How long to wait?

[Lizard licks]

I hear a lot of breeders are breeding year round now, so if I breed two ball pythons once the female lays her eggs how long should I wait before trying to breed them again?

[John1982]

Wait until the female is back up to a healthy build. Some females can produce a clutch every year without a problem. Some females need an extra year to get back up to size before you should consider pairing them again. Your best bet is to go by the individual and not follow a hard outline - each snake is a bit different.

[Lizard licks]

Wait until the female is back up to a healthy build. Some females can produce a clutch every year without a problem. Some females need an extra year to get back up to size before you should consider pairing them again. Your best bet is to go by the individual and not follow a hard outline - each snake is a bit different.

So normally it takes over a year? Like most of the time you can't breed them twice a year?

[T_Sauer]

The breeders that are breeding year around have muliple females .... ONCE A YEAR PER FEMALE ... Like John said you will have a hard enough time trying to get her back up to a healthy enough status as it is. If you do not let your females get back up to proper weight or even mature enough to breed for that matter before doing so, you are not only running a risk or harming the breeding female potientially to the point of death. But you are also running the risk of breeding junk ball pythons with many issues such as kinks, malnutrition, or eggs that just will never make it the full term and die before they hatch, just to name a few.... and you will be unable to sell them and all the time you spent waiting to make a quick dollar will be wasted. In my own personal opinion it is inhumane. Snakes are just the same as any other animal on the face of this earth, most after breeding so many times will slug out (productivity will decrease along with quality). Yes we are all about trying to hurry up and get that new morph that has never been seen, or double our collection as fast as possible with spending as less as possible by keeping your own hatchlings that are what your looking for. BUT, We also care about our snakes and treat them as another one of Gods great creatures sharing this earth with us. The best way to get good Quality and as many eggs in a clutch as possible (not as important as quality, quality is important to be successful in Ball Python breeding) is to breed healthy snakes .... if you do not have your breeding pair healthy prior to breeding them you risk losing out big time including losing out on the money that may or may not come from them depending on what your intentions are.

[Lizard licks]

The breeders that are breeding year around have muliple females .... ONCE A YEAR PER FEMALE ... Like John said you will have a hard enough time trying to get her back up to a healthy enough status as it is. If you do not let your females get back up to proper weight or even mature enough to breed for that matter before doing so, you are not only running a risk or harming the breeding female potientially to the point of death. But you are also running the risk of breeding junk ball pythons with many issues such as kinks, malnutrition, or eggs that just will never make it the full term and die before they hatch, just to name a few.... and you will be unable to sell them and all the time you spent waiting to make a quick dollar will be wasted. In my own personal opinion it is inhumane. Snakes are just the same as any other animal on the face of this earth, most after breeding so many times will slug out (productivity will decrease along with quality). Yes we are all about trying to hurry up and get that new morph that has never been seen, or double our collection as fast as possible with spending as less as possible by keeping your own hatchlings that are what your looking for. BUT, We also care about our snakes and treat them as another one of Gods great creatures sharing this earth with us. The best way to get good Quality and as many eggs in a clutch as possible (not as important as quality, quality is important to be successful in Ball Python breeding) is to breed healthy snakes .... if you do not have your breeding pair healthy prior to breeding them you risk losing out big time including losing out on the money that may or may not come from them depending on what your intentions are.

Okay, thank you.

[T_Sauer]

I just re-read my post and it could be mistakin for a bit abrasive, I had no intention of disrepect, it was a long rough night at work. lol .... Second I realized I forgot my manners ... Welcome to the site!!! There are a lot of great members here that have a great knowledge and advise, this is definantly the place to be when you have any questions or just want to have a good ol friendly debate on certain topic related subjects. Also WE LOVE PICTURES ... when you get some time load a few so we can see what your working with!! Good luck and Welcome again.

[Lizard licks]

I just re-read my post and it could be mistakin for a bit abrasive, I had no intention of disrepect, it was a long rough night at work. lol .... Second I realized I forgot my manners ... Welcome to the site!!! There are a lot of great members here that have a great knowledge and advise, this is definantly the place to be when you have any questions or just want to have a good ol friendly debate on certain topic related subjects. Also WE LOVE PICTURES ... when you get some time load a few so we can see what your working with!! Good luck and Welcome again.

Thanks for the welcome I only have one snake right now I'm gonna start breeding hopefully by the end of next year and wanna be prepared thanks for the help.

[bcr229]

Once yearly is typical as the females only ovulate annually, and some breeders have reported that the females typically ovulate at around the same time each year.

Also bear in mind that she won't go every year, if she has clutches 2-3 years in a row then Mama Nature may just force her to take a year off.

[RichieBoo]

I have a girl that laid 2 years in a row with 7 eggs each time... this year only 6 eggs and 1 went bad.. so with that im feeling she needs a year off and take a rest so she can build up some good weight...

[Lizard licks]

Once yearly is typical as the females only ovulate annually, and some breeders have reported that the females typically ovulate at around the same time each year.

Also bear in mind that she won't go every year, if she has clutches 2-3 years in a row then Mama Nature may just force her to take a year off.

Thanks

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I have a girl that laid 2 years in a row with 7 eggs each time... this year only 6 eggs and 1 went bad.. so with that im feeling she needs a year off and take a rest so she can build up some good weight...

Okay good to know, thanks