Re: Breeding Questions

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Posted by jfmoore on April 16, 2003 at 03:10:30:

In Reply to: Breeding Questions posted by Krystal19_85 on April 15, 2003 at 22:38:45:

Hi Krystal �

::What are your thoughts on putting the female in with the male (or vice-versa)

>>I no longer think it makes any difference in the ultimate outcome. When you first put the male into a strange cage, however, he takes a certain amount of time thoroughly exploring and tongue-flicking the new environment before he gets down to business. But what�s an hour or so in the grand scheme of things?

::vs. breeding tubs

>>Like Chris, I�m not sure what you mean. If you mean multiple females and one male in a cage � I think it works okay. But it takes more effort to keep track of who�s doing what and when if you like to keep good records. If you mean multiple males with one or more females � I never do it. It risks injury to all the occupants since the �loser� male cannot escape; it keeps the �victor� male in a combat mode instead of a breeding mode; and it makes absolute determination of paternity impossible.

::Also what is your opinion on Letting the female incubate the eggs vs. an incubator?

>>It IS fun at least once to watch a female care for her clutch through to hatching. Of course, that�s assuming you have her in a cage where she�s capable of maintaining her eggs at 95%-100% humidity and 88 to 90 degrees F. How far and how often these parameters are exceeded will dictate how many (if any) eggs hatch. Also, you have pretty much guaranteed that the female will be going two more months without feeding by leaving the eggs with her. Another plus with an incubator � you can constantly monitor the condition of the individual eggs and make adjustments to the moisture level if necessary. I have such good success with my incubator that it�s a no-brainer for me. I use the incubator.

>>Unless the subject is personal or sensitive, it�s nice to keep the responses on the forum so everyone can share in the exchange instead of soliciting input to one�s personal email address.
>>Have you considered posting on the ball python forum as well as this one? You might get more responses there.
>>Re cage size � bigger is better as long as the snakes have secure hide areas.

Good luck.
-Joan

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