Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Alright, I am no where close to breeding and probably won't be until fall of 2011. The rest of this year I am going to focus on getting a job, getting atleast one rack system, making an incubator and some other small things. Now to my questions. What temps do I bring the snakes down to before breeding? How long do I keep them at those temps? Do I slowly raise the temps or just raise them back to normal over night? How many females can I safely breed one male to? How long do I keep him in with one female before I swap him out? What temp do I incubate at to get mostly females or mostly males? How will I know if the female is pregnant? How many days before they lay eggs? I guess that's it.

Many questions that have been answered many times before.

This website really helped me out :
http://www.ballpython.ca/gallery/breeding.html

>>The rest of this year I am going to focus on getting a job, getting atleast one rack system, making an incubator and some other small things.

Best idea so far.

What temps do I bring the snakes down to before breeding?
I am dropping the hot spot to the same temperature the low spot is. From october to march ( -).

Do I slowly raise the temps or just raise them back to normal over night?

Some do it right away. But I prefer to do it gradually.

How many females can I safely breed one male to?

That's differ from one breeder to another. And one male to another.

How long do I keep him in with one female before I swap him out?

Ideally, you want to give him some rest. A 2-3 days to feed, calm, shed etc...

What temp do I incubate at to get mostly females or mostly males?
You don't. It's not like leopard geckos. Temperature in the incubator doesn't affect the sexes.

How will I know if the female is pregnant? How many days before they lay eggs? I guess that's it.

You have to look for an ovulation, pre-lay shed and count the days. (All the information is in the website I gave you, with multiple pictures).
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love this world, don't hate it.

while your waiting i would invest in a good book, maybe nerds book unless someone can tell you another. and since you have the time if you dont already know it get a class in genetics.
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This is courage.. to bear unflinching what heaven sends. -unknown

1.0 Basset Hound (Capone)
1.1 cats (San Quinton and Gracie)

If I get a book it would be the one written by TSK. It's like $80, but it is suppose to be the best one out there. The genetics are pretty simple until you start breeding double visuals to double visuals, triples to doubles and triples to triples.