Breeding Questions

Hello ALL! I have been doing some research on breeding a have a few last questions:

1. Do I put one male and 2 females or the other way around?

2. Do I put them in the males tank, females or a separate container?

3. What time of day/night do it do it?

4. What is some regular/irregular behavior to look for once they are together? Thanks...

Can someone help me?

1. Do I put one male and 2 females or the other way around?
I would go with one male and one female, then if you wish to try another male, take the other one out first. You should never have two same sex snakes in one enclosure. :)

2. Do I put them in the males tank, females or a separate container?
From what I've seen, and read from this awesome site, you should be fine with either. I think most people here put the male in with the female, but don't quote me on that. ;)

3. What time of day/night do it do it?
As for day or night, I'd think you around night time would be better, since balls are nocturnal. You might also watch for cold fronts coming through.

4. What is some regular/irregular behavior to look for once they are together?
I know if they're 'not getting along' most likely they'll curl up in opposite corners. If you think there might be something going on, look for intertwined tails, one usually under the other.

Good luck!:D

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1. Do I put one male and 2 females or the other way around?

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You want 1 male in with 1 female at a time. a single male can breed many females but only 1 at a time.

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2. Do I put them in the males tank, females or a separate container?

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I like to move the male into the females enclosure. The females are building follicles/developing eggs and are better off without the stress involved.

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3. What time of day/night do it do it?

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Any time really. You will need to leave them together for a few days as they can lock for a long time and you want to wait until they are finished.

Hope that helps

Richard

ONE LAST QUESTION:

The hid isn't big enough for the 2 of them, should I remove it or move it to the side for them to be room for them to lock up? The male is 3 1/2 long and the female is 2 1/2 feet...Meaning with the heat rock, hid, and water dish there isn't muc room for the 2 of them to lock up.

P.S. I am running an under tank heater and redlight 24/7, heat rock only comes on during the day and is hooked up to a dimmer so it gets a little warm, barely an heat so no burns will happen...

I would leave the hide in there, if she is not interested she will probably hide. They don't need much space to breed.

Hi,

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Originally Posted by djvip510

The male is 3 1/2 long and the female is 2 1/2 feet...Meaning with the heat rock, hid, and water dish there isn't muc room for the 2 of them to lock up.

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OK can you tell us what weight the two snakes are? Because 2 and a half feet sounds waaay to small to be trying to breed a female ball python.

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Originally Posted by djvip510

P.S. I am running an under tank heater and redlight 24/7, heat rock only comes on during the day and is hooked up to a dimmer so it gets a little warm, barely an heat so no burns will happen..

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So what are the temps during the day and during the night?

What are you using the heat rock for - can you get the temps up to the recomended level using just the UTH and bulb?

It might be an idea to run through things with us a little more so we can give you better advice.


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,



OK can you tell us what weight the two snakes are? Because 2 and a half feet sounds waaay to small to be trying to breed a female ball python.



So what are the temps during the day and during the night?

What are you using the heat rock for - can you get the temps up to the recomended level using just the UTH and bulb?

It might be an idea ot run through things with us a little more so we can give you better advice.


dr del

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The female weighs 2489g. The temps are 90-80 during the day using a "temp grad." and 80-70 during the night.

Hi,

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Originally Posted by djvip510

The female weighs 2489g. The temps are 90-80 during the day using a "temp grad." and 80-70 during the night.

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I take it those temps are to bring them into breeding mode? Even then I would keep the cool end temps about 5-8 degrees warmer than that at night to minimise the chance of them developing an RI or other problems.

Are they still eating ok?

Can you just confirm the length of the female? I'm sorry to bang on about it but I have a female only slightly heavier than that and she isn't two and a half feet by any stretch of the imagination. :confused:


dr del

The weight is current, the length is from over a month ago when she was stretched out. And they both are eating great...

It's pretty odd to have a male larger than the female, are you sure they are sexed correctly? Might not hurt to check again.

Well the male has been eating much more than the female since he was young and he is older than her...She just began eating consistently for me over 2 months ago and since then all has been well with their eating habits.

Got a pic? Females usually grow larger than males, and with her being 2500 grams, she should be fairly large, and the male should be HUUUUGE for his sex. Males are usually very lean and short when next to a big female. That's why its odd, no matter how much you feed him, he really shouldnt blow up to being a foot longer than her unless she's very short and fat.

Sorry, I don't have a camera...

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Originally Posted by djvip510

The female weighs 2489g. The temps are 90-80 during the day using a "temp grad." and 80-70 during the night.

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Originally Posted by djvip510

I am trying to feed her a white mouse, a little smaller than the biggest part of her body. This is smaller than before, she has ate bigger mice but I downsized because of recent troubles.

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I'm sorry, but this seems very odd to me as well. Back in March of this year, you had said you were feeding her a mouse, that was a little smaller than the biggest part of her body.

I think your weights are wrong. A bp can eat a mouse when 200 grams, a baby. I have ASF's that weigh 25 grams, the approximate size of a mouse. Those are also a bit smaller than the widest part of his body. They are perfect for my male bp. He is young, born in April of this year.

If your female really is only a little larger around than the mouse... That coupled with you saying the male is larger then her, leads me to believe that she does not weigh 2500 grams.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

I'm sorry, but this seems very odd to me as well. Back in March of this year, you had said you were feeding her a mouse, that was a little smaller than the biggest part of her body.

I think your weights are wrong. A bp can eat a mouse when 200 grams, a baby. I have ASF's that weigh 25 grams, the approximate size of a mouse. Those are also a bit smaller than the widest part of his body. They are perfect for my 200 gram male bp. He is young, born in April of this year.

If your female really is only a little larger around than the mouse... That coupled with you saying the male is larger then her, leads me to believe that she does not weigh 2500 grams.

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That's honestly what her weight was a few weeks-month ago. I have been feeding her 2-3 mice every 5-7 days. She has gotten much bigger since I posted on here last.

Hi,

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Originally Posted by djvip510

The male is 3 1/2 long and the female is 2 1/2 feet

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Originally Posted by djvip510

The female weighs 2489g.

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Originally Posted by djvip510

The weight is current, the length is from over a month ago when she was stretched out.

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Ok,

Here is my littlest girl - forgive the quality of the pic I just took it in a hurry.

http://satanswombat.googlepages.com/...asurestats.JPG

Now you can clearly see when stretched out she will be longer than the marked two and a half feet.

She is just slightly larger around than a jumbo mouse - similar to what your female was in March apparently.

She weighs 596g.

Do you see why we are asking questions here?


dr del

Hi,

This on the other hand is my 2600+g female. The bowl next to her has a diameter of just under 8 inches to give you an idea of scale.

http://satanswombat.googlepages.com/salome26.2.08.JPG


dr del

You probably need to re-calibrate your scales, because for a female that was only eating a mouse the same girth of her to gain about 2000 grams since March would have to be a record of some kind. And not healthy weight gain by any means. Do you know just how short 2.5 feet is? She must be as thick as 2 soda cans to be 2500 grams at 2.5 feet.

See how thick Derek's snake is? If yours is the same weight and 1/2 the length of her (because I'm willing to bet that's a 5 foot long snake in his picture), then she's got to be twice as thick as his.

Hmm... exactly. My smallest girl is a little over 500g and measured around 2.5 feet quite a while ago. My biggest girl is 1545g and probably close to 4.5 feet if not 5.

Either your scale is WAY off or you're really underestimating her length.
And we aren't trying to flame you or anything...we're just concerned about the info you're giving us and want to set things straight. Breeding a female too young is just asking for a load of problems.

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Hmm... exactly. My smallest girl is a little over 500g and measured around 2.5 feet quite a while ago. My biggest girl is 1545g and probably close to 4.5 feet if not 5.

Either your scale is WAY off or you're really underestimating her length.
And we aren't trying to flame you or anything...we're just concerned about the info you're giving us and want to set things straight. Breeding a female too young is just asking for a load of problems.

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I understand, I messed up when I said 2.5, I meant 4.5 feet long. I just put the male in her tank and they seem to be getting along...No separation from each other in the tank and they even exchanged a brief kiss then started rubbing against each other:)

When should I pull the male from her tank? Tonight, tomorrow morning, a few days? I won't know when they lockup because I draped they cage so they won't be bothered or stressed.. :) PRIVACY TIME!

well gee now that that is all cleared up. Have you cooled these animals or are you just wanting to put two snake togeather and see what happens. If that is the case you sure don't need our help.

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Originally Posted by Somed00d

I like to move the male into the females enclosure. The females are building follicles/developing eggs and are better off without the stress involved.

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I actually put my females into the males enclosures. I figured that they males would feel more in control, and more likely to lock up in their own enclosures. I have heard it works either way though. This is just the way I do it.

Hope this helps.

How many days should I leave them together for?

Can someone help?

I've seen it posted here where the big breeders give them 2-4 days together before separating them,
followed by 2-3 days alone. Mainly to give them some R&R and to offer a meal.

I say peek in on them once or twice a day, depending on what you see...
If you see them locked up, I'd leave them alone for a bit. :)

Hi,

Have a read through some of the big breeders sites too - here's one to get you started. :gj:

http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal.htm


dr del

Here are the two napping today...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...2/IMG_9691.jpg

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Originally Posted by SnakieMom

I've seen it posted here where the big breeders give them 2-4 days together before separating them,
followed by 2-3 days alone. Mainly to give them some R&R and to offer a meal.

I say peek in on them once or twice a day, depending on what you see...
If you see them locked up, I'd leave them alone for a bit. :)

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sounds good...I put them together on Sunday night and I usually feed them on Wednesday Night...Works out perfect!

So which one of them is the 2400 grams female. Maybe its just me but they look like they maybe alot closer to 1400 grams than 2400 grams. You know I had a whole thing typed about the risks of breeding before they are ready, but it seems like you are intent on breeding them so I will spare bandwidth and shut my mouth. Although if that female is really 2400 grams then I am sorry but my 2600 gram female looks twice the size of either of them from that picture.


Chuck

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Originally Posted by djvip510

Sorry, I don't have a camera...

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you got a camera that quick?

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Originally Posted by Chuck

So which one of them is the 2400 grams female. Maybe its just me but they look like they maybe alot closer to 1400 grams than 2400 grams. You know I had a whole thing typed about the risks of breeding before they are ready, but it seems like you are intent on breeding them so I will spare bandwidth and shut my mouth. Although if that female is really 2400 grams then I am sorry but my 2600 gram female looks twice the size of either of them from that picture.


Chuck

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It would be nice to see a picture of them side by side. If at all just to ease my own concerns. Breeding light females is a risky move in the first place, even more so for a first time breeding.

But as it is, we really have no say in what he or anyone does with their animals, only hoping that they are honest with themselves and putting the health of their animals as the number one priority.

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Originally Posted by Chuck

So which one of them is the 2400 grams female. Maybe its just me but they look like they maybe alot closer to 1400 grams than 2400 grams. You know I had a whole thing typed about the risks of breeding before they are ready, but it seems like you are intent on breeding them so I will spare bandwidth and shut my mouth. Although if that female is really 2400 grams then I am sorry but my 2600 gram female looks twice the size of either of them from that picture.


Chuck

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DJVIP....

If I told you that it appears as though you are mating your female before she is old enough to be bred, and that the results can be disasterous... Would you even care? Nevermind, I guess you have already answered that.

Hmmm, I don't know for certain but they don't look to be even 1000g really. What was the hatch date of the female??

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Originally Posted by djvip510

he is older than her...

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that seems weird cause back on the 26 he wrote


So I have 2 Ball Pythons, one a Female who is 3 years old and the other is a Male who is 2 years old

so that seems weird to me kinda sounds like a jumping the gun with the breeding thing i have a 4.5 male at 698 and (i only have a 3 pound scale) so my 5/5.5 female tops that out and it goes to 1500 grams so i know i would be good but i would rather wait for them both to gain a little more since balls go on no eating flings and after bredding some times they dont eat.