Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,
I have a question that has been asked a million times but I can't remember everyones opinion on the issue. I was wondering what the smallest size you think or have had a male ball python fertilize females and have had the females produce? Thanks for your help.
Nick

I've heard of just over 500 gram 1.5 year old males siring multiple viable clutches in a single season. I have a 1.5 year old 650 gram male who was not interested in breeding this year. I have a 2.5 year old 800 gram male who has bred 22 times so far this season since late October. I've heard from two different large scale breeders of ball pythons that males greater than 3 years of age and 1000 grams make the best breeders (generally).

8 months of age and 800g here. Sired 3 clutches, no probs. Could have done more, but the other females were tied up with other males.
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Wow! He must have been a helluva feeder!

When you think about it, getting females at 1000g at 1 year of age is pretty commonplace, so its not much different than that.

But I would never complain about that little guy! He rocks!

Here he was at 7 months of age:

hey...how much do u got to feed ur snake to get em to 1000g in a yr....twice a week.....w the biggest feeders??

Just don't screw around with mice and get them on to rats right away. Feed them nice large rats every week, and give them access to 92F (as well as cool temps) to digest quickly (like in nature) and exercise them often so they don't turn into wet noodles.
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I beg to differ that it isn't common place for bp's to grow that fast. It might be common in the breeding world but not in the general population of bp owners. I think that we kind of give newbees the wrong idea about feeding their pets. If they aren't going to breed their bp's there's no reason fof them to have that rapid growth. Also if you get a poor eater then you aren't going to get that growth no matter what. There are times that they just won't take food every week no matter what you do and then you're going to be into wasting money with getting rid of a dead rat or mouse. I've never had on that would eat every week, sometimes twice a week not not every week.

For the new people don't rush your snakes growth they will get there in plentyof time. Enjoy them and get on a schedule and try to stick with it. With mine I kind of let them inform me when they want to eat. After a certain age they will eat when they are hungry and you will know your bp.

Just my opinion, thanks for listening.

You said: I beg to differ that it isn't common place for bp's to grow that fast

- Meaning that you think it is common place for them to grow that fast.

Then you said: It might be common in the breeding world but not in the general population of bp owners.

- Er.... which is it?

I think that recruitment and caloric intake in the wild might just surprise you. These are ectothermic animals. Its what they are built for. If a snake doesn't eat and doesn't grow, DO NOT attribute that to its natural history and physiology, because that's not it. If its not eating, its something you are doing.

Sorry that you misunderstood the post. What I thought I said was that it's not common for the bp's to grow that fast. Alot of newer breeders are trying to get their young snakes to the proper weight to breed and they are feeding them too often. It's not the way nature has it set for them and most of them produce infertile eggs or just dont't breed. If you notice most people say that they need to be 2.5-3yrs old to breed. They don't say this by chance but they have tried it and know what works best. My point was that we don't need to have the new bp'ers believing that they aren't doinjg something right if their bp isn't 100grams by 8-12 months old.
Just my friendly point of view. Any comments won't be taken in the wrong manner.
Thanks

I think it is important that we emphasize the expected ages and sizes for breeding activity. Those planning future breeding projects with ball pythons should not anticipate a male ball python to be successfully breeding before a year of age. They should also not expect to breed females earlier than 2.5 years of age. As I wrote earlier, Tracy Barker relayed to me that the majority of her females do not successfully produce until 3.5 years of age or more.

When a collection the size of the Barkers' yield such data, it should raise a few eyebrows.

And that they thought monitors took 5 years to mature and had one clutch a year.

Yeah. The GOOD monitor breeders now get 4-6 clutches PER YEAR and many are getting 2 clutches BEFORE the animal even hits 1 year of age.

I find it truly hard to believe that Ball Pythons have low and long recruitment in the wild, given the low fecundity and the numbers raped from nature. It just doesn't make sense.

But either way, its a good discussion, and the best part is that we all have the interest in the animal first and foremost.

Happy Herpin'!

I like, I like. Very nice Jeff. Is he one of yours? What line?

Its Graziani line, produced by Markus Jayne 2 seasons ago!

Cheers...