Too Many Clutches?

[rlditmars]

Don't count your eggs before they pip. So far this year my results are:
Clutch #1 - 5 slugs 0 good eggs
Clutch #2 - 4 slugs 0 good eggs
Clutch #3 - 4 slugs 2 good eggs, 1 went bad, 1 pipped
Clutch #4 - 5 good eggs due to pip in couple of weeks
Clutch #5 - 3 good eggs due to pip next month

I also have four females that have been paired but haven't laid yet, all were acting gravid and then one started eating again last weekend.

IMO pairing 5-10 ball python females each year is doable for a hobby breeder. I have more breeder females than that, I just don't breed them all each year. Same goes for my BCI's and BRB's.

In a few years when my retic females are big enough to breed I figure I'll only breed one or two females and no ball pythons that year, as my incubator just isn't big enough to hold more eggs than that.

I have only had 4 clutches laid and only three hatch thus far. Three of the four clutches were to first time bred females and the results were 6, 9, 9, and 4. The 4 egg clutch is in the incubator but all eggs are viable at present. So that is 28 eggs or an average of 7 eggs per. Of the 24 eggs that went to term, only one was lost to a twisted umbilicus that wasn't caught early enough to save it. I know this is anecdotal, but it is my experience.