Breeder feeding responce

Question for the Breeders.

I have a 2.5 / 3 year old (male?) BP. I have never had him probed so I took it one the salers word that it was a male. How ever I have been reading that females around this time of year start to eat more and have a stronger feeding responce. First is this true?

Second the reason I ask is I have been feeding every week for the last 2.5/3 years. He is about the right weigh for a female to begin breeding. So I went to get him out to snap a couple of pic's. And he Dang near came out of the viv after my hand in a feeding resopnce (I have it do this with rats). I also get the feeding responce when ever he see's my hand in or around the viv. He will start the fast breathing and the posturing and totaly focused on my hand.

Is this the type of responce you breeders see in your females around this time of year?

Thinking Orpheus might be Ophilia.


Thanks for the help.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Question for the Breeders.

I have a 2.5 / 3 year old (male?) BP. I have never had him probed so I took it one the salers word that it was a male. How ever I have been reading that females around this time of year start to eat more and have a stronger feeding responce. First is this true?

Second the reason I ask is I have been feeding every week for the last 2.5/3 years. He is about the right weigh for a female to begin breeding. So I went to get him out to snap a couple of pic's. And he Dang near came out of the viv after my hand in a feeding resopnce (I have it do this with rats). I also get the feeding responce when ever he see's my hand in or around the viv. He will start the fast breathing and the posturing and totaly focused on my hand.

Is this the type of responce you breeders see in your females around this time of year?

Thinking Orpheus might be Ophilia.


Thanks for the help.

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First your snake could still be a male with a large appetite.Second with my females they tend to stay on there normal feedings no matter the time of the year.Third maybe you scared your snake,in turn got the i am big and i bite act.I would suggest you have him/her probed by someone who knows what they are doing.Fourth as far as getting a response by walking or your hand by the viv he/she could be reacting from the shadows.Plus this is a way of causing your snake to be stressed and is a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

First your snake could still be a male with a large appetite.Second with my females they tend to stay on there normal feedings no matter the time of the year.

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Ok didn't know if breeding time brought about a different food intake requirement for females.

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Third maybe you scared your snake,in turn got the i am big and i bite act.I would suggest you have him/her probed by someone who knows what they are doing.

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This is very poss. However I believe this is an honest to God feeding responce that I am seeing not a threat posturing. I see this every time I feed. He has threatened before the stiff body, puffing up ect. This is more like a OHHH rat type. Where he "S"'s his neck behind his head so to have enough room to strike. It's really strange.

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Fourth as far as getting a response by walking or your hand by the viv he/she could be reacting from the shadows.Plus this is a way of causing your snake to be stressed and is a bad idea.

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Its not so much the walking by that draws his attention. But that when a warm.. whatever comes close he goes into feeding mode.

It may just be an increase in appetite and thats all.

thanks for the responce and the input as alway very helpfull.

No problem :D .See no two ball pythons are alike and we may never know exactly why they do some things lol.Once again ya gotta love ball pythons :P

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Originally Posted by joepythons

No problem :D .See no two ball pythons are alike and we may never know exactly why they do some things lol.Once again ya gotta love ball pythons :P

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Oh yea they'll keep you guessing

Well, if you don't know the gender; try to find sperm plugs. At this age a gentle slide over de tail upside will pop up sperm plugs if it's a male.

Oh ok might try that.

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Originally Posted by MATTI

Well, if you don't know the gender; try to find sperm plugs. At this age a gentle slide over de tail upside will pop up sperm plugs if it's a male.

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This was my second year breeding ball pythons and i have yet to see a sperm plug lol.I also can not feel the eggs when the females are gravid lol.I think i am the only one on this planet that has had these problems :oops: :P .The only ways to tell if your snake is a him or a her is probing.Now this could be determined wrong if the little snot tightens that area of which you would get a misprobing result.I just love our ball pythons :partyon:

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Originally Posted by joepythons

The only ways to tell if your snake is a him or a her is probing.

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Or popping! ;) I've definitely seen sperm plugs on my two 1.5 year old males. Can't miss 'em when I pop them! LOL

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Or popping! ;) I've definitely seen sperm plugs on my two 1.5 year old males. Can't miss 'em when I pop them! LOL

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True allthough his snake is 2.5 to 3yrs old.You pop your snakes at this age :O .I am lucky if i probe the little buggers correct the first time.Yes i have brought home a few "female" adults and the turn out to be "males" with strong muscles in their gender areas lol.

I know Adam pops all of his. I don't believe he probes at all - even adults. Since I'll be meeting him to pick up Casper, Piper and Sophie on Thursday in Daytona, I plan to make sure I'm doing things correctly.


I found it difficult to pop at first, but with practice, I have no problems getting the boys to evert and one is pushing 1000 grams and everts with ease.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I found it difficult to pop at first, but with practice, I have no problems getting the boys to evert and one is pushing 1000 grams and everts with ease.

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Just following this discussion and a question popped into my head as I read this. I wonder if snakes can get used to being popped? If you practice on yours, do they grow accustomed to it and just sorta think "Oh there goes that crazy lady again...better show her the goods and get it over with?" :P Whereas...if you picked up a 1000+ gram male who has never been popped...he may be more inclined to resist and fool ya into thinking he's a girl?

I pop everything ... the only time I probe is when I'm teaching someone how to do it ... I just eat my wheaties and get -r- done.

They don't get "used to it" ... some are fighters, some are mellow, every snake is different.

-adam

The man himself. Adam do you notice your females getting hungrier around breeding time?

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

The man himself. Adam do you notice your females getting hungrier around breeding time?

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Not necessarily ... I notice it more around weather patterns ... a baramoeter should be in the snake room of every ball keeper.

I do notice much stronger appetites from females that have been bred and are in the very early stages of follicular development at times, but it's not always consistent.

This time of year, it's hot, muggy, and everyone should be hungry ... good eaters will eat you out of house and home this time of year ... male or female.

-adam

Hey frog I have the same deal with my 780gram female Wilma , she by far has the best feeding responce in the whole group. She does everything you described , sorry I don't know about the breeding part.Can't wait to properly learn how to probe or pop.

As I've practiced with my collection - I've found it almost easier to pop than probe. I've got one girl that I actually sent back to the seller to let them pop her again to make sure. She probed deep to me, and I just wasn't convinced. Now that I've been practicing, it's obvious that she's female and I find the popping "for me" to be more accurate. I don't even need the boys to evert completely - it just looks completely different even when they don't evert.


Again - I'm going to verify with Adam that I'm doing this correctly when I meet him, but I can definitely see myself probing less and less and going more towards popping as I gain even more experience.

Ok just didn't know if the start of ovulation and egg production causes a need for higher food intake. Thanks for the help.