snakes have always fascinated me and i had 1 ball python who actually had a respiratory infection when i got him from petco (horrible mistake to get my first snake there) but have since bought another on here and have had him for a while. ive always wanted to breed snakes, however i feel like i know nothing about it. i have a male pastave and ideally id like to be able to breed next season (assuming i can get a producing female by then), and i would appreciate any tips or advice that anyone is willing to give. Thank you!
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Welcome to the forum ! Best advice I can give you is make sure you read up on the steps of breeding. Take the time to understand what is happening with your animals. Also make sure you have all necessary supplies ready to incubate, and hatch babies. Secure a feeder source to feed all the babies, and lastly have a rack built for the babies until they have been sold. Ok now that’s outta the way where to start… start with females. Females always take longer to mature than males. Buy the best quality animals you can. Take your time hand selecting your animals. For me I’d spend hours ooohhing and ahhing over photos I found online. Looked at dozens of them, and picked out specific traits I liked off each animal I saw. Then when it came time for me to purchase a animal I didn’t settle. I waited until I found what I wanted. There were times I waited a few years searching for animals because I knew what I wanted , and wasn’t settling until I found it. You want quality animals. Not quantity. Once you selected your breeding females , and they have some good size on them right around 2 years old then start looking for your males. Males mature much quicker than the females. Buy them about a year out from breeding your females. Your males you want to be your powerhouse animals. Males can be bred to multiple females where as females can only breed once that year. Also work with genes that will keep you engaged. My heart belongs to spiders, pieds, and clowns. Everything I do revolves around those genes. I also have a tiny collection. I keep my collection small so I don’t burn out, and I don’t stretch my resources to thin. Husbandry practices are very important for any size collection whether it’s 1 animal or 16. Keeping them in tip top shape will always be number 1. What morphs are you drawn too ?
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thank you for your tips and knowledge! i have a pastave male that will be ready for breeding next season and i’ve been wanting a spider or an orange dream or a pied and i’m definitely not going to settle. as far as equipment/supplies i need, i will certainly make sure i have all the proper equipment for the eggs/hatchlings. my #1 concern is the condition and well being of the snakes. I want them to be in the best shape possible not only because i care about my animals, but because if i am going to sell them then i 100% care about their quality for the customers. the only thing i’m concerned about is determining the genes of the hatchlings because although i can for the most part identify morphs, im not confident in my ability to determine the morph upon hatching.
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I understand that ! Unfortunately it isn’t getting easier iding multi gene combos. With how easily accessible multi gene morphs are for fairly reasonable prices it’s very easy to breed an amazing pair of animals, and be left scratching your head what do I have lol ? Pick morphs that have specific characteristics so it will make iding them a bit easier. Sounds like you got the right mindset and heart to breed. I wish you luck on your journey. Any questions you have please don’t hesitate to ask here. This is not Facebook. Everyone here is extremely helpful. No soul crushing egos here.
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Thank you so much! Today I was eyeing Butter and Spider morphs because i used the calculator on morphmarket to figure what kind of babies i could get from them and my pastave. i love the chances with the butter ball’s but i also love the chances with the spider. if i have enough money i may try to even get 2 females for him! But thank you very much for your help and tips. I’m kind of a little early to start talking about breeding yet but I’ve been thinking about it so intensely for the last few weeks and i can’t wait to start!
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Awesome ! I happen to be a huge fan of spider. Even with their wobbles they have always been very solid animals for me. Keep me updated on what you decide.
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