Newbie Question

[Jbabycsx]

Being new to the snake scene, I’m shocked to see that people don’t use their male snakes as studs. Does this go on and I’m just not familiar with it or does it not happen in the snake hobby? Seems like every other animal hobby includes stud services. Just curious.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Eramyl]

Some people do this however there are concerns with moving snakes between collections. Illnesses and mites are the main concern, plus the added stress of moving the animal between locations could cause the male to under perform.

You also have to watch out for scammers and other dishonest people. Even with a solid contract, people have been screwed over. Usually the other party keeps the snake, says it's dead or sick or says the female never laid eggs or the eggs went bad or some other excuse.

For all the good it would seem to be to stud out a male, in the snake world it's more of a hassle than it's worth. Unless you find someone you trust 150% I wouldn't mess with it.

[Jbabycsx]

Yeah there would have to be a rock solid agreement to protect each party for sure. I know in the stud dog business you have to bring proof of the dogs health as well as sign a no puppy agreement. Basically if your female doesn’t catch you get one more shot at it then you have to hit the road. In that community scammers are quickly cast out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Crowfingers]

Also, wouldn't you have to QT the male for 90 days before ever introducing the females? And unless the males' owner supplied the feeders, whoever was using him would also have to pay for that. I don't breed, but it seems logical that the expense isn't worth the low odds that come with some of the multi-gene animals

[Alicia]

Added to the points already made, BP breeding isn't a quick affair. A mammal goes into estrus, has a couple days of being receptive, and she's done. Humans are so good at breeding mammals, you can store sperm for a stud, freeze it, and use it years later. Used that way, a male can sire offspring with a very large number of females with next to no effort. . . . Which has led to the efforts to limit the use of popular sires to reduce inbreeding in some circles.

A female python might allow a male to breed her for months before she ovulates -- if she ovulates at all. If it's a small male, using him on multiple females can be incredibly taxing. So, assuming the male is going out to the female, you're boarding him for at easy six months (three months of QT, then figure another three months minimum of breeding). Doing the reverse, sending the female to the stud . . . BPs can be so touchy about their conditions, I'd suspect a large percentage of females wouldn't got at all.

Breeding loans and agreements are done, sure. But they aren't done on the scale of mammal breeding because the rules are so very different -- they just don't make the same kind of sense.