Some breeding season thoughts from the 8 Ball!

[Adam_Wysocki]

Hey Everyone,

Breeding season is upon us and I thought I’d share some pointers and words of encouragement to help ensure everyones breeding success. These are things that I practice and are just helpful little nuggets that I’ve either learned the hard way over the years. I've also included some positive thoughts for all of my Bp.Net friends that will be breeding their animals this season!

1. Re-sex all of your snakes … no matter where you got them from … even if you’ve sexed them yourself in the past … it doesn’t hurt to double check everything. This tip can help save intense frustration … trust me!!!

2. Give all of your animals a good once over … check their overall health and body weight … make sure that their vents are clean and dry, that their mouths show no signs of RI, and that they have adequate body weight for the breeding season.

3. Check to make sure none of your potential breeders are overweight … if they are, consider cutting their food back a little … an animal with an “athletic” build as opposed to a “heavy” build will make a better breeder for you.

4. Double check your mechanicals!! Take the time to test all of your thermometers, thermostats, night drops, timers, etc … sometimes, switches that only flip in the middle of the night and malfunction can go a long while without being noticed. Save yourself some frustration and do a complete “systems check” early on.

5. Give those raise ups some more room! … Since some animals tend to go off feed while they’re breeding and switching an animal into a larger cage can cause it to go off feed for a while, breeding season is the perfect time to move those raise up girls into more spacious tubs. You can kill two birds with one stone!!

6. Make a plan and write it down! … Good record keeping can not only keep your head on straight during the breeding season, but if can be a useful tool in the years ahead.

7. Take notes! … Record everything that you see … sheds, lock ups, positions of pairs in the tubs, etc, etc … especially anything that looks “odd” … what may not make sense to you when you’re just getting started might be extremely helpful as a learning tool once you get some more experience under your belt.

8. Ask questions!! … ask, ask, ask … talk, talk, talk … there is no one “right way” to do anything, so talk to as many people as you can that have your level of experience, more experience than you, and even less experience than you … find out how they do things, what they’ve done that works well, and what they’ve tried that didn’t work well for them. It will only help you find your own “style” in the end.

9. Relax! … As my friend Mic says … “You can’t always get what you want … but if you try sometimes, you just might find … you get what you need!” … Soooo true when it comes to breeding … it never works out perfect, so hope for the best and be excited and grateful for what you do get!

10. Most of all …. HAVE FUN! … That’s what this is all about!

Feel free to jump in with your tips, tricks, hints, or words of encouragment that might help someone to see those awesome little ball python heads popping out of eggs this spring/summer!

-adam