Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Breeding Outline

So, my friend Randi has been patiently waiting for me to outline my breeding schedule thru out the year, and I have to say, I had been forgetting, getting distracted, and all out just overlooking doing it.

A few weeks, a few months, and I actually finally did get around to it. Here we are!!

So lets begin with prepping.

I begin to prep the animals for breeding in August- September by feeding them alot.



September thru October 29th, I watch them for signs of being ready or not, and put stickers on the snakes that should go but are not ready.

October 29th, my birthday, I start pairing (usually... this year I let that date slip).



Pairing that I do is 3-4 days on (depending on the animal and if I see any locks) and 2-3 days off for the males.

I tend to pair when the rains come, as the barometric pressure changes tend to get the males randy.

Females stay in their tubs, and get offered food every week, but I do tend to buy half of what I normally would because some females tend to stop feeding.

After I see signs of ovulations or gravid behavior, I continue to breed until I see the actual Ovualation. This is tricky, because catching Ovulation is luck of the draw in some cases... So sometimes I just guess..

After Ovulation (or guess), the males get more time off, and I wait for eggs.



30-60 days, and BOOM!



Incubator goes on around the time that I see lumps within a female, or when I can palpate big eggs. Incubator tends to run a week or more before the female lays. In my paranoia, I tend to run it way early, in this case, it was a month before the eggs were laid.

Oh well. At least I was prepared!

Overall, there is a timeline you can watch, but I don't have it down pat. Here is the link I tend to look at, as well as something that is much more visual for you use in terms of comparison.

This is a good one for photos and actual dates.

Incubation time, and 55-60 days later, babies!!

And then we begin again!

So there we go.

I hope that helps, Randi. I hope that helps everyone else as well.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Awesome, thank you Heather. I look forward to my first clutch in the spring. I will keep you updated on my progress. I have to admit it is very exciting when I open the tub and see them locked.

Thanks again!