Growth and Breeding

[Mikoh4792]

For those who have experience breeding, does breeding stunt the growth of males or females due to the physically taxing nature of it? Or should growth resume normally after you give an animal a few years of good feeding even after breeding?

[Aaron_S]

Growth continues just fine for males. Females seem to be okay but you should wait for them to mature first. 3 years on average.

[KORBIN5895]

Breeding shouldn't stunt the growth at all. In all reality when most snakes ate breeding they are eating anyway.

[Starbuck]

I have a female california king who is about three, she is over 3 feet long, though i havnt weighed her recently. I was hoping to breed her this coming year (early spring?), but she seems so small. her head is only a bit bigger than a soda can tab (approx). Some of the adults i've seen seem much bigger, with bodies about as big around as ping pong balls. My Girl is probably a little smaller than a quarter (25c) in diameter.
Do you think she sounds too small to breed?
My male is a bit bigger than she is, and roughly the same age.

[Terranaut]

Many people choose to breed their females as soon as they can. In reality if you can wait until your snakes hit that point where they slow right down (almost stop) it is much healthier for the snake. My female JCP tends to refuse food when gravid. I have changed the size and tenps of the prey with no luck. After she drops her clutch she is ravinous. She wants to eat all the time for a few weeks. So what I am saying is it is best to wait but if your snake eats while gravid, I doubt there would be much loss in growth if any but my female would have put the brakes on for sure and kost weight. I think IMHO the ultimate no no is powerfeeding to obtain minimum size and then breeding right away. Not healthy at all

[Mikoh4792]

Thanks for answers.

Terranaut I actually plan to breed my carpets in a couple of years when they mature, How old was your female when she first bred?