Getting into this wonderful hobby! Breeding Questions

[CTWalker]

Hello everyone! I've been getting into this wonderful reptile hobby for a few years now and have come here for some answers/understanding on if I am doing this whole thing right (breeding these wonderful snakes that is).

I have several BPs, about five or so months ago I acquired a big normal female to start my breeding expedition with. The rest of my BPs are young except one Lesser female that's about a year and a half and hovering just over 600 grams, a 650 gram Pinstripe male, and a 450 gram Lesser/Mojave BEL male. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about these animals and really pay attention when it comes to the information on breeding them. I just wanted to ask some personal opinions from those that have been there and done that in the industry!

The big female I have is almost 2000 grams, almost 4 foot long and has laid eggs before according to the man I bought her from. She had last year off so she is ready to go. She's in a 41qt tub in a rack with the thermostat set to 92.5 degrees, which the temp gun registers at about 90 to 90.5 degrees on the bare plastic under the bedding (I use aspen). The cool side is around 80 to 83 degrees depending on if I have the fan on or not. She slams live rats and would continue to eat until she couldn't move if she had her way.

The males are kept in the same rack up top, same temps, same bedding, in 32qt tubs. Both are excellent eaters and shed great.

It's my understanding that I'm to start lowering the nighttime temps to around 85 degrees to get them ready for breeding. Some sources say that I should do this as I introduce the male and female and some say I should do this for several months before I introduce them.

Also I've read that I can start introducing the male in November through springtime. The male can stay in for 3 days, or until a lock is witness and he's done, and then removed for several days before being thrown back in again with food being offered as normal if he will take it.

I have concerns of course. Like...how do I know a male is ready to breed. It's not like the horses I have where the stallions are very obviously ready to go or even any other mammal. How do you know when a male is ready to start making babies? I've read about sperm plugs and everything else but I don't feel like I should be popping him often and bothering him in that way.

Another concern is, what if the female decides that the male looks pretty tasty or wants to just kill him? Has anyone had experience with this? I feed 2 times a week for my younger snakes and once a week for my males and the big female, but what if she just doesn't want any part of them? I'm more worried about having a dead snake due to introducing them incorrectly than I do not having babies. I know it's a risk we all take, I'm just looking for some comments and personal experiences here. Does anyone watch their snakes to make sure everything is going well? Watching as in, checking on them without disturbing them?

I want any and all information you all can give me. I'm very willing to learn and if I need to add more information please tell me and I will do my best to give you what I have Thank you for looking and have a great day!

[Kukulkan213]

Males can start breeding at 400 grams, I have never hear a female killing a male she would just ignore the male if not interested o ready to breed, always keep your females on the watch follow her not calendar that always works for me
Buy a book or 2 it helps
Good luck!


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[John1982]

First thing you need to do is have 2 animals, opposite sex, in good breeding form. Once you're square in that department, it's pretty easy. Critters take their cues from all kinds of stuff in nature and you only need to hit on 1-2 of those to get a fair breeding response most of the time. Stuff like temperature fluctuation, precipitation, photoperiod, food availability, or simply the presence of another animal - male vs male combat, picking up pheromones of opposite sex - are all pretty good triggers with which you can toy.

Easiest thing is to just keep them in a room with windows that provide mild outdoor lighting - seasonal photoperiod, check. You can lower temps manually if you want but most houses already have a natural ebb and flow with the seasons. Unless you run central ragged, you should be pretty good in that department too - seasonal temperature fluctuation, check. Don't really need both, or either of these honestly, to breed but you can use them to get a stronger(or more predictable) response if just chucking animals together isn't getting it done to your satisfaction.

Males aren't always ready to breed, neither are females, that's why they have courting rituals. Sometimes you toss a male with a female, or vice versa, and it's like two magnets finally coming within each other's fields - immediate attraction and ensuing lock. Other times the male has to work his magic, or the female has to scent all over the place to try and get the male's attention.

Some males are ready to breed at 500g, others might not figure it out until they're several years old, still others might never figure it out or are perhaps sterile. You never know until you try.

Females don't just decide males are tasty. Cannibalism is basically a nonissue with introductions unless you glue a bunch of rodents to one of the snakes. Pretty much the worst that happens when you introduce ball pythons is they completely ignore each other, or you introduce 2 males unknowingly and they start duking it out. Neither scenario is the end of the world, and in the case of males you should hear them and know something's wrong before you leave the room - unless you're sprinting - because courting regius are pretty quiet and they'll be thumping around like a couple of mad kangaroos.

[CTWalker]

Thanks for commenting both of you!

The reason I said something about the female deciding to kill the male was because I've read a few posts about a female just up and killing the male in the tub with her after being in there for just a few minutes and it probed and popped female. I just like to question everything before I go through with it and didn't know if anyone had heard of it before.

They do get some natural light, obviously it's not direct sunlight on them or anything but they have a day and night and a pretty constant temp. We try not to run the central air much anyway, don't want to send that electric bill up, because I'd rather just spend that money on a new snake

It's good to know that nature will just take its course. I'm hoping my boys will do something for me, one or the other, and by spring I will be putting little eggs into the incubator to watch them pip!

Keep the information coming! I love to hear from everyone's persona experiences and learn as much as I can before I do anything.

[CTWalker]

What do you all think about this incubator? What kind of incubator would you recommend that I could purchase and use right out of the box?

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Exo-Terr...tile-Incubator

[brock lesser]

Just one question, whats your plan for AFTER the eggs hatch?

[CTWalker]

After the babies hatch out, if I get anything really eye catching I'd like to keep it and raise it up to breed it. Otherwise I would like to sell them or find them good homes. If I can't, well I'll keep them and just have more snakes until that time comes.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

What do you all think about this incubator? What kind of incubator would you recommend that I could purchase and use right out of the box?

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Exo-Terr...tile-Incubator

Way too small and expensive for what it is, you can''t even fit a 6 quarts tub, you are better building one yourself with a cooler (there are a few in our DIY section).

[CTWalker]

I'm really nervous about making one of my own. I just don't want to mess something up and kill the eggs :/ Are they really safe and easy to make/deal with?

[Chkadii]

I wanted to go DIY with a wine cooler/fridge but my SO was uncomfortable with the freon aspect. If you end up wanting to buy, I went with Hot Box and I love it. Costs a good deal more than DIY, but the product is worth the price compared to other options on the market and Chris needs to eat. from what I understand, the biggest issue is a steady and accurate temperature, so just having a good thermostat is half the battle.