Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When do you start cylcling? It seems really early to me. My python eggs usually don't get laid until April or May. Just curious if you are trying to get early clutches, or they are wildcaughts or what?
Thanks,
Justin J

on the individual female. Some just have their preferrred times to ovulate.
But it is also dependent on when you try to breed them. We start introducing pairs to each other in the middle of the cooling period where some other folks cool them separately and only begin introductions after the warmup.
It all works.
-Yasser

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So there is little manipulation of early breeding if it depends on the female and her schedule. I saw my jungles breeding in late summer last year, but there have been no eggs yet. Could it also be due to location and local climate? Where are you from?
Justin J

"So there is little manipulation of early breeding if it depends on the female and her schedule."

I am unclear as to what you may be deducing here. What do you mean by this comment?

"I saw my jungles breeding in late summer last year, but there have been no eggs yet."

It ultimately is up to the female to decide when to ovulate. But it has been shown that certain females prefer to ovulate at a certain time each each year they end up laying.

"Could it also be due to location and local climate?"

Sure it can.

"Where are you from?"

I am in Washington. Grew up in New Orleans.

-Yasser

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By the comment, I meant there is not alot that I could do to get eggs earlier, as it is up to the female as to when she cycles. I thought the female was ovulating, but she has slimmed down. I need to increase her heat and get her feeding and ready to lay. I have seen breeding activity lately, so hopefully she'll go. I'll have to check with other UT breeders to see what kind of timing they have on their clutches.
Thanks,
Justin J

Justin,
the ovulation you thought you saw could have been ripening follicles in preparation for ovulation. True ovulation is very noticable. But if you pulled the male too soon, it could have resulted in the female reabsorbing them.
And if you did think the female was gravid and is now not, why are you going to get her ready to lay? I am confused.

But I must clarify that you can still alter when the female will ovulate through cycling her earlier or later.
But why do you wish to get eggs earlier? As long as I get eggs, I am happy.

-Yasser

>>By the comment, I meant there is not alot that I could do to get eggs earlier, as it is up to the female as to when she cycles. I thought the female was ovulating, but she has slimmed down. I need to increase her heat and get her feeding and ready to lay. I have seen breeding activity lately, so hopefully she'll go. I'll have to check with other UT breeders to see what kind of timing they have on their clutches.
>>Thanks,
>>Justin J
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I was just wondering how some of you guys were getting earlier clutches. I have my jungles together year round (except when the female is obviously gravid and ready to lay). She just showed many of the signs of being gravid, but then is really slim. I got things ready for her to lay when she looked to be gravid, and I have left the nest box in there for her. I am just curious and thought I would ask. Sorry my posts have been a bit nebulous, I am at work and trying to get posts out quickly between reactions.
Justin J

My female had her pre lay shed on Thanksgiving day, and layed right around new year. The had been together since the summer, as I had some caging issues and was not actively trying to breed them. My animals are exposed to my local photoperiod and temperature fluctuations, and it begins to get cool and wet around here in september and early october. Now, I never witness her ovualtion, but counting backwards it must have been around the end of october.

I guess it all depends on the female. In my Ball collection last year, all of the females were subjected to the same cooling period. Cooling and introduction began the first week of november. the first female to lay did so the first week of march, the last to go layed the first week of july! Thats 4 full months later. Interesting.......incidently, the first female last year is going to be the first again this year. She is due to lay within the next couple of weeks!
Joe Pociask Pythons

Thanks for the input. The female is the most important part, what about different regions? Do you think climate and local weather conditions in certain areas make a difference? Where do you live?
Justin J

I rely on local weather to help me with my cycling, and also on my local photoperiod. My lighting in my room is set to correspond with daylight, so therefore in the fall, as daylight get shorter here, so it does for my animals. My Ball pythons are in their own room, which is heated/cooled with my central HVAC system. The vent in the room is just slightly opened in the winter, and ambiant air outside of the cages is in the high 60s on the coolest nights. In the summer, ambiant air in the room gets up to about 80-82 or so. The back of my tubs are set to 90 in the summer (the 90 drops of to mid 80s just a few inches iinto the tub) and about 88 during winter, and thats all I do. The natural drop in ambiant at night also is important, IMO. My IJs are subject to similar conditions, with one exception. My IJ tub is heated exclusively with lights. A regualr Incandescant bulb during the day, and a dark red buld at night. During the fall I go to about 10 hours of daylight, and about 4 hours of red light; during the winter I leave the red light off all night. That allows the whole cage to get down to about 68 for a few hours each night, then back into the mid-low 80s during the day with a slightly warmer hot spot.