breeding inquiry in Bulls

[Dom]

Hello,

I am simply wondering if anyone would mind lending the oppinions away to my following situation.

My 2 snow bulls have been introduced to each other after an almost if not 2 month period of bruamtion .. they have both started eating as well now.

Unfortunetly, I have not notice any breeding activity nor any interest...

I have heard many different ways of breeding them and wondering what u think would be my best step from here.. (I do have access to 3 large males if need)

These are the options that I think I have right now..

1- Leave em together.. wait until she sheds and hopefully love will be in hte air then..

2 - Introduce 1 or 2 extra males in the cage to try to get her going .. (PROBLEM - MINE ARE SNOWS .. the others males would be NORMALS .. I do not want any HETS under any circumstance..) If u think this is an option plz explain how I could do it..

3 - seperate them .. feed the heck out of em for the next month then introduce em egain..

4- Post a thread on ssnakess.com forums and ask ppls advice on how to breed bulls..

LOL

I am not very experience with collubrid breeding .. Thes are my first that i have ever tried to breed and probably my last as well..

Any help will be greatly appreciated

Tx Dom

Hi Dom,
I've never bred Bull Snakes, but I used to produce the odd Sonoran Gopher. Perhaps I can offer some assistance...
How long have the animals been out of "hibernation"? I see that they're feeding again, so that's a good sign. They should certainly shed once before they start copulation. In my experience, it can take from two to six weeks for them to start mating.
Just keep feeding them, watch for the first sheds and then introduce them once or twice a week. If there's no "action" within an hour of placing them together, remove the female and try again in a few days time. The male can tell almost immediately if the female's interested (receptive) or not.
Don't give up yet. I might add that, in my opinion, multiple males are unnecessary to breeding Pituophis.

Please let us know how things progress.

Good luck!

Simon

[Dom]

thanks Simon .. yes they are both eating great now .. both just pounded 2 adlt mice and wanting more.. I haad a feeling I had to wait for the shed..

As for the multiple males.. I know with many pythons and boas, it can be an asset but with the pits, I was not sure.. thx for your reply.

Do u honestly think though that seperating them right now or leaving em together til there next shed will actually make a difference.. I personally don't think so but I now it can't hurt to seperate them..

again thx for the input

Dom

[Dom]

on an other note, I saw this this morning, as the female was travelling over the male, he kept jerking his body .. I beleive this to be a good sign although I may be wrong..

[Jonathan Crowe]

While many breeders advocate separating their breeding pairs until and unless they breed, last year I simply kept my black pine snakes and Great Basin gopher snakes together after hibernation. They're kept together normally, and always have been with me. They mated eventually, though not as early as I was expecting, and produced offspring. Your mileage may vary.

Dom,
It sounds as though you're on the right track...just give 'em time. The male sounds as though he's starting to take interest, so just wait for those sheds (the female particularly).
As to keeping them individually except for actual breeding trials, I've always taken note of the old saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder"...the ophidian heart, in this case, LOL!
Anyway, I wish you the best of luck with your Bulls, and I hope that you get a nice, healthy clutch of those beautiful, big "chicken-like" eggs!

Simon

[Dom]

tx guys . lol i hope it goes well ..

Our bulls eggs at work just hatched out a feww weeks ago and they look awesome .. I can't wait to have some babies to call my own!

(lol they were never cooled or anything .. simply males and females.. and she even laid them with all the other males and females in there.. lol I guess it was luck but they seem like the kind of snakes that will breed no mattter what in time..

I just hope it works out well for me

take care and tx for the advise everyone

Dom

[J_Riley]

I'm just curious to the size and age of the Bulls in question. I have a juvenile female, she's a little over 6 months old (roughly 30") and she regularly consumes 2 adult mice at a sitting. I would think breeding size bulls would already be eating small rats...

[Dom]

they are about a year and a half now .. hmmm a litle over the four feet each .. I can fed tehm small rats but i find that these snakes tend to eat better and more with smaller prey items..

[Dom]

Just to give u an idea of what they are eating.. My bulls ate the first meal 9 days ago .. on fuzzy mice.. this was simply to make sure the digestive track was working properly ..

4 days ago they ate 3 adult mice each (they wanted more.. I fed them again today, and they ate both 5 adult mice.. and still wanted more.. true, i could feed them small adult rats but as I said .. these snakes prey items are generally small .. just my .02 cents..

I want to feed them as much as they will eat until there sheds cause i get the feeling the will be some breeding after then..

Dom

[vanderkm]

Would have to agree on the preferred prey size for bullsnakes based on our limited experience though we have heard of them taking guinea pigs. Ours would never take rats or gerbils - really preferred mice and was great for cleaning up left over hoppers and fuzzies when we had excess from the mouse colony or when young snakes wouldn't feed. May be related to their tendency in the wild to hunt by going down in rodent burrows and do a lot of feeding on whole young litters in the spring. They are great snakes and I am really looking forward to seeing photos of those baby snow bulls.

mary v

[Dom]

I am looking foward to seing some too if ever it happens.. I tell myslef they won't breed this way I will not be disapointed..

It would be nice though
Dom