Talk to me about breeding Deserts...

[Robyn@SYR]

Here's a summary of what I think ("know" is a funny word : )

- I think Desert females grow fine. We have females 2 years old over 1200 grams, and females 3 years old over 2300 grams. Males also grow well. Our early Desert females were acquired as juvies and young adults (1100 grams max?), and they did not eat well, or grow well. The females (and males) that we have bred and hatched here at PE grow and mature no differently than any other Ball python mutation we work with.

- I do know that smaller Desert females have thrown slugs, or become egg bound, when bred at smaller sizes. We have seen this with females in the 1000-1200 gram range.

- I think it is better to breed Desert females at 2000+ grams. That is what we are doing now.

- From the Desert females I know of that have laid good clutches, I think heat may play an important factor. Successful clutches have come from setups with no additional heat. Low ambient room temps, no heat tape or hot spots. That also means a bit slower growth, and slower progress with follicle size and cycling.

- I do know that we have a few Desert (and combo) females with follicles in the 10-20mm range, which is prime time for successful breeding, copping with Desert males (or combos) right now. They have no additional heat. Copping is good, but follicle growth and progress is definitely slower than what we normally see in our typical setups with cage hot spots.

- We get eggs every month of the year. There is no 2-3 month "season" for eggs anymore. We breed according to the cycle of the individual female. Our last eggs for 2010 were in December, our first eggs for 2011 were in January. There are 150 clutches in between. Not getting Desert eggs between June and August doesn't concern me in the least.

- I don't know WHY Desert females would use heat differently than "typical" Balls or Ball morphs, but it is intriguing, and we are working to find out.

- What I do not know is the 100% story on the origin of the Desert line. I have heard it at least 6 different ways. I am going with the Albey story at this point, linked here. It points to different wild caught animals, coming in different shipments, that looked similar. I do not know that the PE and PK lines are the same. Sometimes they look similar, sometimes they look very different.

Albey's Desert genesis story

- I know we (Pro Exotics) have been working with the Deserts for 3+ years. I know other terrific breeders that have been working with them for less time. I don't know of anyone that has worked with the Deserts consistently for "10 years" as some have insisted. Pete Kahl has worked with them for some time, but he doesn't post online, doesn't respond to emails, and doesn't seem to want to participate in the discussion. That doesn't bother me, we are doing our thing, other great breeders are doing theirs.

- I am excited to see what guys like Albey, Marc Bailey, Dan Wolfe, Ralph Davis and others do in the next couple of years, as they have a few years of Desert work under their belts at this point. They are all very talented.

- Deserts eat well, grow well, look healthy and strong, copulate well, breed well, and babies hatch and do well. Adult females look fantastic visually, strong and healthy. I can't think of a reason that adult females would not be viable. If they are heat sensitive, I would take advantage of that and maximize effectiveness, but I can't say that I would understand it.

- I just received news that another Desert female has laid a clutch in Europe. We have been sending quite a few Deserts that way the last two years. The clutch is associated with a PE customer. I am waiting anxiously for more news- which line of Deserts, combo female or not, and some pics.

That's all I can think of right now...