Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so i heard if you put them in a bigger tub it will encurage them to breed more. is there a differance? i keep mine in the 28 and 32 qt tubs and have done ok. i know some people use longer tubs and i went to the store today and found tubs that were 52" long 14" tall and 20" wide i bought a couple for my african soft fured rats and mice and im woundering if i put a pair of snakes in one over night or for a week if they would breed better or the same as the small tubs. and thease tubs are to big for a rack lol
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reed at www.ReedsDragons.com & www.KillerEnclosures.com

I have snakes in both 32 qt tubs and CB-70s. I haven't noticed a difference between the two as far as number of copulations goes.

Ii think it boils down to if the snake is comfortable in it's tub. If it prefers a smaller tub it will be more likely to breed in it. If it prefers something smaller and you place it in a large tub you may end up stressing it out.

Personally, I like the smaller tubs because it kind of pushes the snakes to be close. The downside is that they can quickly be cramped if you have a larger female in there.

The big tubs allow me to get a better look at exactly what is going on with minimal disturbance to the snakes. They don't become cramped (even with my larger females). However, it does allow the snakes to find opposite corners to reside in. At this point I'll usually separate them, but the real downside is not knowing if the even came into contact with each other in the first place.

Essentially, if the smaller tubs have been working for you - why change it? Placing them into bigger tubs won't get you bigger clutches... they are either gravid or their not.

i was planning on keeping them in teh small tubs but heard the bigger ones were better . but this year i have not had much luck catching hook ups i caught my 66% poss het genetic stripe hooked up twice and a couple tailes next to each other but thats it last year almost every time i opened them i seen at least one hooked up.
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reed at www.ReedsDragons.com & www.KillerEnclosures.com

I've had seasons where I am able to observe copulations on a nearly daily basis in both the 32 quart and CB-70 tubs. I've also had seasons where I swear nobody is "getting it on".

Whether I've observed them copulate or not I still rotate them on the same cycle. I sort of take it for granted that they did. The steady rotation provides a little continuity for them. They are secretive creatures to begin with so if you are not seeing hook ups don't feel discouraged - they are probably doing it when you are not around.

I think that if God checked in on Adam and Eve every night to see if they were "hooked up" we probably wouldn't be around. Your snakes will wait for some privacy (read: security) also.

If they have bred for you in the past in the tubs you are using and if they eat and spend the rest of the year in those same tubs (in essence they are not stressed due to the tub) then you should be fine keeping them in the same tubs for breeding this year.

As long as you are still offering water, food on occasion, regular "time outs" away from each other, and proper temperatures/dark periods your pythons will most likely breed - you just don't always see it.