Breeding Q's

[bkhuff1s]

Sorry to be such a newbie to this...

I was wondering the general run down now I should be expecting... Length of time/ how often to feed (the female)/ and when to remove the female from the cohabit enclosure...

[guidofatherof5]

You of course can remove the female anytime after mating. You can also leave her there to either breed again if the first didn't take or remove her closer to delivery time. As far as knowing when that will happen can be like guessing the lottery numbers(right Greg) I've read and heard 90-120 days. I know a number of members have had deliveries in less than 90 days. Many times the female will go off food just before she delivers. I had one last year who was eating while she was delivering.
I hope some of this helps.

[gregmonsta]

As far as knowing when that will happen can be like guessing the lottery numbers(right Greg) I've read and heard 90-120 days. I know a number of members have had deliveries in less than 90 days.

Damn right Steve .... I'm on day 96 and still only have a fat snake to look at. Thing is that they know best.
You can definately expect them to go off food (but then again there have been exceptions).

[infernalis]

That explains everything Steve, thanks for the clarity

[ConcinusMan]

LoL ^^^

That's honest and direct. We don't friggen know!

No need to apologize for being a "newbie" We all were newbies at some point in time. Granted, for me it was 1980 for my first litter and I didn't have a clue and nobody to turn to. You have us. Keep asking questions. You'll be an expert in no time.

No, but seriously, it really depends on a lot of factors. I would go ahead and leave the female with the male for about a month and if it appears that the male has lost interest in her and mating is complete, or you can leave her there until she starts looking bloated (60 days or so) and is obviously gravid. In my experience with T. sirtalis (concinnus) birth has never happened before 90 days but it has not happened later than 100 days. That is keeping her at 85-90 degree daytime basking area, 70-75 degrees on the cool area. For night time (about 10 hours) a drop down to 60-70 all over or a drop as low as possible down to minimum 60 degrees. with those conditions birth took place at 90-100 days. Sometimes labor began 2 days before actual birth. Birth took about 3 hours for 20-50 offspring once the first few came out. Smaller, easy to digest meals but more often is a good idea if she's "showing". If she stops eating don't be alarmed.

With T. ordinoides I have seen birth around 60 days from a spring(march) mating.(5-15 offspring) For a fall mating, I've seen matings happen in late september, snake brumates from late Oct early march, come out and give birth in march. (2-8 offspring)

With your snake and your provided habitat/conditions there's no telling when it will happen. good idea to seperate the mother and put her in simple enclosure shallow water dish only, no fancy substrate, with plenty of room to ensure that offspring wont stick to anything. No bottom heat, just ambient or overhead heat around 80-85 daytime temps during the big event and a cooler place to get away from the heat if they choose. Keep a close eye on her when the day approaches and keep the humidity high. Dont want sticky young sticking to dry stuff in the tank. Think moist air, moist but not wet surfaces.

If that's not confusing enough for you, consult steve. I'm sure he can fix that.

Just razzin' you. We love you and your snakes steve.

[bkhuff1s]

So I've got basically a three month wait... that's going to kill me... So do you guys feed the females like normal or whenever they are willing to take a meal?

[guidofatherof5]

So I've got basically a three month wait... that's going to kill me... So do you guys feed the females like normal or whenever they are willing to take a meal?

I bump feeding up a little(snacks) since she's eating for 10,20,30 more mouths. Most of my females that are prego eat like even bigger pigs than normal.

[bkhuff1s]

Thanks for all the info guys I appreciate it

[ConcinusMan]

Raw egg whites mixed with night crawlers, small meals often is good for them. Sometimes it helps to partially cook the whites so they can get ahold of them. Don't overdo it on the heat either!

[bkhuff1s]

Egg whites and night crawlers? Do you just roll them around in the egg whites? And slightly cooking them? You'll have to tell me more about this process.

I was thinking of buying a few live fish (and mixing it with something (not sure yet what)) that's how I had to get mine started after I got them.. It seemed to rile them up enough to get them to realize they were hungry.