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

[grim reaper in NY]

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

[greghall]

18 months old had 3 of my 18 month old girls go & lay nice big clutches.

[WingedWolfPsion]

I have a girl that's 853 grams as of today. I fully expect her to be at least 1600 grams by this time next year, and she may possibly be even larger than that. She is one year old this month.
I don't see any reason she can't breed next year, given her enormous size and growth rate. If she were just barely 1500 going in, I would wait--but it looks like she will be more than large enough. If a female is going to be 1600 to 1800 grams at age 2, why wait? She should have the body reserves at that size to handle the strain of producing eggs while still continuing to grow.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Changed my mind. <lol>

[ColinWeaver]

I'm almost not sure what kind of snake everybody is writing about... and since the topic appears to be ball pythons I'm confused about the frequency with which this topic is discussed.

Obese juvenile ball pythons? That's pretty close to being an oxymoron. You know, like jumbo shrimp, military intelligence, freezer burn and low-fat pop-tarts.

I have more than a few ball pythons and I feed the younger ones whenever they will eat. Few snakes are as fickle a feeder as the ball python. Getting females up to breeding size in 18 months is a challenge for even the most vigilant feeding hand. Ball pythons feed when they want and regularly go off feed for weeks or months at a time (with the "1,000-gram wall" being a particularly nasty time). It is the single most frustrating part of raising and breeding ball pythons. My concern level is pretty close to zero when it comes to over-feeding young ball pythons. I consider it an unlikely possibility that they will become overweight. I suppose there are exceptions but they are just that; exceptions.

Older animals? That's a different story. They can get fat. A 3,500 gram ball python can wreck large numbers of rats in a short period of time (and get chunky as a result).

Fat babies? Fat sub-adults? I wish I had that problem. Having young ball pythons that eat non-stop and I have to limit their intake... dream big, Colin. Dream big...

[JD Constriction]

For me it's based on the female to some degree. If she is something that I plan on having for several seasons the answer is always to breed her 3rd winter (~2.5 years) and over 1500g (hopefully 2000g).

If it's something that I'm only using for a season or two the answer would be 1200g minimum for a female 3 winters old or older, 1500g minimum for a female under 3 winters old.

I'm with Colin. 1000g wall sucks....and happens too often on fun projects!

Hope that helps.

[kidkaos520]

If I sold someone a "proven" 07 female widget that was 1250 would you try and breed it after quarantine? If you did breed it and it took and you got a nice clutch how would you feel if I were to tell you it was only a 08, im sure you would be upset but would it change anyones mind about the whole minimum age and weight of breeding a female. Not trying to sell anything here just would like to see where everyones mind set it. Also was curious is there any kind of documentation that follows ball pythons in their natural habitat they do it for meerkats why not bps

[Crazy4Herps]

If I sold someone a "proven" 07 female widget that was 1250 would you try and breed it after quarantine? If you did breed it and it took and you got a nice clutch how would you feel if I were to tell you it was only a 08, im sure you would be upset but would it change anyones mind about the whole minimum age and weight of breeding a female. Not trying to sell anything here just would like to see where everyones mind set it. Also was curious is there any kind of documentation that follows ball pythons in their natural habitat they do it for meerkats why not bps

I think you definitely have a good point. I still think I'd wait, just to be safe rather than sorry, but many are ready to breed before others. Likewise, I've got an "07" (was sold to me as an 07) girl that is 3ft long and probably around 500g. Great feeding response, is in perfect health, she's just really small. Genetics also play a major part in safe breeding age.

[mooingtricycle]

Three years For me.

I grow em slow. Im in zero rush.

[WingedWolfPsion]

If I sold someone a "proven" 07 female widget that was 1250 would you try and breed it after quarantine?

Absolutely not. I would assume the snake needed a year off, and spend a year feeding her up to a more reasonable weight for breeding.