Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What is the smallest male you have got to breed successfully? I have heard of people getting them to go at 60 grams. Just wondering if anyone got them to go smaller.

I have had mexicans breed at 35 grams and plains go at 45, with 100% fertility.

-Jon
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Ultimate Hognose

5 months old and 35 grams is the earliest and smallest for me.
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Thank you,
Kevin Rhodes

www.spiderhognose.com

http://www.freewebs.com/spreptile/index.htm
http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc314/lifesciences/?action=view¤t=09-09hognose001.jpg

Wow that is small. I had no idea they could go so young.

After seeing all of this, what would you say your smallest breeding female was? The 5 month old male really got me thinking, could my 1 yr. old female go this spring? She's a decent size although I do not know her exact weight.

This has been a topic of debate for the last several years among breeders.
I have found multiple females in the wild that were gravid but only weighed 100-125 grams just before laying. Post eggs, one weighed only 65 grams.All eggs were fertile and hatched. I have also seen captive females lay good fertile clutches at the same size.
For me the females were at least 18 months of age before I even bred them. I would guess the wild females were 2-3 years old even though weight was low.
Some breeders will not breed thier females under 200 grams. Others will not under 300 grams.
As long as mine are 18 months old, feeding well, 150-200 grams and in apparent good health, I will breed them.

Many have been concerned that early breeding will somehow injure the male, female, or both. In my experience, this has been a non-issue. Good breeder males or large good females or small males or females that have never been bred can drop dead for seemingly no reason much to the keepers' dismay.

My breeding partner has a large female 500 grams now, 400 grams then that had never bred. Her first clutch in 2008 would only yield ten eggs, 6 fertile and 4 duds. Her next year she would lay only slugs and have a malformed one clog the passage. Even though fear was expressed that she may die or have breeding complications, the egg was aspirated through the vent. The following year(2010)she would lay 20 eggs, 14 of which would hatch.

Saying all this to say each hobbyist is different in what they allow or perceive to be optimum.
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Thank you,
Kevin Rhodes

www.spiderhognose.com

http://www.freewebs.com/spreptile/index.htm
http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc314/lifesciences/?action=view¤t=09-09hognose001.jpg

I agree completely with Kevin on this.
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If more colubrid guys had balls (pythons) they wouldn't need to lie in police reports.

www.hognosefarm.com

I agree with Kevin and have also found wild gravid females in the 95-125g range. After egg laying they can be from 70-90g. The biggest wild female hognose found in MN in the last 3 years (of a project) was ~225g.

-Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

I would breed any female over 150g (provided she is healthy and feeding well).

-Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

wow, I never even heard of 150 for albinos. The lowest I've seem was 230 for a male. Either way, I hope the hoggies won't turn into disposable animals like kingsnakes, iguanas, burmese pythons, cornsnakes, and red ear sliders since they are awsome animals. It's a real shame that the animals I mentioned are being sold for cheap these days.

I was considering either garter snakes or hognose snakes to keep and breed but I am glad I chose hognose... They are so neat! not that garters arn't cool because they are still woderful snakes.

Merry Christmas!

Nobody said anything even remotely close to the price of an albino being $150. We are discussing weights of breedable hogs.