Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, so first off I picked up a new female adult BRB for really cheap. She came from a friend that does educational shows and takes in rescues. She is a MONSTER... weighing in over 2,800 grams empty. She is really sweet so far, but very clingy. Anyways, I'm pretty happy with the pick-up!

So, now my question... I've read a few places stating that males should be somewhere around 1,500 grams before breeding. I haven't bred BRBs before, but that seems like a really high minimal weight. I say this based on breeding weight for males of other species - most of the time it's about a 3rd of the female's size. With that said, those of you with experience, is 1,500 grams an absolute minimum (maintaining the animal's health, productivity, etc.)?

Here are the pics of the new girl:



I know my tank glass needs to be cleaned.

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Chris Carille
Marist College and Mount Saint Mary College, NY
Department of Biology
Chris Carille Photography - carillephoto.com
Garden of Eden Exotics - edenexotics.weebly.com
http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/

IMO 1,500 grams is a little high for minimum weight on a male. I would say more like 1,200-1,250 grams. I use 1,500 grams as minimum for a female to breed.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count (02/01/2010):
42.61 BRB
27.40 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks Dave! You and John seem to have similar thoughts which is always good! I guess I'll be waiting some time before my male is large enough.
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Chris Carille
Marist College and Mount Saint Mary College, NY
Department of Biology
Chris Carille Photography - carillephoto.com
Garden of Eden Exotics - edenexotics.weebly.com
http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/

I have always heard that 1500 grams was the minimal weight for a female to breed however, having bred Barbs for a long time I feel that a 1500 gram female is too small to be bread. I like to wait until the female is as big as she is going to get before breeding her. All BRBs are different and some females get much bigger than other but all of my female breeders are well over 1500 grams, closer to 3000+ grams.

A male BRB just needs to be producing sperm plugs. I’ve noticed that happens between 1000 – 1200 grams in my experience. This is my personal opinion; just for ‘safety’ (loosely termed) I don’t like to pair a male up with a female if that female is better than twice the size of the male.

The minimum weight is more in reference to the female being big enough to safely pass an egg or baby.

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John Wiseman
www.rainbowsbydesign.com

18.30 BRBs (as of 6-20-2012)
3.8 others

Thanks John! That sounds a little more realistic to me in male size. Funny that sperm plugs aren't produced until then.
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Chris Carille
Marist College and Mount Saint Mary College, NY
Department of Biology
Chris Carille Photography - carillephoto.com
Garden of Eden Exotics - edenexotics.weebly.com
http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/

Thanks Cliff! Can't argue that a male would be more productive at a larger size/older age - biologically it makes sense. I'm just surprised at the need for that size in the BRBs. I'm working with other Epicrates and none seem to need that size for males.
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Chris Carille
Marist College and Mount Saint Mary College, NY
Department of Biology
Chris Carille Photography - carillephoto.com
Garden of Eden Exotics - edenexotics.weebly.com
http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/