Olives mating at twenty months of age?

[PMyers]

I have two olive pythons, male & female, caged together since I acquired them as hatchlings around February last year. Yes, I always intended to breed them but, considering their age and the fact that they are olives, I wasn't going to seperate them until about this time next year (seeing as I was under the impression that these guys didn't reach sexual maturity until at least three years of age). I got to work this morning to be greeted by a MMS from the missus which to my eyes looks suspiciously like these two were up for a little morning coital shenanigans. Of course my first impression was "Crap! That's not right"' followed shortly by "Sweet! My husbandry can't be that off then." Of course, this was then followed by reality and the awful truth that if this pairing does succeed in conception, I am faced with an immature gravid female. Couple this with the fact that neither of them are very good eaters and are thus about two thirds the size one would expect them to be at twenty months old then it leaves me just a tad worried about potential complications. Of course, I will be seperating them once I get home, but if the damage is already done then it might be a very anxious few months coming up. I'll see if I can post the pic from my phone below.

 

[Umbral]

They could just be practicing, I caught my womas at it at about six months old.

 

[PMyers]

They're just rootin' younger and younger these days...

 

[Umbral]

Well I hope all turns out ok for you.

 

[Justdragons]

hope it all works out for you. surely if the body will let this happen it should be able to cope? i had a very young beardie go through this once and she retained a few eggs. cost me heaps in vet bills but she did fine and went on the next year to produce a massive clutch of healthy dragons..

 

[Tristan]

hope it all works out for you. surely if the body will let this happen it should be able to cope?

not really some human girls can get pregnant at 13, there body is by no means ready to have a baby granted a reptiles body is not as "complex" as a humans but if the body is concentrating on growing etc and then has to deal with building\sustain other life it can have quite a toll particularly as the OP said they are not great feeders, and food being the energy to do all....