You stop once she lays eggs lol. I breed 3 groups of females all year long. A fall group, a spring group and a summer group. No cooling just pairing and let nature do what it do

I would keep trying, breeding season lasts all year. I had a female albino lay eggs December 26th. She always lays late in the year. Best of luck. Let me know what happens.

Rob

Till ovulation, then i stop

i agree, don't breed your bps all year long. they can; but they will get tired and if at the end they do become gravid, they are tired and not prepared for long pregnancy. Although; i only breed in the winter/spring. i do a cooling period, and a small warming/feeding period before pairing only because this helps them save energy for the breeding. Every breeder has his/her own opinion. I keep them caged together until i am positive the males are ready to be taken out. it is important to keep track of their shedding patterns. if nothing happens, they usually come out at the end of april. and they are kept alone until next year.
Also it is quite easy to palpate. you tube a video and follow along it is simple. just make sure your snake is relaxed and as you move down her belly it will be a clear popping feeling. best of luck!

I almost learned the hard way last season not to give up too early. I started pairing in November and stopped in May even though a few of my girls were still locking (no follicles though). Just for kicks I palpated in mid June and had follicles on two girls, a normal and a pewter. Started pairing again and both girls laid.

This year Im going to keep pairing until the females stop locking.

Ok, I will keep tossing the males in as long as they keep locking...

What about girls that go off feed for an extended period of time? Like I said, she hasn't eaten for 93 days. She hasn't lost any noticeable weight yet, but at some point do you stop pairing to get her back on?

Sorry, first season breeder questions, but thanks for the help...

I still offer my girls small meals but some dont eat and some do. It is also very important to offer small meals to your males. A male will literally breed himself to death if you let him so its very important to keep his strength up for the rigors of breeding. Small meals only. Dont worry bout anything but sustaining him. If you feed him alot he will tend to be a lazy breeder

My females tend to eat better when they are locking, its my males that tend to go off feed. The only time my females stop eating due to breeding is right before they ovulate.

I pair until they stop locking. In my experience (at least so far), if a female decides she isn't going to go, she'll stop producing the pheromones that draw the male, and he'll stop trying...so, whether they go or not, they'll stop locking at some point. Once all the females are rejecting the males, the males go back to their own bins for the rest of the year, to fatten back up.
Some of my males are so eager to breed, there's no point in stopping pairing until the females aren't producing pheromones anymore. If I put them back, all they do is roam frantically at the front of their bin all night, and won't eat...it's not restful, lol.

It is stressful and unproductive to pair them up month after month.

We have had eggs laid as early as January, and as late as December, every month of the year.

Ideally you only pair them up when the female's follicles are within a viable range, about 10mm-20mm. You can check that exactly with an ultrasound, but you can also palpate by hand and develop a feel for the proper size (it "feels" like a large pea).

You can also learn to read the shed cycles, which indicate the same window of viability.

But it takes time and experience (and failure) to read the female effectively, especially without an ultrasound. For years we would pair up from February through June or so, and have miserable success. By 2011, we only had to pair up for the handful of days when the female is viable. Saves her a ton of stress, saves your male for 10 other females, and gives you a much higher success rate.

That doesn't necessarily help the new breeder with just a few animals, no ultrasound, and no palpating skills, I am just trying to illustrate that she may cycle at any given point in the year, and your challenge, given whatever tools and knowledge you have put together, is to pair her during that window of viability, and not stress her too much outside of it.

Best of luck!

Thanks again everyone. I'm going to keep trying to learn to palpate. I've tried a couple times with her and don't feel anything, but I may not be using enough pressure for fear of hurting her.

All my snakes are offered food every 7-10 days, whether they're breeders or not. I never offer larger than a small rat, so no issue there. I think I'm going to try her on one of my ASF breeders that's ready to retire next. Maybe that'll tempt her enough.

My guys get plenty of breaks. I only have one breedable female right now and two breedable males. They're taking turns with her, going in for 3 days at a time or until I've witnessed a lock and they've finished their business, then the female gets a week off before the next pairing. So the guys are really only going in 6 days a month or so, but they're locking up within a couple hours every time they go in...

Thanks again everyone! I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping for at least a small viable clutch to get some experience before the rest of my females are up to size...

in my advice i would find someone close to you and ask them to teach you to palpate. i did this and found it was easy once i was shown. good luck!

Breed them once a month till ovulation...

Curious. Where can Joe Blo get an ultrasound?