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Breeding/Egg Production & Care Any topics concerning breeding of the cornsnake, brumation, egg laying, or issues concerning problems in any step along the way.

A couple of questions before taking the plunge.
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Old 10-24-2021, 06:11 PM   #1
inu009
A couple of questions before taking the plunge.

I've never bred before, but it is a dream of mine to produce baby snakes. My female will be 3 years next year and this year she was extremely restless all May and June, even went off feed. I think she's ready to breed.

1. I've read that it maybe good practice to "exercise" females before breeding to encourage muscle toning. Will handing suffice? Or it does it have to be something intense like swimming? I take all my snakes out everyday, save, for 2 days after feeding.

2. Anyone have experience with giving their females calcium? I want to make this as easy on her as possible. I'm not brumating, so I gather I have about 10 or so feedings until breeding season. If I start now, will it make a difference? Also any recommendations or any brands of calcium and/or multivitamins?

3. Every guide and book I've read has stated to feed the female pretty well/frequently upon the new year. But here is my issue, she was my first corn snake and as a result teeters the line of being "over conditioned" she's about 50 inches (4 foot, 2) and 556.9 grams. She currently eats a jumbo mouse every 14 days unless she's in shed, and I am unsure how to adjust that schedule next year.

Here is a photo of her directly after her last meal
 
Old 10-24-2021, 09:49 PM   #2
Rich Z
She is plenty big enough to breed, and good sized for a 3 year old. Don't overfeed her as a fat female can have issues trying to pass the eggs. Her body mass looks good, as is.

As for calcium supplements I used SuperPreen with OsteoForm for years. Just make sure that you are providing vitamin D3 along with the calcium.

Oh yeah, you DO have a male to breed to her, don't you? That could be important.
 
Old 10-24-2021, 11:12 PM   #3
hypnoctopus
Exercising is definitely a good idea for her, but you don't need to do anything extreme. Exactly what you're doing now, just making sure she gets moving for at least 10 or 15 minutes every day (other than the 48 hours after digestion) is perfect.

You don't need to start feeding her heavily. She looks to be in good condition. Once she's actually gravid, she may benefit from smaller and more frequent meals since the eggs take up a good amount of space. After she lays, she will look quite thin and a bit flabby like a deflated balloon. At that point, you can feed her pretty generously to help her regain her weight.
 
Old 10-25-2021, 06:54 AM   #4
inu009
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Z View Post
She is plenty big enough to breed, and good sized for a 3 year old. Don't overfeed her as a fat female can have issues trying to pass the eggs. Her body mass looks good, as is.

As for calcium supplements I used SuperPreen with OsteoForm for years. Just make sure that you are providing vitamin D3 along with the calcium.

Oh yeah, you DO have a male to breed to her, don't you? That could be important.
Thanks for the suggestion, I will order some right now.

And yeah I do! I actually have 3 snakes
2019 Female - Amel het Anery which is in the OP
2020 Male - Fire het Anery
2020 Female - Strawberry Snow

So the plan is to breed the Amel and Fire to get some snows het diffused in 2022 (hopefully the odds would be in my favor and I'd get a female snow)
And then in 2023, breed the Fire and Snow to get more snows het diffused
Take a few years off breeding and, then when a baby from each pairing is old enough, breed those together to get Avalanches


Quote:
Originally Posted by hypnoctopus View Post
Exercising is definitely a good idea for her, but you don't need to do anything extreme. Exactly what you're doing now, just making sure she gets moving for at least 10 or 15 minutes every day (other than the 48 hours after digestion) is perfect.

You don't need to start feeding her heavily. She looks to be in good condition. Once she's actually gravid, she may benefit from smaller and more frequent meals since the eggs take up a good amount of space. After she lays, she will look quite thin and a bit flabby like a deflated balloon. At that point, you can feed her pretty generously to help her regain her weight.
Thank you! It's good to hear that I dont have to give her baths, in the two and a half years I had her, I've given her a bath ones (because she laid in her own poop) and she did NOT like it lol.

You think sizing down to small adult mice would suffice? I would already have some since thats what my other two are eating. Or should I even go down to hoppers?
 
Old 10-25-2021, 12:40 PM   #5
Rich Z
Quote:
Originally Posted by inu009 View Post
Thanks for the suggestion, I will order some right now.

And yeah I do! I actually have 3 snakes
2019 Female - Amel het Anery which is in the OP
2020 Male - Fire het Anery
2020 Female - Strawberry Snow

So the plan is to breed the Amel and Fire to get some snows het diffused in 2022 (hopefully the odds would be in my favor and I'd get a female snow)
And then in 2023, breed the Fire and Snow to get more snows het diffused
Take a few years off breeding and, then when a baby from each pairing is old enough, breed those together to get Avalanches

If I might make a suggestion? Any project you are serious about pursuing, I strongly suggest that you keep at least 2.2 of the offspring. I don't know how many times I have heard over the years people lamenting the fact that they kept only 1.1 of their project offspring only to have one of them die, pretty much scuttling that entire project for them. Snakes WILL die. Important ones seem to be more prone to that problem.

As a suggested review -> https://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=20501
 
Old 10-25-2021, 01:18 PM   #6
inu009
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Z View Post
If I might make a suggestion? Any project you are serious about pursuing, I strongly suggest that you keep at least 2.2 of the offspring. I don't know how many times I have heard over the years people lamenting the fact that they kept only 1.1 of their project offspring only to have one of them die, pretty much scuttling that entire project for them. Snakes WILL die. Important ones seem to be more prone to that problem.

As a suggested review -> https://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=20501
That is a great point that I didn't think about....I am inherently unlucky so I will definitely take that advice lol. To be honest with my luck I probably won't even hit any snows next year, even with 1/4 odds.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out. I've gone to the very beginning on this sub forum and I've been browsing the threads and I really enjoy and appreciate all of the incite and information from over the years. I know you cant prepare for EVERYTHING but having a partial idea of what to expect will come in handy, rather in jumping in blind.
 

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