Thoughts On Breeding 2nd Year Females

[aalomon]

I just wont risk a higher chance of egg binding or other complications.

I always see this when people bring up the topic of breeding younger females. Is there a thread somewhere that documents higher egg binding or complications that I missed? To me it seems that there is a higher chance of her just not going that year instead of a higher chance of medical issues.

[krinklebearcat]

The trend I've noticed since I started researching ball python breeding is that the minimum age and weight that people find acceptable seem to be going down...

Ultimately I'm always going to look out for what's best for the animals, and I don't see myself breeding any females that are under 3 years, or under 1500 grams. I will probably even wait until 1800+ for most, as I've heard many breeders say that the longer you wait to breed a female the first time, the larger clutches she'll give you for the first several years of breeding.