i used to do 10-12 weeks with temps in the 50's. After watching the weather channel and monitoring the temps in Louisiana for the past few years I have often wondered if they actually needed to do this full time all winter long.
Anyhow, after they are "done" brumating, feedfeedfeedfeedfeedfeedfeed the girls. whatever wherever whenever. about three or four weeks after brumating, introduce the male. I usually put the male in with the female. My females rarely ever shed in the spring. keep them together all spring except to separate to feed. when they no longer show interest in each other or the female is gravid, take the male out. I know of a few guys that had big enough enclosures that the pairs cohabitate and breed just fine.
With the exception of one pair that were like an old couple, I always had better luck introducing a smaller male in with a larger female. I can speculate on it all day why it worked, I don't know. My #1 stud died in the fall one year, next year i tried a small male, it worked, and i stuck with it. everybody turns up their nose at extra males, i always had backups.
my girls liked really big nest boxes when it was time to lay eggs. I would lay 3' neodeshas on the back, fill them up with moistened moss, put the girls in (close the lid) and let them do their thing. nice dark and quiet. easy to check in on too.
incubate eggs in moistened moss. incubate at temps in the 70's to 80 degrees. you have a much higher chance of losing eggs at higher temps. it will take anywhere between 65 and 78 days for them to hatch at these temps. don't get all looney and start slicing open eggs,lol! if it is alive and healthy it will get out on its own. they will eat fine -mouse hoppers or rat pinks, just be patient and don't shove it their face. i always got them started feeding them in a hide box and just leaving them alone.

so that is some of my experience. what happens with you will be somewhat different. learn what your snakes like and stick with it. once you have figured them out, as long as they are healthy, they should breed like rabbits. Obviously more guys have figured this out and there are more good breeders out there. with that type of experience and reasonable numbers being bred regularly, there should not be any need for anyone to cross breed/ hybridize Louisiana pines.












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