Cheap old underweight can it breed?

[qwerty53]

Some people sell say 2010 female that barely over 1kg for cheap. Lets say I get her to 1.5kg do you think she'll be able to deliver good babies? Or if she is that old and that light means something is wrong with her other than picky feeder (but even with that... so many years...)

[JodanOrNoDan]

The age itself is fine, however that is a very light snake for that age so it would be my bet she is a poor feeder, or something else negative may be going on.

That said, I recently bought some older girls from a very respected breeder who were in my opinion very light for their age. Since their arrival they have been putting weight on very rapidly and they are already being bred.

Long story short, unless you know the rep of the person it is coming from I would pass because you could be just giving yourself headaches.

[Lizardlicks]

Age has nothing to do with it. These animals can live well into their thirties and I've seen females in their mid to late twenties still throwing good clutches. A 7 year old female is hardly what I would call old. The weight is more concerning. Can the seller give you any details about her past? Has she bred before? Was she sick? A finicky eater? Does she not put on the weight even when she eats?

You want to rule out both genetic contribution and illness before attempting to breed with that one.

[piedlover79]

Is there also the chance that it's not a female? My male is 8 years old and 1100 grams.

[Oxylepy]

That's actually a pretty good age for breeding. My 2007 pastel popped out 9 eggs, one was a slug and one had twins in it. As for the weight, it depends. If the snake has a healthy build, it's probably a healthy weight. If it's really skinny, that can be a problem.

It is also possible its been bred the last couple years running, that can cause a healthy 2kg snake to drop to 1200g, if it isn't eating enough between breedings.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Old? She is in her prime, you do realize that BP can live up to 40 years and many 20+ years old females lay eggs.

Also many females a will only start laying their first clutch around 3 years.

Now on the age versus size it is definitely a concern, you are either dealing with a picky eater which I would avoid at all cost, an animal that the breeder never managed to sell and has maintenance fed (doubtfull, as a breeder if a female does not sell she will be used for breeding), or a female that has just laid her clutch (needing to put the weight back on)

Ask the right questions and you will know.

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[Hannahshissyfix]

Everyone has shared good questions to ask but here are some you should ask yourself. Is your main interest in that it's "cheap" and not because it's a prime example of a morph you want to work with? Do you want to start your breeding with cheap quality animals and start your reputation that way? If everything does somehow check out and the light weight isn't due to recently laying, I wouldn't try to hurry and pack weight on her fast just to hopefully get a clutch in the spring. If she's been sick or a picky eater I think it would be better for her general health to gain at a healthy slower pace and give her a year before the stress of eggs on her body.