Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If your female lays eggs in June, is she really ready to breed in November? Working backwards, let's say she lays on June 1st (most of mine laid in mid June through late July). Forty five to fifty days before that she ovulated. That puts the calendar around April 10th or so. So obviously they had follicles in the month or so before (March) but did they have them 4 months before, in November? From looking at it like this, I would think they are probably not ready to breed again until sometime after January 1st or at least they would not benefit from breeding until then. If you are breeding virgins, then 5 months of breeding may be required to try to hit the mark but for ones that are veterans from last season, I think November may be too early. Opinions?

I think November may be too early.

You answersed your own question! Good job!
-----
http://www.jasballpythons.com./

The question in the title was really just meant to start a discussion. I'm pretty sure my theory makes sense (or at least it does to me) but I wanted to see if anyone else had any thoughts that I hadn't considered. Do you start in November with girls that laid in June?

I would think that isn't enough time to put proper weight back on them and ensure that they have enough calcium built up to properly develop eggs. Maybe if they willingly eat a lot then it could work. I would stick to the schedule that their bodies seem to follow. My animals all layed in April/early May, bred in December/January, so that's what I'm going with this year too.
-----
~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

It's all about the female. If she's regained her post-preggo weight and looks and feels healthy, is eating properly and is in general good health, I would say go for it. I start pairing in mid-October and stop when they ovulate in May, June, July... some breed that early, some don't. They know better than you do .
It's all about the female.
-----
www.strictlyballs.ca

Generally, I think most females tend to go around the same time of year and a female that laid a clutch in June is "probably" not ready to breed in November. Having said that, from personal experience I think females produce follicles over a much longer part of the year than is traditionally thought. My last clutch of the year crawled out of te egg the first week of November, and my first ovulation for this year happened in mid October (First breeding in early August when she had approx. 2.0cm follicles), and I currently have two females that are in the middle of ovulation, and 5 others that have already been bred and have follicles over 3cm. I went through and my females with the ultrasound this past Saturday and found a couple females that had laid in May that already had follicles approaching 1.5cm. Again, while individual females usually tend to go the same time every year (some normally early and some nromally late) I have had females lay succeding clutches approximately 10 months apart, and I have had them lay a year and a half apart. So not all female take a whole year between cycles and some take more.
So from my experience, females start building follicles far sooner and spanning a much longer period of time during the year than most people think. I rarely breed females more than 2-3 times and only when they have developed follicles of appropriate size which in my collection is essentially year around.
Grant Whitmer