Please some help in general breeding :)

[TheSnakeEye]

How does the actual breeding come along? Do you switch males to the female racks or opposite? When do you take them back out? Does a lock up mean youve been successfull and you can leave the female alone after that? How will you know this female wont breed to this male? Do you need several lock ups? When can you tell a female is in the perfect time to breed to a male and you might have success? The whole topic "ovulation" leaves a big question mark over my head. In humans ovulation means its the perfect time to try to become pregnant, but how is that with ball pythons? I m sorry if my questions sound stupid but I cant find very much answers to those questions and I d be more then gratefull if anyone is willing to help! Or an overall "to do List" during breeding season would be helpfull as well. Here everyone I ve talked to has seen me as an oponent and told me to find out for myself. Thank you for your answers! I m open to IM as well

I throw my male into the females tub. I think most do this as well. I usually leave him in there for about 2-3 days, depending on if he locks up or not. I then rest him for about 3 days. Some people do 1 day on and off. I don't like this because I've had lockups after the first 24 hrs. A lockup though, does NOT mean she will automatically become gravid and develop eggs. I started pairing in late October and am just now seeing signs of the females developing eggs. So thats months of pairing up and locking up.

You will know if a female won't breed a male if no courtship is seen. Most snakes lock up for at least a couple of hours, so there's a good chance you'll catch them. My boy locks up for about 10-12 hrs and when they're done, that she doesn't want anymore, she'll sit on one side of the tub and him on the complete opposite. This is when I separate them. Now if they don't lock up it doesn't necessarrily mean it's the females fault. Males can be at fault too. But unless the male is an over aggressive breeder, they'll both just go when they're ready. For example when I first paired up my Pastel Lesser and Mocha, the Mocha wanted nothing to do with him. I thought that maybe he was still too young. I tried another female and he locked up. For the next month I kept feeding the Mocha and then suddenly she allowed him to lock up with her, so it's really all up to them. I don't know if she was waiting to gain a few grams or if maybe she let him breed her after he bred something else. W.e it was, it worked out perfect.

Ball Python ovulation is different than human ovulation. When a ball python ovulates, it is because she has locked up and his sperm has done it's job. Ovulation means she is in the beginning stages of "pregnancy". When an ovulation occurs, any pairing with males should be stopped, cus she will soon be dropping her eggs.

My advice to you and to make sure you have everyhting covered from A-Z before you begin. It's not as easy as it looks, but it's not rocket science either. Good luck!!