Hi Sam, I am in the same position, also a first-time wanna-be breeder. I have read through all the answers and don't understand a few things. Could the previous posters please answer these questions:
- @daniel1234: You wrote in your very good contribution, "I have never bred bhp's but hear they don't start feeding as easily because in the wild they normally eat other reptiles. On the other hand, they don't produce huge clutches". (1) What are "bhp's"? I have seen this abbreviation several times, but it was never explained. (2) If some python babies naturally feed on other reptiles only - is there a reasonable way how to breed this preferred food?there are many options you can try when trying to get bubs to feed, there is the option of pinkie mice/rat, braining, scenting with chicken or quail, making a paste and syringing it down there throat, assist feeding, force feeding. very hard to get feeding but ask a lot of breeders what they do and try them all. eventually they'll feed on there own if they don't have any other issues. on another note I have found that breeding Black Headed Pythons the eggs are much more hardy to anything else, they can withstand any condition and a long road trip, but wont eliminate bad hatching results best to breed if you know your not moving during the middle of incubation period.
- @pythonmum: You wrote, "When I had a pair that was mating, I looked for an old fridge to use as an incubator". (1) How do you recognise when snakes are mating? some are very secretive and you will never catch them no matter how hard you try, and others don't care and you'll see there tails wrapped around each other as they lay perfectly still for anywhere from 6-34hours each session. you don't actually see there penis unless you pop them for sexing. or is a male has an infection down there at a young age. I have two 6-8 year old pairs of pythons (a Bredli pair and a Murray Darling pair, in addition to some juveniles who are too young for breeding). I often allow the adult pairs to meet each other and then, they most often coil together in front of a heat lamp, or they lie stretched out side-by-side. They most obviously like each other and enjoy body contact. However, I never seen any penis-vulva connection. To tell the whole truth, I have never seen a snake's penis yet! Am I blind or what?are you cooling them at the right time of the year for the right amount of time? and are you pairing only in breeding season? and do you know for certain you have a pair? I would not go off sellers word alone I always get a second opinion when it comes to sexing animals, I take to the vet and get them probed. especially after previous years of buying pairs and once breeding age came along I found out I had 2 males or 2 females has happened a couple times for me, sucks and you have to start from scratch again. I don't just presume the breeder or previous owner knows best I go straight to vet after purchase and also get them a general check up for my piece of mind. if you haven't yet go get your hands on keeping and breeding Australian pythons book it will run you through what months you need to cool the species you have, when to pair and how long for, and general info on your species etc etc. very good and very relevant info. (2) Why is everyone looking for incubators when they want to breed? Is it absolutely hopeless to trust in nature and let mama snake sit on her eggs until they hatch? There are a very few breeders choosing to go with maternal incubation but this is only because they feel there female is in good condition after laying the eggs and they feel she will be fine through the process of incubation, there also fully set up to supply female with everything she may need and feel comfortable they know what there doing. In this hobby we have a choice others prefer to artificially incubate them as they feel its better for the female to start eating asap after egg laying in order to get her back up to condition before the next years breeding season. some females health is very poor from not eating during the hole breeding season and carrying eggs and laying them take its toll on the poor girls. Not always will you get a 100% hatch rate with both methods, and it all depends on if you have done everything right from day 1 which ever method you chose. just remember if you choose for maternal incubation you need to give the girls a year off the next year, unless she gets enough body weight on again before the next cooling period.
- Someone also wrote that you need far more "pinkies" than are actually eaten by the baby snakes. Why that? its because your young wont eat every time and once you though out a rat you cant put it back in the freezer. I've waisted more pinkies then I've fed them successfully. that's why buying in bulk is a must.I have set up a flourishing mice and rat breedery in anticipation of our first snake babies and I am trying to calculate the numbers of rodent offspring we may need. Can anyone give me advice on that? get yourself into mice as new babies will only be able to eat pinkie mice for a wile before there big enough to eat a pinkie rat. I currently have about 70 baby rats under 6 weeks old, and they eat a lot of food and the cleaning of their cages also takes up half of my weekend. If I do one more generation, my mouse and rat numbers will go into the hundreds and then into the thousands! I don't want to overdo it with my rodent breeding, as my local pet shops won't buy any excess off me. Has anyone actual statistical numbers of how many pinkies are actually needed to raise a clutch of snake babies? By now, I have been starting out from the rule that, outside of the winter brumation season, every python needs to eat a third of its body weight every month.
