First Time BP Breeder

[Reptilius]

I thought I would make a post on my 2019 Breeding Season. This is my first season purposefully breeding Ball Pythons. I start by showing some locks so far. First up is Fire x Butter (Second Lock), secondcupcis Albino x Normal (First Lock), the Fire boy has also had 2 locks with my Fire girl, but I can't find the pics.

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[Reptilius]

So to add some more to the post. I have heard of Bowl Wrapping, but my Butter girl keeps climbing under her water bowl, I have now found her under it 3 tines and removed her every tine. She is in a rack under the same conditions as 5 other females and they are staying on the warm side. Is this perhaps her version of Bowl Wrapping.

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[Reptilius]

Sorry, I forgot to add the pic

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[Reptilius]

So this afternoon I decided to check the Butter girl again, after taking her out from under the water bowl this morning. This is what I found.

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[rufretic]

Congrats on the locks!

Yeah your butter girls is sure acting silly lol. That to me looks like typical cooling/bowl wrapping or whatever you want to call it. She is in the building phase which can take some time. I would just continue to pair her and try to witness a lock at least once a month, I usually pair weekly until I witness a lock and then I'll give a little longer break. Be patient, the building can last many months. Continue to pair until you witness a for sure ovy. Looks like you're off to a good start, good luck!

[Reptilius]

Thank You so much for the advice. If you can advise on something else. He has also locked twice with my Fire girl, but she is not acting silly yet. Would you suggest that I rather concentrate on him with the Butter girl, or rather just keep him alternating between the two like I have been doing.

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[rufretic]

Thank You so much for the advice. If you can advise on something else. He has also locked twice with my Fire girl, but she is not acting silly yet. Would you suggest that I rather concentrate on him with the Butter girl, or rather just keep him alternating between the two like I have been doing.

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It doesn't make any difference, there is really no reason to have your male focus on only one female. It's not like he'll get the job done better with one female vs. two. Some breeders rotate one male through many females with great success. You can continue to pair him with both females, say every other week and it will be fine. Just be sure to give him a few days rest between pairings and offer him food every other week or so. Feeding is more important for smaller males, yours may or may not eat during the breeding season but I like to keep mine fed especially if they are on the smaller side.

[Reptilius]

This boy is still eating. I am putting him in with one girl for 3 days, normally Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and taking him out for 4 days, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And then repeating the cycle with the other girl. Should I rather make it a week in and a week out.

[rufretic]

This boy is still eating. I am putting him in with one girl for 3 days, normally Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and taking him out for 4 days, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And then repeating the cycle with the other girl. Should I rather make it a week in and a week out.

Imo what you're doing is fine. He's getting plenty of rest, getting fed and visiting the females plenty. The only thing I can think of to improve the rotation is if you witness a lock with one of the females then you can leave her out of the rotation for a few weeks until you get a lock with the other female. It's not necessary to get multiple locks with the same female in that short of a period of time, once a month should be plenty.

[Reptilius]

Once again, thank you. I noticed that sometimes he will not lock for instance maybe twice that I put him together with the Fire girl, and then the third time I put him with her, he will.