I see this question pop up numerous times and it gets rehashed each time and always ends the same way. So I'll save everyone the trouble and pull Don Soderberg's reply to the last post about this topic.







Your poll question implies that something is wrong with breeding sub two-year old corns. Viewers should be aware that age has very little to do with sexual maturity in snakes. Likewise, youth is no indication that there will be problems in corn snake breedings, but corns that are TOO SMALL to breed can be a big problem. Generally speaking, all nine-month old collies are the same size. Corn snakes (like most other serpent species) are not mature by age alone, and therefore can be between 14 and 48 inches by their second birthday. Granted some males over 30" long will not readily breed, indicating that both size AND age can play a role in sexual maturity, but conversely, I have seen four and five-year old female corns whose health was in potential danger if they were gravid.



I think it is wrong to equate maturity with age, unless you make a comment about the role SIZE plays in breeding criteria. EACH time you post about maturity, you should make some statement regarding size Vs age. Otherwise, you send an incorrect message to some of the less-seasoned corn keepers reading this forum. Since corns can safely reach a length of 36 " in ONE year, I think you would facilitate education about breeding corns better if you didn't solely cite age as a pre-requisite to maturity. Sorry to say that three different ways, but I want it to soak in.



It's fine to have an educated opinion about something this important, but I believe it's prudent to include information regarding opposing data. I do not judge you for saying it is your opinion that it's wrong to breed young corns, but I must point out to readers of this forum that age is not THE pre-requisite to safe corn snake breeding.



My general goal for breeding female corns is to do so when they are over 36" long (if heavy and healthy enough). This year, I have two female corns from 2007 that are gravid. Both are over 36" long and I have NO reservations about doing this. Some corns at 40" are not safe to breed. Approximately 60% of my females are ready to breed before their second birthdays. Virtually all of the other 40% are bred before their third b'days, BUT not all of them. Sometimes, four years of maturity is necessary. As it is with everything, no two corns are alike, so I caution everyone to consider size when determining the sexual "maturity", and NOT age.



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The Reticulated Rattler



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