Help- Breeding Coastals

[lauren.ferguson]

Hi all!! Just after some general advise

I have two lovely coastal carpets which I want to put in a lovely big tank together. My boy Bruce is a proven breeder, and my little Sweetheart should be of breeding age. I will be moving at the end of the year, and dont really have the equipment or knowledge if they do mate and produce fertile eggs...can anyone give me a guestimation of the likelyhood, and if Sweetheart did get pregnant what the gestation period would be, and what I might need (besides another tank =) )

 

[ecosnake]

Google seach is an awesome tool.

 

[lauren.ferguson]

Thanks, been reading up, but wanted to get advise from users of this forum as you've all been such good help in the past...

 

[Vixen]

If you admit you don't have the equipment or knowledge, and are moving at the end of the year ontop of that, why not just spend the money setting up a separate enclosure so that they don't breed in the first place. The cost of this will be less than the set-up for potentially 30+ babies.

Not intending to be 'mean' but that's probably the best thing for your snakes, yourself, and the hobby - it doesn't need any more run of the mill coastals being produced and trying to be sold from breeders who don't reeaaaallly want them to produce in the first place.

 

[lauren.ferguson]

All good, this is the type of advise I need =) with my google research all I can find is what to do for perfect breeding conditions, which seems a bit full on. Money is not an issue, and I will be breeding eventually, but I really need to know any type of possiblities...and I'm going to risk sounding like a twit, I know, but we all gotta start somewhere!! Are they like dogs going into heat and they just go for it?? He is a lot bigger than her and there has been mention of death too, but no mention of what species, so do coastals have those tendancies? The info that I found sounded a bit involved with changes temperatures and feeding scheduals to get them in the mood, so if I just keep them at their normal temps and feeding are they less likely?? It would not be terrible to have babies, just a little inconvenient.

 

[JAS101]

you need go and buy a book called " keeping & brerding australian pythons " there you will find all of your answers to your questions + much more .

 

[shellfisch]

Seriously, if I were you, I would house them separately and eliminate all possibility of any babies until you are in your new place, settled, and set up properly.
This will also give your female a little more time to get some weight/condition on.

In the meantime, read up as much as possible.

You may decide that having 30+ babies, having to get them all feeding (how much time to do you have?) and then trying to sell/give them away is more trouble than its worth - at least for this year.

The book JAS101 suggested will be invaluable to you if you decide to go ahead with breeding.

Successful breeding is a little more complicated than putting your pythons together and hoping for the best.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Michelle

 

[crikey]

and then trying to sell/give them away is more trouble than its worth

i would take them if you gave them away and i bet alot of other people would

 

[lauren.ferguson]

Thanks guys you've all been very helpful. My main question is what is the likelyhood though...I can understand not taking the risk, and I dont want to make her sick (if she is underweight for pregnancy) so will probably be best to keep them apart as first suggested, but can anyone tell me what the chances are? I need to possibly argue this to my partner so that we can buy another huge enclosure for her

 

[shellfisch]

I'm not sure what the possibility (percentage wise) is of your female actually becoming gravid and laying fertile eggs.
There is generally a procedure of warming, cooling, introducing the male, taking him out, putting him back with her etc that most people follow.

Some would say that keeping a male and female together year round actually can reduce the chances of mating.

Personally, we don't keep any pythons together because of the possibilty of one mistaking the other for food and trying to eat it - but that is another subject altogether.

As far as another enclosure goes, you could get a LARGE plastic tub and a heat cord, and keep one in that - maybe the smaller one? Until you can buy/build another enclosure...

 

[lauren.ferguson]

Ok, well thanks again guys. I will leave Sweetheart where she is for now, she is ok in her current enclosure, just would have been easier and looked better I think, but her health is more important =)