Opinions on breeding young / small females

[Gloryhound]

From other discussions that I have had, I have came to the conclusion that it will not hurt the female to try to breed her if she is too small or too young. If she is not ready, she will not go. If she is, then she will. No harm done. What are your thoughts?

I've heard it both ways. From long time breeders on both sides of the coin. Most long time breeders that did discuss the breeding of smaller snakes also made a point of saying "you have to know how to read your animals before trying this." With that said I don't think any first year breeder can read their animals sufficiently enough to make that call.

At this time for my wife and I we decided that when dealing with living animals, particularly considering they are pets as well as breeders, it is best to error more on the side of caution using 1500 Grams as a minimum weight for females. I know some on the site use an even more conservative number of 1800 or more grams.

Additionally I would think smaller babies run more risks than larger ones. Smaller eggs come from smaller females. A beginning breeder would have to be in a really big hurry, kinda like a business deadline, to risk not only the mommy snake, but also the babies.

If a beginner can't just sit back and wait it out the extra year, go get a large enough female to breed as they are forsale. If they can not afford the large normal girl to breed then wait another year. If you can't do one of those things then I have to ask what was that persons reason for getting into Ball Pythons in the first place? Our Ball Pythons are pets first and formost. Would I like to start breeding some of the morph females I have in my collection right now? You bet! Will I? Unfortunately only one Het made weight this year and with any luck we have a pastel female and an Albino female who are just 100 to 200 grams light (when empty) that may get a chance late in the year if everything else is looking good! On a side note we have 3 normal females that we bought at breeding weight, last spring, that are already paired up and messin with the guys!