let's talk about size before breeding

What are the chances that my 531g 16 month old female python will grow into breeding age by the start of breeding season in Nov.?

I would think that gaining 1000 grams in 9-10 months might be a bit of a stretch. But, you never know. Just see how she is in November, and if she's not ready, give her another year to mature.

do they have to start in november?

No - they can start any time - some breeders breed year round.

that's what i wanted to know. I'd like to breed like that because I don't think she'll make 1500 by november.

:hijackd:
Do you have to give males cycle time if say you are breeding him to two or three females that are breeding at different times in the year?

Is it generally good practice to get all snakes in a collection on the same cycle as I've heard they can sense when a female nearby is ovulating and this causes some snakes to fast for a while?

When is the male mature enough to breed?

I am seeing you have a 16 month old snake that is only 500 ish grams - either that is a misprint or you have one slow growing or underfed snake.

Lets start with clarifying that first.

could have gone off its food also

Sounds small to me too. Should be twice that size.

I have a 3.5 year old het female just hit over 1500 and I always try feeding her every week or two, she is a slow feeder.
Then I have a 07 OG female thats over 1500 grams.

Some take off and some are slow.

Good luck getting her up there.:gj:

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Originally Posted by Tosha_Mc

I am seeing you have a 16 month old snake that is only 500 ish grams - either that is a misprint or you have one slow growing or underfed snake.

Lets start with clarifying that first.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by FatBoy

Sounds small to me too. Should be twice that size.

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last i checked i have a 30 month old female at only 775g and she eats every week without problems and is not skinny at all. i also have a 30 month old female at 2200g who is gravid right now and she also eats the same size f/t rat as the other female every week(sometimes every other week).

they grow at different rates and as long as she is eating then she is not small. she just may not be ready to be big yet!;)

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last i checked i have a 30 month old female at only 775g and she eats every week without problems and is not skinny at all. i also have a 30 month old female at 2200g who is gravid right now and she also eats the same size f/t rat as the other female every week(sometimes every other week).

they grow at different rates and as long as she is eating then she is not small. she just may not be ready to be big yet!

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Very good point. Provided that you supply adequate food and heat, they will grow as big and as fast as they are meant to. I've had 2 year old females at 500 grams that suddenly put on 1000 grams in their third year. And then I've had 2 year old females that were already at 1500 grams. 500 grams at 16 months really isn't that unusual. They do go through growth spurts where they will put on weight very quickly, or they can hold at the same weight for long periods of time no matter how much you feed them.

Mark

yeah well she is an extremely finicky eater. If conditions aren't perfect she will not eat. It is quite upsetting. She may have been underfed when I bought her too which was in October. I really want her to gain weight fast but without her eat as she should I am having an issue.