Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a couple of females I'm hoping are old/large enough to breed this season. Is there a benchmark length/weight y'all use to assess suitability?

Thanks,

Bill

Here's my take- If they ovulate then they are mature. Some Females may take longer to mature, some earlier. So, if any of those Females are over 4ft, pair them up and see what happens.
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South Central Herpetological

Thanks! I've enclosed pics of a female I think was ovulating last year..though she's smaller than I would have thought. Does this look like an ovulation to you or any others out there?

I think that female might have been developing follicles but had failed to ovulate... I would say like Eric mentioned, 4 feet and at least 1000-1200 grams would be a good starting point..

Here's a pic of an ovulation..
Rob

Will a younger snake develop follicles but not ovulate? She is still somewhat "small" and I was suprised when she started showing like that.

Bill

She may have been developing. Once they ovulate, the process is taken full term. So if she wasn't exposed to Male, it wouldn't make any sense to take the next step and ovulate just to deliver a bunch of un-fertilized Ova. Many people mistake a Female building for Ovulation, but thier is a difference between the two.

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South Central Herpetological