how long do i have to wait?

snakefein · 08-06-04, 07:17 PM

Hi i was wondering how long do i have to wait for it is healthy to breed my bp i am in the process of getting my male. My female is a few months old and the male im am getting is the same age

Joe · 08-06-04, 08:01 PM

With a good feeding schedual you can have them big enough in 2 or 3 years..good luck bud!

thunder · 08-06-04, 08:28 PM

actually, it would be safe to breed the male as soon as he as ready, which may be as young as 18 months. it is not harmful for him to try, although he may not show interest at such a young age, and even if he does the clutch may be less fertile than those he will sire when he is older. it is different for females tho. a small female may have complications regardless of her age. depending on the individual, it may take as long as four years for a female to reach 1000 grams, which is what i consider the minimum safe breeding weight. so, wait until your female is 2 yrs old and then weigh her. if she is big enough, give it a try. with the male, you can try him as soon as he produces sperm, worst case scenario, you wont get anything.

Tim_Cranwill · 08-06-04, 08:34 PM

Your male should be ready by the winter of 2005 and your female by the winter of 2006 at the earliest... most likely 2007.

mykee · 08-06-04, 11:35 PM

Age means nothing when considering a female for breeding. It's all about size. I bred 3 18-20 month old, 1800-2000g females and am getting a 100% hatch rate (17/17). Almost all of my females reach 1000g at or around a year of age. I feed them when they want to eat, and will feed them as much as they want. This is not "Superfeeding". Males will typically be producing sperm plugs at around 600-800g (8-12 months) and females should be a "fat 1500g" or larger (I would deter you from breeding a female any smaller, contrary to what you may have heard).

thunder · 08-07-04, 01:34 AM

snakefein, mykee probably has a lot more experience than me in this area, as i am basing my knowledge on only a couple of clutches. please disregard my advise with regard to a females healthy breeding size as i am no expert. i understand that while i had good success rates with my practices, it may not always be the case, and the young animals i did breed are not yet old enough for me to tell what the long term effects may be.

mykee · 08-07-04, 11:55 AM

Thunder, you successfully bred ~1000g female(s)? How many eggs? Slugs?

thunder · 08-07-04, 12:01 PM

4 eggs, no slugs.

thunder · 08-07-04, 12:03 PM

i mean, 2 females each produced 4 eggs, so 8 total. they were both about 1000 grams.