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As the daylight savings changes back to winter mode and the weather starts too cool off even in the warmest parts of the country it is also time to consider how to breed ball pythons. Like most matters relating to reptiles there are no right or wrong ways to go about this but simply a matter of opinion. There are pet owners that get their ball pythons to successfully yet accidentally reproduce simply by keeping them together through the breeding seasons. Then there are breeders including myself that have been trying to get a single clutch out of a particularly reluctant pair of snakes and have no success at it year after year. Here are some of the methods that have worked for us and some that have not.
Matching The Genetics Of Your Males To Your Females
One important aspect of breeding ball pythons is knowing what traits you are trying to reproduce or combine in the offspring. The genetic makeup of the parent snakes will determine the visual outcome of the clutches being produced. Understanding what it is that you are working with will depend on having a reliable source of information on the genetics of the parent snakes and a good working knowledge of how these genes will combine to result in a successful breeding and hatching. There are a number of genetics wizard sites that offer this information and consulting an established ball python breeder never hurts either.
How To Breed Ball Pythons, Knowing When It’s The Right Time
There was a time when reptile keepers thought that ball pythons adhered to a strict seasonal breeding schedule and this was based on the fact that in the African countries where ball pythons originate from a schedule of events does exist. Baby ball pythons are always available in early April and working backwards you can figure out when the mating pairs copulated to within a few days time. However with the exploding popularity of ball pythons in other countries than their country of origin and the use of medical technology such as ultrasound machines it is now possible to breed and produce ball pythons on a year round schedule. This has been proven through years of breeding and thousands of clutches produced by multiple breeders around the world.
How To Breed Ball Pythons, Incubating Ball Python Eggs
Ball python breeding can be as simple as leaving two or more snakes together throughout the winter months or as precise and targeted as using a single male to successfully inseminate a dozen or more females in a single calendar year. The next step after successful reproduction and egg laying is the incubation of these eggs. Just like the differing opinions on getting the eggs, there are many different ways to incubate those eggs as well. At xyzReptiles we have been working with ball pythons for over twenty years and have tried and tested a multitude of incubating methods and incubation substrates. Some of this information can be found in our previous post on the subject of incubation substrates. If you have any further questions feel free to contact us at any time.