Feeding Breeder Females

[dsmalex97]

Alright!

Female 1: 2400grams
Female 2: 1875grams
Female 3: 1825grams
Female 4: 1600grams
Female 5: 1700grams

Now what I need to know is what should I feed snakes of this size when going into breeding season. I hear of all these people feeding their snakes more during this time, and I was wondering if that was because they were skinny to begin with or just to get them as fat as possible. I know a fat snake doesn't make a good breeder, so obviously female 1 should be fed 1 small rat a week no? Kinda why I'm asking is because this is going to be my first season and I'm nervous and just want this to work and want to do it how all you pro's do it lol. So yeah if these were your snakes what would you do feeding wise to prepare them for breeding season?

[Freakie_frog]

I try and feed them a couple of extra meals a month over the next 3-4 months.. I've noticed that its seems to be one factor in keeping the slugs away, But more study will be needed.

[dsmalex97]

i don't get it, so do you just feed them two small rats a couple time a month instead of feeding them one all the time? And would you do that even with one that is as heavy as 2400 grams? Whats too heavy, and what needs bulking up?

[J.Vandegrift]

There is no way anyone can tell you how much to feed your snakes just based on you posting their weights. Too many other factors involved. Last season I switched to feeding every snake in my collection once every two weeks (aside from babies). This year was my best breeding season ever and I only had 3 slugs the entire year. I do feed pretty decent sized meals when they are fed, but they have been doing fine on an every other week diet and are continuing to grow great.

[Freakie_frog]

i don't get it, so do you just feed them two small rats a couple time a month instead of feeding them one all the time? And would you do that even with one that is as heavy as 2400 grams? Whats too heavy, and what needs bulking up?

No where as they may normally only get 4 rats a month they will start getting 6-7. so feeding them every 5 days..

You'll notice that even at 2400 grams they will start to eat more in order to maintain their nutrition and health through breeding.

[Wh00h0069]

I feed all of my sub-adult and adult ball pythons one small rat weekly regardless of the season. Females will go off food when they become gravid. Once I see ovulation, I stop offering that particular female food until she drops her clutch.

[FatBoy]

i don't get it, so do you just feed them two small rats a couple time a month instead of feeding them one all the time? And would you do that even with one that is as heavy as 2400 grams? Whats too heavy, and what needs bulking up?

I think what Ed meant is that he feeds his regular schedule and on top of that adds a couple extra meals a month. Personally my feeding schedule is once per week, a few months before breeding season I back my males to every other week and go to every 5 days for the breeder females.

[dsmalex97]

I guess I'll stick with the every 5 days schedule.

Now, I have a pastel male at 700 grams empty should I keep him on the same every 7 days? You said you back the males up a week, is this determined by weight at all? How do you determine whether to bulk up the males or back off?

[wuffielover]

Weight by itself cannot tell you whether a snake needs to eat more, back off, etc. in preparation for breeding season- you also have to look at the overall 'shape', for lack of a better term, of the snake. A breeding female that weighs, say, 1700 grams can be either fat or thin depending on the overall size of the snake. For example, I have a cinnamon pastel male I'm planning to breed this season. Currently he weighs about 650 grams. Even though that may seem light for a breeder male, I'm planning on backing off on his feeding before I breed him because, for his length, he's pretty chubby. On the other hand, I have a female pastel who is around the same weight, but is longer than he is, so she is actually slender for her length. I don't worry about overfeeding her, and offer her an extra meal every now and then. Snakes grow in different ways, just like people- some will grow long first and then fill out, some fill out and then take a while to get long. Rather than just looking at weight, try to look at each snake individually and feed accordingly in preparation for breeding.

[FatBoy]

I guess I'll stick with the every 5 days schedule.

Now, I have a pastel male at 700 grams empty should I keep him on the same every 7 days? You said you back the males up a week, is this determined by weight at all? How do you determine whether to bulk up the males or back off?

I back my males back to every other week because I find that fatter males make lazy breeders. I like to keep them healthy and lean during breeding season. On the off season they get fed every week.