Texas Rat Snake Breeding

[Drakaleon]

Hi all, can't seem to find a thread talking about this. I have a pair of Leucistic Texas rats both of which are around 4 feet long, though I am unaware of the age of the animals. I was wondering if them being about that long be an indicator of them being ready to breed this year. Thanks in advance for any response.

[Bogertophis]

While I haven't bred TX leucistics before, I've bred many other kinds of similar rat snakes in the past. I prefer to wait until snakes are at least 3 years old before breeding (even if that wouldn't deter them in the wild- we all know wild snakes have a different perspective- they breed when they can, since they don't live as long). It also helps to see them- body size & condition matters a lot too, & I'm also assuming you're a good judge of length- not everyone is. Based on your limited info I can only say "maybe". Other considerations are how long you've had them (to be sure of their health, & so they're not stressed from being recent acquisitions) & if there's been any known health issues that would make it much safer to wait.

[Drakaleon]

Thanks for the response, I'm having a lot of trouble trying to upload images right now -_- It's been years since I've used this forum and I don't remember at all how to do it. They're in 36 x 18 cages, which admittedly are a little small, but I underestimated them until they were in them. They're both longer than the cages are, so... as soon as I figure out how to get images uploaded I'll post them here.

[Drakaleon]

While I haven't bred TX leucistics before, I've bred many other kinds of similar rat snakes in the past. I prefer to wait until snakes are at least 3 years old before breeding (even if that wouldn't deter them in the wild- we all know wild snakes have a different perspective- they breed when they can, since they don't live as long). It also helps to see them- body size & condition matters a lot too, & I'm also assuming you're a good judge of length- not everyone is. Based on your limited info I can only say "maybe". Other considerations are how long you've had them (to be sure of their health, & so they're not stressed from being recent acquisitions) & if there's been any known health issues that would make it much safer to wait.

[Drakaleon]

Okay that didn't work

[Drakaleon]

- - - Updated - - -

[Drakaleon]

While I haven't bred TX leucistics before, I've bred many other kinds of similar rat snakes in the past. I prefer to wait until snakes are at least 3 years old before breeding (even if that wouldn't deter them in the wild- we all know wild snakes have a different perspective- they breed when they can, since they don't live as long). It also helps to see them- body size & condition matters a lot too, & I'm also assuming you're a good judge of length- not everyone is. Based on your limited info I can only say "maybe". Other considerations are how long you've had them (to be sure of their health, & so they're not stressed from being recent acquisitions) & if there's been any known health issues that would make it much safer to wait.

Sorry for the second reply, I figured it out. The tub they are in is an 18 x 12.5 for reference, I don't have weights on them right now.

[Bogertophis]

Remember all the sub-forums? Look under Ball Pythons, then this is at the top of the list: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures

[Bogertophis]

They look great to me- in terms of visible health & body weight. I'm not obsessive about weighing snakes, so don't bother on my account, I go by appearance. The only time I weigh a snake is if I need to calculate a dose of something- then it's relevant. I don't weigh myself all the time either, haha. If my clothes fit the same, why bother?

[Drakaleon]

I definitely have a lot of re-learning to do. Thank you