Starting out

[Gizmo101]

So I've decided I'd really like to try my hand at breeding snakes, I've sent my colleagues, friends and boyfriend mental with all the information I have been gathering and sharing with them and not to mention the countless hours preparing lol.
But now I'm stumped on where to go from here, I currently have two males who are both in good condition and of age. They're a diamond and a bredli, and I'm stumped on whether I should buy an already established breeding pair, a pair that a more experienced person has prepared to breed or whether I get a mrs for one of my boys.
If I bought a pair, I was looking at either jungle or stimsons pythons. What do the more experienced breeders recommend?
Thanks on advance



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[andynic07]

Technically there is no such thing as a breeding pair unless you are talking shingle back lizards. I would just buy a female but would also not breed this year because you will not have enough to for suitable quarantine.


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[kitten_pheonix]

I would go the morelia sp for the first year, stimmis from what I understand are hard to get established as feeders.

 

[BrownHash]

Technically there is no such thing as a breeding pair u. ess you are talking shingle back lizard

Or reffering to a pair that are known to have bred before. Breeding pair doesn't necessarily have to mean that they are in a serious monogamous relationship with each other, it just means that the two snakes have bumped uglies and got results.

As for the original question, I would suggest getting a female for one of your boys; that is unless you really want to add a new species to your collection.

 

[Senator358]

Depends on the quality of the two you have at the moment and where your passion lies. If you have an average looking snake and breed it the offspring would naturally be harder to sell off. Even decent looking classic bredli only fetch around the $150 mark and may take time to get rid of. Remember you will probably have 20 or more to house for an unknown period.
Basically it boils down to what you want, what space and money you have and whether your willing to wait for the right pair to grow or just breed what you can get.

 

[Gizmo101]

So I probably should of included some pictures of the guys I have now, both pics were taken in the past few days, Kingston (bredli) is 4 years old, weighs 5.6kg and is just over 2m. Gizmo(diamond) is 6 years old and weighs 2.9kg and is just under 2m.
I have built a hatchling rack and am just fiddling with the last of it and it'll be ready. There will be plenty of room for them and I am happy to hang onto them until they find homes. Feeding also isn't an issue, a friend breeds mice and rats and I pay next to nothing for them.

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[Senator358]

They look like nice animals. I'd be looking for something of breeding age to pair them with. Possibly a hypo to go with the bredli and a nice black and white to go with the diamond. It will probably take a while to find the right ones but you got a year.

 

[andynic07]

Or reffering to a pair that are known to have bred before. Breeding pair doesn't necessarily have to mean that they are in a serious monogamous relationship with each other, it just means that the two snakes have bumped uglies and got results.

As for the original question, I would suggest getting a female for one of your boys; that is unless you really want to add a new species to your collection.

I hate the term breeding pair as a lot of people will sell two snakes that have never bred as a breeding pair because they are of age and apparently the opposite sex and that is why I don't think there is such a thing. I just don't find it a useful term that is also easily used to mislead people and I don't know why it is used for reptiles.
I would look for something to put with the diamond.

 

[Senator358]

The term proven breeder is fine to use for snakes but yes breeding pair should really only be used for animals that mate for life such as shinglebacks.

 

[whyme]

Get a girlie for the diamond.

 

[Norm]

Get a female for whichever one but be prepared to miss out this season as it might be hard to get a breeding age female at this time of year.

 

[Gizmo101]

Even though I'm ridiculously excited, I'm happy to miss this season, it'll give me more time to prepare. I want to do it properly and hopefully get some good results. I'll definitely be searching for a pretty lady for one of the boys now.
Another few questions, I am nearly finished my hatchling rack. I have built it to hold 10 tubs, should I build another one or are the chances of having more then 10 slim? Or just get a few hatchy tubs set up that stand alone?
And I'm trying to decide whether to invest in an incubator or go natural and let mum do the work? I know I'll have to prepare the enclosure for maternal incubation, but what works best or is the more rewarding as a keeper ?

 

[ThatGuy]

The books and online stuff I have read recommend artificial incubation as it is easier to monitor the eggs and has a higher success rate. Although I am sure people with experience will give you a more detailed opinion on either. What I do know is that when moving eggs you need to be careful as unlike birds and fish rotating a snake egg can and most likely will kill the embryo inside. Expect 10-25 eggs but like the old saying goes: "don't count your chickens (snakes in this case) before they hatch".

 

[Bluetongue1]

There is a lot more involved in successful maternal incubation than meets the eye. This is why the majority of python clutches are artificially incubated. A cheap and effective incubator can be set up set up using a broccoli box. At the other end of the scale are commercially produced reptile egg incubators. In between are converted bar or wine fridges. You then have to decide what method you are going to use – contact with moistened substrate or suspended over water; perlite or vermiculite if you use a substrate and what ratio of substrate to water; whether to put the eggs in sealed containers, containers with minimal air flow or lidless. Basically you want the egg surface to remain free of visible condensation yet be surrounded by 90%+ humidity, which will produce condensation on the container walls and lid.

I would not worry about constructing any more hatchling racks until you actually get eggs. Within the first week you will be able to determine how many eggs are viable and therefore the maximum potential number of hatchies. You will have 6 weeks in which to build more enclosures if required.


In reference to pets other than reptiles, the term “a breeding pair” indicates that the pair has previously bred together. Therefore you know they are definitely a true pair i.e. male and female, that both are reproductively viable and that they are compatible with one another. There is no requirement for being paired for life, although the odd species here and there do so. I reckon the same meaning should apply in the reptile and amphibian pet hobby. As happens elsewhere, reliable breeders will utilise it truthfully, while the shysters in the hobby will misuse the term to misrepresent what they are selling, just as they do now. It is not the term that produces dishonesty.

Not all bobtails are totally monogamous. A percentage does not to pair up. Some individuals that are part of a pair have been observed on occasions mating with other than their long-term partner.

Blue

PS. A superb specimen of Diamond. Thats why I have a special liking for them.

 

[aus_jason]

I had success with maternal incubation of a coastal clutch . I had 11 out of 12 hatch . I kept temp at around 28 to 32 degrees. I used calcium carbonate for substrate which is water phobic so the eggs don't dry out too much . That's just one way I have done it in the past.

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[andynic07]

My brother in law bred jungles and hatched 20 out of 21 eggs via maternal incubation. He did not have his incubator set up and was actually scared of the mother biting him as he went to remove the eggs so decides to maternally incubate. He had a heat light that he turned on whenever he felt he needed in the enclosure and used pine shavings as substrate so I took a thermostat over and set it up for 32 degrees just above the snake and placed the water bowl at the hot end to try and raise the humidity slightly. It was a very basic set up but worked extremely well. What you need to watch out for if you are maternally incubating in the adult enclosure is newly hatched snakes can escape through very small gaps and my brother in law actually lost one in his garage but finally found it a week later. As blue said you have plenty of time for building a second rack if required which I think you will if you get a female as big as your male. What you really need to make sure of is a big supply of food for the newly hatched snakes and be prepared to feed them for a while if they do not sell that fast. Just remember that there is many ways to skin a cat and you need to find the way that best suits you and your situation.

This is my home made incubator.

 

[Gizmo101]

Thankyou everyone for the help and advice
I am thinking I might try incubating the eggs, next project is build or source an incubator. That one looks pretty easy to make, and I'm guessing really effective as well.
I will be waiting until next season so I have time to test the incubator and source a snake, or another male/female of interest.
I will wait and see how big of a clutch I get before stressing anymore about my hatchling rack.

 

[Norm]

Sounds like you`ve taken peoples advice on board, well done! A lot ask the question then ignore the answer because its not what they wanted to hear. Best of luck when you finally get to have a go at breeding.

 

[Gizmo101]

Because I really want to get it right, and produce some quality hatchies

 

[Gizmo101]

Ok so I have another few questions, and I haven't been able to find a straight answer :S but hopefully someone can shed some light on this for me.
I'm going to breed my bredli's, I've read that some people give the snakes a feed before putting them together, others don't, which one is the way to go? ( they've both been cooling)



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