Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What's the general rule for the minumum safe breeding weight & size for females?

I think it is 1500 grams and around 2.5 years

I am interested in some statistics of successful breeding of females at that age. I've seen X-rays of over-fed, impacted snakes and have prefered not to take that risk. I'm curious how the benefits (fertile cluches with good hatch rates) compare to the risks. As was noted by a veterinarian on this site regarding breeding undersized females, the success stories often get discussed, but when somebody is pushing for 1 year early return on investment and things don't go well with their $$$$morph, they probably aren't going to jump on this forum and tell everybody about their mistakes, especially if it results in harm to the animal. So please, put me in my place again and tell me how many successful clutches are produced by 1.5 yr old females. If there is group consensus, maybe I'll start feeding mine a good meal every 5 days...I know they'll eat.
Paul

I'm sure not many female Balls will breed at 1.5 years, but some will. I also feel that you can feed a young Ball 2x's per week, and get optimal growth without making them fat.

Just my $0.2,
Chad

It is possible the X-rays I saw were from an animal that was kept too cool to properly digest, along with being overfed. You can never know all the details that lead to that type of complication. I do feed my females well with them reaching 900 to 1200g at 1.5 years. I know I could feed them more and probably get them above 1500g. But at 2.5 years and over 1800g, I am confident they will produce with minimal health risk. I don't think growing snakes get fat, they just seem to grow more. My concern is with digestive complications (all based on X-rays where I admit I don't know what led to the problem besides over-feeding). Thanks.
Paul

I had impaction problems with Burmese & Boas when I was young, and i'm sure it was temp related, as I never kept them on any substrate but newspaper. I totally agree with you on the age thing (a 2.5 y/o is much safer to breed than a 1.5 y/o). Good to see somebody worried about the overall health of the snake, than just a qick buck.

Chad

Well, if my name is going to be brought up, why the hell not respond. First of all, I'd love to see that x-ray of your 'overweight' ball, as I'm yet to SEE ANY evidence of this so-called obese ball syndrome, or overfeeding. Secondly, if you're getting your females up to 1200g in 1.5 years, you could definitely feed a tad more often and get a HEALTHY 1.5 year old 1500 gram ball. I have a 1900g female pastel that is 20 mos. old ovulating now. I'll keep you posted.

You would see that I don't believe growing BP's get over-weight, they just grow faster, and that the animal in question may have been kept too cool. So, you have one early '03 snake probably ovulating... Out of how many? That's what I was asking for, success rate! As for seeing the X-rays, I don't have them. They were part of a presentation by a reptile vet at a local herpetological association meeting. The point he was making is that while it's fun too watch your snakes eat, you need to give their digestive systems a break. It is not natural for them to feed continuously and their digestive systems can become overwhelmed. As I also indicated, I have no idea about the husbandry of the animal in question and am open to other opinions.
Paul

20 months...early '03...OOPS! Sorry, that would put her smack in the middle of 02 captives. Just took a shower and cleared my head! Let us know how it goes with her. Also, I've never heard of "obese ball syndrome", what's that all about?
Paul