New to Breeding..

[Kinra]

"Interested" You mean not trying to eat each other, right?

By interested I mean you haven't seen any locks in a very long time and they are constantly on opposite sides of the tub/cage.

Because I'm only using Icky to breed to Sable and Tortuga, should I switch him 3 days with Sable, 3 days with Tortuga, back to Sable, back to Tortuga, or should I breed him to one until shes gravid, then switch to the other? I'm not in any hurry to breed, and I'm keeping my excitement on the back burner to the safety of my pets. I'm just on a quest for knowledge

I'm not planning on back-breeding, but I'll keep it in mind if need be. I've kinda assumed there wasn't much error for in/line/back breeding. Less hips to get dysplasia!

You don't want to keep switching him from one female to the other, you want to give him a few days off. I'm pairing my boy Zar with all three of my breeding females and if he locks right away I will put him with another female as soon as he is finished, but once he's done with the second one he goes back into his own tub for 3-4 days and I offer food on the second day. You don't want to just breed one female and wait until she is gravid before breeding the other because one might ovulate before the other and you could miss your chance for the year. Reproduction with ball pythons starts with females building folicals (spelling?) and then they ovulate and those become eggs. If she hasn't been breeding there is a good chance she will re-absorb the folicals instead of ovulating (they also do this some times even if they have been bred).

Also - I've got pictures up of everybody but Sable (I'm a bad mommy!) HERE. If you want to take a look

They're pretty!

[Xotik]

Alright I'm starting to think the hard part is getting them together when she is ovulating, and getting them to be happy-go-lucky together.

I found a bunch of webpages that are definitely helpful. I'm trying to get a general timeline, instead of a specific one though. They seem to be - start on this date, do this on this date. And I'm having a hard time deciphering the time zones for things. Such as - day 1, do this. day 2, do this. wait till day 16. do this. do this on day 28-34. wait till day 66. Something closer to that.

I'm not going to start doing anything until I'm good and ready - and we are already past the start dates I'm seeing. I'm trying to decipher things myself, but its not making too much sense in my own head. I may just be missing something. :/

Edit - Thanks Kinra! <3

[Kinra]

Alright I'm starting to think the hard part is getting them together when she is ovulating, and getting them to be happy-go-lucky together.

I found a bunch of webpages that are definitely helpful. I'm trying to get a general timeline, instead of a specific one though. They seem to be - start on this date, do this on this date. And I'm having a hard time deciphering the time zones for things. Such as - day 1, do this. day 2, do this. wait till day 16. do this. do this on day 28-34. wait till day 66. Something closer to that.

I'm not going to start doing anything until I'm good and ready - and we are already past the start dates I'm seeing. I'm trying to decipher things myself, but its not making too much sense in my own head. I may just be missing something. :/

Edit - Thanks Kinra! <3

Most of the people who write these things breed on a large scale. There are no real time lines up until the female ovulates and then from there you can predict her lay date. Ball pythons can breed year round so while most people start on say November 1st or some other date you can start at any time. Females also can store sperm for at least up to a year.

I'm still trying to work things out for myself as I fumble through my first season. I wouldn't be surprised if I happen to open on of my female's tubs and find her either sitting on eggs or laying them. I started pairing on October 23rd when I had a storm front moving through and have just kept pairing them since. I think no matter how much you read and research you're still going to learn a lot when you actually try.

[Xotik]

Yeah, I'm pretty much coming to the conclusion of - just have at.

Being a hands on style learner, I think my biggest issue is I'm reading everything. Not just doing it. I do believe I will start on new years. The holiday season will have died down and I won't be working so much, everything will be much easier.

Thank you so much Kinra - you have been so incredibly helpful!

[h&tmaster]

and thank you both for this very educational thread! this is our 1st breeding season too. have had 4 confirmed locks since dec. 9th. very excited and hungry for knowledge as well. was holding my girl 2nite and think i may have felt folicals but it mat just be poo. dont know what they feel like. what i felt was like 3 oblong lumps down her side on the last 1/2-1/3 0f her body. all right 2gether. any idea?

[Vermillion]

Hello, i dont really have anything to contribute except more questions since i am of the same mindset as the original poster. My breeder said i didnt need a liscence or anything of the sort to breed in NJ and ive checked the state laws and found nothing.
The main concerns i have are:
1: Do you need a liscence to keep large numbers of BPs
2: Do you need a liscence to breed and sell BPs
3: I know how the IRS is and theres no way to get out of paying "the man", how would state and federal taxes be involved in any animals i would sell from my "tiny" breeding operation.

I know some of you will tell me to check the state laws, but i have and i couldnt find anything. Im hoping that someone out there who deals with this on a regular basis can point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

[spud6]

from what i have seen you do not need a license to keep large quantity of reptile as long as they are all cared for properly, you do not need a any permit or any thing to sell they either just maybe a proprioters license and it seems to be *under the table* for sales unless you are like bhb the irs never has a clue you are selling anything but all laws have their changes from area to area so id ask someone already in your area look into reptile expos that are nearby would be my suggestion to get more info and good luck guys and gals hope it is successfull