Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey Brian,
I need advice on the post coital aspects of breeding burmese, such as, time from swelling of ovulation to egg laying, time from egg laying to hatching. Does the female guard the eggs? Do you remove the eggs to incubate? What tempurature and humidity levels are necessary. I have bred, hatched, and raised colubrids successfully but have no experience with pythons. From reading the forum, you seem to be pretty well versed and have first hand experience in these matters. I would appreciate any help.

Thanks

Moore

Obviously, I'm not Brian Smith, but I can answer a couple of your questions. I have had Burmese breed in the past, though I do not consider myself (nor do I want to be considered) a breeder. Mine started copulating in October, and the female laid her eggs in the first week of April. So from the first copulation to laying took a little over six months. I removed the female from the eggs with no problems. My big girl was sweet as she could be, and she always let me remove her eggs. She hissed and fussed and put on a good show, but she never once offered to bite. So I wouldn't say she guarded the eggs. She would try to bluff me away from her, but when I showed her I wasn't falling for it, she let me get the eggs. A day or two after getting the eggs from her I would offer her a meal, which she always took. From then until the next fall she would eat like a horse to fatten up for the next go 'round.

I must also confess that I never really tried to breed my snakes. During this time, both my male and female were in the same cage, and when the temperature cooled a bit in the fall they just mated on their own. So I never really had a structured breeding program; I just had a pair of snakes that bred every year. Sadly, I lost the female last October, so I won't be having any eggs this year.

RP

Thanks Robert.
I just put mine in the same cage in March and they immediately exhibited breeding behavior. The male had been unusually agressive and hissing a lot for about a month prior (they have been in separate cages in the same 8X12 building for 2 years). Will the female eat during the time she is pregnant? Right now she is opaque and both snakes have refused food since being together.

Moore

My female ate a couple of times during the early copulation period. If I remember correctly, she ate until about November or December. Then she stopped eating. She would fast while her eggs developed, and begin eating again immediately after I took the eggs from her. So she would be off her feeding schedule for about five months.