Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Granted that depends on what and how often they are eating.

Just wondering what everyones EXPERIENCE has been! I know that the parasites can pass to the babies so will i still need to panacur them if they are eating?

Thanks for the help!

...early 05 captive-hatched babies?? They don't need to be panicured at all...farm-hatched ones either for that matter...males should be ready in 07, females possibly...

Scott J. Michaels DVM

I realize it depends alot on what they are feeding on, but just wanted to hear some peoples experience with em.

"CH" (captive hatched) and "farm-hatched" are both confusing euphemisms for the babies from wild harvested eggs or from wild harvested gravid females.

Scott did point out once that it's theoretically possible for some parasites or organisms to be passed from mother to egg but it sounds to me like it's not particularly likely. You probably have a higher chance of picking something up from the average captive rodent colony after you get them set up.

I've yet to get a female ball python to breed at 18 months and produce hatchlings at 2 years old. I hear that lots of people have done it but I suspect it takes a combination of good genetics, optimal feeding, and even a little luck. I wouldn't count on it.

NP

....embryo survival particularly, is quite rare...sjm

Regarding the 2005 CH females... if you get them from a good source AND they have their first shed with you... meaning they were packed up and shipped almost immediately after hatching, you will not be able to distinguish them from CB animals. In my experience such animals have never required any form of panacur or flagyl. Some parasites known to science have a life cycle where they are passed from parent to offspring, but not all. I don't know of any parasite common to ball pythons that is passed on in such a way, although their may be some that do.

As far as getting them to breed in 2007 I would have to say YES you can. If you get a large group... say 40 females and feed them every 4 days when they are feeding you will have several out of the 40 that will breed BEFORE the age of two. Some of my 2003 CH animals hit the 1200g to 1500 g mark in less than a year. I have had two Pastels, a het ghost, and a het Albino breed before the age of two last year. In two of these cases the babies actually hatched before the female turned two! It can be done... as long as the female is big enough.

Check with me later this year to see if these girls breed again and how they do. One I believe is nearing ovulation. Two of the other three I have just started to breed recently. The last I will start breeding in April.

Hope this helps...

Oz
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OZZYBOIDS

Thanks for the info! Very helpful.

I was just interested to find out how fast growth of BP's in their first years would affect their total lifespan. For some reason I'm thinking that a normal lifespan of a BP is about 35 years, but if they feed a lot and grow fast in their first years this may be reduced to maybe 10 or 15 years. This may be totally wrong, so that's why I'm asking. Any thoughts on this?

Rob Reiding.