General breeding questions.

[sur3fir3]

Before I say anything I think its only proper to say that I have absolutely no experience with pythons or boas, other thane when I volunteered at a pet shop and took care of them there. ( I did have a 16 ft Burmese at one point, but I only had her for about a year.)

So its been about 20 years since I've bred anything. I do not plan on breeding for at least another year. I did corn snakes back in the day. Since it has been so long I am looking for an easy intro to breeding again. I was thinking of doing KSBs to start with. They are live birth, and are cheap. If I am successful with KSB, then I would move on to what I really want to breed which is Blood Pythons.

I would like some input from those who have bred on how I should ease myself back into breeding. I figured since boas are live birth, that this would be a decent start. I am assuming that since boas are live birth that they are a bit easier than the egg laying species. I could be wrong though. I only have experience with corns. I could go back into breeding corns as an intro to breeding, but I have absolutely no interest in corns/rat snakes/kings.

So please, any advice or criticism is welcome.

[Toad37]

Garter snakes are also live birth and come in some pretty cool colors!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I am not sure if live birth is easier than taking care of eggs, sure when you have eggs you have to set them up and incubate them however that part, is not that much nor is it overwhelming, IMO many people complicate things, are impatient and worry too much when they have eggs and that often leads to mistake and issues, the key is to be prepared know are to setup your egg and than leave them alone.

I hatch 100 to 200 eggs a year and honestly once my eggs are laid they are setup and I don't think about them for the next 60 days.

Ultimately do what you love have a plan, make sure what you will produce has a demand for it and if you chose an egg laying species have an incubator ready when the time comes whether you build your own or buy it.

[pretends2bnormal]

I'm not a breeder, but wouldn't it make more sense as a re-introduction to practice with a similar egg-laying species? If only to get practice with a similar type of setup as the blood python eggs would need.

Like.. pick something that has eggs with similar incubation needs as practice for the blood pythons you ultimately want to breed.

Ultimately, I think it falls under doing what you're interested in working with and being thoroughly prepared for whatever it is you choose to do.

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[sur3fir3]

I am not sure if live birth is easier than taking care of eggs, sure when you have eggs you have to set them up and incubate them however that part, is not that much nor is it overwhelming, IMO many people complicate things, are impatient and worry too much when they have eggs and that often leads to mistake and issues, the key is to be prepared know are to setup your egg and than leave them alone.

I hatch 100 to 200 eggs a year and honestly once my eggs are laid they are setup and I don't think about them for the next 60 days.

Ultimately do what you love have a plan, make sure what you will produce has a demand for it and if you chose an egg laying species have an incubator ready when the time comes whether you build your own or buy it.

Well I have at least 1 year before I even think of breeding, and then I have another year or so after that to actually start breeding. So I have more than enough time for research and decisions. Right now I am just trying to get my hand son as much information and help as I can find. Thanks

[Craiga 01453]

I don't see the point in "practicing" with one species.

Honestly, OP, what's the point?

If it were me, I'd be taking a few years to get back into the hobby. Enjoy your animals and learn. Adult Bloods are a completely different animal than corns. Take some time to work with bloods as pets, then decide if you're passionate enough to breed that species.

Breeding another species basically to see if it goes well sounds silly to me. They're living creatures, not science experiments

[Lord Sorril]

So please, any advice or criticism is welcome.

Life is short. If your dream is breeding Blood Pythons: Do your homework, set up an appropriate enclosure and get a blood python hatchling-raise it up. If it is an experience you would like to repeat-then consider the specifics breeding.

Edit: When you become the next big Blood Python breeder remember 'I told you so...'

[sur3fir3]

I'm not a breeder, but wouldn't it make more sense as a re-introduction to practice with a similar egg-laying species? If only to get practice with a similar type of setup as the blood python eggs would need.

Like.. pick something that has eggs with similar incubation needs as practice for the blood pythons you ultimately want to breed.

Ultimately, I think it falls under doing what you're interested in working with and being thoroughly prepared for whatever it is you choose to do.

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You have a good point. Maybe its just better to work on the species I want to breed in the long term. I already have the T- Male. Maybe I can locate a T- Female an just work on breeding those 2 to start. I would have to wait 2 or 3 years to do this. I don't know. There is a lot to think about. There is also the time for the snakes to reach adulthood.

[pretends2bnormal]

You have a good point. Maybe its just better to work on the species I want to breed in the long term. I already have the T- Male. Maybe I can locate a T- Female an just work on breeding those 2 to start. I would have to wait 2 or 3 years to do this. I don't know. There is a lot to think about. There is also the time for the snakes to reach adulthood.

From a blood group I've been on, it seems like most breeders raise females to at least 4 to 5 years before they will consider breeding them. No one ever gives any sort of weight guidelines even when asked for it like you see with ball pythons. I'm not sure if this is standard outside that group, but they seem to take longer to be breeding age than some other species. So I think it would probably be best to get your female going pretty quickly unless you plan to buy one as an adult/sub adult later.

Unless you have interest in the other species, it may be more worth your time to just focus on getting one or two blood females to raise and breed when they're ready. You'd save the money to get higher end animals to start than spending a few hundred (or more) on another species plus caging and food just to breed something that you aren't as interested in.

If you got a T- female and a batik/batrix het T- female, you could make some pretty neat babies even in the first round when they're ready.

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[sur3fir3]

On another forum someone stated that they have not had luck with buying anything older than a yearling and then breeding. Has anyone else had this experience?