pairings already?

[SquamishSerpents]

hey all, just wondering what your thoughts are on pairing this early. i know a lot of people "cool" their snakes.

while we don't cool them on purpose, we sleep with our bedroom window open. where we live (coastal BC) the temp difference between night and day can swing as much as 10 degrees, so we just let that do the work.

we are just coming off a major heat wave (32 degrees C anyone?) that lasted about a week and a half. it's dropped to about 15 degrees C and started raining. so with the bad weather moving in, i thought, ahhhh what the heck, let's pair some snakes!

so far we've had these locks (2/4 pairings):

pin M x spider F
spider M x normal F

the pin M and spider F are virgins, the spider M has bred 2 years now. the normal F is a proven breeder too. we have a clutch of eggs from her in the bator right now, but she's been eating like MAD and back to weight already.

basically i just wanted to see what was going to happen, but do you think there is any point in continuing to pair, or is it simply too early in the season?


(sorry for the long-winded post, i haven't had anywhere near my usual pot of coffee yet)

[EverEvolvingExotics]

I would like to know the same thing. We've been having some nice frontal system come over Arizona. I didn't try but I was thinking heavily about it. I've read BPs can breed all year, so I doubt there will be any negative impact.

Good luck and congrats on those locks.

[mues155]

Its never "too early" to start pairing. There is no set in stone time for breeding.

If you see locks then keep pairing until the female ovulates.

[fredanthony]

I also pair year round got some good lock ups this month already and eggs cooking as well

[SquamishSerpents]

damn, got a het. albino M x albino F going at it right now too. YESSSS! another virgin male, too.

a bit nervous about the pin though, he's only a 2010 so i'm not sure if he's going to have any viable spermies, but who knows right.

[snakesRkewl]

a bit nervous about the pin though, he's only a 2010 so i'm not sure if he's going to have any viable spermies, but who knows right.

He's over 8 months old, I would think he'd be fully capable

[RichsBallPythons]

Ive had males before hitting 5 months old father clutches. Its hit or miss with some males ive seen.

But breed anytime you want. I just separated pin x mojo yesterday

[AK907]

As long as your balls are healthy and willing to breed, I say go for it. If they don't care what time of year it is, why should we?

We've got a spider male and a pastel male that are being rotated between three normal females right now. The weather here has been perfect and it has really put them in the mood. We've also got a dinker female that we are hoping to breed in a few months for a late season clutch. Hopefully in the next month or two we will find her a handsome young pied boyfriend so he will be ready by then too.

[SquamishSerpents]

He's over 8 months old, I would think he'd be fully capable

lol, it sure seems as though he is! our spider het. albino male is only 439g but hatched last August, i wonder if he'll be ready to go this year?

Ive had males before hitting 5 months old father clutches. Its hit or miss with some males ive seen.

yeah, i've just heard it's hit or miss with young males. hoping everybody is ready and fertile because MAN are we ever ready for a big breeding season! this year everything crapped out so bad but i'm optimistic for 2011!

random question: do females ovulate more than once per year? do they need to lock up to stimulate ovulation, or does it just happen on it's own?

is there any reading i can do regarding what goes on inside the snakes bodies during breeding/building/ovulation/etc? i know HOW to breed snakes, i just don't know the exact biology behind all of it. which really is a shame, as i'm quite curious!