Darren,

It isn't the male that I would be most concerned about, although he is very small for his age. The more important issue is the size of the females. The industry standard is for the female to be somewhere around 1500 grams. You will hear stories about some breeders getting a clutch of eggs out of 1200 gram females. but it is not advisable. When breeding females under 1500 grams, you risk them becomming egg bound and possibly dying. With that being said, it is also in my opinion, important that the male be carrying a little extra weight before the breeding season. It is not uncommon for male ball pythons to go off food during the breeding season. Sometimes it is very difficult to get them eating after the season. A lttle extra weight at the beginning of the season can help get them through it. Ive had a few males that died at the end of the season because they just would not eat.

If you plan on breeding these females I would begin feeding them very heavy right about now. I too am a boa breeder, but am always perplexed when I hear someone talking about slow growing their snakes.

It's important to remember that animals in general put on extra weight just before they become gravid / pregnant. Give your female ball pythons an extra 400 grams before putting them with your pied, you will not be sorry.

If by chance your pied is sexually mature and is able to succesfully breed, then at least you have given the females a chance to drop a healthy clutch.

If you have anymore questions I can be reached through my web site or by calling my cell at 408.981.6694

Best of luck to you.
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Brian Gundy

www.for-goodness-snakes.com

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