Prep for Breeding BPs

[DDW]

Hello friends, I have finally begun seriously considering breeding Ball Pythons. I have my albino ball (Glitch) and have been thinking about breeding her for a solid year now..

So I'm going to start some in depth research. The only problem is I dont know much about breeding snakes. This is my current list so far of what I need to look into, but would love some input from some experience BP breeders.

1) I need a rack system, and I'm pretty sure it would be most cost effective to build one myself. I have no idea how large I need to go overall, even less how large the individual tubs need to be.

2) I'll obviously need an incubator of some sort. Probably a small one but... seriously I have no idea.

3) What would I want to pair with my albino girl? I've had some suggestions for getting a candino male for her but what other varieties should I consider? I don't want to spend a heck ton of money for a male. I also usually tend to get animals as babies but should I try to get a more mature male to start breeding right away? Idk.

4) When should I encourage breeding? How long? How old? Etc. Ahhhh.

Idk what else to look into honestly. If y'all know where I might go to reliable info about this, I'd greatly appreciate it. When I do this, I want to do it right.

Thanks in Advance.

[ReptiWorldWide]

I dont know much either, but this site might be helpful:

https://www.americanmadeexotics.com/...s-article.html

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by DDW

Hello friends, I have finally begun seriously considering breeding Ball Pythons. I have my albino ball (Glitch) and have been thinking about breeding her for a solid year now..

So I'm going to start some in depth research. The only problem is I dont know much about breeding snakes. This is my current list so far of what I need to look into, but would love some input from some experience BP breeders.

1) I need a rack system, and I'm pretty sure it would be most cost effective to build one myself. I have no idea how large I need to go overall, even less how large the individual tubs need to be.

2) I'll obviously need an incubator of some sort. Probably a small one but... seriously I have no idea.

3) What would I want to pair with my albino girl? I've had some suggestions for getting a candino male for her but what other varieties should I consider? I don't want to spend a heck ton of money for a male. I also usually tend to get animals as babies but should I try to get a more mature male to start breeding right away? Idk.

4) When should I encourage breeding? How long? How old? Etc. Ahhhh.

Idk what else to look into honestly. If y'all know where I might go to reliable info about this, I'd greatly appreciate it. When I do this, I want to do it right.

Thanks in Advance.

Great questions and I respect the research you're doing prior to jumping in. I have bred ball pythons for years now so I'll do my best to give you my advice.

1. You don't NEED a rack system. It sounds like you want one pair and not an entire collection. If so, you can just get another enclosure like the one you have for Glitch.
If you went with the rack idea the size is up to you! If you build it yourself you can customize it to the space you have available. Yes building it yourself is more cost efficient but don't skimp on the extra tools. Example, I buy spider robotics thermostats because they are top of the line and I just don't want to risk my animals for a few bucks. You can definitely find these used too. For bin size you can check out the commercial breeders websites most likely for what they have listed and just pick one you like, find a rubbermaid of similar size and there you go. freedom breeder I believe lists their bins.

2. If you are doing a single pairing you can try maternal incubation. If you go with your own incubator, you can build one for pretty cheap or buy one of the commercially made ones. The homebuilt ones cost less generally and there's DIY all over the internet for them.

3. Candino is a good choice. You seem to be in it for fun so I'm assuming you want to see albinos come out of the egg so pick a cool looking albino combo male. Candino looks the same as albino coming out of the egg. In my opinion, a simple albino x albino clutch will be great fun to hatch. If you went the other route some animals to look for would be pinstripe, black pastel, cinnamon, enchi, woma, mojave, champagne, leopard...anything with pattern changes to it or darkness and not recessive. Just ensure it's already an albino version OR 100% het. morphmarket is a good resources for general prices.
If you want babies sooner than later then aim for a yearling male or older. Otherwise look for a baby you will enjoy raising! If you buy an adult and go for it sooner than later than you need an incubator and baby housing faster than buying a male baby and raising it. You'd likely have to wait 18ish months for the male to be mature enough to breed.

4. Some people drop temps to stimulate breeding. Most people have found captive ball pythons breed readily in the fall all through the year pretty much. I know people who still are getting eggs for 2020. You can pair males with females during storms as the barometric pressure drop gets them in the mood because they normally breed in the rainy season in Africa.

Once again, I appreciate you taking in as much info as possible beforehand but don't feel there's an absolute wrong way of doing this. Many people do it and many people do it differently. It's what fits you. All I care about is if the animals are well taken care of and you clearly have that under control. Just have fun!

[DDW]

Originally Posted by ReptiWorldWide

I dont know much either, but this site might be helpful:

https://www.americanmadeexotics.com/...s-article.html

Thank you! I'll definitely be sure to check it out.

[DDW]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Great questions and I respect the research you're doing prior to jumping in. I have bred ball pythons for years now so I'll do my best to give you my advice.

1. You don't NEED a rack system. It sounds like you want one pair and not an entire collection. If so, you can just get another enclosure like the one you have for Glitch.
If you went with the rack idea the size is up to you! If you build it yourself you can customize it to the space you have available. Yes building it yourself is more cost efficient but don't skimp on the extra tools. Example, I buy spider robotics thermostats because they are top of the line and I just don't want to risk my animals for a few bucks. You can definitely find these used too. For bin size you can check out the commercial breeders websites most likely for what they have listed and just pick one you like, find a rubbermaid of similar size and there you go. freedom breeder I believe lists their bins.

2. If you are doing a single pairing you can try maternal incubation. If you go with your own incubator, you can build one for pretty cheap or buy one of the commercially made ones. The homebuilt ones cost less generally and there's DIY all over the internet for them.

3. Candino is a good choice. You seem to be in it for fun so I'm assuming you want to see albinos come out of the egg so pick a cool looking albino combo male. Candino looks the same as albino coming out of the egg. In my opinion, a simple albino x albino clutch will be great fun to hatch. If you went the other route some animals to look for would be pinstripe, black pastel, cinnamon, enchi, woma, mojave, champagne, leopard...anything with pattern changes to it or darkness and not recessive. Just ensure it's already an albino version OR 100% het. morphmarket is a good resources for general prices.
If you want babies sooner than later then aim for a yearling male or older. Otherwise look for a baby you will enjoy raising! If you buy an adult and go for it sooner than later than you need an incubator and baby housing faster than buying a male baby and raising it. You'd likely have to wait 18ish months for the male to be mature enough to breed.

4. Some people drop temps to stimulate breeding. Most people have found captive ball pythons breed readily in the fall all through the year pretty much. I know people who still are getting eggs for 2020. You can pair males with females during storms as the barometric pressure drop gets them in the mood because they normally breed in the rainy season in Africa.

Once again, I appreciate you taking in as much info as possible beforehand but don't feel there's an absolute wrong way of doing this. Many people do it and many people do it differently. It's what fits you. All I care about is if the animals are well taken care of and you clearly have that under control. Just have fun!

Oh my, thank you so much!

1)if I don't get a rack, how long is it safe to house the hatchlings together? I always thought it were best to separate them. At least, that was the impression I got from always seeing hatchlings being housed separately like the adults...

2) I honestly completely forgot about maternal incubation, would I be correct in assuming the purpose of taking the eggs from the mother after laying is so she begins acting normal sooner?

3)I'm completely new to the genes and what is recessive or dominant (or some weirdness in the middle) in BPs but I would love to play with some new patterns!

4)I see, that's pretty cool. I live in Louisiana so we have lost of rain storms year round.

Some bonus questions:

5) Is inbreeding a problem? Every type of breeding I've looked at, other than in reptiles, there are always big warnings against inbreeding. I don't see how it wouldn't be an issue in snakes too, but I have seen several professional snake breeders breed, perhaps, a mother to a son. Wouldn't that be dange and possibly result in bad mutations from the limited gene pool?

6) How often does breeding a female permanently change her personality? I've heard that it's not common from some, but also that it's not uncommon from others. I love Glitch to death, but I don't want breeding to change her outside her "mother" instincts. I'm aware that she will get cranky and probably defensive of her eggs but once they're gone for a bit, I want my beloved Glitch back.

Thank you so much! All of this is such great information.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by DDW

Oh my, thank you so much!

1)if I don't get a rack, how long is it safe to house the hatchlings together? I always thought it were best to separate them. At least, that was the impression I got from always seeing hatchlings being housed separately like the adults...

2) I honestly completely forgot about maternal incubation, would I be correct in assuming the purpose of taking the eggs from the mother after laying is so she begins acting normal sooner?

3)I'm completely new to the genes and what is recessive or dominant (or some weirdness in the middle) in BPs but I would love to play with some new patterns!

4)I see, that's pretty cool. I live in Louisiana so we have lost of rain storms year round.

Some bonus questions:

5) Is inbreeding a problem? Every type of breeding I've looked at, other than in reptiles, there are always big warnings against inbreeding. I don't see how it wouldn't be an issue in snakes too, but I have seen several professional snake breeders breed, perhaps, a mother to a son. Wouldn't that be dange and possibly result in bad mutations from the limited gene pool?

6) How often does breeding a female permanently change her personality? I've heard that it's not common from some, but also that it's not uncommon from others. I love Glitch to death, but I don't want breeding to change her outside her "mother" instincts. I'm aware that she will get cranky and probably defensive of her eggs but once they're gone for a bit, I want my beloved Glitch back.

Thank you so much! All of this is such great information.

1. Oh, I misunderstood. For babies a small one would be advisable. I'd build it yourself as commercial baby racks are usually set to house dozens. Average size is 6 eggs.

2. You would be correct. I know people who have done maternal with no ill effects.

3. Check out morphmarket. The search function is pretty good. I just search for "albino male" in the US and got 343 ads. All with pictures so take a look. I wouldn't necessarily pay sticker price but it'll give you an idea of price range too.

4.All good. People breed all year round.

5. Inbreeding IS a danger in some ways. In snakes and reptiles, the dangers don't present itself within the first few generations. It will eventually present itself as it's happened but isn't talked about widely and it's more likely to result from recessives like albinos because you need both parents to carry the gene where as dominant like pinstripe you get a visual every time a single parent carries the gene. In your case, it isn't a worry.

6. I have never had a female change her personality permanently. My females that breed have gotten cranky around ovulation and right before laying eggs but they still don't bite or try really. They can be defensive of their eggs but once removed and like two days later they eat and it's like the eggs never existed to them.

[DDW]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

1. Oh, I misunderstood. For babies a small one would be advisable. I'd build it yourself as commercial baby racks are usually set to house dozens. Average size is 6 eggs.

2. You would be correct. I know people who have done maternal with no ill effects.

3. Check out morphmarket. The search function is pretty good. I just search for "albino male" in the US and got 343 ads. All with pictures so take a look. I wouldn't necessarily pay sticker price but it'll give you an idea of price range too.

4.All good. People breed all year round.

5. Inbreeding IS a danger in some ways. In snakes and reptiles, the dangers don't present itself within the first few generations. It will eventually present itself as it's happened but isn't talked about widely and it's more likely to result from recessives like albinos because you need both parents to carry the gene where as dominant like pinstripe you get a visual every time a single parent carries the gene. In your case, it isn't a worry.

6. I have never had a female change her personality permanently. My females that breed have gotten cranky around ovulation and right before laying eggs but they still don't bite or try really. They can be defensive of their eggs but once removed and like two days later they eat and it's like the eggs never existed to them.

Thank you so much for all this great info. I'll keep these things in mind. I went to morph market and found a breeder 2 hrs away that has a mojave (het albino) I might get depending on a few things.

[RobertBex]

Hui / https://ria.ru