scott -gray

My two albino black rat snakes bred this morning and I would like to breed the male to another black rat this season. How long should I let the male "recover" before I put him with the other female?

The fact that you observed copulation once does not mean that the female will become gravid. If you want to be sure, repeated pairings are recommended. Your male can be cycled through a few females - on the rare occasion that I did multiple pairings with a single male (I was always focused on making things for me, rather than for sale; so genetic diversity was a big consideration) I would leave the male with a female for 4-5 days, remove him for 2-3 days, then put him with another. Just continue to rotate between the females until a) he shows no interest in her for a couple of cycles, or b) you witness ovulation.

It seem pretty early to have them breeding - did you brumate them? If so, for how long, and when did they come out?

Thanks for the tips, I will put him back with the female. I fed her yesterday should I hold off for a day or two? He did not eat.

I did brumate them, but only for a couple of weeks. That is what I do every year, and have had eggs every year. They came out near the first of Jan.

Mr. Moore, am I reading this right, you are located in Troy? Also, based on the pic it looks like you have boas - yes? I have a couple of retired rat breeders (frozen) that are too big for my snakes, are you interested? They have been in the freezer for less than a month.