How to breed ball pythons

The goal of this article is to increase your chances of success in breeding ball pythons. I will present some quick and easy tips to help you on your way to success in raising these amazing animals.

Correct sex – Make sure your animals are the right sex and that you have a male and a female. There are two ways to determine the sex of a ball python, one is “popping” and the other is “probing”. In my opinion, popping is the easier method between the two, it requires no tools and there is no danger or harm to the animal. To probe a ball python you need to insert a metal probe back towards the tail, on the left or right side of the cloaca. Once the probe is inserted, a scaled count is performed to determine the sex of the animal. Males usually probe quite deep around 8 or more subled scales and females will probe around 2-4 subled scales. I’ll cover more detailed instructions on how to determine the sex of your snake in another article, if for any reason you are unsure about determining the sex of your animals, seek out a qualified reptile vet in your area for help.

Sexual maturity – Males and females reach sexual maturity at different ages and weights. Sexual maturity in ball pythons appears to be determined more by weight than age of the animal, although age definitely plays a role in sexual maturity. Females usually mature around two to three years of age and weigh between 1200 and 1500 grams, some may mature a little faster or a little later, but most will mature in this age and weight range. Males mature much faster than females and usually mature between 6 months and 1 year of age, although some young males reproduce at twelve weeks of age! The rearing weight for males varies in the area of ​​400 grams for small ones up to 800 or more grams for larger first-time breeders.

Seasonal change and temperature drop – In nature, ball pythons are seasonal animals and normally breed between October and December in the rainy season, with the egg-laying season being around March and April. Baby ball pythons begin to hatch and take their first meals after the rainy season when prey abounds. Now in captivity, they can be bred throughout the year, but having some seasonal change and temperature drop increases their chances of having maximum production. I like to start gradually reducing my time in November a degree or two each week until I reach my maximum temperature drop of 5-7 degrees lower at night than my daytime highs which in the off season are 85-87 degrees . In the breeding season, I work my way down to 80 degrees for a low night on the warmer side of the tub for three to four months and then work my way back to my off-season temperatures of 85-87 degrees.

Pairing them for breeding – Once it is determined that you do indeed have a male and a female and are at the age and weight of sexual maturity, it is time to start pairing these animals for reproduction. I introduce my males to my female’s tubs and not the other way around because female ball pythons emit a lot of pheromones during the breeding season and these pheromones are great for signaling to male ball pythons that it’s time to breed. Once I introduce the male to the female, I leave the pair uninterrupted for 24 hours, after which I check to see if they are actively reproducing, if they are, I give them another 24 hours, if not, I move the male to the next. tub of the female and start the process again. Once the male has successfully copulated with a female, I offer him a small meal which is usually a small rat and 48 hours of rest. Once you have rested well, I repeat the process. I continue this process of pairing my males with females until the females have ovulated or it is clear that they will not produce during the season.

Ovulation – Being able to correctly identify the ovulation of a female ball python is extremely helpful when breeding for maximum production. Here are a couple of quick tips to help you identify active ovulation and a woman who has already ovulated.

Identify active ovulation – A female ball python that is actively ovulating will have a very noticeable swelling in the lower third of her body; It may even appear that you have just eaten a large meal. You will also notice that its tail is sucked into its body in a strange “L” shape. That classic position is known as “Suck” to veteran ball python breeders and is a great indicator that the female is ovulating.

Ovulation has occurred – If you lose active ovulation, all is not lost, and you can still tell if your female ball python has ovulated using these quick tips. First of all, just watch her over the course of a couple of days and see where she spends most of her time. Are you on the cold end of the bathtub or the hot end? If you’re on the hot end of the tub, your female has likely ovulated already and no longer needs to reproduce. If you are still reaching for the cooler end of the tub and wrapping the bowl, chances are your female has not ovulated and still needs to be raised.

Incubation and egg laying – After ovulation, your female ball python no longer needs to mate with a male and you can start setting up the incubator and making arrangements for the ball python hatchlings. About three weeks after ovulation, you will enter a shedding cycle known to veteran breeders as the “POS,” which stands for “post-ovulation shedding.” Following the “POS”, you are looking at around 30 to 40 days until your female lays a clutch of eggs.