Ball Python Breeding
The Amazing Ball Python
Ball pythons are a great choice for a first time breeder to learn the details about reptile breeding. Ball pythons are general well tempered heavy bodied snakes that grow to a maximum size of 4-5 feet. Ball Pythons have become very popular and are available in many color and pattern morphs today. I will try to give a brief explanation of basic breeding requirements. So sit back grab a cup of coffee and enjoy your article.
Male or Female Ball Python ?
The first basic requirement for breeding is to make sure you have two healthy Ball Pythons of opposite sex. I highly recommend a year of learning basic care requirements before attempting breeding . There are 2 ways to determine the sex of a ball python , Popping and probing. Popping is accomplished by forcing the hemipenes of the male to invert and positively identify the snake as male. The absence of hemipenes indicates a female but needs to be done correctly . Popping is relatively easy but you should learn from an experienced handler. Probing is done with a set of specially designed sexing probes that are inserted into the cloaca and into the base of the tail . The distance the probes travel will determine the sex and is a very delicate procedure. Probing should also be done by someone with experience to prevent damage to the sex organs. A male has a deeper channel and the channel will be 8-12 subcaudal scales . A female has a relatively shallow channel and will only probe 3-4 subcaudal scales. I prefer popping over probing and is very accurate when done correctly. Popping is much easier when done as hatching’s but is possible in adults. Once you have two Ball Pythons of opposite sex your ready for the next consideration.
When is a Ball Python ready to breed ?
There is allot of controversy over the right age and weight to breed a Ball Python. I consider 1500 grams and 3 years of age the minimum for females . Males can and will breed at 1 year or less but I recommend 500 grams as a minimum weight . Older males of 2-3 years and 1000 grams are more successful than young males in my experience. Egg laying and breeding is very taxing for Ball Pythons and it is not uncommon for females to lose 50% of their body weight when laying eggs. Which brings us to the next section ….Health and weight .
Healthy Ball Python ?
I would recommend being very selective about the Ball Pythons you use in a breeding project. They must be in top condition and weight before any breeding is considered . Some issues to keep in mind when picking breeders are , soft stools , poor sheds, poor weight , runny vents , and anything that strikes you as unhealthy. We will now talk about what I consider the pre breeding season and why it is so important.
Pre Breeding for Ball Pythons ?
We start to get our females ready for the breeding season from June-September for the beginning of breeding in October. Females weights are recorded in June and extra meals are given through September to achieve a healthy weight. Many times females will go off feed and will not be used that season if a healthy weight cannot be achieved. Females must be in top breeding condition to be considered for that season. Males also need to be healthy but weight is not as critical for males. I would not breed an underweight or unhealthy male but excess weight for males does not seem to be as critical . So now you have a pair of healthy breed-able sexed Ball Pythons that have been prepared for breeding . We will now get into the details of the process and what will be required to have a successful clutch of eggs .
Temperature requirements for maintaining Ball Pythons !
The basic temperature for a Ball Python should be a varied temperature to offer a Thermal Gradient . A thermal gradient is a term used that allows the snake to self regulate itself. A hot spot of 90 degrees needs to be at one end of the enclosure and a cooler spot of 80 degrees and the opposing end. This allows the Ball Python to regulate its temperature to its needs . This is a normal temperature setup for maintaining a ball python in good health. We keep these temps from march - September as a maintenance temperature setting 24-7 . We use belly heat in the form of heat tape set to 95 degrees that gives the tubs a 90 degree hot spot. Breeding requires a lowering of temps to encourage the changing of season and entices breeding. OK go refill your coffee …….On to breeding temperatures !
Temperature Requirements for breeding Ball Pythons !
Ok you sexed your pair or pairs and put them through a pre breeding season . You fed them correctly and assured their health and heated them properly and now its September and you want to start your breeding. The
ball Pythons react to temperature changes and the coming of the new season . We lower our Temperatures 10 degrees at night beginning Sep 1st. They continue to receive the 90 degree hot spot and 95 degree tape temp during the day. We slowly lower night time temps to 75-80 degrees for 12 hours a night and maintain this drop until March 1st. The lowering of temperatures signals the females to start developing follicles which is the beginning stages of egg development and signals the males that breeding season has arrived . Starting October 1st we introduce males into female tubs from Mon-Fri for breeding . The males are removed on Friday night and males and females are offered food and rested the weekend. We continue this cycle through March 1st. A mid body swell will be noticed in females that is referred to as ovulation and last from 8-24 hours usually. An obvious ovulation will end the pairing for that female with a male and she is considered done for the season . If everything went as planned the male delivered viable sperm and the ova will be fertilized and develop into fertile eggs. We keep very accurate records showing the snakes paired when copulations were witnessed and obvious ovulation . Now what ? Onto egg laying and incubation !
When will my Ball Python lay eggs ?
When the eggs are fertilized will determine when they will be laid unfortunately that can be hard to determine. A Pre -Ovulation shed will occur and the eggs will be laid in approximately 30 days . The female may shed multiple times before egg laying occurs . We record every shed and expect eggs after every shed until eggs are laid and then onto the incubation process ! To be continued !