Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had not planned on breeding my albino burmese pythons this year just to play it safe. My female is 4 inches shy of 9 ft and I got her at the first of the year when she was only 6.5 ft.......the people I got her from swore she was nearly 4 yrs old and that she had been fed on a limited diet. She has been in with my male since spring, he at the time was 7ft (2 yrs) and is now 9.5ft. I haven't done any winter cooling on these guys nor have I increased the humidity.

However last night they were definitely breeding. It was the real deal.......their vents were matched perfectly and you could see they were hooked up. I estimate they were together between 2 to 4 hours before the female became restless.

I bred my green tree pythons last year intentionally and I paired them a few days a week for a couple of months before it finally took.

However I read something about after observing copulation to seperate the female and she will ovulate within 30 days. So my question is, are burms usually successful after one breeding or do they need to hook up several times over a month or so?

I had been a bit worried that she hadnt quite reached the 9ft mark but after another feeding or two, I am sure she will be, she is on 3 lb rabbits every 10-14 days. Any thoughts, tips, or suggestions would be appreciated. And if anyone knows a good website to recommend that would be welcome too!

Thanks for your time!

I have one question. If you are worried that the female is too small, then why did you pair them up? Why not wait that extra year?

Warren
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Dr Warren Booth / Director USARK
North Carolina State University
Department of Entomology

That totally answered his question. =)

My question was not an answer. It was a question. I am curious as to why someone would say that they do not want to breed their snake because they feel it is too small, then continue to write that they have been together since X and bred Y. If you think its too small, it probably is.

Warren
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Dr Warren Booth / Director USARK
North Carolina State University
Department of Entomology

after my female came out of her quarantine it was late spring and the breeding season was well over with. I did not see any harm in keeping them together since they got along. This season I have not reduced their temps to induce the breeding season, in fact I have been making sure they temps stay the normal spring and summertime temps to avoid inducing breeding.

We are in the middle of building them a double layer 10x3x4 cage that has 2 floors in it so I could keep them seperate and I did not think for they would breed without a temp and climate change in their environment.

I had intended to finsih the cage and separate them sooner but my parter's cancer relapsed and the cage is not complete.

We don't decide when an animal is large enough to safely breed. The animal's physiological system decides when it is large enough to breed. These are animals that evolution has shaped to breed when their bodies are ready to breed. The few generations that we have had these animals in captivity hasn't changed that regardless of color, pattern etc. If your female was in the wild...she would have bred, so why not in captivity? If you want eggs...try to breed them, if there is no copulation or ovulation, then your female wasn't ready. If there is...she was ready. It is not our decision to regulate them and "protect" them from breeding too small. A 15' female can get egg bound just as fast as a 8'-9' female. When snakes get egg bound, it has to do with the development of the eggs and how they move down the oviducts. No worries though...just by observing copulation, doesn't mean that she will automatically ovulate. I wish it was that simple.

Thank you for your wisdom and words of advice. You have put my mind to rest and I do appreciate your time!