1st time breeder...

So I put my albino and normal together last night and they locked for over 12hrs. I Plan to leave then together for four days and give them a three day break.

My question is how long should I continue this schedule? What signs should I look for while they are together other then locking?

Thanx for reading. Please share the knowledge.

after you witness a lock you should go ahead and separate and it should be 3 days together and 4 days apart.

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Originally Posted by Wes

after you witness a lock you should go ahead and separate and it should be 3 days together and 4 days apart.

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Of course, just to clarify juuust in case... separate after they have 'unlocked' :)

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Originally Posted by nimblykimbly

Of course, just to clarify juuust in case... separate after they have 'unlocked' :)

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absolutely! I hope no one would pull them apart while they were locked

I would hope not too! :) Just thought I'd mention it ;)

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Originally Posted by Wes

after you witness a lock you should go ahead and separate and it should be 3 days together and 4 days apart.

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Well the just locked again and they have only been together since yesterday night.

So just to understand correctly. I should leave them together for a max of three days but If I see a lock wait till they "unlock" and separate them for 4 days?

Once they lock the first time and are done, then you are supposed to separate them and give them a break :)

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Originally Posted by nimblykimbly

Once they lock the first time and are done, then you are supposed to separate them and give them a break :)

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A four day break? They locked again in less then 2hrs.

Yes. Well, I've read that done people do 3 days off, some 4... I'm sure an expert will let us know - I'm new too, I just know what I've read :) personally, I think I will end up doing 4...

Ok well there still going at it. When the unlock ill separate them four 3 or 4 days and put them back together.

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Originally Posted by Haddady's RnR

A four day break? They locked again in less then 2hrs.

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Yes give him a break between pairings. Males have been known to basically breed themselves to death!

Also, if you are just pairing the male with the one female you do not have to pair him every week. You can give him a week or two off inbetween. That being said the season is in full swing so for me the breaks would depend on how far along your female is.

Alot of us pair 1 male with multiple females and that is usually where the 3 on 4 off comes from. A male will go with 1 female for 3 days or until you see a lock, then he gets a break during which he will get offered a meal and in a couple days moved on to the next female.
Here is a link to the breeding video section on World of BP's.
http://www.worldofballpythons.com/videos/breeding/

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Originally Posted by C&H Exotic Morphs

Yes give him a break between pairings. Males have been known to basically breed themselves to death!

Also, if you are just pairing the male with the one female you do not have to pair him every week. You can give him a week or two off inbetween. That being said the season is in full swing so for me the breaks would depend on how far along your female is.

Alot of us pair 1 male with multiple females and that is usually where the 3 on 4 off comes from. A male will go with 1 female for 3 days or until you see a lock, then he gets a break during which he will get offered a meal and in a couple days moved on to the next female.
Here is a link to the breeding video section on World of BP's.
http://www.worldofballpythons.com/videos/breeding/

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So after I see a lock and they have unlocked separate them for a week or so then put them back together? How long should I keep doing this with the one pair of snakes?

And thanx that info helped a lot

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Originally Posted by Haddady's RnR

So after I see a lock and they have unlocked separate them for a week or so then put them back together? How long should I keep doing this with the one pair of snakes?

And thanx that info helped a lot

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Break days are the days to offer your snakes food if they will take it. It will help keep up their energy as well.

You should keep pairing your snakes until the female ovulates. Look for signs of "building", bowl wrapping, and "glowing"

Here's a good resource to look at: http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html

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Originally Posted by Haddady's RnR

So after I see a lock and they have unlocked separate them for a week or so then put them back together? How long should I keep doing this with the one pair of snakes?

And thanx that info helped a lot

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There really is no set time frame.
The main thing is the health of the animals. Breeding takes a big toll on them.
As long as you continue to see breeding behavior and they remain in good health there is no reason to stop until you witness the female ovulate.

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Originally Posted by C&H Exotic Morphs

There really is no set time frame.
The main thing is the health of the animals. Breeding takes a big toll on them.
As long as you continue to see breeding behavior and they remain in good health there is no reason to stop until you witness the female ovulate.

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Ok thanx thats what I wanted to know

In Kevin McCurley's book (and I've read other more experienced breeders say this) that a specific male should only be bred to a specific female about once a month. Females can retain sperm for about 25 days or so. Granted, as day 25 approaches, the sperm has died off quite considerably and isn't as viable as it first was. But pairing once, maybe twice a month is all you need.

The 3/4 days on and off is when you are pairing a male to multiple females or multiple males to a specific female. In your case, you are only breeding your albino to your normal so you should pair them way less often. Perhaps twice a month instead of every 4 days.

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Originally Posted by that_dc5

In Kevin McCurley's book (and I've read other more experienced breeders say this) that a specific male should only be bred to a specific female about once a month. Females can retain sperm for about 25 days or so. Granted, as day 25 approaches, the sperm has died off quite considerably and isn't as viable as it first was. But pairing once, maybe twice a month is all you need.

The 3/4 days on and off is when you are pairing a male to multiple females or multiple males to a specific female. In your case, you are only breeding your albino to your normal so you should pair them way less often. Perhaps twice a month instead of every 4 days.

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Well im going to breed the her to albino and a pastel male.

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Originally Posted by Haddady's RnR

Well im going to breed the her to albino and a pastel male.

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Hopefully not in the same season. If both sired the clutch, how would you know which normal offspring are hets?

When breeding a recessive gene morph, its best to exclusively breed that animal that season. That way it guarantees that all offspring carry that albino gene.

Since you have already started breeding the albino, I recommend just breeding him this season with that particular female and save the pastel for next season or a different female.

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That makes sense I have just heard that people will breed 2 dif males to one female and it works out fine. I'm guessing that's not true.

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Originally Posted by Haddady's RnR

That makes sense I have just heard that people will breed 2 dif males to one female and it works out fine. I'm guessing that's not true.

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People do breed multiple males. But you have to be smart about it and not breed a recessive gene male along side with codoms and dominant males to avoid confusion of offspring genetics. I mean, you technically can breed your pastel and albino, but you would have to sell all normal offspring as normals. You can't say they're possible hets or hets.

I'm currently breeding 2 males(lesser and pinstripe) to 1 female(mojave). But the offspring will all be visual and no hidden genes. Normals will be normals.

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