Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am planning on breeding my 2 1/2 year old female hognose in a few weeks but I want to make sure she is healthy and strong before doing so. What is a good weight to go by before breeding? She is 26" currently and I can't weight her until she digests. You can see pics of her here: http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61560
What do you guys/girls think?

I try 200 grams- clutches are around 12 eggs. Some other breeders do 150 grams w/ 6-8 eggs.

I've seen gravid hogs @ 120 grams just before laying, reducing their weight to 75-90 grams after laying. In my opinion, this is small, and may hinder future breedings with small clutches or infertility. I've observed a group a friend has had for over 10 years that were bred small and are still very small, with small clutches 4-6 and some of the females are infertile.

150 should be good. 200 should be better.
hope this helps

I just spoke with a western hognose breeder that has successfully bred a 9 month old female at 80g! I would never attempt that myself, but I couldn't believe it. Anyways, I just weighed Ook and she's 250g. Hopefully she'll be a momma in the months to come!

OK, first, there is no pic on the other thread, second,you really need to specify which species of hognose you are asking a question about, as each species would have a different answer, luckly you did specify on the other forum. So, to answer your question, I really would not breed less than 200g because there is always the possibility of double clutching even if the male is not reintroduced. That is very hard on the females body. While 200 is OK 250 to 300 is best. Now, some females simply will not get that big without being obese, so you really need to make that judgement call yourself. Some females are just smaller than others. In a nutshell, bigger females tend to produce bigger clutches and recover faster from the egglaying ordeal. Hope that answers your question. Goodluck on future breedings
-----
Jenea
Guardian Reptiles

"When your memories are bigger than your dreams, you're headed for the grave" Author unknown

You might try the link again because it works fine for me. Maybe you're not a member of CS.com and that's why you can't see the pics? Thanks for your reply. Ook is a solid 250 grams so I guess she is ready to go!

I am a member, just no pics showed up at all for me, not even any red x's. Regardless, just be aware that there are several species of hognose, so you need to be a little more specific when asking a question than just "hognose"

I would say your female is good to go. I would bulk her up and as she gets closer to breeding, dust her food with calcium. Also, I see you are just now getting the male, you probably are already doing this, but practice good quarintine, or you risk losing both animals. Goodluck.
-----
Jenea
Guardian Reptiles

"When your memories are bigger than your dreams, you're headed for the grave" Author unknown