how did you get started

[Gurgie]

was thinking today about my BP's reaching sexual maturity and had some questions.

I know this varies but about what age do BP's reach sexual maturity? is it different for males and females? and how do you KNOW when they have? any kind of tell to watch for?

and for you breeders, how did you get started breeding BP's? didja just wake up one morning, look in the morror and think to yourself "gee, I think I'll start breeding snakes"? hehe

[Gurgie]

anyone? ...... anyone?

[joepythons]

was thinking today about my BP's reaching sexual maturity and had some questions.

I know this varies but about what age do BP's reach sexual maturity? is it different for males and females? and how do you KNOW when they have? any kind of tell to watch for?

and for you breeders, how did you get started breeding BP's? didja just wake up one morning, look in the morror and think to yourself "gee, I think I'll start breeding snakes"? hehe

Males tend to reach sexual maturity at 18 months although some morphs can breed at a younger age.If you find sperm plugs in your male then he more then likely is ready to breed.Females are capable at breeding in there second winter,some breeders wait until the third winter though.I started out my breeding experiance with a pair of normal ball pythons.This will be my third season and i still have the female ball from the first breeding season .I hope this helps answer your questions

[frankykeno]

We're just coming into our first breeding season with mature females so most of what I know isn't hands on experience. What I've been told and read about though is to make sure the female is at least 1,500 grams with that being a minimum of 500 grams per foot (so a 4 foot female would need to be 2,000 grams plus) and in her 3rd winter or thereabouts. Males 1 year and more than 600 grams or so (so a male would be in his second winter if he was hatched in June 05 and being bred in the winter/fall of 06). Lots of experienced people can breed a male smaller and younger but I've been advised that folks like me that are just starting out should be more cautious of that.

In the end though age and weight are just guidelines. We have a female here that just barely meets those numbers for age/weight. We are passing her by this season because she just isn't ready. We may be newbs at breeding BP's but we just feel she's not quite right so she'll wait till next year. Maybe we are silly to be so cautious but when you handle her there's just something that says..."next year".

[Rapture]

Gut instincts can be a good thing, Jo

[tmlowe5704]

We're just coming into our first breeding season with mature females so most of what I know isn't hands on experience. What I've been told and read about though is to make sure the female is at least 1,500 grams with that being a minimum of 500 grams per foot (so a 4 foot female would need to be 2,000 grams plus) and in her 3rd winter or thereabouts. Males 1 year and more than 600 grams or so (so a male would be in his second winter if he was hatched in June 05 and being bred in the winter/fall of 06). Lots of experienced people can breed a male smaller and younger but I've been advised that folks like me that are just starting out should be more cautious of that.

In the end though age and weight are just guidelines. We have a female here that just barely meets those numbers for age/weight. We are passing her by this season because she just isn't ready. We may be newbs at breeding BP's but we just feel she's not quite right so she'll wait till next year. Maybe we are silly to be so cautious but when you handle her there's just something that says..."next year".

when you have 11 normal females, if you wait amother year wont matter because you have plenty more possibly ready

[Schlyne]

I decided for sure I was going to breed ball pythons when I bought my first pastel. I wasn't going to spend that much money on a morph and not breed. However, I had gotten into breeding before that. I was working on a group of crested geckos. I was fascinated with crested geckos and there's still a lot out there that can be done with them. At this time I've successfully bred leopard geckos and cresties, although I no longer work with crested geckos

This is my first breeding season with ball pythons though.

[Rapture]

My first breeding was accidental and the result of some ignorant mistakes, but it led me here and it's safe for me to say I've come a long way since then, the babies are doing great, and I'm ready for another round.

[tmlowe5704]

I decided to try breeding ball pythons after I started my boa breeding. I figured it would be a lot easier dealing with snakes <4 ft and less babies. So after searching around, albinos were what I wanted to breed. I bought a rather large het albino female, a bunch of normal females, and a het albino male. I will be breeding my male to whatever snake he can get with and I will also save a female or 2 to breed with my friend's pastel. I have a het female around 1000 g, a normal female around 1000 g, 4 around 600 g, and one at 300 g. I hope to at least have 3 or 4 breeders next year.

[Gurgie]

cool, thanks guys

I'm in no way thinking about breeding right now. need to learn more and let the snakes grow up some. just curious though about how other folks make the decision to breed.

good stuff to know!
thanks again