Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a pastel that is around 1150 grams and wanted to breed her this season. i know thats not enough weight but yesterday she ate 4 small rats nice size ones! do you think she could put on good weight from that meal?? thanks!

Its not just weight when breeding balls, weight is just one of the guide lines. Size is a big issue when comes to the girls, they need to big enough to pass the eggs. If they are not big enough you may run into egg bounded females and/or it could kill her.

Its still early in the season and you dont have to breed right now females will breed all year round. If you wanted to start cycling her now and tracking her weight she may be ready in four to five months.

My guide lines are 3winters, min. weighing of 1600grams for two months plus a good length. I held of breeding some of females last year because I was not satisfied all the way around.

Dont take the chance, wait it out and do your animals a favor and make sure they are fit and large enough to breed.

as far as length she is not a long female she is short and plump! this is her third season but she is not the 1500 mark yet? thats why im wondering she was 1150 before her last meal of 4 rats and i was questioning this last meal if that would do it? thanks for your reply!

IMHO I would hold off for some time get her up in weight.

Yeah -- you really want to go by empty weight - not shove 1000 grams of rats into her and call her breedable. At three years old if she is a good solid 1200 grams you might be ok to give her a shot - chances are she'll put on a few hundred before she ovulates but she'll look like hell after laying the eggs.

Good luck!
-----
Tosha
JET Pythons
Toshas Blog

Herp Medicine does not equal a bottle of Baytril - Dr. Scott Stahl

LMAO! 1000 grams of rats thats funny tosha!! i get your point but i meant would she gain a good amount after eating like that?? i guess i will have to wait another month or two and make a wise choice? thanks guys!!

I don't mean to sound short with you, but I don't think that ANY 1150 gram ball should even be given 4!! small rats.....thats a lot of food for any ball. I bred my mojave this past year and she was 1500-1600 grams empty and she only laid 5 eggs....afterwords she was skinny as a tooth pick and I will not be able to use her this year. She is only 1100 right now, so they loose a LOT!! of weight do to breeding....I would give it another 6-12 months if I were you. And stop power feeding. I would say 2 small rats a week would be plenty for her to reach a breed-able weight. Remember......[bleep] in-[bleep] out. The more [bleep] you put into your breeding the more [bleep] your going to get out of it.

[bleep] In=breed her now=get few eggs.

[bleep] Out=she wont be able to breed the year after, and possibly not for 2 years after.

OR....Wait it out=get more eggs=possibly feed her back up for the following year..............good luck, and take this post with a small grain of salt....I am having a bad week....

Matt Z.