Adult females who just never breed?

[redshepherd]

I was inquiring about an adult female and the honest seller told me that he's had this female (looking at least 1800g) for a year and a half, and she has never even locked with his males before, even though he's tried pairing her. And thus she obviously didn't lay eggs with him. According to the seller, she also has never been proven yet with her previous owner either, so she is listed at a really low price for being an adult female.

I'm just curious how rare is it for adult females to just never be able to breed? Is it possible? I'm wondering what my chances are if I just go for it and try, even though the previous owners have failed... The male I am thinking of breeding to her of course being proven many many times already.

[Bogertophis]

I can't give you any statistics as to the rarity, but I think it's entirely likely that some females, for whatever physical reasons & disparities, are just never able to breed-
especially since it happens in ALL species, humans included. I'm sure you could improve their odds if there were as many ob/gyn specialists for snakes with the training
& research as they have for women, lol, but I wouldn't hold your breath until then.

Sometimes we just have to take nature's word for it. There's many imperfections that occur in all living things that may never be obvious since they don't impact viability, & you only find out about them incidentally when something else goes wrong:case in point, I know of someone that never knew she had only one usable kidney until she had ovarian cancer & underwent surgery & treatments for that. It may also be for the best that your snake fails to breed...either she might pass along the unknown defect, or die from her efforts to lay eggs, & it's not as if there's a shortage of BPs.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Who know's I can tell you that in the last 14 years I never had a female that would not breed or that would not lay a viable clutch I had some that took a while (6 years or so) but all have bred for me, now it does not mean it does not exist but do people give them enough time to do so or do they get rid of them if by age 5 or 6 they have not produced a clutch?

[redshepherd]

Who know's I can tell you that in the last 14 years I never had a female that would not breed or that would not lay a viable clutch I had some that took a while (6 years or so) but all have bred for me, now it does not mean it does not exist but do people give them enough time to do so or do they get rid of them if by age 5 or 6 they have not produced a clutch?

given how many ball pythons you've had and bred then, I'll trust your word for it that the chances are super super slim/almost impossible LOL. Maybe I will in fact go for it and try, because it's a really low price!

[bcr229]

I would triple check that she isn't a he.

[Skyrivers]

Who know's I can tell you that in the last 14 years I never had a female that would not breed or that would not lay a viable clutch I had some that took a while (6 years or so) but all have bred for me, now it does not mean it does not exist but do people give them enough time to do so or do they get rid of them if by age 5 or 6 they have not produced a clutch?

Have you found that some males or females being picky about which males or females they breed with?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Have you found that some males or females being picky about which males or females they breed with?

Absolutely I have had females wanting nothing to do with specific males, one being VERY violent about it, she actually started to combat the male (in the same way you see males combat), she was fine with other males.