When to Breed?

[Depatie****]

Hi everyone, haven't been on the site for a while been so busy. My son is getting his first 2 Corn Snakes tonight (these are new hatchlings) but he is getting his second pair at the end of August. We were just wondering how big or how old they should be before we try to breed them. I checked out some care sheets but there didn't seem to be anything specific to this topic. If anyone could help us out we'd really appreciate it.
:p

Thanks in advance...
Depatie Family

[BrandonVeenstra]

Although 3 years is probably better..you may be able to breed even as soon as the 18 month mark..depending on the size of your snakes. You dont want to female to be to small.

[Vanan]

I think the generally accepted rule of thumb is for the female to be at least 200grams and 3ft long. The male can go whenever he darn well feels like. :D

[Simon]

Originally posted by Vanan
I think the generally accepted rule of thumb is for the female to be at least 200grams and 3ft long. The male can go whenever he darn well feels like. :D

Agreed~

But sometimes I wait a little longer...just cause that I don't want to produce too many animals and too much that I cannot get them out of the house enough....I think that this year I had at least 10-15 females that didn't get the time to get paired up with a male...LOL~

Its more or less on the female part~ being bigger and more 'fat'~

[Katt]

Whoa breeding at 18 mos, is not advice I'd be giving a newbie.

Don't worry about breeding til your snakes are AT LEAST two years old and you've had enough experience. There's nothing like an eggbound female to turn you off breeding and find out you don't have a reptile vet in the area.

[vanderkm]

We consider 250 grams the minimum and 300 would be preferable for the female. I have had an 18 month old male breed this year but will still be evaluating fertility from him. I prefer not to breed females before their third year, so they are not only big enough but mature enough also.

No need to rush things - they live a long time and will give you many clutches if managed well - give them time to grow up and enjoy them for themselves as well as for the potential babies they can produce.

mary v.