my new hillbilly snake

[Valley Dragons]

Hi all, I just bought a male ball python today. I have been considering buying a male to breed to my eight-year old female just for fun, and I saw an ad in todays paper. I think that was about the second time I have ever seen a snake advertised for sale in our local paper in the past ten years. People around here just don't "do" reptiles, lol. Anyway, they were asking $150, and claiming that it had a female sibling that was a bumble bee pattern. And they were bragging about how this female bumble bee sibling was a (gasp!)$400.00 snake. Right....a $400.00 bumble bee....so I had to meet these people out of curiousity. They said that the bumble bee female and the male for sale were bred from two normal looking snakes (is this possible with bumble bees? I am not an expert on the genetics that come into play with balls). The female was not for sale, but the male who turned out with less "spotting" as they called it, was for sale. Well, okay, he looked very healthy, and I have been looking for a male, so I decided what the heck, and I bought the snake. He's a real sweet heart and he put away a mouse for me shortly after I got him home! Anyway...he definitely looks different from my normal female. But I am no expert. I did not really make much headway in trying to find out the actual genetics of the snake, but he almost seems to have some pastel coloration in him, mostly evident close to his belly. The pictures I took do not really seem to pick up his color, but you can get the general idea. I posted a few pics to see what you think. He is a cool snake, morph or not. And this brings me to my questions about breeding...

1. My female is 8 years old, 4 feet long, and approximately 1500 grams (she would not stay on the scale very good). Is this a good breeding weight, age, and size?

2. The male is 9 months old, 2' 7", and 450 grams. What size should he be before he can be considered for breeding? How can I tell if he is producing sperm plugs? Is it safe to try to breed snakes with this size difference? Of course after the 90-day quarantine he will be bigger...

3. Assuming the male is producing plugs at the end of the quarantine, will it be too late in the season to attempt breeding?

Thanks to all who can answer my questions!

Jamie

[Melinda]

Any chance these people had pics of the "bumble bee" that was produced?

I've run into many people that don't quite know what they are dealing with. A lady at the pet store told me she could get Albino Balls for $150. I told her to order as many as she could get at that price, because albino balls sell for over $1500 each. Haven't heard back from her.

A friend of my daughters claimed to have a Clown they got from a pet store. When asked to describe it, the only thing different about theirs and my normals, was bigger alien eyes. Doh!!

[Valley Dragons]

Any chance these people had pics of the "bumble bee" that was produced?

I've run into many people that don't quite know what they are dealing with. A lady at the pet store told me she could get Albino Balls for $150. I told her to order as many as she could get at that price, because albino balls sell for over $1500 each. Haven't heard back from her.

A friend of my daughters claimed to have a Clown they got from a pet store. When asked to describe it, the only thing different about theirs and my normals, was bigger alien eyes. Doh!!

Lol, yeah, I got the idea that these people had NO idea what they were talking about. But...the snake will make a great pet, nonetheless!

Yeah, if I thought that their female was actually a bumble bee, heck, I'd offer them much more that the $400.00 that they said the snake was worth, lol!

Jamie

[rabernet]

He's a beautiful normal ball python, although $150 was a bit much for him. But it ultimately boils down to if YOU think he was worth what you spent on him. If you're happy, he appears to have nice weight on him and in good condition.

A bumblebee is not produced from breeding a normal to a normal, but a pastel to a spider.

Congratulations on your new boy!

[rabernet]

1. My female is 8 years old, 4 feet long, and approximately 1500 grams (she would not stay on the scale very good). Is this a good breeding weight, age, and size?

2. The male is 9 months old, 2' 7", and 450 grams. What size should he be before he can be considered for breeding? How can I tell if he is producing sperm plugs? Is it safe to try to breed snakes with this size difference? Of course after the 90-day quarantine he will be bigger...

3. Assuming the male is producing plugs at the end of the quarantine, will it be too late in the season to attempt breeding?

Thanks to all who can answer my questions!

Jamie

Disclaimer - I have not bred yet, my first season breeding will be next season - so hopefully those with more experience will step in to answer your questions and/or correct anything I may mis-state:

1) I've been told that the general rule of thumb is 500 grams per foot on females, so if she's 4 feet long, she needs to be at least 2000 grams. Again, it's not just weight, but also her general condition.

2) Some people breed males as small as him, but I don't plan to breed any of my males if they are under 750 grams or so. Breeding takes a lot out of male, so I want mine to have all the advantages, weight included. You can tell he's producing sperm plugs by popping him. You should try to find an experienced herp vet, or even a herp society in your area with experienced herpers who can teach you how to probe and pop. If you plan to sell the offspring, it will be good to know how to do both of these to sex the babies.

3) Some breeders breed year round, but generally breeding season seems to be wrapping up on the late spring.

If you aren't in any rush, why not wait until next season, that will give you time to buy/make an incubator, buy/make a baby rack, get the thermostats (Helix or Herpstat would be most recommended for the incubator) and make sure you have done all your research and are 100% comfortable with the process.

I had a few females and a male ready to breed this season myself. I knew that "I" wasn't ready yet (no incubator, no baby rack) and figured I'd wait until next season when I'm better prepared. In the meantime, the girls get to pack on more weight in the coming year! :yesnod:

[Valley Dragons]

Thanks for the input! :)

Jamie

[Valley Dragons]

Yeah, $150 was a little pricey for a normal, but once you consider $40 - $60 for shipping to where I live and the value of seeing a snake in person before purchasing, it was not that bad. :)

[6y0ballpython]

I agree with Robin.....just wait a year until he's had time to put on weight. Go have him vet checked for internal and external parasites. he won't gain weight if he has internal parasites. anyways, they have to be apart for three months anyways. He looks like a very well cared for snake and his owners knew what they were doing obviously. If he ate right away, then he must deal with stress easily. Most snakes when put into new homes do not eat for at least three week to a month. right now is the time when the males are going off feed for the winter, so it's great that' he's eating. It means he's growing!!!! Mine is off feed right now (balls are notorious for feeding irradically like this). Just keep his stress levels down, keep the lights low and noise down and he'll do great over the course of a year eating and sleeping and getting used to being with you and your family. Next year your should have him up to over 750g if you feed him about 2-3 mice per week. Adult mice. He could be on small rats by spring if you're lucky. We don't have rats here in Canada....can't even buy them. It's illegal if you can imagine. I've also heard that for really large snakes over 2000g that guinea pigs are the best food because they are very high in fat. You need to get this guy vet checked for sure and have him checked for sperm plugs. This should be about when he starts producing them. You sound like you are hungry to add to the knowlege you already have. Good luck.

[Cat_72]

Eh, I don't know how accurate the guinea pig thing is....usually when a snake gets too large for rats, they are switched to rabbits, from my experience. You don't want a high-fat food either, you want something with a high protein content.....Balls can and do get obese if the opportunity is given.