Set me Straight!!! Please...

[MorphMaster]

Okay so thought i would be breeding this year, had a mishap, and it will be pushed back to next year. I do want to get some ideas and questions in the air so that i can look back on and see the genius of this discussion. So, i have been reading that markus jayne page on breeding and saw that in october he lowers both hot spot and ambient 10 degrees at night. Is there any change during the day, or is that like a recovery warm up time? Secondly, i will be 15 turning 16 and would not have moved out yet. During the winter my dad keeps the house at 70 degrees. I can't change that, it's his bill, some of you may know how that goes. So just lowering the hot spot 10 at night should be fine right. The ambient pics up at the 81 range in mid feb so im not worried about that. The ambient in winter drops like that around november, so do i push back my temp drop and breeding season for a month? is it really necessary to acclimate the snakes to the cooler climate a whole month before actually pairing them? How often does a female need to have a lock to produce a nice viable clutch? I have had a plan of feeding females once every 5 days during acclimation and breeding season until they go off food which is consequent of ovulating correct? Are appropriately sized meals okay, as in a med rat? Do i need to worry about feeding and breeding becoming intertwined? Is there a certain time period where you feed and hold off breeding for like 2 days or visa-versa. So i continue pairing until ovulation, or is there an earlier sign that tells you she's good. Eggs incubate for approx. 60 days... At what oint can i cut, or should i cut eggs? I'd be incubating at 89 degrees btw. How large are the tubs you put eggs in? Is there an amount ratio, rather than weight that i do vermiculite to water? I have heard house babes in a 6 qt tub... When in their first week and they are all togeher until they shed, is tat tub also a 6 qt size? Is the first rodent you try using always a live fuzzy mouse? I keep seeing that, don't know why. Backtracking a little bit here, is it fine to feed a male an appropriate sized meal every 7 days? I do 2 weeks currently because brian barczyk said males get lazy at 1000 grams and i only do 2 weeks for those reaching that mark. They still gain weight, but not as quickly. Is that wrong? I do that when they reach like 850 grams. I hope someone has the time to answer these, let alone read it. I appreciate any advice given. P.S I know there isn't one way to do it, but i want pointers to see if i can really do it right

[MrLang]

It sounds like you've got a lot of research to do still. Fortunately, I assure you the answers to every one of your questions are throughout various threads on this site.

How are you funding this whole operation? Are you going to have help selling off the babies? No offense, but I personally wouldn't buy a snake from at 15 year old. Do you have the money, space, and time to care for every one of the hatchlings if they don't sell? Ball pythons live for 25 years... have you thought about the future of your collection through the rest of your education and beyond? I know you're excited, but there is plenty of time for the breeding. What's important is that you've thought it through thoroughly enough and have support from your parents as well as the resources to properly care for the animals.

It sounds like you're well on your way. Good luck!

[Kinra]

I can answer some of your questions, but what works for someone won't always work for someone else. Markus Jayne's page is a great resource that I used last year.

Cooling:
Some breeders cool and some don't. The important thing to do when cooling is to make it gradual. You can't just shock their systems by suddenly lowering temps by 10 degrees. I don't think you need to wait a month before pairing either.

How many locks:
As I learned last year it only takes one good lock to get viable eggs, but more are better.

Feeding:
A medium rat every 5 days seems like a lot. I will do medium rats during breeding season once every 7 days and occasionally offer a small rat instead. I would rather they keep eating and in the past I've had females stop eating when offered mediums too often. While going off feed may be a sign of ovulation that's not always true. You need to look for other signs because some will keep eating and others will just stop eating.

To cut or not to cut:
It is generally recommended that first time breeders don't cut. I did cut but it was after the clutch had started pipping.

Hatchling care:
It seems like everyone does something different with their hatchlings. I kept mine together until they shed and then set them up in 6qt tubs. I used hopper mice because they were small hatchlings, some people start theirs on rats.

I can't help you on the question about male size. My males were young when I started breeding them and are still growing.

Mr. Lang does bring up some good points that you do need to consider, but I disagree with the whole buying from a 16 year old. If you do things right it shouldn't matter how old you are.

[Domepiece]

It sounds like youve done your homework and understand it pretty well. Heres what I do: I dont really do anything with temps, I might lower the hotspot a couple of degrees and let the ambient room temps drop as is natural in the winter time for me (but not necessary), I feed females a couple times a week and whenever they are acting hungry until they start to refuse, If they refuse for more than a couple weeks I stop offering, I also feed up my males very well before breeding season as well since most of them will go off feed and only worry about breeding, I will introduce a male to a female every 3 weeks for 3-4 days (if I witness a lock sooner I remove him when they unlock), I do this until I see her ovulate or she starts refusing males, then I wait for ovulation, once I witness an ovulation I put hot spot back to normal, on march 1st I put my heater on in my snake room and raise all hotspots back to normal, then I wait. Good luck, hope all goes well Also, I have large males that breed just fine, I think what he meant was that you dont want an obese male.

[.G&S Royal pythons.]

I would recommend doing alot more research and dont rule out youtube alot of big time breeders have videos explaining everything you have asked. As far as temps, find what works best for you and your situation, i have a whole room that i keep at 86 degrees for my bp and i just lower the ambient temp to 82 for a few days and then start pairing without changing the hotspot and thats just what works for me. Hope this helps and good luck.

[MorphMaster]

It sounds like you've got a lot of research to do still. Fortunately, I assure you the answers to every one of your questions are throughout various threads on this site.

How are you funding this whole operation? Are you going to have help selling off the babies? No offense, but I personally wouldn't buy a snake from at 15 year old. Do you have the money, space, and time to care for every one of the hatchlings if they don't sell? Ball pythons live for 25 years... have you thought about the future of your collection through the rest of your education and beyond? I know you're excited, but there is plenty of time for the breeding. What's important is that you've thought it through thoroughly enough and have support from your parents as well as the resources to properly care for the animals.

It sounds like you're well on your way. Good luck!

Currently, as you already know, I am under 16 so i cannot get a job. However, my dad gives me money for getting straight a's. It's something we do and ive never had a B. I actually have a 27 sister that is my business partner. she takes the babies, i deal with the adults. Essentially, i have a greater knowledge on breeding then she does. To most of my questions i have my basis for what i would do. However, i kind of want experience to them. I can read markus jayne, but he says to play with it. It varies from region to regon and it's just what works for him. Others that i dont really know are just that, I dont know. i've looked, you certainly don't know me, but im not a reckless punk. Would a reckless punk set aside 600$ for vet bills? I would like to think to the contrary. Would they even spend the time to write what i am writing? I didn't post this to be condemned, merely helped. I do appreciate any answers to any questions. i know it's a lot, which is why i made a thread. So that conclusions can begin to come together with those of experience. Even a thousand answers to one question is helpful, so that i can see the many methods and pick what sounds like is right for me. I have baby racks, adult racks, and juvy racks. I am a hard worker. I will do my best and certainly hope that somebody decides to buy from me. I can'tmake them... It's something I want to do. I wil also have a job by the time i have my operations going full time as i will be 16 so that should answer in another word MONEY. It's you're choice to have an issue with my age. All want to do is to provide healthy, quality gems for the herp community including myself. Thank you for at least reponding and this will shed some light on my background and my intentions. Shuld've posted this in the main box........

[melly911]

well if its your first time i would find my local reptile store and ask them would they be willing to buy your babies for like 30 each because they always sell them for 80. see how that goes and if they say yeah then breed a pair of normals because then you will only get normal babies you can sell to the store. if it goes well and you like it invest in some cool morphs and have fun!

[PitOnTheProwl]

I think Kinra hit it the best

I dont drop any temps.
Just let them do their thing, 4 days paired with 3 days off and then after every 4th pairing I give them the next week off.
I cut after the first pip.

Your age isnt as muh of an issue with me, you living in your parents house is. If your parents are cool with it then run with it

Just remember what works for one might need to be tweaked for another.

[MorphMaster]

I think Kinra hit it the best

I dont drop any temps.
Just let them do their thing, 4 days paired with 3 days off and then after every 4th pairing I give them the next week off.
I cut after the first pip.

Your age isnt as muh of an issue with me, you living in your parents house is. If your parents are cool with it then run with it

Just remember what works for one might need to be tweaked for another.

Right, well my parents already understand what is going on.N believe me, im running lol

[MrLang]

Your age isnt as muh of an issue with me, you living in your parents house is. If your parents are cool with it then run with it

This was all I was really getting at. You don't need to explain yourself to me and I'm not judging you, just bringing up some points you need to consider. It's your parents money and house, so if your dad decides you need to get rid of everything do you have a good plan for that? It's my own preference not to buy from someone under 18 and most of my reasoning would have to do with legality of live guarantees from someone underaged, being able to bring you to court over a dispute and not have it be thrown out, etc. I don't even know if that poses a legal problem, just something I would be weary of personally and would be less inclined to 'deal with.' I am aware there are plenty of kids under 18 that are better to deal with than adults, before someone makes that comment, but that's why I'm pointing out the legal safety web I rely on when doing business with people I don't know.

If you're doing it responsibly then good for you I haven't even considered pairing yet and I know the answers to every one of your questions simply, so I have to assume you haven't done adequate research on the topic yet. One thread asking for answers from a handful of anons doesn't give a full enough picture to be educated on the topic. Perhaps you already know most of the answers from your research and are looking for reassurance. That is unclear to me. Take a deep breath and slow down. Your opening post suggests an urgency that isn't conducive to success.