Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just out of curiousity, sinse most people are comming to the end of their balls laying, when do the breeders start to put their snakes back together? I have a pair that is the right size, when would be a good idea to try and breed them? Thanks, Dave.

And breeding doesn't start again until December/January.

I've been following your advice that you give to people and I like what you say.

Best of luck getting some eggs when you try to give it a go. Make sure to post pics!!

How is that some breeders say they have had balls hatch in almost every month of the year, yet the norm seems to be from Oct-Dec. for most. Is there really a loosely defined timeframe or has that breeding cycle just taken on the "That's the way it's always been syndrome" for most people.

Just curious. I too breed from Oct-Dec.

It's probably easiest and probably gives the best results to go with the flow of the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere and use our winters to simulate the Harmattan - a relatively dry and relatively cool (remember we are still talking a tropical climate here) wind that blows off the Sahara. The cooler and dryer (due to furnace) air in our houses in the winter correlates with what wild ball pythons are experiencing at the time we assume they breed. I wonder if we should work on misting a lot about the times the eggs hatch to keep the clocks set? Maybe they are so well grouped in the wild to make sure the eggs hatch into a nice lush environment with plenty to eat and drink.

I've had females that looked and acted ready out of season and so far had some production by giving them a male when they look ready. This year I'm running very late (for some reason didn't get around to put them together till about March) so it will be interesting to see if it hurts my production or not.
Ghana Climate

Where are you located? In central FL, we generally start breeding much later than say, a northern state like Michigan. The problem is cooling. In November, we can still be in the 80's.

This year, I got eggs a month earlier than I expected - they are due June 27

In general, I agree with Jeff's input.
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Jay A. Martin

So I'll start cooling around the month of October.

Now I reside in sunny FL.
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Jay A. Martin