Hey,
for those of you that keep good records I would like some feedback. I have 3 black pine female breeders, ranging in weight from 1.5 to 1.8kg. While nearly everything I see says not to breed a female until she's ~5' but really nothing about weight of the snake in question. I have had good breeding success with these animals in this weight range, I am interested in what range do other breeders maintain their females and besides a "look test" does anyone have a minimum weight guideline where they would hold back a proven female?
I think it would be interesting to see where my maintenance levels are compared to others. I have been using the basic metabolic rate formula (plus an additional percentage for breeder females) provided in Mader's book to "calculate" feeding for all my snakes to have healthy snakes, good reproductive success and to reduce rodent costs.
Personally I think the girl who's 1.5 kg may a little light for next year.
Thanks,
Dave B