Breeding Timeline

[towelie4365]

How long does it take to produce eggs and get hatchlings from when you first paired your female with a male?

I understand that the only time you can REALLY start counting is after you see an ovulation. I know its about 50-60 days after laying that eggs will hatch, and about 30 days after the post-ovulation shed that they lay. I'm only curious because I'll be going out to sea over the next few years for about 60-80 days at a time every 6-8 months or so, and I'd like to see if its even possible to do it. I do have a wife who takes care of my snakes while I'm out to sea, and she would be able to do anything I could as far as taking care of eggs/hatchlings, but I don't want to plan on relying on her for that.

Some good data for me to make this choice would be the average time frame, and then the shortest and longest time you've waited for eggs. One of my females is hitting 1400g and eats like a pig, so I can actually start dreaming of this now

[Stewart_Reptiles]

How long does it take to produce eggs and get hatchlings from when you first paired your female with a male?

It varies there is absolutely no timeline for that you can start pairing in november and have eggs in february just like you can have eggs in july. Better yet you can pair your female, the female does not take, you stop breeding, then a year later she ovulates (sperm retention )

What you need to play close attention to is follicular development and various other sign occurring during the season.

You only timeline is this.

Ovulation.
14 days later pre-lay shed.
30 days later egg laying.

Even those are an average.

[Archimedes]

I found this infographic helpful!

Sent from my warm hide using Tapatalk

[Ball Clan]

I think a lot of people have their own methods of keeping track, since females can be pretty unpredictable sometimes. I personally am terrible at feeling for follicle growth, but here's what I have noticed just by watching my girls really closely.

There is no set time between pairing and ovulation. It can happen in a month, or it can never happen at all, and anything in between. But when I have a female getting ready to go, they tend to do the following things:

First is a dramatic weight gain, as in a 300-500 gram jump over a matter of 6-8 weeks (This year Kay jumped from 1900 grams to nearly 2600 grams between December and February, and Fiona jumped from 1700 to 2150 between December and February). They start to prefer the cool end of the enclosure, and toward the end of the weight gain period I notice a slight overall swelling throughout the back 1/2 of their bodies. At this point they will me a little more restless and not as placid when I handle them, and they seem to have more trouble getting themselves comfortable outside the cage. You may also see them "bowl wrapping" (coiling around the water dish) or laying in odd positions.

After this they will usually go into shed (I've been referring to this one as a pre-ovulation shed), and will be more uncomfortable than usual. All three of my breeders soaked themselves in their water dish for the duration of this shed.

As soon as this shed is complete, their body color brightens up, sometimes dramatically, sometimes not, but it should be noticeable if you look at your snakes a lot. I posted a thread a few weeks ago showing Kay's color change. At this point they will tend to go off feed where they had been eating voraciously before. If the color shift occurs, they will usually ovulate in roughly 3 weeks (give or take, some keep you waiting longer than others). Prior to ovulation and after the pre-ovy shed, you will notice the body swelling starting to become more rigid and the snake will find it more and more difficult to get herself comfortable, especially if moved. I usually cut way back on handling at this point, usually only doing so if the cage needs cleaning or if I'm inspecting her.

Once ovulation happens, you pretty much know the timeline. They will almost definitely be off feed at this point, and they will go into another shed cycle (pre-lay) shed 2 to 3 weeks after the ovulation, and once that shed is complete, it's about 4 weeks until eggs.

This is just a rule of thumb that I've learned to go by with my girls. Not all girls play by the rules, but it's working for me (with the exception of Miss Mocha, but that's a matter of physical maturity and probably not relevant here). Hope that helps.

[Ball Clan]

During that 4 week period between ovulation and egg laying, they will nest down in the warm end of the enclosure, and a lot of times you'll see them laying in odd positions (laying belly up or on their side, or laying contorted) to keep themselves or the eggs comfortable. I try not to handle them at all during this time. They should have been off feed long ago so you shouldn't have any major cleaning that needs doing until eggs are laid unless they dump the water dish or something.

[sho220]

I've always found this page to be really helpful http://ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding/

[towelie4365]

Thanks for the input! I guess I'll just need to talk to my wife before pairing my bps