Finally, this pair decided to cooperate...

[Jeff_Favelle]

Last pair to try and hook up, but all the male wanted to do was eat and cruise, and all the female wanted to do was eat and vibrate her tail (in dislike of the aformentioned male). So after a few sprayings of warm water, some combat, and increase in night time temps, they finally hooked up this morning. Taken through glass, so don't mind the water spots (from spraying).

This female is HUGE. 7.5 feet easily. But dog tame. She's a beaut!

http://members.shaw.ca/gallerya/JC_breeding1.jpg

http://members.shaw.ca/gallerya/JC_breeding2.jpg

[Tim_Cranwill]

Good to see, eh? :)

I'm going to have to start trying something different with my carpets.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Yeah, they can be tricky sometimes. Not usually, but some pairs require a bit more coaxing.

[morph]

Congrats man lookin good for ya.

Scott

[Clownfishie]

Congrats Jeff! :D

[BoidKeeper]

Great Jeff. How long till ovulation?
Cheers,
Trevor

[Jeff_Favelle]

Anywhere from 59 days until never, and everything in between man. :D

[JDouglas]

Hey Jeff congrats on getting yet another pair to go at it. I bet that big girl is amazing to see in person. I have a question for you? I was told that with carpets as far as breeding goes once is enough. What are your thoughts on this? If a female is inseminted one time during the breeding season is that enough to get her pregnant? Do you think she can retain sperm until she ovulates or do you think copulation closer to ovulation is neccesary? If so how close to ovulation? I have read many books on this and talked to a few people and opinions seem to vary?

[TheRedDragon]

Congratulations Jeff, be sure to send some of the babies our way! :)

[Jeff_Favelle]

I have a question for you? I was told that with carpets as far as breeding goes once is enough. What are your thoughts on this?

Oh it totally can happen JD. But I wouldn't advise trying it. You see, the act of copulation itself ALSO induces the females to develop follicles, ovulate, reproduce, etc etc. Its why you don't really see people with a "pet" Jungle just getting mysterious infertile eggs one day. The act of mating itself plays a role in the process of a female going through the motions.

And sometimes, one breeding isn't enough to induce her to ovulate. Sometimes it is, and yes, they CAN store sperm. In fact, rarely do I have snakes mating on THE DAY of ovulation (which is also fertilization), so they MUST be able to store sperm. But for how long, at what quantity, and how much does the sperm degrade is all unknown. This coupled with the fact that copulation is necessary for the female to progress with her "reproductive duties", means I "breed the crap outta them"!!! Breed them as long as they will breed, for the best results. I will say this though. I have witnessed breeding stopping a full 35 days before true ovulation, and it resulted in 18 perfect fertile eggs with a 100% hatch rate. So breeding right up to ovulation is not 100% necessary. But it is ideal.

Best of luck bro!! :D

[JDouglas]

Thanks for your thoughts and info Jeff. My Irian Jaya female ovulated on the 14th but it had been a couple week since the male had been with her so I was a little worried about sperm retention and degredation. He went opaque so I put him in another cage. It seemed like the shedding process was a lot slower for him this time and after he shed I offered him food. He ate without hesitation. My female was huge so I thought she had already ovulated and that I had missed it so I didn't put him back with her. Well I was wrong cause she got REALLY big on the 14th. Now she looks a bit smaller than she did before ovulation and she will not leave the heat. I have also noticed that her color has darkened even more. She is definitely gravid! Now I just wait for the prelay shed right. This is my first time breeding pythons and you have been a big help during this process.

I now have a question about temps. What is the desired temp for a gravid female? When I shoot the top of her with the temp gun she is 86-87F but if I shoot lower on her body she is at about 90F. Does this sound right or do I need to go up or down?

Thanks again,

Jaremy Douglas

[Jeff_Favelle]

i have noticed with Carpets, that 95% of the time, there is a double swelling. Kinda like Ball Pythons, but WAY more tricky. I always think I see ovulation, then a few weeks later, actual ovulation happens, LOL!! The only way to know for sure is if the male us still breeding. They will NOT breed after true ovulation.

As for temperatures, they still need a gradient. I give 95F warm side/basking spot to 80F cool side. They will go where it is proper for them to be at that particular stage of the game. They know best! :D

Just email or post here if you have any questions bro! And I hope the incubator is all set up!! :D

[Jeff_Favelle]

Oh, and if you saw the ovulation, then the pre-lay shed should come 17-22 days later. Its a LONG shedding process, as they go into the blue pretty much right after ovulation.

[JDouglas]

Thanks for the info again Jeff. I must have been right about ovulation on the 14th cause she just started turning opaque for her prelay shed. The incubator is all ready to go and has held a temp of 88F for the last three weeks. I was told to start the eggs at 88F so if my room warms up a little they will be OK. Although I heat my room to 80F with a proportional thermstat and I know the temp will not go up I want to play it safe. What temp do you set yours at? Also have you ever had a carpet lay while she was still opaque? I have had this happen with colubrids and it caused me to lose a few eggs. I went ahead and put in a nesting box for her just in case.

Thanks again Jeff, I didn't mean to pirate your post!

[Jeff_Favelle]

Oh no, she's still a month off (or more) from laying. They'll lay 3-5 weeks after the pre-lay. Never during.

I set my incubator's thermostat to 89F and I set the Helix its plugged into (as a back up) to 90F. You don't need the back up, and I never used one for like 8 years of incubating, but its nice to have now.

The clutch can increase in temperature as it nears 45-50 days (when they start to collapse). But I'm peaking in so much at that point, I just don't bother with the settings. Plus, you can incubate the eggs up to 92F if you like, so any increase from 88 or 89F is not going to be above that.

Best of luck bro! I'm pumped for you! :D

[JDouglas]

Thanks Jeff!