Reptile & Amphibian Forums

this is our female Australian Olive python in her nest box. She has been in resting inside of her box for about 2 days now. She went through her last shed about a month go. I really hope to be able to fill the incubator with fertile Olive python eggs! Wish us luck!

-----
Derek Roberts
Sonoran Reptile Breeders
sonoranreptile@cox.net

That's awesome to hear!! My two olives have been going at it now for the past few weeks, so I too am hoping to produce them this year. What is the age and length on that female? I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.
-Chance
-----
Chance Duncan
2.2 Retics (1.0 Tiger Het, 1.0 Lavender, 0.1 Dark Lavender, 0.1 Normal Het)
1.1 Olive Pythons
1.1 Ball Pythons (Het Albino)
http://www.rivervalleysnakes.com

Chance, she is pushing 10 feet and she was produced by VPI in 1998. As of this morning she is still in the nest box. I am pulling for you as well. I really hope you get some babies so we can do some trading! Take care and thanks for the kind words.

-----
Derek Roberts
Sonoran Reptile Breeders
sonoranreptile@cox.net

Derek, you read my mind. I would be very much up for getting some new blood in my olive collection (not to mention just more olives, period). My female is nearly 12' and just a great snake to work with; though she can, especially as of late, be a little 'protective' inside the enclosure. Maybe that's a good sign though. I'm keeping my eyes open for ovulation following Dave Barker's advice, but until then, I'm just leaving the male with her. When your female ovulated, was it extremely noticeable? Dave informed me that it would appear as though she had just swallowed a football, so I'm guessing it's not hard to miss. My plans though are to just leave the male with her until I either see her ovulate, or until she looks very obviously gravid, basking on her sides and back, etc. Speaking of, did yours do that much up to this point?

The male has refused food for nearly the past 4 months. The only thing on his mind has been her, and when they're separated to give her a break, he hardly ever sits still. They're currently wrapped up together after an evening of copulation. I should've taken pictures of this, but a couple weeks ago after the first for sure copulation I witnessed, the next morning they were on the complete opposite sides of the cage from each other. Awkward moment? I guess snakes can do that too! lol I should've offered them both a cigarette I suppose. But shortly thereafter he was back after her and they've been inseperable ever since.

Anyway, sorry for the babbling. I tend to be long-winded when it comes to animals I love working with. Again, good luck, and maybe we can help each other out a bit in the coming months.
-Chance
-----
Chance Duncan
2.2 Retics (1.0 Tiger Het, 1.0 Lavender, 0.1 Dark Lavender, 0.1 Normal Het)
1.1 Olive Pythons
1.1 Ball Pythons (Het Albino)
http://www.rivervalleysnakes.com

Yeah, I left my male with her for about 3 months all together. He just started feeding again after 4 months and is now just seeming to settle down. I sure wish I had another adult female! I did not see her ovulate. Of the pythons that I have bred in the past, I have probably witnessed maybe 30% of the ovulations. Sometimes it doesn't last but maybe several hours. She had been thermoregulating (from 78 on the cool to 90 on the hot side) regularly since mid-December. She has been laying on her side and coiled in a "gravid" postion that I have seen in other pythons (as well as boas). The nest box had been in with her for about 12 days before she actually went inside and stayed for any length of time. She has now been inside for 3 days and I have not seen her out for even a minute. She is resting on her side as I type and she is getting noticeably thicker in her lower half. I guess only time will tell.
Any time I wake up during the night, of course I run and check to see if she has laid. I sure hope to see results soon. Thanks for the post and I will keep you posted. Take care.

-----
Derek Roberts
Sonoran Reptile Breeders
sonoranreptile@cox.net

Best of luck! The olives kind of dissappeared for a while, so it is nice to see you having positive breeding results. I'd like to get some someday, but I'll wait until I have a bit more room and a few more rats. Thanks for posting, and keep us updated.
Justin J
AAR

Thank you for the kind words. It would be nice to have some c.b. Olives as, like you said, they have been scarce these past few years. They are my favorite python to keep, and I have kept quite a few. Take care.
-----
Derek Roberts
Sonoran Reptile Breeders
sonoranreptile@cox.net