Question about timing during breeding

[hfritchy]

Hey!
So I bred a pair of balls together last year, but my uncle really helped me a ton with it. I'm doing it more on my own this year and I have a question about timing of putting them together. I found a great page ( http://ballpython.ca/breeding/ ) and he shows three locks at the beginning and then the shedding and everything starts. Once you see three locks and then start seeing developing behavior do you need to put the male back in at all, or by that point can you be pretty sure she took? I'm super excited about my pairings this year and I don't want to mess it up by keeping the male out at an important time. I honestly don't have a good grasp on how/when ovulation takes place so I don't know if he needs to be in there right after that or if she ovulates after. I just am confused.

Thanks for any help!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Hey!
So I bred a pair of balls together last year, but my uncle really helped me a ton with it. I'm doing it more on my own this year and I have a question about timing of putting them together. I found a great page ( http://ballpython.ca/breeding/ ) and he shows three locks at the beginning and then the shedding and everything starts. Once you see three locks and then start seeing developing behavior do you need to put the male back in at all, or by that point can you be pretty sure she took? I'm super excited about my pairings this year and I don't want to mess it up by keeping the male out at an important time. I honestly don't have a good grasp on how/when ovulation takes place so I don't know if he needs to be in there right after that or if she ovulates after. I just am confused.

Thanks for any help!

Yes you do need to put the male in when the female develops (follicle growth), however you obviously no longer need to be pairing once the female ovulates (at that point she is done and will lay)

If you have limited experience I will recommend that you pair until you witness an ovulation. Of course you also need to pay attention to your female as well and know when to stop (not all females will take and there is no need to persevere if you do not see any progress)

Now if you have an ultrasound machine you can determine when to stop pairing by the size of the follicle and concentrate on other females. You can also try to determine that by palpating but it's obvious a lot more difficult to gauge follicle size like that.

It can take as little as 1 lock and as many as 5 or 6 and sometimes you witness lock and nothing happens, so pay attention to your female.

[hfritchy]

Yes you do need to put the male in when the female develops (follicle growth), however you obviously no longer need to be pairing once the female ovulates (at that point she is done and will lay)

If you have limited experience I will recommend that you pair until you witness an ovulation. Of course you also need to pay attention to your female as well and know when to stop (not all females will take and there is no need to persevere if you do not see any progress)

Now if you have an ultrasound machine you can determine when to stop pairing by the size of the follicle and concentrate on other females. You can also try to determine that by palpating but it's obvious a lot more difficult to gauge follicle size like that.

It can take as little as 1 lock and as many as 5 or 6 and sometimes you witness lock and nothing happens, so pay attention to your female.

Okay, thank you. I've been checking her twice a day pretty much and I think I saw her ovulate, but I don't feel 100% sure. I had put the male back in and they kind of stayed away from each other. Whenever I went to check on them they were apart and on separate sides of the bin. My uncle said I should just leave him out because if she still wanted/needed to breed they would do it. She's just still laying on her side wrapped around the water, but I felt her side and to me it felt like four very obvious (and eggs shaped) bumps.

[chilliscale]

I typically pair once a month or so from October to febuary. After that I pair once every two week for a couple days. Before ovulation you will see a swell growing in her lower half and she is generally sitting in the cooler end of enclosure. Simply put once ovulation has happend the bulge will go down and she will be sitting in higher temps. If I dont see the bulge go down. And her preference for higher temps I keep pairing.
Just my .02

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Okay, thank you. I've been checking her twice a day pretty much and I think I saw her ovulate, but I don't feel 100% sure. I had put the male back in and they kind of stayed away from each other. Whenever I went to check on them they were apart and on separate sides of the bin. My uncle said I should just leave him out because if she still wanted/needed to breed they would do it. She's just still laying on her side wrapped around the water, but I felt her side and to me it felt like four very obvious (and eggs shaped) bumps.

If she is still bowl wrapping and on the cool side she has not ovulated, once female ovulate they seek the hot spot.

Because you pair them does not mean that you will witness a lock every time especially if you disturb them to much, the bumps you are felling are likely follicles which get as big as golf bowls near ovulation.

[hfritchy]

If she is still bowl wrapping and on the cool side she has not ovulated, once female ovulate they seek the hot spot.

Because you pair them does not mean that you will witness a lock every time especially if you disturb them to much, the bumps you are felling are likely follicles which get as big as golf bowls near ovulation.

Okay. If she's that close to ovulation would that mean I don't need to put him in with her anymore, or should I keep putting them together just to be safe?

[chilliscale]

I would to be safe but chances are his work is done. It doesnt hurt to keep them together and I'm sure most people will agree

[chilliscale]

So I realised nobody asked but what's the pair?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Okay. If she's that close to ovulation would that mean I don't need to put him in with her anymore, or should I keep putting them together just to be safe?

It's up to you, I have not observe the animal in person nor do I know what size follicles you think you felt (if that is what you felt) so I can't tell you what to do.

Until you are comfortable and capable of recognizing each step I would recommend that you pair until you witness an ovulation. (better be safe than sorry)

[hfritchy]

So I realised nobody asked but what's the pair?

Okay I'll stick him back in later and see what they do. The pair is a pinstripe to a lesser pastel. It's nothing super fancy, but it's my first 3 gene pairing so I'm excited and I don't want to risk screwing it up just because he wasn't in with her when he should have been lol