or so it seems, which means they can be manipulated to breed at different times of the year. So if I raised a snake, lets say a male, to maturity and set its biorhythm.



I then in turn get an adult female from you that has a set rhythm ( BTW...which would explain why they deliver about the same time yearly ). I buy said female and guess what, they are NOT fertile at the same time of the year, this WILL take some time to get their "set rhythms" to line up properly to produce viable offspring.



Regardless of breeding windows of success, why do most snakes become gravid and deliver in a very narrow period of time, yearly, biennially, or whatever ?



Almost all data indicates they have set biorhythms



I believe this a FACT not an opinion. They are not however etched in stone. They can be changed through temperature cycling, but this can take more than one season to achieve.



I believe this to be the problem with some adult imports, not the only problem, but a major one.



From what I understand Burmese Pythons usually breed in a narrow period, all the same, no matter where they are, indicating they are highly seasonal in their reproductive biology. Just the opposite of BRB's.



Aseasonality also explains why all of us breeding this species get babies at different times, especially if our climates are a lot different, also temp cycling in captivity can be manipulated in aseasonal snakes to get offspring sometimes more than once per year or at a different time of year, even if we live right next to each other. (documented in carpet pythons)



I have hibernated colubrids during the summer ( used a refrigerator )and bred them and had eggs hatch before people where even putting theirs down.



Nice to have babies when NO ONE else does!!!!!



It works, harder with boids, but if an aseasonal snakes temps can be controlled it can be accomplished as well.



I believe we have MUCH to learn about our captives.



Artifacts of the captive environment are CRITICAL in most snakes reproductive cycles. I could subject a snake to the wrong temperatures and easily foil all my efforts at reproducing the species several months down the road.



I am extremely interested in successful breeding data from Australia. Most data indicates there is an offset of 5 to 6 months when compared to US data. This could indicate that most boa's and python's appear to be aseasonal in reproductive habits.



I have been searching high and low for successful reproductive results of Burmese Pythons from Australia. If the clustering matches US data, then that taxon of snake would be truly seasonal in reproductive habits. If there is an offset, then they are aseasonal and climatic conditions can influence when they become reproductively viable. So if any of you have any data on the said species please share the wealth.



Comments from the peanut gallery welcome....
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Thanks,



Frank Roberts

Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

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