Old girl breeding?

I have a foster normal ball python female. She is 1500g on the dot and is the worst eater! I think I might introduce her to a future lesser male in September. What do you guys think? She frequently goes off for a month. The problem is she is 12+ years old. Is she still fertile?


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Should be, I don't see any issues breeding her. There is no doubt that she is sexually mature at this point. Give it a shot, worst that can happen is she doesn't produce.

Never hurts to try if she takes she takes if not oh well.

I'm attempting to breed a 16 year old female this season, I don't foresee any issues with your breeding a 12 year old. I've never bred her before, but she shows all the signs of being ready to breed. I figure if she acts like she wants to, she probably can.

Snakes can be Cougars too ;-) hehehe

I would be concerned about her weight moreso than her age. You say she is a difficult feeder - even though she is 1500g, does she have the proper body condition to handle developing eggs?

If i remember correctly, I read something about a 25+ year old female Ball Pythons laying healthy clutches
I have also read about a Ball Python reaching up to 45 years old, and to be honest out in the wild the purpose of living for animals in general is to reproduce and survive, so I don't see any reason why you won't be able to breed your girl :)

Thank you all I will try this season.

PS it will be my first year and if i start lowering temps early september than introduce the male late september will everything be hatched by this time of the year?

The avg bp lives to like 30 i think and the record is 47years old. I think a 12 and 16 year old would be fine. Ive read on here a few times that it is believed that snakes can breed their entire lives. Idk if anyone has had one long enough to prove this theory though?

Thats not old. I have a trio of girls that were hatchling in 1995 and all three laid clutches this year.

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Originally Posted by QuidsBalls

If i remember correctly, I read something about a 25+ year old female Ball Pythons laying healthy clutches
I have also read about a Ball Python reaching up to 45 years old, and to be honest out in the wild the purpose of living for animals in general is to reproduce and survive, so I don't see any reason why you won't be able to breed your girl :)

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I also recall the 45 yr old python laid good eggs when she was 43. Could be internet hype, but I heard it a few places.

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Originally Posted by masonhall

PS it will be my first year and if i start lowering temps early september than introduce the male late september will everything be hatched by this time of the year?

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Any thoughts?





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Quote:

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Originally Posted by masonhall

Any thoughts?





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Ball pythons breed all year round and lowering temps isn't necessary. They all take different lengths of time to build and whatnot, I have 2 females that still haven't ovyd and they have been paired since November. I had one female take exactly 4 months from first lock to laying. Its subjective...

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

I would be concerned about her weight moreso than her age. You say she is a difficult feeder - even though she is 1500g, does she have the proper body condition to handle developing eggs?

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I've had her for about a year and her prior handlers fed her tiny mice at around 1000 grams. They did not realize that she would not grow. i have tried to feed her larger meals since then, but she really only eats well in the summer when she chows down food. I figure i can beef her up a bit more over the summer. here is a pic:
http://iherp.com/Gallery/97869/97566...QMWBJbBSkm.jpg

If she is refusing to eat larger mice/rats, try to feed her more often, I've had a ball python of mine eat 2 f/t rats within 2 hours of eachother, and the rats were just about as large as he should have been able to handle (girth of rat was the same girth as the snake)

Sometimes you'll have a ball who is a very picky eater, others will eat anything you put in front of it...
I also had a ball who refused to eat for the first 2 times I attempted to feed, so I starved him for 2 more weeks, after that he ate regularily for me, once a week

Everyone has their own methods ;)

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Originally Posted by 4Ballz

Snakes can be Cougars too ;-) hehehe

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Rofl too funny.

Yeah if she goes Congrats,
Why not test her out this season? Not too late.
Some breeders breed year round

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

The avg bp lives to like 30 i think and the record is 47years old. I think a 12 and 16 year old would be fine. Ive read on here a few times that it is believed that snakes can breed their entire lives. Idk if anyone has had one long enough to prove this theory though?

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Oldest one I know of is at the STL Zoo. It is well into its 50s now and was imported as an adult. I had a picture of its record card at one time. It was old 10 years ago. I'm pretty sure it has also been reproductive in the last 10 years also.