Breeding Ambitions

[hhw]

Well, just a few months ago, I wasn't all that into Ball Pythons. I thought of them as fat and sluggish, and not a particularly interesting boid. My real ambition was to get a Green Tree Python, but having read about how difficult they can be and it having been almost 10 years since I had last kept snakes, I decided it was best to get a simpler boid just to get back into the swing of things. Since I didn't have access to any Hogg Isle Boas at the time, I just decided to get a Ball Python due to its relative small size and inexpensive price.

Boy am I glad I did!!! Ippo has been anything but a dull snake. He is active every evening from dusk until midnight, except after feeding or during shedding. I have so become enamored with Ball Pythons that I have decided to put off GTP's indefinitely, and start breeding BP's instead. I just picked up a female '03 at a show this past weekend, and am looking at getting another female as well. If the females put on enough weight just through normal feeding (once every 5-7 days), I will make my first breeding attempt in 2005.

If I am able to successfully produce some a clutch or two, I will buy an '03 or '04 male pastel to breed to the two normal females in 2006.
In 2008, once those pastel offspring have matured, I will breed the offspring of one female to the offspring of the other female, and hopefully produce a super pastel. (Very optimistic I know... the plan entails getting at least a pastel of each gender from each female). Perhaps it won't be until 2010 when I reach this goal, but the journey will be more fun than the destination anyhow!!!

Anyway, I'm just curious to see who else on here has successfully bred Ball Pythons, and what morphs you work with. I already know Kara from NERD works with lots, and that Hockeymom recently hatched out a pied, but I would like to hear from everybody who has bred, normals and special morphs alike.

[Ginevive]

I have not bred yet, but I have aspirations to! My female is just an '03 now, but she is eating and growing like a weed. I have two normal males; one is fully grown and one is an '02 that was dwarfed from being on a hunger strike while in the "care" of his previous owner.
I cannot wait until my female Bela is old enough to breed.
They are GREAT snakes, aren't they? The more you get, the more you want.

[hhw]

Well, a lot has happened in the last two weeks. Due to various opportunities presenting themselves, it looks like I'll be getting into the breeding game sooner than anticipated!!!

At a show two weeks ago, I bought a female '03 from a breeder. Now, this breeder just happens to have produced the first spiders in Canada this year!!! Last weekend, he was nice enough to have me over at his house to show me his collection. It was pretty darn impressive as you can imagine!!! I got to handle his baby spiders, and some of his ghosts and pastels. He tried to teach me how to feel for the eggs in a gravid female... I don't think I have the hang of it yet, but it was definitely an interesting experience.

Meanwhile, it just so happened that two good size females became available at a very nice price, due to the owner needing some quick cash for albino boas. I capitalized on the opportunity, and picked them up.

Then, earlier this week, 2 mature pastel males came onto the market. Obviously, they were not cheap, but due to there being 2 of them coming out at the same time I was able to bargain and counter-bargain between the two. I was able to talk it down to a pretty good price, and am getting another good sized female to boot!!! And I will be getting them tommorow!!! Here's a picture of the pastel male. He's a 2002 and fathered two clutches last year with 100% fertility rate, and is from the NERD line.



So, heading into this breeding season with some good feeding (not powerfeeding mind you), I will have a mature proven pastel breeder male, and 3 females. 1 of them should easily break 2Kg, 1 should make it, and the other will be close if it doesn't. The 4th, the '03 from the show, won't be ready yet however. So, if all goes well, I'll have my first clutches next spring with some pastel offspring!!!

I realize I'm jumping into this really quickly... as you can see how much I've fastfowarded from the original plan. I only purchased my first ball python 2 months ago. However, I've been soaking up information like a sponge during this time, and with one of the premiere ball python breeders in Canada helping me through it, I think I'll be in pretty good shape. Wish me luck!!!

[Marla]

Wow! You are speeding down this road. Good luck to you.

[led4urhead]

Very cool man . Definitely hit the ground running on this one. Cant wait to see some pics!

[vinnimac]

VERY cool, indeed!! Wish I had the available cash to make those deals when they come up. Darn needy human children. I am getting a het axanthic to breed to my 'normal', and then breed him to his daughters in a few years. I doubt my project will take off at all like yours!

[mlededee]

man, i just LOVE that pastel in the pic. everytime i look at this topic and see it i just want to like make you an offer on him or something! :shock: :mrgreen:

[UberAlice]

Good luck with it! I don't think I'll get into breeding because I generally only keep one of each snake species, and there are lots of snakes on the market already....but I have so much respect for people that can successfully breed.