Breeding and its factors...

[charlene.payne]

Okay, I was talking to a couple of my friends today. Everyone has experienced a late season this year so I had some questions to ask. What are everyone's opinions on why we had such a late go? Do you think it was the more mild than usual winter or something else? Do you think that light cycles, moon cycles, and atmospheric pressure has a part in breeding cycles? I had a few females go early but most of my girls are just now in various stages...i.e building, ovulating, prelay sheds, and laying.

I think that it is critical to have a colder winter to help in the breeding cycle. I think temperatures play a part but that drop of pressure and the winter storms gets the males and females into the mood.

Let me know what you think...

[Coopers Constrictors]

For all reasons above... is why we all had awkward seasons. I honestly think it was the late winter start... and now the summer is already here.

[charlene.payne]

Do you keep track each year of when your girls lay? I have several that are late layers anyways. There isn't really a typical breeding season anymore and more breeders are getting eggs all year long. It makes me wonder if the ball pythons are adapting to the climate and captivity.

[Coopers Constrictors]

For all reasons above... is why we all had awkward seasons. I honestly think it was the late winter start... and now the summer is already here.

To add, I think the rapid change of temps and pressures kind of wacked things out as well. I mean, if it wasn't cold here, it was hot. (SoCal). If it wasn't hot, then the temps went cold over night. It definitely threw things off a bit.

[charlene.payne]

We moved at the beginning of October from Colorado to Alabama. We are military and I was really worried about it effecting our breeding season. As far as I can tell, tho I haven't nothing to base it off of, we just had a late season. Our girls were still breeding even after being moved and eating. But it makes me wonder if anyone else has experienced disruption in breeding due to a mid season move.

[Coopers Constrictors]

Do you keep track each year of when your girls lay? I have several that are late layers anyways. There isn't really a typical breeding season anymore and more breeders are getting eggs all year long. It makes me wonder if the ball pythons are adapting to the climate and captivity.

Yep each and every year. Some felt the change early on, and ovulated really early, abnormally early. Some are still building... things are just a bit off. Does this mean they will go early/late again next season (in the fall)? No idea, I will assume yes and put the males with them early on, and try to cool the room slightly, early on, so when the drop in temps happens (naturally) it won't be so drastic as it was this year.

[charlene.payne]

Yep each and every year. Some felt the change early on, and ovulated really early, abnormally early. Some are still building... things are just a bit off. Does this mean they will go early/late again next season (in the fall)? No idea, I will assume yes and put the males with them early on, and try to cool the room slightly, early on, so when the drop in temps happens (naturally) it won't be so drastic as it was this year.

When do you start pairing? How much recover time have you observed for your girls after laying? Do they tend to go the same time every year? Or has each year slowly got later and later? My first female laid in Feb. She has already recovered most of her weight within the time it took her clutch to hatch. She is still eating strongly. My second clutch was laid a month ago and the mother has also regained the majority of her weight. Do temperatures and light cycles have an effect on these things too?

[Coopers Constrictors]

When do you start pairing? How much recover time have you observed for your girls after laying? Do they tend to go the same time every year? Or has each year slowly got later and later? My first female laid in Feb. She has already recovered most of her weight within the time it took her clutch to hatch. She is still eating strongly. My second clutch was laid a month ago and the mother has also regained the majority of her weight. Do temperatures and light cycles have an effect on these things too?

Very good questions...

Most of my girls gain their weight back failry quickly (in just a few months) and get bigger and bigger each year. Other girls, a small handful of them, take a little bit longer to get their original weight back on. I have found that once they breed (most of them) for their first time, they tend to be pigs and want to eat all the time after their first clutch. Others want to eat all the time naturally, and some (a small handful) continue to be 'random eaters'... yet still gain their weight back in preparation for the next season... these are the ones that usually take about 12 months to recover and start building again.

So for recovery time, I have girls that are completely off schedule because for some reason, they only want about 9 months of recovery before they want to breed again and produce follicles. Other girls, (this all really depends on a few things that you have already mentioned) can take up to 12 months before they start building. Yet, some of them tend to take a year off every couple of years. Which is perfectly normal... or is normal having only 9 months off? I honestly don't know, solely based on my personal experience. But what I do know is that all of this depends on the animal, as each one is different. You just have to figure out what they want, what their schedule is, and plan accordingly. Breeding is all year long nowadays for me, because of reasons above. I have identified which ones need longer recovery, and which ones do not... and organizing them in the racks plays a big role in this because if I leave the 'early birds' in the top racks, they will absorb their follicles early on. If I leave the late ones in the bottom racks, they will take longer to recover because of the slightly cooler temps down there.

Temperature is the key player, overall. I utilize the natural lighting through the windows for my snake room, and honestly do not think that the light cycles have a big impact on breeding.

As for pairing, it all really depends on the animals. For the majority of the collection, around mid Oct. A select few, a bit earlier, and others, I wait until January... again, it all depends on the animals and what their schedule is.