Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two late 06 black milks. they are both around 4.5'. Im not sure of the weight, my scale only goes up to 500 grams, but for their length they have plenty of girth. Are they big enough to breed or should i wait til next year?
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* 1.1 Black Milksnakes
* 1.1 Eastern Kingsnakes
* 0.1 Jungle Carpet Python
* 1.0 Ball Python
... and sadly had to get rid of all my boas

Wait another year. In my experience, you are better off giving the black milks until their fourth year. My adult females are 5.5 to almost 6 feet and weigh over 1,200 grams so 500 grams isn't really that big for these guys. Breeding too early risks egg retention and believe me, you don't want to go there.

Rob

Hello,
My black milks were about that age and size when they first bred, so I guess I probably would! They're definitely on the cusp of what most would consider breedable size and age for a black milk, so Rob makes some good points. I think he misread your statement about their weight, though... your scale maxes out at 500g, presumably the snakes weigh quite a bit more than that. My advice to you would be to download a copy of Serpwidgets snake measuring program, and use it to monitor the growth of your female very carefully over the next couple of months. Also, watch their behavior. If the female stops growing lengthwise and starts putting on girth, it's a good sign that she's getting ready to make some eggs. If the male is picking up her "signals", he'll start acting quite restless and agitated, and stop eating. Give the female any meals she refuses... she'll need them! This will all typically happen in April or early May. If they're both looking and acting ready, might as well let them have at it. If you have any doubts, better to play it safe, there's always next year. Good luck!

Nate
Breeding '02s in 2005

I personally would not breed them. I'm sure there are some people out there that would have no problem at all breeding them, just not me. I prefer to put the two snakes together and let them work it out between themselves and hope for eggs. LOL

In my opinion they are big enough and will be old enough this year to breed. It wouldn't hurt anything to hold them back another year either.

Heh, I see we have a literalist among us. I don't breed snakes, just make introductions...

Nate

just don't "love" your pets!

LMAO...

-Rusty