Jade's getting big...

[FireStorm]

I got a new scale for Christmas, so I weighed Jade. She was close to 900g empty back in Aug. and now she's 1250g empty! I can't believe she grew that much in such a short time (I had to double check the scale, lol). I'm just feeding 1 sm/med rat every 7 days, but she's growing like a weed. I hope she's going to be one of those huge females :yesnod:

I did have one question though. I've seen some 900-1000g females being advertised as being able to breed late this season. Is that really true? I thought females needed to be at least 1500g. Should I try for a late breeding with Jade? I was planning on waiting until next season since she's an 05 and I didn't think she would be ready. I want to make sure she stays healthy, since she's my prettiest female. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Shelly

[darkbloodwyvern]

but if my female was the same size, i would wait. I am overly cautious, and i have seen the results of young/inexperienced mothers in other animals species, and I would prefer to wait until she is at least 1600. I don't know when breeding season ends, but if someone else thinks you could get her big enough before it ends, then I guess it wouldn't be a bad thing. Also, if you are planning on incubating the eggs artificially, you would be able to start feeding her soon after she lays.

Personally, I would wait. I've read much about how most breeders prefer female over 1500 and about four years old to breed, as opposed to three year olds who barely make the weight. Considering that if she is too small you could lose her or her clutch, it may not be worth the early breeding. :confused:

[garweft]

I wouldn't breed her. If she breeds she will lose a good bit of weight and you probably won't get many eggs anyway. Plus next year you will spend all year trying to get her back up to weight and she may produce a small clutch again next year, or even skip a season.

I would still wait till next year. If she gets to be 2000 grams by next year you will be rewarded with a larger clutch, and a better chance of nothing happening to her. IMHO. :D

[FireStorm]

Thanks for the advice guys. That's what I thought... I guess I should stick to my original plan. At the rate she's growing, she'll be plenty big by next season.