What is the youngest you'd breed a female ball?

[T&C Exotics]

I refuse to breed a female younger than 3 years old. No matter the weight at any age younger she will be 3 years old and atleast 1500 grams at that age.

I am one of those odd ones I only feed once a week nothing more and nothing less. I know a lot of people do feed more often and everything and thats great for them but I would prefer my snakes to live longer and have a better life. It is just an opinion but that's the way I feel. I have nothing against anyone who does any different, we each ahve our own ways. Mine just works best for me and I feel the snake gets the best care that way.

[SlitherinSisters]

I have heard horror stories and plan to breed females no sooner than two years, preferably three years. I don't want to deal with impacted eggs or a bunch of slugs. What's one more year when it comes to your female's life. I'm not a gambler.

[Wh00h0069]

I have heard horror stories and plan to breed females no sooner than two years, preferably three years. I don't want to deal with impacted eggs or a bunch of slugs. What's one more year when it comes to your female's life. I'm not a gambler.

These horror stories can happen to larger girls just as often as they happen to smaller girls, if not more. Smaller girls will not become gravid if they are not ready, so your chance of them becoming egg bound are slim. Also the eggs they produce are smaller than larger females, so the egg size ratio is the same. There are many larger breeders, including Adam Wysocki that breed small females with no issues. Here is a link to a post by Adam on this issue: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...smaller&page=3

Also most likely the people that have told you the horror stories have not actually had the issues themselves. They likely heard them from someone that has heard them from someone who heard it from someone else...

[Eventide]

I haven't started breeding yet, but my plan as of now is to only breed when the female reaches 1200 grams and at least 18 months old. This is absolute minimum, though. My het Axanthic female should be able to reach that weight by winter, but at that point, she will barely be 18 months. I'm not comfortable with breeding her that early. I might breed her mid-summer, depending on her weight, but most likely, I'll be waiting another year for her.

[bad-one]

I haven't started breeding yet but 2 years is my minimum and I'll probably wait until the third on my girl. Weight wise 1,500 is min. and I'd prefer around 1,700g or more.

[WingedWolfPsion]

I think that 2 years and comfortably OVER 1500 grams is the earliest I would breed a female--if the female only just made 1500 at age 2, she'd wait out another year. I wouldn't want to stunt her growth by breeding her early--that seems a very reasonable potential to me.

[EmberBall]

I feed my females more than I feed my males. Too me, I cannot have a chubby female Ball, because you never know if they are feeding like crazy for a few months and bulking up because they know a fast is coming on.

I have had a skinny 1500 gram female that I did not breed. I have had 1200 gram females that are solid, that would probably be close to the 1500 gram mark by the time they were ready to lay, since they were still on food, that I have bred. I have not gotten eggs from a female smaller than 1400 grams, 95% of my females are at least 1500 grams by the time I breed them and usually between 2 and 3 years old.

I suppose you could breed a 1000 gram female if she was solid, with great body mass, but I am of the opinion that 7 eggs next year are better than probably getting 3 eggs this year. The only time I would say 3 eggs this year are great, is if I was trying to prove out a new morph.

I use 2-3 years old and 1500 grams with good body weight and mass as my rule of thumb.

Dave

[grim reaper in NY]

I agree with Isis, 3 years minimum. It's worth the wait.

[PythonWallace]

I refuse to breed a female younger than 3 years old. No matter the weight at any age younger she will be 3 years old and atleast 1500 grams at that age.

I am one of those odd ones I only feed once a week nothing more and nothing less. I know a lot of people do feed more often and everything and thats great for them but I would prefer my snakes to live longer and have a better life. It is just an opinion but that's the way I feel. I have nothing against anyone who does any different, we each ahve our own ways. Mine just works best for me and I feel the snake gets the best care that way.

What makes you think that feeding any more or less than once a week will cause a snake to have a bad life and die any sooner than a snake that has a different feeding schedule? I'm sure you're just playing it safe, but what makes you think that a snake that gorges for a few months, then fasts every year, or a snake that eats a larger meal every 10-14 days would have a worse and shorter life? I'm just curious, because I see people say this a lot, but as far as I know, it's all speculation, making it just as likely that a snake that gorges itself, then fasts will end up living longer.

[guambomb832]

I would breed probably a 2 year old female, or how some people say it, a female who has gone through her second winter.

PS
To Isis, nice doberman pinscher, I have always wanted one!