Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi...i´´ve got a female sinaloan that is now two years old....she is 82 cm long, and i was wondering how to know when is a good moment for breeding her.
I´ve heard and read that they should never be bred before they reach 90 cm long....but i´ve also heard that regarthless of the length they reach sexual maturity at their second year.
Anyway I´m waiting to breed her until she is 3 years old....
But i´d like to know what´s the general rule to know when they are sexually mature.
thanx

If you put a male in with her, and she willingly breeds, then she is ready. It is pretty much that simple. Not always based on length or age persay.

Per experience, most captive snakes breed at 2-3 yrs old, but that doesn't define what snakes can do, only what breeders tend to do with their captives.

More important than when to breed her or how big she has to be, is how to give her the right choices when she goes to lay eggs. If you don't, she'll become eggbound.

A large box of EcoEarth moistened but not wet will often do the trick, big enough so she can get in there and dig around.

ok thanx.....
I´m not breeding her..definitely not this year...all i wanted was to know how to be sure she won´t be harmed when i breed her....you see...i still see her as a baby
So....the length/weight of the snake is just secondary?? right...i´ll wait til she is 3 anyway...

I have maintained a diverse collection of 30-40 sinaloans and nelsoni for over 10 years and this is what I have learned.
Both can reach sexual maturity in as little as 18 months, males with extraordinary growth sometimes earlier at 12 months but that is the exception. With most reptiles size is the key determining factor age is seconddary, you can have a 30in sinaloan bred at 4 years of age and she will have a much higher chance of becomming egg bound then a 18 month 36in female. Not only will the clutch likey be smaller but the eggs and babies will be too. The snake has only so much mass to draw from to produce, the smaller the animal the smaller the mass to produce offspring with. I have also learned that this early breeding can also stunt the growth of the animal. In my opinion 33in. 250g is a good threshold for breeding. Keep in mind that no matter how we keep our snakes most of us can't reproduce the wild conditions they evolved to live in. Many snakes in the wild can and will breed succefully at an earlier age and size, but there are many advantages and disadvantages to living in the wild...basically comes down to usually only the strongest survives. With most captive stock surviving it is a unfair comparison in my view.

thanx!
so when they are about 85 cm and 250 gr...they can be breed rather savely.....
I´ll wait for her to be at least 90...and i need a scale....
thanx a lot n_n you were more than helpful.