Gay or something????

Hi I have herd people say that their male ball python is gay. . . Why do some of them be this way? Is there a way to make them want to breed witht he females? Also wouldnt it be a wwaste of money if you buy a 5k male snake and its gay? would you just sell it not letting the buyer know that it is gay? Thanx

I can't speak about bp's in particular, but it's fairly common for male animals to attempt or mimic mating with other males of the same species....but I've only heard of this when no females are available for them. Give them a female and they are no less inclined to mate with her than any other male. I'm sure the same is true of bp's. If you house two males together, they may lock up....but that doesn't mean they don't WANT a female!

Between my two male neutered cats, who are litter mates, Nicky loves to hump Cato. Coincidentally, Nicky was neutered later than Cato. I think it's just an instinct thing to mate in animals. With my cats, I think that Nicky is just trying to get his no-longer-existant rocks off...

I would guess that if you see two males BPs locking up, just means they want a girly snake, but none are accessible, hehe. =)

I am talking about when people say that their male iosnt interested in the females and that they will only lock up with males . . .

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Originally Posted by amg20102006

I am talking about when people say that their male iosnt interested in the females and that they will only lock up with males . . .

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Just because someone SAYS that doesn't mean it's true. Most likely someone is speaking from a serious lack of experience. It could very well be that they saw two males locked up, and the first time they put one of those males with a female, they don't lock...so someone assumes there is some sort of deliberate homosexuality involved. Most likely the female simply wasn't receptive...or the male wasn't in the mood. Who knows why they don't lock up? It's certainly not a given that having two sexually mature snakes in the same cage means they will hook up.

I think you're putting a little too much stock in something that I've NEVER heard any of the highly experienced breeders talk about.

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Hi I have herd people say that their male ball python is gay. . . Why do some of them be this way? Is there a way to make them want to breed witht he females? Also wouldnt it be a wwaste of money if you buy a 5k male snake and its gay? would you just sell it not letting the buyer know that it is gay? Thanx

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Andre, animals are neither gay nor straight, animals are....animals. Mating behaviours can sometimes be more about dominance than a drive to reproduce. As well, when you purchase a male or a female of any species no one can absolutely guarantee it will one day go on to reproduce for you. Sure if you spend 5K and the snake doesn't make babies for you, you're likely to be a bit less than happy but if you believe that anything to do with breeding ANY creature is an absolute you need to rethink things in my opinion.

I'm sure that experienced breeders have found ways to encourage their snakes to reproduce consistently but this is likely more about healthy breeding stock, perfect husbandry, a solid knowledge of what it takes to provide the right environment for successful breeding and patience....lots of patience.



~~Jo~~

Okay so I will jsut wait to see for my self but, for now all I can do is read and read on how to breed. Is the breeding video any good?

Very well said, Jo. :clap:

More often than not, getting ball pythons to copulate, or "lock-up", isn't the difficult part of the breeding equation.

If you have a male whom is reluctant to mate, I would seriously take a look at your husbandry practices. Chances are, the problem is the given environment, not the snake's sexual orientation, should such a thing exist.

Yours too Judy. Glad to have you back! :)


~~Jo~~

There is no such thing as a 'gay' ball python. Ball pythons are not sexually dimorphic (males and females look alike), so they rely on smells to 'detect' members of the opposite sex. These males don't just go out and look for other males to breed....and why would a breeder try to purposely breed two males together. Male ball pythons breeding other male ball pythons can occur if the breeding environment is provided ,the snakes become 'confused' and two males are housed together. The only two reasons that I can think of housing two male ball pythons together during breeding season is 1) to initiate 'competition' between a male that is breeding strong and a male that is not breeding in order to get the non-breeding male interested in the ladies and 2) the breeder missexed a male and thought it was a female. In both situations a male that has been prepared for breeding is placed in a enclosure with another male...the female odors are probably present on one male or the other and they just do their thing....it is not like they have hands and a set of probes to check first ;)

Good points everyone. Is the breeding video any good? Alos what kind of incobator does everyone use for ball pythons?

The video is good.....and all kinds of incubators are used.....it depends on if you want to make one or if you want to buy one.....the most important thing is that you have a good thermostat like a herpstat or helix to run the incubator.

I noticed on your website that you said you have one. Wich do you have daniel?

I have a little Hovabator....but it will not be used for ball python eggs. It will be used for other critter eggs :) I plan to build a nice incubator that can hold alot of clutches before next breeding season for my ball python eggs.

Actually, though most animals are bi, there have been studies and observations in regards to predominantly homosexual animals too... More so amongst animals that mate for life though. You might be interested in this book Biological Exuberance : Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity which is a very fascinating read on the subject. Chances are good you can find it at the library. I don't recall if there was a section on reptiles though, but I doubt it. They tend to be opportunistic and not have any particular preferences one way or the other.

Excellent book though, I highly recommend it. I always refer people to it when they go telling me that homosexuality is "unnatural."

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Originally Posted by amg20102006

I am talking about when people say that their male iosnt interested in the females and that they will only lock up with males . . .

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Those idiots don't know what they're doing or what they're talking about.

A dominant male will breed anything you put him in with ... other males, females, water bowls ... it doesn't matter to him ... when he gets the "urge" then he gets er done. If a female isn't receptive to a male, she won't copulate with him.

Real breeders know how to make their males horny and their females receptive to the males ... They know all of the little "tricks" ... but sometimes even then there are duds ...

The POSERS just flounder around and never "get it" when it comes to breeding ... they cry about "gay males" and "reabsorbed follicles" and whatever else they need to blame their troubles on to not feel like an idiot.

Be careful who you take advice from on the internet ... there are POSERS everywhere in the ball python world ... lots of people out there giving advice about breeding and they've never even bred ball pythons before ... or advice about husbandry and all they own is a leopard gecko … LAME!

Trust the big breeders ... NERD, RDR, VPI, RKR, etc ... these are the MASTERS that have turned hobby into profession because they know what they're talking about! ;)

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

A dominant male will breed anything you put him in with ... ...water bowls ... it doesn't matter to him ....

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OK now THAT explains why the watercooler here at work has been looking so so fine . . . and why they won't let me near it anymore :S

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

OK now THAT explains why the watercooler here at work has been looking so so fine . . . and why they won't let me near it anymore :S

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LMAO!

-adam

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

OK now THAT explains why the watercooler here at work has been looking so so fine . . . and why they won't let me near it anymore :S

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Back away from the break room! :twisted:

We gotta get you out Matt!! ;) LOL!! Any hope for a vacation soon? Or just a nice weekend hiding in the closet? :D

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

OK now THAT explains why the watercooler here at work has been looking so so fine . . . and why they won't let me near it anymore :S

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LMAO!!! that so just made the rest of my day! :rofl: