Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello
Can a 3 yr old Ca king breed with a 2 yr old F or she is to young?
They both seem to "smell" the other this Summer more so than any other year . Both in same room but ofcourse different enclosures

Thanks

Size matters more than age, but yes, she probably can.
My personal rule of thumb for cal kings is that they should be at least 30 inches but I prefer 36 inches. They can and do however breed at smaller sizes.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

I should have mentioned that he is like 38 inches but she is like 32 inches and he is way thicker he just eats more she eats weekly but not an eating machine like him.

Think will wait another year till she gets to 36 inches

Thanks

If your 2 year old Cal king is ovulating and going through her natural processes then you would be wasting a season by not having her eggs fertilized by a male.

YES, by all means. Put the male in with her.
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ÌÏËÙÍ ËÁÂE!

"I have high friends in places."-H.Sherman in some bar

Thanks I have no idea if she is . I just have them as pets not breeder but he is high white and would like to pass on his look she is average banded .

what I meant by my post is size has nothing to do whether she breeds or not. If she is mature and producing ovum she is going through the same processes as if she was laying fertizled eggs. Size has nothing to do with whether it is 'safe' or "healthy" to breed a female Cal king. That is a big fallicy in the hobby.
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ÌÏËÙÍ ËÁÂE!

"I have high friends in places."-H.Sherman in some bar

lol oh ok as I had no way of knowing if she was ovulating .

The male is about 8 inches bigger than her as just measured them he is an eating machine she prefers 1 large mouse every 6 days he will take rat pup so might wait till she "catches up" a bit as pics here that I was looking at in this forum the F looks as big as the M.

"lol oh ok as I had no way of knowing if she was ovulating"

It was the size that I was refferring to . Not wherther you knew she was ovulating. Her size does not have to be anything close to the male. Size of a breeding female has nothing to do with whether she can breed or not.
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ÌÏËÙÍ ËÁÂE!

"I have high friends in places."-H.Sherman in some bar

Some people can palpate eggs when a female is ovulating, a trick I don't seem to have mastered, I can only feel eggs several weeks after copulation.

She also will likely appear a little swollen if she is ovulating. That I have been able to detect in my girls.

If she is ovulating then mating is safer because infertile eggs seem to be more likely to result in binding. I welcome correction on that if anyone disagrees, but I believe it.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

Thank you both for the GREAT info . Egg binding is my concern and will find an area vet who knows snakes before mating them just incase as didnt think it through till after reading that.

Thanks

LOL, Vets know less about this than anyone one here. Just take the advice here from anyone working with snakes for a period of 20 years. Their clinical books don't have this sort of references.

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ÌÏËÙÍ ËÁÂE!

"I have high friends in places."-H.Sherman in some bar

I agree but in my particular area due to lots exotic reptiles,etc the vets from what I hear know their stuff .

I meant just incase of surgery I would go to a vet due to egg binding.

But as far as info goes by far I would rely on this forum and though I only keep 2 kings and 1 corn as far as snakes go and all legal CB . I prefer no vet nor gvmt agency find out I keep anything

Best way to find out about egg binding are from breedings who FARM snakes for a living. If anyone has 1000 snakes that they have been breeding for a number of years that is going to be the best info. Usually vets do not know what they are doing and contradict this info.

For instance egg binding happens quite frequently and most inexperienced people take their snakes to a vet who will charge them for surgery AND making the fem,ale sterile. I have had every egg bound snake pass it eggs and go on to breed the following season. I even had one hold onto her eggs 26 for two years before she passed. The second year she got gravid and did pass the new eggs while still retaining the old ones.

The one concern for breeders that get eggbound snakes is they lose the eggs and some try to palpitate them out to save them. But I would not try this because if you do not succeed you will stress the snake out and she will be less likey to pass the eggs until later.
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ÌÏËÙÍ ËÁÂE!

"I have high friends in places."-H.Sherman in some bar