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Breeding

L

lightningfast

New member
I was wondering what is the preperation that goes into breeding. I am planning on breeding my corns next year for sure. And before i do, i want to know what i should do this year to prepare for the next. Hibernation? And also if they do breed what should i put the eggs in and the Tempature? Thanks
 
O.k. prepare to do A LOT of reading before attempting anything.

First off, both corns should be large enough. The female at least. Some say 36 minimum, and this usually is acheived by year three. Some sooner, some later.

You can brumate, this gives you better chances. I didn't and I have been almost sucessfull (just waiting for eggs to hatch) but I know it will give you way better chances in the long run. Normally people start this in November....December...earlier or even later it just depends on you and where you are and when you want to do it. I believe most people brumate at between 55-65 degrees (although extremes either way have been successful) for anywhere from 4-8 weeks....both animals must be in top weigh and condition before brumation. Gut must be cleaned out by non-feeding in their normal temp for two-three weeks before brumation as well. This is utmost importance. During brumation water is offered at all times.

After they come out, the female will normally shed. This can indicate they are ready to be placed together. (both should have resumed feeding at this time) They will mate (or not :)) and the female will then have a prelay shed and lay her eggs 5-14 days or so later.

You'll need lots of mice for fattening the female up a bit. You'll need the appropriate temp for the brumation, you'll need a laying box, vermeculite or peat moss or other moss for laying in, you'll need a warm place to incubate the eggs and a container to do so in, humidity gauge for the egg box, temp gauge, LOTS of pinkies for hatchlings and preferablly a source for live pinks as well. Lots of little cages/enclosures......

Just some thrown out thoughts hope they help, :D Ther e is lots more and you can read details lots of places online and in the Manual.

bmm
 
Hibernation in reptiles is known as brumation. They don't actually go to sleep but their bodies slow down. Most people suggest brumating your snake for about 3 months during the winter at 55-60 degrees. What you want to do is stop feeding the snake for 3 weeks before brumating. You don't want any kind of waste in there digestive system. And then lower there temps down and/or find some place that gets the 55-60 degrees. Let them sit for a couple months offering them water but don't handle or feed them. Around Feb. you want to slowly raise there temps up over about a week. Give them a warm soak. And after about 2 weeks try a small meal and slowly work your way up to normal. Then introduce the male to the female.

Now, that is not necessarily required although some think it improves how fertile they are.

Personally I didn't with mine. I had an over weight female (adoption) that I placed in with my male. They started breeding right off the bat. I watched them copulate 4 times. In the end she laid 34 eggs. 12-18 is normal but in the 30's is not uncommon. Unfortunatly 10 of the eggs are infertile. This could be caused due to the fact that I didn't brumate her or because she was just so over weight and had extra nutrients to use.

So, you can try brumating or just try intoducing the pair. After the have a possitive copulation the female will go off of food about a week or two before she goes into her pre laying shed. 10-14 days before the female will lay the eggs she will shed. At this point you want to distrub her as little as possible. Provide a large humidity box for her to lay her eggs, she will explore it for a week or so. Depending on her size you may be able to see the eggs. On my female I couldn't. Check the nesting box daily or so after she sheds.

Incubating eggs can be fairly easy. Hovabator incubators that are normal used for chicken eggs work great. I use a large plastic constainer to put the eggs in with some vermiculite. I get the vermiculite damp enough that when I squeeze it I get a little bit of water out. You want to incubate them at about 82 degrees and 90 percent humidity. Definitly grab a humidity gauge, they come with a thermometer. They will incubate for about 55-65 days and then hatch.

When she lays the eggs they may be in large "clumps" it's ok, you don't want to seperate them. Just bury the whole clump about half way into the vermiculite. If you see any kind of denting this early in the game you need to bury deeper and raise humidity. After 55-65 days the eggs will start to sweat and dent like normal and all of a sudden baby cornsnakes will appear. I usually suggest leaving them in the incubator for a couple days so they can get used to there bodies and area. Then keeping them in small tanks keeping them at 85-90 degrees and 80 or so at night. Better to be a little warmer with these guys then cooler. The babies will go through a shed after they hatch. Very rarely will they eat before they shed but they should after. Try a pinkie mouse and see what happens.

If they eat, great, you are all set and you have bred cornsnakes successfully and have babies.

Unfortunatly there are those who like to cause problems. Sending with an anole can sometimes help, braining the pinkie mouse, or feeding a straight up anole to get them to eat. But thats something to deal with when the time comes.

I think thats everything I know about breeding cornsnakes. And now that my hands are numb from typing I think I am done.
 
question...

How do you lower the temp so low for brumation? I know my house never goes below 69-70 degrees? Would you move them outside, or buy some sort of cooling unit?

Also, is there any way of knowing what I will get if I breed an Anery to a Snow? I plan to do this next year. Unfortunately, I have no idea what they may be het for, if anything.

JCD
 
Assuming that neither snake is het for any other traits, the results should be 100% Anery, het for Amel
 
Is there any sort of website or any other resource that breaks down breeding crosses? I have six different morphs, but no idea how to figure out what I would get on specific breeding projects.
 
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