breeding problems

[SlitherinSisters]

This all sounds really weird to me. They are easy to breed, and I don't cool mine. Some of mine start wagging and scenting the second I introduce them. I wouldn't be surprised if one of your females didn't breed, but all of them, that is weird. You are getting a lot of questions that sound silly or obvious, but to be honest, I've never heard of anyone having that much trouble breeding BPs so I'm wondering the same things everyone else is asking.

What are your cold side temps?

How old are the females?

[ladizzle]

This all sounds really weird to me. They are easy to breed, and I don't cool mine. Some of mine start wagging and scenting the second I introduce them. I wouldn't be surprised if one of your females didn't breed, but all of them, that is weird. You are getting a lot of questions that sound silly or obvious, but to be honest, I've never heard of anyone having that much trouble breeding BPs so I'm wondering the same things everyone else is asking.

What are your cold side temps?

How old are the females?

the cold temps at night are 83-85 for 12 hrs

the females are from 3-5 years old

[ladizzle]

what is it that you would like pictures of?

i know the snakes obviously but anything in particular?

[Annarose15]

the cold temps at night are 83-85 for 12 hrs

Just to clarify - Do you have a 90deg hot spot that you drop to 86deg at night (even though you said you don't cycle them), and your ambient temps are 83-85deg, or are you heating the whole room to 90deg and letting it cool to ~86deg at night? Or am I more confused that I think I am? If you have a 90deg hot spot and 85deg ambient, then you really aren't providing much of a gradient. Drop your ambient temps to ~80deg at all times and keep a 90deg hot spot.

[Don]

I agree with Annarose, I don't understand your temps after reading your post. I used to keep my BPs at 90 and had some produce slugs. After researching, I lowered my hot spot to 87 -88 and no more slugs. The ambient temps in my room stay around 75 degrees. The room is temperature and humidity controlled. I do not night drop. My opinion is that it leaves the snakes open for RIs, but some people do it. I'd rather have a steady temperature than one that goes up and down. I do have a cooling period where I drop the temps a few degrees (October through February). The temps go down and stay there, no fluctuations (I drop the temps gradually and raise them slowly).

You said that one of your males is producing sperm plugs. You might want to take some of those plugs and wipe them on the back of a female that is in with a different male. Sometimes that will stimulate the males to breed. If you are not seeing locks, then something may be wrong with the setup. Use a temp gun to verify the temperatures. Rotate the males through for three or four days, then give them a break for a few days. Once they get the hang of it, you'll see locks frequently. Also, I find I get locks quicker if I pop the male before putting him in with the female.

[JKPCONSTRICTORS]

You said that one of your males is producing sperm plugs. You might want to take some of those plugs and wipe them on the back of a female that is in with a different male. Sometimes that will stimulate the males to breed.

Also, this^.

[ladizzle]

Just to clarify - Do you have a 90deg hot spot that you drop to 86deg at night (even though you said you don't cycle them), and your ambient temps are 83-85deg, or are you heating the whole room to 90deg and letting it cool to ~86deg at night? Or am I more confused that I think I am? If you have a 90deg hot spot and 85deg ambient, then you really aren't providing much of a gradient. Drop your ambient temps to ~80deg at all times and keep a 90deg hot spot.

i have them in a rack system. the heat tape from 8am-8pm is 90-91 degrees, then at 8pm to 8am the temp drops to 85-86degrees. the rack is in my living room but the air condition from my house doesnt affect the temps inside the tubs.

[SlitherinSisters]

Yeah, an issue with temps was the first thing I could think of besides being sexed properly. I would imagine it would be pretty hard to get them not to breed, even if you kept them together all the time and stressed them out.

Just as a frame of reference. I keep my breeding females hot side at 88 and the cool side at 75, these are constant 24/7 temps. Last year I let it drop to 70, but ended up with RI in a couple snakes, this year I have it at 75 and have no issues with them breeding. You may be keeping them too hot. If they can't thermoregulate to cooler temperatures I would imagine that they would have issues building/getting ready for eggs. Maybe even cause them to reabsorb eggs if they do get that far?

[dr del]

One other thing to consider.

Since you don't cool they may not breed at the time you expect and introduce your males.

Have you tried palpating the females to see if they are ever developing follicles?

I know mine breed at different times of the year most of the time.


dr del

[ladizzle]

One other thing to consider.

Since you don't cool they may not breed at the time you expect and introduce your males.

Have you tried palpating the females to see if they are ever developing follicles?

I know mine breed at different times of the year most of the time.


dr del

to be honest, i dont know how to palpate, i tried that about a year ago and never got it.