Breeding Age???

[Silvermoonfox]

Hey all,
What is an appropriate breeding age for ball pythons? I've gotten some conflicting info from other people and books. Some say a year, which seems too young to me, up to 5 years. Thanks for the help.

[rachel132002]

I've been told good feeders can be ready in about 18months, but i'm not sure, I think it depends more on size than age as they don't have that many eggs anyway!

[telefrag]

males usually mature from 18-24 months , and females 2-3 years.

The pair of ball pythons I have, didnt actually breed successfully their first time until they both were 6 , so apparantly they didnt read the same books I did.

[Freakzilla6942]

The pair of ball pythons I have, didnt actually breed successfully their first time until they both were 6 , so apparantly they didnt read the same books I did.

DOn't you hate that...send them to school and all they do is eat and sleep LOL

[JuliusSqueezer]

I want to expand this beyond ball pythons a bit...
I have found with boids a great variety of when sexual maturity occurs. Males as Frag pointed out, mature faster than females. Most species males can and will breed depending on certain circumstances anywhere from 1-4 years, usually by the second or third year at least. Females will vary anywhere from two to ten years. Size doesn't matter with the males but it does for the female. I've seen some squirmy little worm looking males sire some pretty nice litters. Females need the weight to get them through the ordeal and so however long it takes them to reach optimum size and weight usually runs along side of sexual maturity. Emeralds and amazons are usually on the far end of the scale and are very unpredictable even with good size about when she will give it up. 5-10 years is a broad range but something you just have to accept with these animals. Colubrids are another matter. I have had tiny little cornsnakes barely over 2 feet drop a dozen or so eggs. It's not really good for them but they will do it if you aren't careful to keep them seperated. The age a male will breed of most any species will vary more in the wild than in captivity because of male combat for right to breed. Sometimes it's a factor, sometimes it isn't. Ask any male rattlesnake who gets all the tail It ain't the little ones....not usually anyway. Every now and then a little one sneaks in when the big boys are battling it out lol. If anyone is breeding any female boid that hasn't seen her third year, then they likely did some pretty harsh powerfeeding and are also very likely looking forward to a big pile of slugs, still borns or infertal eggs. Recovery time for such an event will put them off another year and the snakes fed a more healthy diet will often beat them to the maternity ward anyway. Be patient. Rushing them never turns out well for anyone involved.

[Silvermoonfox]

Ohh, I'm in no rush at all. For my own info, what is the appropriate weight for the females before it is safe for her to breed?

[Ravenspirit]

If I recall correctly its 700 + grams for males and 1500 + grams for females.

[Silvermoonfox]

Thank you for the info.