Questions about Genetics, Morphs and Breeding

[Jay_Bunny]

I was planning on breeding my corn while I wait for the ball python season to start this fall (I will have late breeding females). Some information on the pair.

Female: Snow Corn, weighing 375g. Year '06. Feeding on live adult mouse weekly (will be switching to f/t next week)

Male: Hypo Corn, weighing 153g. Year Unknown. Feeding on live adult mouse weekly (will attempt to switch to f/t next week)

Both were purchased from pet stores so I'm not sure if they carry any hidden hets. I know that they will produce normal offspring that are het for hypo and the two genes that make snow (amel and anery right?)

I have read that corn snakes can produce up to 30 eggs in a single breeding season, but that first time moms tend to produce up to 10.

Now, I know the female is ready to breed, but what about the male? He's over a year old. Also, I would probably keep one or two hatchlings for future breeding, and sell the rest. What would be a good pairing for a normal het for hypo and snow?

And if the male is ready for breeding (if not, then I will wait to put some more weight on him) what would be the first step in breeding them? Brumation, right? I've heard you keep them at 55-60 during this time. (kind of like cooling ball pythons only colder). I don't think I can achieve temperatures like that in this house. Can you breed without brumation?

[Blue Apple Herps]

I was planning on breeding my corn while I wait for the ball python season to start this fall (I will have late breeding females). Some information on the pair.

Female: Snow Corn, weighing 375g. Year '06. Feeding on live adult mouse weekly (will be switching to f/t next week)

Male: Hypo Corn, weighing 153g. Year Unknown. Feeding on live adult mouse weekly (will attempt to switch to f/t next week)

Both were purchased from pet stores so I'm not sure if they carry any hidden hets. I know that they will produce normal offspring that are het for hypo and the two genes that make snow (amel and anery right?)

Correct, hypo x snow = normal het amel, anery, and hypo. The good thing is that these are the three most common hets, so if they're het for any of them, it will show in the F1.

I have read that corn snakes can produce up to 30 eggs in a single breeding season, but that first time moms tend to produce up to 10.

It really depends. I've first year girls throw clutches of 25. I've had 350g snakes throw clutches of 25. I've had girls of 600g consistently throw 10-12 sized clutches. But in general, first year moms tend to throw smaller clutches. But you should be prepared to care for upwards of 25 babies, as its a real possibility.

Now, I know the female is ready to breed, but what about the male? He's over a year old. Also, I would probably keep one or two hatchlings for future breeding, and sell the rest. What would be a good pairing for a normal het for hypo and snow?

He may breed, he may not. Sort of borderline. Younger males tend to have more fertility problems. A good pairing for them would be anything that has any of those genes. REally depends on what you fancy.

And if the male is ready for breeding (if not, then I will wait to put some more weight on him) what would be the first step in breeding them? Brumation, right? I've heard you keep them at 55-60 during this time. (kind of like cooling ball pythons only colder). I don't think I can achieve temperatures like that in this house. Can you breed without brumation?

You don't have to brumate. Generally brumation is during the winter for 8-10 weeks. I put mine down thanks giving weekend, then bring them out end of Jan early Feb. 55-60 are temps to aim for, but if you can't no worries (I cant). I think a good light cycle is equally important. So just get them as close to 60 as you can and keep them in the dark. I only check on mine to change water.

I give them a final feeding. Then wait 3 weeks for them to fully empty their digestive tracts and then pull the plug on the heat and cover the racks with a thick blanket so its dark.

I'd recommend picking up Kathy Love's book if you don't have it. Its invaluable and you really should have a copy, especially if you're going to be breeding.

[Jay_Bunny]

Temps in the house never go below 70 right now even with the ac full blast. When it gets closer to fall, the temps should fall a bit more.

Does brumation increase the chances of her becoming gravid when the breeding begins?

[Blue Apple Herps]

Does brumation increase the chances of her becoming gravid when the breeding begins?

It can. For the first several years I bred snakes I never did an "official" brumation and just let the natural cycles in my house/outside serve as brumation. Usually around March when it warms up I would start pairing. I always got nice large clutches.

It's been in the past three years that I started doing an artificial brumation. I mainly did it because I wanted them to hatch around June so I had the summer to get them established. Whereas doing the natural brumation they'd hatch middle to end of August which was back to school time and was always really busy.

However, since doing artificial brumation, I've gotten more slugs and had more eggs go bad than ever before. Is it a causation or just a correlation? I don't know. But next year I'm going back to just letting them naturally cycle.

I think part of it is that where I live, (in DFW area) it never gets that cool, so that probably a longer, but not as cold brumation from the house just getting cooler during the winter is better for them.

[Jay_Bunny]

Well an update. I weighed the male hypo and he is at 173g. So he's gained 20g. I've been feeding him on a more frequent schedule. He gets his weekly mouse but he has also been getting any pinky or fuzzy mice that my ball python hatchling won't take. The female snow has gained a few grams as well. Since I only have one small incubator, I'm trying to space out my breeding throughout the season so that I don't have all clutches going into the incubator at the same time. It will only hold 2 clutches right now.

This season I'm breeding her to a hypo and getting normals het for anery, amel, and hypo. Next season I'm getting her a charcoal boyfriend in hopes of one season making my own blizzards!

So if my house does not fall under 70, I could put them both in the bathroom with the lights off. Not sure what the temps are in there but I would think it could get colder, especially if I shut the door with the ac on. And to put them into this brumation, I need to give them a final meal, wait 3 weeks for them to become empty and then put them in brumation for 8-10 weeks?

What would happen if I just started introducing the male? I did this with my ball pythons this past season and she took. Could the same thing happen with corns?

[chromeitout]

The male at 170 is probably borderline as was said, and you said that the female is big enough (300grams+ ?). I would not worry too much about brumation if you are wanting to pair them this season (kinda late already). I'd just put them together and see what happens. Neither of my corn clutches this year came from brumated parents, and they were all first timers. One clutch was 16 hatchlings and the other was 23.

[Jay_Bunny]

The female is close to 400g at this point. So I was thinking of just sticking them together and not brumate. Should I wait until they both have an empty stomach or is it ok to introduce them?