sexual maturity??

[ghengistahn]

how long does it take for a ball python to sexually mature i heard up to 5 years???
:eek:

.. also dont males have a shorter sexual maturity age?? i am thinking about joining the band wagon.. but if i purchase 04's then id have to wait till 2007 to produce any... i have heard males can sexual mature in 18 months.. is this true.. if so please respond i want to get into the game and have a few exotics for myself.. but possilbe six years to produce an albino is quite a longs time.. might as well just purchase one flat out..

[emroul]

For the most part, it's not age that determines when a ball python can breed, it's size. A male can usually be big enough to breed at 800-900 grams, sometimes sooner (and they can usually reach that within a year, if not, then 18 months). It depends on if he is producing sperm, and that may even take 18-24 months or more.

For a rule, females need to weigh at least 1,500 grams in order to successfully produce a nice healthy clutch of eggs. Some people even say 1,000 grams is ok (I personally do not). I would even try to stick with over 1,700 grams. The bigger the female, the more viable eggs she is able to produce. A female can reach 1,000 in a year if she eats well. Heck, a couple of my females reached 2,000 grams in about 14 months. That's just luck on my part, lol. I fed them every 5 days, and they NEVER skipped a meal.

Anyway, enough of my blabbing. Hope that helped a bit.

Jennifer

[justinO]

like the others have mentioned, don't go by age, go by weight!

males produce sperm around 800 grams (18 months)
females should weigh at LEAST 1500 grams (approx 2 years)

As an example of age difference, I have 2 females from 2002: one is 750 grams that's a mouse eater that goes off feed for 7 months a year, the other is 1550 who eats rats all year!

so if you bought a pair of 04's this year, you should be able to produce a healthy clutch in spring of 2007, in hopes that they both eat well, and eat often! I know it seems like a long time to wait, but it will be worth it if your goal is an albino and you bought a pair of 100% hets!

Jessy

[mykee]

I've bred males that only weigh in at 600g, as long as they are producing sperm. I've also heard stories of males producing their first winter recently (5-8 mos.). Males can typically get to breeding size during their second winter (18 mos.)
I keep my females back until they are 1500g minimum, but a 'chunky', 'husky' 1500g. If they're not carrying enough body fat, your attempts will be ill-fated. I'll be breeding a girl this coming year who is only 1200g, but she is a fatty. Age means nothing, if you can get your females up to breeding size in 20 mos. 9(my apporach generally) then you're good to go. Again, age means nothing, it's all about how much 'junk' the females are carrying.

[malaysianbloods]

how can you tel if your male bp is producing sperm.

[justinO]

by his weight......

there is some debate, but most say between 700-800 g's.

Jessy

[hhw]

He'll be producing sperm plugs.