Is my male "faking it"?

[ddbjdealer]

I am currently unemployed and can't really afford the materials to build and equip 2 more cages.

So, put an ad in the paper, sell the 55g tank, use the proceeds to purchase 4 large sterilite bins with lids and then go to an office supply store and get some binder clips to hold the lids on. (about 30 bucks probably)

Then get some flexwatt and a thermostat.... on a budget, you could also use a rheostat... (dimmer) On a budget, this would cost you about $20-30 bucks.

In a possible update to the breeding question I found a blood spot near the big female this morning (she hardly ever moves from her fave cork hide at the cool end lately) it's kind of half blob / half smear so I dunno what to make of it.

Use the search feature to the forum to look up blood smears. It has been said in many different threads that breeding males sometimes drag their "junk" across the floor of the enclosure. It is also possible that an "aggresive" shed has occured, and bleeding from the vent could be a non-dangerous result of that.

Keep in mind that continued arguing about how you think it would be "okay" or "better" or "its worked for the past eleventeen years" or other coments like that about keeping all of your poor snakes together will not change anyone's mind on this forum. One snake, one cage is a mantra around here because everyone firmly believes it. Besides... if you're on a budget and you're unemployed, then smaller cheaper enclosures would probably be cheaper. Not to mention the heating costs in the long run. Four strips of flexwatt would probably take up far less electricity than your CHE and the UVB light.

Good luck!

[dr del]

hi,

Ok I will go google sterlite and flexwatt - because I'm in scotland and have never heard of either.Bear in mind I used to work in a repltile shop ( mind you it was about 9 years ago ) so they must have different brandnames over here or something.

The tank they are in is constructed out of wood and a glass sliding front and probably has the resale value of 0 assuming it fits through the door ( I built it in situ).

I realize if the heating worked a kind of rack system could be built very cheaply I just didnt want something looking like a cross between a snake colditz and a rubbish heap in my living room if I could avoid it

Would this flexwatt be able to cope with the temperature variations we get in scotland ? - it is for example 18 degrees c in the rest of my house and 21 in the living room and we call this a warm spell at the start of our summer.

I've always been slightly worried by UTH as I have previously seen some snakes burned by malfunctioning heat pads.Though the male I have was badly burned by coiling round an ungaurded light bulb as a hatchling by the people who gave him to the local herp shop I got him from so basically any unregulated/gauded heat source is dangerous I guess.

I did look through the threads for the blood spots and saw that apparently a streak was caused by the males and a spot by the females.None of the royals have shed ( I would have mentioned it I promise) but the middle female and the male are starting to go into a shed cycle (darkening down b4 going blue at the moment).

I'm sorry this has become a complicated housing thread - I only wanted to know if multiple matings occured in fertilized females and if males ever went through the motions but I guess my rambling got in the way.


dr del

[elevatethis]

If NERD and RDR and BHB pretty much everyone else over here in the states who make their living breeding snakes spend tens of thousands of dollars in rack systems to individually house huge collections of ball pythons, that's ALL the convincing I'd need to know that they should be housed individually.

You asked what size would be appropriate- for adults, a 41qt tub (36"x17"x6") will provide more than enough space. Sorry for not using metric, I'm not sure what they'd be over in scotland. Whether or not they have a proper gradient depends on how you heat the container. Flexwatt heat tape comes in a few different sized and can be attached to the bottom of the outside of the tub, and when controlled by a thermostat, proves to be a very efficient method of housing in terms of cost and space.

[dr del]

Thanks elevatethis,

I never disagreed it was the best method.

Thankyou for the inch sizes (Scotland is metric I'm old enough not to be) the qt thing however isnt a standard measurement - we tend to go by dimensions rather than volume for most of these things.

I'm only really concerned it wouldn't be able to maintain the temperatures - it gets pretty cold over here for most of the year - though not really bad mostly my house stays between 5 - 15 even in the non heated parts (though worst one was an exceptional -10 in my bedroom ).The living room is really between 10 - 25 on a yearly cycle I'd say.

I understand the big breeders using racks but I really only want my snakes to be pets not products and would prefer an attractive setup - it is after all the main focus of my living room.The reason I was asking about the tape as I was envisioning a kind of half rack with glass vivaria decorated and the flexwatt thing underneath the back end.

Does anyone know the answer to my original questions? cos he's at it again with the biggest female and she raises her tail for him so its not like he's forcing himself upon her.


dr del

[Adam_Wysocki]

Ball pythons will frequently breed and not produce eggs. Without the proper stimulation, your females won't ovulate and you'll get zip.

Communal housing can actually be working against you in the breeding deparment. Males and females housed together year round are harder to get viable eggs from than when kept separate and then introduced for the purpose of breeding.

If they're still going at it, she's not gravid.

-adam

[dr del]

Ah thankyou,

I wasen't really trying to breed them in the first place so I wont be too disapointed at the negative results - I didn't reduce temperatures or lightcycles last winter or anything.I shall put him back in his own tank then to see if his appetite returns to normal. The other females might just be stuffed ( big rats once a week may be too much ) so I shall give them a week off then try again.


dr del

[tigerlily]

Ah thankyou,

I wasen't really trying to breed them in the first place so I wont be too disapointed at the negative results - I didn't reduce temperatures or lightcycles last winter or anything.I shall put him back in his own tank then to see if his appetite returns to normal. The other females might just be stuffed ( big rats once a week may be too much ) so I shall give them a week off then try again.


dr del

Either you are or you aren't trying to breed. If you have put a male in a tank with three females, you are obviously attempting to breed. Given that you don't have the income, I would think trying to incubate and feed juveniles would require more money than you have available. I would seriously advise taking a more structured approach. Research the requirements necessary for a successful breeding season.

I understand the initial dislike of racks, but in reality they are easier to heat than tanks. A different option would be to go for an enclosure like this. I love the rack system I have now. I only have 6 and consider them pets. Everyone gets named, and I couldn't love them more. The rack has been a godsend, since my house is a bit on the cool side and it's waaayyy easier to heat than the aquariums. The animals thrive in these racks. Better environment = A snake that thrives.