Breeding for "Dummies" haha

We're going to be trying our hand at breeding our 100% het albino normals when they get to appropriate age/size (probably wont be for a couple years considering they're both only 200g) and I'm doing my best to absorb as much information as I can on the process so I'm super prepared.

Reading all the threads is incredibly helpful (and makes me so excited for my first clutch in the future) but there's obviously some things that I'm not educated about. The hatchling care thread and incubation thread were awesome, but I'm still pretty clueless on a lot of things.

Could someone find the time to spew as much info in this thread as possible? Haha.

-Terms? (ovy, gravid, "glow", building etc)
-Maybe a timeline documenting from beginning to end? Going from even before you pair them. How can you tell if they're ready? Any special considerations, feeding routine, signs to watch for, how long & often to pair them, how can you tell if they're truly locked?

I'm sure there's a TON of things to learn and understand so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just to clarify, btw. Our snakes are brother & sister. Breeding them would be okay, right? Are there any pairings that you SHOULDN'T try due to being related etc?

Also, with them being both normals, with 100% het albino, would all their offspring be albinos? Or would there be normals thrown in?

Haha gosh, this is a novel. Thank you in advance to anyone who feeds my brain with knowledge haha :D

Well the only part I can answer for you is about what the odds are for the morphs. You've got a 1/4 shot of visible albino, 1/2 shot of het albino, and 1/4 normal.

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Originally Posted by Marrissa

Well the only part I can answer for you is about what the odds are for the morphs. You've got a 1/4 shot of visible albino, 1/2 shot of het albino, and 1/4 normal.

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What does "het" albino mean exactly?
I thought with both of them being 100% and pairing them together, it'd be better chances? I'm still a SUPER noob when it comes to genetics and morphs.

GREAT questions! I'm a newbie, so can't really help you. But definitely looking forward to the feedback you receive.


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Originally Posted by Melissa18

GREAT questions! I'm a newbie, so can't really help you. But definitely looking forward to the feedback you receive.


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My name is Melissa too :cool:

best.name.ever. ;)


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Here is a step-by-step chronicled breeding method by one accomplished breeder. It's almost a direct "how-to" but keep in mind this is just one breeders way of doing it. The pics really help. I've read it a few times over and can't wait to breed my snakes.

http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html

het means heterozygous for that particular trait

as in they carry it but it isn't physically expressed

AA = dominant (homozygous)
Aa= heterozygous
aa= recessive (homozygous)

the only way a het trait gets expressed is if the het animal is mated with a het or homozygous recessive animal....punnett squares 101 from genetics/gen bio

Aa x aa= Aa and aa (50% chance for either)

Aa X Aa= AA/Aa/aa 1:2:1 ratio (25%/50%/25%) chances

I never did like math....:rolleye2:
The step by step link is great! Thank you!
Would love to hear other people's methods as well :D

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Originally Posted by timely.grace

We're going to be trying our hand at breeding our 100% het albino normals when they get to appropriate age/size (probably wont be for a couple years considering they're both only 200g) and I'm doing my best to absorb as much information as I can on the process so I'm super prepared.

Reading all the threads is incredibly helpful (and makes me so excited for my first clutch in the future) but there's obviously some things that I'm not educated about. The hatchling care thread and incubation thread were awesome, but I'm still pretty clueless on a lot of things.

Could someone find the time to spew as much info in this thread as possible? Haha.

-Terms? (ovy, gravid, "glow", building etc)
-Maybe a timeline documenting from beginning to end? Going from even before you pair them. How can you tell if they're ready? Any special considerations, feeding routine, signs to watch for, how long & often to pair them, how can you tell if they're truly locked?

I'm sure there's a TON of things to learn and understand so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just to clarify, btw. Our snakes are brother & sister. Breeding them would be okay, right? Are there any pairings that you SHOULDN'T try due to being related etc?

Also, with them being both normals, with 100% het albino, would all their offspring be albinos? Or would there be normals thrown in?

Haha gosh, this is a novel. Thank you in advance to anyone who feeds my brain with knowledge haha :D

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1. Terms

• ovy = ovulation. It's when the female's follicles move into the ovaducts where they are met with the sperm and are fertilized - this guarantees that you will get eggs (not neccessarily viable...but eggs no less)
• gravid = a female who has undergone an ovulation and is due to lay eggs
• "glow" = it happens before a female ovulates. The color of the female brightens to where it looks like a completely different snake
• building = when the female is growing her follicles. She will show signs of being uncomfortable: getting larger, bowl wrapping, sitting on the cool side, laying funny, "glowing", feeding can be described as hit and miss or a garbage disposal, and follicles are palpable
• "het" = means they are heterozygouse for a trait. It basically means they carry one gene but need two genes to express it

2. Timeline

• http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ndom/Chart.jpg
• http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/pdfs...hedule_Doc.pdf
• http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html
• Also take note that not everyone cools and it can often take many months for this process to occur. It is never like the charts say. The females can be unpredictable.

3. Special Considerations

• You will find that every breeder has their own things that they do...the following are mine
• I offer food weekly regardless (both males and females)
• I pair them for 3 days (unless I visually see a lock), then separate the pair for 4 days to allow for feeding and digesting
• usually you will see the male's tail underneath the female's and curled - this is a lock (http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/2561/img0674ki.jpg)

4. Brother and Sister - this should be fine. A lot of morphs are proven by breeding siblings, mother-son, and father-daughter. It's not like in people.
5. Genetics

• A het x het albino pairing will give you the following odds: 1 in 4 chance of an albino, 1/2 chance of a het albino, and a 1/4 chance of a normal
• note: if you get 4 eggs, you will NOT get 1 albino, 1 normal, and 2 het albinos. The above ratios are chances per egg! You could end up with 4 albinos, 4 normals, or a mixture.
• You will not know which babies are het and which are just normals, so when you sell the babies, you sell them as PH ablino (possible het albino). It means you don't know if they are het, but they could be.

I hope that answered a lot of your questions. This is my first season breeding, but this is what my research as taught me.

That's awesome. Thank you so much! :D
Keep them coming!

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Originally Posted by BHReptiles

4. Brother and Sister - this should be fine. A lot of morphs are proven by breeding siblings, mother-son, and father-daughter. It's not like in people.

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How many times is safe?? I don't think I can handle dealing with a 2 headed snake or one with no eyes!!



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Originally Posted by KRAK

How many times is safe?? I don't think I can handle dealing with a 2 headed snake or one with no eyes!!

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Deformities can happen due to temp issues during incubation, genetic incompatibilities, and other reasons. Make sure you are prepared to deal with this possibility before pairing.

I am one of the people who does not cool the snakes and I never had an issue with it. I do light cycles starting in October through the end of March and start my pairings in October. Once I notice a male will not lock with a certain female she is done breeding and will not have a male with her again. I put the male in for 3 days with the female and then out for 4 days. That is about it honestly. All my temps stay the same and feeding stays the same. Each is always offered and if not taken then they are offered fresh the next week. I found this is what works best for me. Here is a link to Ralph Davis Reptiles who does the same thing and has it more detailed http://ralphdavisreptiles.com/matrix...l_breeding.asp also on that site has an area for the terminology and also punnet squares and all that fun stuff.

http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html

This is my go to guide. I see someone else posted it as well.

Its really hard to explain all this stuff in one go. Honestly, most of these things you will learn over time. Don't overload yourself with too much info!

I joined this site nearly 5 years ago. I spent the better part of 4 years absorbing information through other members. I followed interesting breeding threads, learned how to make my own incubator, started to breed rats, built my own rack. Finally I've produced my own babies and it is such a wonderfully rewarding experience.

You can read the guides and those are great for learning basic terms and timeline.. but I think just reading about peoples real experiences through the breeding season is the most beneficial. Everyone has different methods, tips, and tricks. It is up to you to take in all that information and decide for yourself what the best.


This year was my first breeding season. I paired up 3 females and I got 3 clutches. I didn't cool my animals this year and I probably won't next year either. I started pairing in may of 2012 and I saw my first clutch of eggs a whole YEAR later. This just goes to show you how much patience you need in this hobby. Prepare yourself to wait wait wait!!

My second clutch was a complete disaster. I paired my pastel female to my mojave and pewter. I was really excited for this clutch! It was to be my only multiple gene clutch this season. Before her lay date, she laid a couple of slugs :( Then a few days later, more slugs. She retained one of the eggs and while I was hoping it was fertile, I knew I had to call a vet to deal with the retained egg. I had to have the egg aspirated ($300) and I am currently still waiting for her to pass what remains of it. She did pass some ovum (unfertilized eggs without shells), but not the pesky egg shell. While I feel so badly that my poor pastel had to go through this, it is also a very valuable learning experience for me as a breeder. There are going to be some clutches that just don't turn out like you plan. Whether they are all slugs, deformed, die in the egg, it is something to prepare yourself for.

My last clutch is hatching as I type. Even though I've already seen babies hatch this year, it is still SO exciting. I paired multiple males with a normal female and I was overjoyed this morning to see that I had a multi-sired clutch (two fathers). And to top it off, I have my first double gene animal! It really is an amazing feeling and I can't wait for all of my future pairings and subsequent babies :)


I would not have been able to breed successfully if it wasn't for the awesome people on this site. I felt like I knew exactly what to do when I got my first clutch of eggs, even though I had never even seen real eggs in person before. This site has given me a lot of confidence :) I hope you can learn as much as I did, if not more! So please don't be afraid to ask lots of questions and most importantly, keep learning! I'm still learning new things everyday!

I'm a newbie as well and I've learned so much from this site and all the people here. I've read so many threads I've lost count, this thread has helped me learn even more that I will be able to use when I do finally breed, so to the op thank you so much for starting this thread and to all the veteran breeders and far more knowledgeable people thank you for chiming in :) I know unhelpful post but I just wanted to share my appreciation :D

I'm the OP, just on a newly made joint account. My spouse wanted an "us" account so he could come in and lurk as he pleases lol.
But ANYWAY, to Artemisace, you're welcome! I found the info others posted in here EXTREMELY helpful. So excited to start pairings in the next year or so.