Originally Posted by Amon Ra Reptiles
Ok so this was our first year breeding balls and we had a really good year. Nothing special really, three spider x normal clutches and a Mojave x normal clutch but out of 27 eggs we only had one egg go bad and no slugs so we are pretty happy with the success and we want to start by saying thanks to the members here for teaching us most of what we now know about breeding.
We have had a few questions pop up and we have found nothing but good information here so far so we are hoping we can pick the brains of those of you who breed on a little larger scale than just a couple clutches a year. This year we are planning to breed several codom and Dom males to normal females in an effort to produce codom and Dom females to build our own collection as well as for future breeding stock. We will also have a couple het to het pairings and possibly one Dom male to codom female pairing if she hits size in time. Anyway, we are planning to breed 16 normal females and three other females for a maximum of 19 clutches. Now we understand that it's not likely that all 19 females will actually take and produce a clutch but we naturally want to be prepared if they did. So doing quick average math; 19 clutches x 5 eggs = 95 eggs/hatchlings. Again, it's not likely to have 95 good hatchlings but it is possible and we want to be ready. Sorry so long winded here are the questions:
1: How often does everyone here feed hatchlings? Meaning the hatchlings you are planning to sell, not what you are holding back or planning to breed. I feed live mouse hoppers or rat pinks(depending on sizes) every 5-7 days no matter where they go.
2: Do you attempt frozen thawed right off the bat or do you only do that once they are established as solid feeders?Never feed anything F/T
3: How long do you wait to assist feed? I have heard 6-7 weeks but I think it was Brian Gundy that assists everything at the 3 week mark. I have gone 6-8 weeks, depends on the snake in question.
4: What suggestions do you all have on moving normals? In coming years we will produce less and less normals as we upgrade our breeders to exclude the normal females and move from single gene males to double gene males and eventually a minimum of two gene animals for both male and female but in the meantime it is inevitable that we will be producing quite a few normals. Now females are not nearly as much of an issue of course but the males are essentially worthless from a breeding standpoint. I know to use local pet stores, craigslist, and other classifieds but I was just wondering if some of you had outlets that we had not thought of. I also know some of the larger breeders cull normals but I'm simply not comfortable with this idea. I'm in this first for the love of the animal and a distant second for the money I can make so I feel like if I'm culling normals then we have lost sight of why we do this in the first place.
I wholesale them, sell or trade directly to pet shops or sometimes I include them in group deals. I would only cull a severely deformed animal, I personally have never heard of anyone culling normal ball pythons.
Again, sorry so long winded and I thank you guys in advance for any advice you can offer.
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