Reptile & Amphibian Forums

she has been off feed for a while and just ate a small meal finally. is it possible for her to be up to breeding size this year? thanks.

Feed her all summer and early fall she should make it for winter.

She should make it as long as shes a good eater. Alot of people here say 1500 grams to breed, LOTS of people breed at 1200 plus grams with success though.

Some females are long and lanky, these are the ones that have to be heavier IMHO. I have a girl thats very short, but she is chunky compared to her length. She laid 4 perfect eggs that hatched last year and she just ovulated this year. She was 1350grams last year and about the same this time.

If you wont her to get biger you need to give her a brake from dreeding , plus just becouse you can dosn't mean you should . it is heathier for your snake to let her get to at least 1800 gr. before you breed her . IMHO David of DS Reptile Rescue

She should be there for you by next season as long as she keep eating. 1200-1500 grams is normal for a first time clutch, alot of females come in gravid alot smaller, its shocked me time and time again. But just a thought to keep in mind, if you breed them when they are smaller their clutch size is normally small and the following season it is also normally smaller, if you wait the extra year you may get more eggs, not just the first year but for many years. If you have the Barkers book there is a section about this in it, i do believe it is also true from personal experience.
Kim
N.A.R.C

wow thats interesting. but if she is 1500gr this year which i doubt. i should breed her this year? thanks.

I think it also has a lot to do with the maturity of the female. Certain females can be power feed to size but still have that "young" look to them, while other girls can be grown slow to 1500 grams over a corse of 3-4 years and still only be 1500 grams but look much more mature then the 1 and half year old at 1500 grams. If you have the Barkers book though it is a very interesting section, they actually have a lot of interesting thoughts and theorys that normally are not discussed often.
Kim
N.A.R.C

Honestly Dave - some females can take a REAL long time to come up 1800grams.

If you have a female that is 5 years old and 1400 grams, you wouldnt breed her? Come on...She might hit menopause before shes 1800?

It depends on the snake. If they are in their third year plus and short and stocky, its a whole different ballgame than a two year old thats been powerfed to just touch 1200.

I have had my fair share of female Balls go off feed at around 900 grams. I always wait a year, get them bigger and fatter, never rush a female into breeding, just not worth it. My female EmberBall from 05 is like 1200 grams, but I am waiting until next year to breed her. She is a pretty fat and happy 1200 grams too, but I like them to be at least 1500 grams and solid.

Dave