Reptile & Amphibian Forums

There was somewhat of a debate on the cornsnake forum over the proper age for a first time breeder. I know the standard answer is 3 years of age. Why is that the case other than to prevent stunted growth? 1 or 2 year old female snakes in the wild would not wait until they were 2 or 3 years of age to breed. So just curious of some additional reasons why breeders wait the three years.

Miller
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1.1 Florida King ('02 Pit & '00 Pearl)
1.1 Eastern Kings (2004 Orca & Sugar Pie)
1.0 Black Milksnake (2005 Bubba)
0.1 Okeetee Corn (Pumpkin)
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.2 Cats (Stella and Shug)

Hey Miller

I would think it is because snake in the wild have more options and are better suited to deal with being gravid at the smaller size. I think if we as keepers provided better caging we would be able to breed younger and not have the problems we run into currently. King snakes have a much different body structure and egg type than rat snakes and I feel it is more important to get them bigger before you breed them. That said I have found 30 inch eastern kings in the wild gravid as well as 24 inch corns. I just wouldn't do it with my animals. Also I don't know if I support them well enough for them to be fertile at that size.

later Jason

Thanks for your input Jason. Just make sure you support my pic of the litter Abbott!

Miller
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1.1 Florida King ('02 Pit & '00 Pearl)
1.1 Eastern Kings (2004 Orca & Sugar Pie)
1.0 Black Milksnake (2005 Bubba)
0.1 Okeetee Corn (Pumpkin)
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.2 Cats (Stella and Shug)

I hate that! IMHO If you put a pair together and they breed they're ready. If they bump into each other in the wild or if they meet in a rack system, They will only breed if there ready. It does slowdown the growth of the female because shes giving her nutrients to her young but it does not stunt it forever. Other people say egg binding could be a problem which is true, but only usually with under weight females. My dad and I have bred multiple snakes of multiple species at 1yr of age. If they have the size, they can breed!

A female that laid a fertile clutch of 6 at 1yr old(450grams)

AGREED!!! Its the size of the female, not necessarily the age. If she is too young, there will be no eggs.

In most cases, its about the keepers schedule, its simply mismatched with the needs of the snakes.

For instance a small female NEEDS to feed daily after laying in order to continue growth and reproduction, but the keepers feed once or twice a week.

Keepers are very ignorant to the actual daily needs of reptiles. In nature if a snake is hungry, it looks for food. If it cannot find food, it lowers its metabolism in order to conserve energy.

In captivity, that is not allowed. If a snake is hungry, it simply must wait until fed. Most keepers do not allow cooler temps to allow lowering the metabolism, or offer food daily.

In many cases, larger individuals can store energy. They are fed larger amounts. After all they are larger. So they can marginally tolerate such husbandry.

In my experience, wild snakes go on feeding binges. They feed heavily for short periods, then conserve.

I have done some experientation with that, if allow to conserve energy, a healthy snake can easily reproduce after five feedings. That could be over a year or between clutches. Cheers

Thanks again for all the replies! I have a 6 year old female Florida that i have only bred twice. she binge eats and then for no apparent reason will stop eating or eating only randomly. She was in a very large enclosure 200 gallon mesh container. During the binges she would stay on the warm side and when she was "over it" she would stay on the cool side and do the low cal thing. While the enclosure was not the size of a room or out of doors it did for better regulation temp by the snake. Nothing to do with breeding just an observation of my snake.

Miller
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1.1 Florida King ('02 Pit & '00 Pearl)
1.1 Eastern Kings (2004 Orca & Sugar Pie)
1.0 Black Milksnake (2005 Bubba)
0.1 Okeetee Corn (Pumpkin)
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.2 Cats (Stella and Shug)