Im an idiot

[ironpython]

I have made a stupid mistake, and I hope I havent jeopardized my snakes health. I also don't want you folks to think ill of me me because I look forward to your advice in the future and some day being a useful part of this resource. I posted yesterday that I introduced a male norm. To my female norm. and was told that my female at 1124grams was not at the.proper weight for breeding. I did so because I had read that some people had bred their female at this weight. But I remembered a month ago my sons friend brought that same male over a month ago and we put them together for company another rookie mistake, and they were evidently trying to breed then we thought they were snuggling to keep warmer. Now after further research I remember her getting that blocky lumpy look like she had swallowed blocks of wood. (Pre ovulation maybe) and she has been seeking the.cooler side of the tank and I hope she isn't gravid. She eats good and shed two weeks ago. Any advice for a dumbass.

[John Marker]

While this is by no means the majority, or popular, opinion here, I believe that your female will be fine. I don't believe that we, as a community, give our snakes enough credit in making decisions about what is best for them. For thousands of years, millions maybe, this species of snakes has been able to make the decision as to when it was appropriate for them to breed. Our snakes, your snake, has those same instincts. She wouldn't have let the male breed her if she didn't know she was ready to breed. Again, this is not the the popular opinion, but you don't have anything to worry about, she will be fine. Keep feeding her and keep track of her sheds so that you can be ready if/when she lays. If you haven't already, be sure to do some research on what you will need to do with the eggs.

I hope this helps: There is no reason to freak out over something that you can't undo. Your female has been bred at a low weight. But she allowed it, so she must believe she is ready. Remember, these animals can store sperm and become gravid when they decide to be. Things will be fine.

John

[DooLittle]

I would make sure you had an incubator set up, just in case (which it sounds like you might) need it. Be prepared for the eggs at this point.

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[angllady2]

Try not to beat yourself up to badly. Heaven only knows the majority of us have done something monumentally stupid involving our snakes at one point in time or another. I shudder to think of some of the blunders I have made, thank goodness these guys are tougher than we give them credit for most of the time, or my first two would never have survived me.

The best thing you can do in this situation is live and learn. You know now that this wasn't the best idea, so learn from it and move forward. It does sound like perhaps your female just might lay, so research your little butt off and be prepared if it does happen. I will say however, they can and will fake you out pretty good. Last season and this season both I had one female that built, glowed, layed inverted, the whole nine yards, then just changed their minds and never laid. So she may or may not lay for you, I would be prepared anyway. Sure as houses, if you don't prepare yourself, you'll end up with a clutch and be panicking not knowing what to do. If you do prepare, she won't do anything and you'll be scratching your head and wondering what gives. It's just how they are.

Please keep us updated on her. I for one would love to know how you both survive.

Gale

[snakesRkewl]

I wish things happened so fast, looks like you need to learn the timeline of breeding
The breeding process takes time and several months at least.
Your biggest mistake was not quarantining a new snake in the house and thinking ball pythons like company, lol.

I would let your female get some weight on her before breeding her.

[satomi325]

That's good that you know you made a mistake. Now you know better in the future.
As long as your female has a nice muscle tone and doesn't look thin, breeding at 1124g isn't that big of a deal. 1500+g is just a guideline to ensure that a female has enough reserves to last her throughout the breeding season and not get egg bound from large eggs.
Some females can't even get to 1500g because they're naturally small. As long as the weight to length ratio to them looks nice, big, and healthy, I wouldn't worry.
And it sounds like your girl is still eating, which is a good sign.

This is a good site to look at the Breeding timeline:
http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html

Quick Do it yourself cooler incubator:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...oler-incubator

Good luck.

[wolfy-hound]

The breeding process doesn't take "months". Ball pythons have bred in 10 minutes if they decide to. The elaborate cooling period and feeding schedules are not 'required' to get a gravid female. She could indeed be gravid with eggs. She might not be.

Best to prepare for eggs. Set up a incubator and get it prewarmed so it's stable for a few days before you trust it... then wait to see if she lays or not. If she turns out not to be gravid, then you're ready to set up the incubator properly next time.

I tend to agree, MOST females don't tend to 'take' if they aren't ready. You can't force a female to breed. If your female is 'fat' enough, i.e. not thin or underweight, she should be okay. She may be extremely thin when she lays though, so be prepared to fatten her back up. Breeding a small female is something I wouldn't recommend to anyone except someone with plenty of experience. Make sure that you have a good reptile vet in your phone list, in case she does get egg-bound. Just in case, you know.

[don15681]

The 1500 gram rule is a guideline, for breeding a female who has enough fat stored to support her eggs. your female depending on her length and that she's still feeding should be ok. I don't think she ovulated yet, as this will usually throw them off feed. this wasn't a huge mistake and if you stick with this hobby it won't be the last. we all make them.

[loonunit]

Odds are she'll just lay a small clutch of smallish eggs, she'll look dramatically underweight for a month afterwards, and she'll be fine. Or she might slug out, especially if she only met the male briefly.

Are you worried about her becoming egg bound? That's a possibility, but the jury's still out on whether or not underweight and/or young females are truly more susceptible. Make sure you have a good herp vet lined up, and then keep an eye on her for a few days after laying (assuming she does lay). If she seems like she's still straining 24 hours after the last egg, then it's time to take her in.

But odds are she'll be fine. She'll look like a deflated tire afterwards, but that's nothing that can't be fixed with a couple months of rats.

[ironpython]

I'm trying to figure out how to post these pictures I took. But she is very healthy she is 40" long 2" across the widest part of her back great attitude and loves to eat. I got her for my son who loves her like a dog and wears her around his neck constantly. My ball is a norm baby I got from BenSeigel and he is my buddy. The male we bred too was given to my son by a lady who saw my son walking around.the neighborhood with his girl. He gave him too his best buddy. We didn't them together until he had him for awhile and we knew he didn't have parasites. The male was thin because someone told the.lady to feed him once a month. I feed all of them his too, every week and they all are fat and.docile.