Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm considering a pueblan breeding project and would like to hear from some experienced keepers. Firstly, most of my colubrid experience is with cornsnakes. I know it depends on the individual, but are pueblans much more difficult to handle than corns on average, or will they usually mellow with age? It's no big deal to me if they stay somewhat skittish, but I'd like to avoid being musked and/or bitten anytime I try to handle them.

I'm also wondering about how long it takes female pueblans to reach a safe breeding size, and what you would consider to be a safe weight for breeding females? I hear they tend to produce more than one clutch per year. Is this very taxing on them or is it not too difficult to keep them in good condition when laying? Thanks.

My experience has been that Pueblans stay rather skittish, much more than silaloans and some of the other milks. They calm down slightly with age and handling, but never really accept handling easily.
I have had pueblans breed easily at 18 months and have heard of pueblans breeding at less than a year. They are usually good eaters and grow to breeding weight rather quickly.

I haven't bred my pueblans yet, but I've been keeping them for a little over a year. I have an adult female (36" and a yearling female (26". Here's what I've observed:

Both mellowed SLIGHTLY. They are still skittish.

Neither has ever attempted to bite me.

Both have musked me, but not often.

They eat like PIGS! My adult will not eat during a shed cycle, or will eat and regurge. My yearling will eat no matter what. She eats four pinky rats every other day and it doesn't even stretch her skin! She's thick, but not fat. My adult usually eats a mix of pinky rats and small mice.

They put away so much food that they defecate almost every day, so I clean their tubs almost daily. I've experimented with a variety of substrates and determined that paper (towels or newsprint) works best for me.

Pueblans are great snakes. Good luck!

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1.1.0 Hondurans Het Amel
1.1.0 Hondurans Anery, Het Hypo
0.1.0 Honduran Hypo
0.2.0 Pueblans
1.0.0 Thayeri MSP
0.0.1 GBK Blair's Phase
0.0.1 Jungle Carpet
0.1.0 Ball, Normal
0.0.1 Sulcata
0.1.0 Girlfriend, Caucasius Mexicana, Fiancee Phase

Thanks to both of you for the quick responses. I appreciate the input, and I'll keep checking back in case anyone else has something to add.

The skittishness has to do with the individual.
I had a CB04 pair... That I power fed to get to breeding sizes, the male was around 24" or so, and handleable. He never bit, never musked, rarely squirmed.
The female was around 30", and squirmed for the most part. But on some days she wouldn't mind handling here and there.

I would say around 30" for females, with good weight, to breed.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 8/27

If you don't mind high strung and getting musked on a lot, be my guest. Been breeding them over 25 years and have yet to get one with a corn snake personality. Breeding? These are the guppies of colubrids, right next to corns.
Weights for females should be 250-300 grams. Males over 225.
They double and triple clutch at times; size and weight matter.
Feed small meals often. Slow down towards fall and cool for 3 months. Can be bred at a smaller size, but why risk her health.

Mike