Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Nothing more to do, as nothing's eating, and only a couple pairs still breeding. I hate the lull in action in March! Every damn year!

So....what's gonna be cooking?

>>Nothing more to do, as nothing's eating, and only a couple pairs still breeding. I hate the lull in action in March! Every damn year!
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- Joel Smith
Email Me!

Is that orchid bark/fir bark you're using? How do you like it? Work pretty well? I use it for my box turtles, but havn't tried it with the balls.

Mark

>>Nothing more to do, as nothing's eating, and only a couple pairs still breeding. I hate the lull in action in March! Every damn year!
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Yeah its that orchid bark stuff. I love it. Its a toss-up between it and newspaper, but so far the bark is winning. I still use both though.

If you try it, let me know how it goes! I'd totally be interested to hear other breeder's experiences with it!

Cheers,

Jeff F.

The good thing about the bark is it is almost imposible for the animals to ingest because it doesn't stick to the prey like appen. It's more pleasing to look at than newspaper and it helps keep up the humidity when misted. I mix in some spagnum too. It works great!

The chunks are so big, that even the wettest rat won't get "tar and feathered" with the stuff! Its great! Plus the humidity it holds, and the way the females create burrows with it. It rocks. I'd never go back to aspen again for the Ball Pythons. No way.

Cheers Bill.

Thanks Jeff, I'll give it a try since I've already got some on hand. Never even really thought of it before. I've got EVERY thing on newspaper or indented kraft paper except the balls which I put on shredded cypress mulch due to getting much better sheds from them on that. I've had no problems since using the cypress, but It's always good to try new things.

Mark

>>Yeah its that orchid bark stuff. I love it. Its a toss-up between it and newspaper, but so far the bark is winning. I still use both though.
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>>If you try it, let me know how it goes! I'd totally be interested to hear other breeder's experiences with it!
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>>Cheers,
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>>Jeff F.

Cypress mulch is good too, I just don't like the splitery-things you get with it. But its better for babies, which you can't use the bark for, as its too course.

You're right about the sheds though. Every shed I get now is dynomite!

Cheers,

Jeff F.

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Randall L Turner Jr.

You never experience life until you have kids..then you realize what you should have done rather then what you did do

Or my girlfriend would KILL me!!

But I set up the Pastel with 10 females, 9 of which look just like the pictures.

Thanx for the nice words guys! You rock! I hope you all get some wicked clutches this spring/summer and I look forward to seeing all the spiders, mojaves, pieds, etc etc hatching out!

Cheers,

Jeff F.

Was that ONE male pastel with 10 females, 9 of which appear gravid?

I've suspected that good males could be stretched thinner than most seem to think. Of course there are risks that they might not get the job done but I'm interested in hearing what sort of results people have had with one male and higher numbers of females.

>>I've suspected that good males could be stretched thinner than most seem to think. Of course there are risks that they might not get the job done but I'm interested in hearing what sort of results people have had with one male and higher numbers of females.

I bred my male albino to six 'normal' females this season. He copulated with all six on a number of occassions, but so far only one has ovulated and is now gravid. Still waiting to see on the other five... Keeping my fingers crossed!

Matt

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"Change what you cannot accept... do not accept what you can't change!"

Tod Ashley C.$.C.

But if we don't take gambles.....then I'll forever be stuck in the same spot. I didn't feel like making a bunch of possible hets with the het males, as they were the only thing big enough to breed, so the pastel was the only choice. Hopefully I don't see too many duds......crosses finges....

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Our first year we bred our pastel male ('97 model) to 11 females and produced 10 clutches. Coincidentaly, Jeff's male came from one of those clutches.

MJ
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I'm all for taking gambles, I just wanted to benefit from the gambles of others first. So, it sounds like so far 10 clutches might be the current record for one male in a year. Just for the record, how many total babies and how many total eggs?

Seems like a few years ago most where recommending no more than 3 females. Heck, maybe a couple years from now someone will get 30 clutches! Of course my first male worthy of that many females will be a total dud and I'll "rest" 30 breedable females for the year.

Randy,

I don't breed that male to that many females anymore. I work on 1.6 groupings now because I have enough males to go around. I breed smarter. I can tell when a female is ready to breed just by her signs.

The total was 10 clutches and 80 eggs! It was a good year for my pastel.

MJ
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I was wondering if fertility suffered at all, what was your hatch rate on those 80 eggs if you don't mind?

Actually I think you did a very smart thing considering what you had (apparently one high value male and a bunch of big normal females). Sure it's nice to have more high dollar males to spread around but I was just wondering what the limit might be if I ever find myself in a position like yours for 2003. Sounds like 100 offspring in a year might well be possible with the right male, enough good condition females, and careful management.

I hassled you for half a year until I got the money into your hands for him! LOL! And the fact that when I told you that he shot up to 900g at 7 months of age and was breeding, and you weren't at all surprised, also shows me it was no coincidence! LOL!!

Cheers Mark. Get that spider going eh?!

I am up in the air on this subject. This is the first year I have tried to breed 1 male to several females [8]. The male pastel approx. 14 months old successfully bred to all females several time, however 2 very large proven breeder females are likely not gravid. I have been unable to palpate follicles in either female. I have 2 of the eight females have ovulated and I feel strongly atleast 2 others are on their way.

The females are stimulated by the males to produce and fully develope follicles. So, in my case my male may not have spent enough time with each female to ensure proper follicle development.

What do you think?

Well, my breeding season usually lasts from December to March, so that's 4 months. I just cycle the male through each female accordingly. If he's not breeding with a female for 2 days consecutively, then he gets moved on. Eventually, all the females have spent enough time with him. I've had Ball Pythons copulate for 2 hours and that's it, and still lay a clutch of eggs. After only the one breeding! I've also had a pair locked up off and on for 3 months straight, yet I got no eggs.

Yes I agre that the act of copulation induces a female to produce follicles (or enlarge them) and then fertilize them (ovulation), but I don't think weeks upon weeks of breeding is necessary for it. Its all timing. Quality, not quantity.

np

Do you have any pics of those shelters you're using? They look intriguing.

Jake

I've been using the shelters for about half a year now, and they rock. I've gone through Rubbermaids (all kinds and sizes), clay pots, potholders, wood boxes, etc etc, and even no hide boxes, but this works the BEST. All it is, is a 14x12 piece of 1/2" plywood, with 1-inch "legs" on either side. This allows the BP to crawl under it and just wedge itself in. Its nuts. The 2nd night of having them on it, resulted in 8 problem feeders taking HUGE F/T rats right away.

Plus, only being 1.5" tall (plywood plus leg-height), the Balls can't wedge themselves between it and the next shelf up in the rack system. So its WAY safer than a taller hide box!

I'll never go back.

They just peek their head out, and when a rat gets dangled in front, WAMMO!:

Also workes for these dude too!

www.jefffavelle.com

Thanks for the info. I thought you were using something along those lines. I might make a few of those and give them a try.

Jake

Post the results! Always interested to hear!

I also use that type of hide and I like it a lot. I use it for balls, corns, kings and carpets. They're great. My only concern is how hard they are to clean.
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