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Care of the Breeding Female

Nanci

Alien Lover
I'm going to describe the chain of events for a normal female, and how I manage their care. I feed a female that I am going to breed about every 7-10 days, depending if I want her to gain weight, or if she is at an acceptable pre-breeding weight. I weigh the female at every feeding so I have a good idea about how much weight she is gaining or losing. (It is also a good idea to exercise your female from now until she goes blue before laying. You just need to do 10-15 minutes of gentle exercise daily to make a difference in how toned she is for egg laying).

I begin pairing the snakes after the female's first shed of the new year. I have found that some males will mate even while in deep blue so I record the male's shed events, but don't alter the breeding schedule around them. I put the potential pair together every Sunday night, until the female agrees to mate. The pair are introduced in a bare 66 quart Sterilite bin. I leave them together for 30 minutes, but if they haven't locked within the first 10-15 minutes, they most likely aren't going to on that evening.

To enhance the breeding atmosphere, I save the female's shed and keep it in the breeding bin. Before placing the couple in the bin, I lightly mist it with warm water. Snakes seem to breed more readily if it is raining, so I will break the every Sunday night schedule if there is a nice thunderstorm.

As soon as she starts breeding, I will be feeding an adult mouse in the 22-26 gram range about every 5-7 days, again depending on how fast I want her to gain, and to coincide with her breeding schedule. I pair the snakes every three days, so the female generally eats every six days. I feed after mating, allowing the female to rest in the breeding bin for a couple hours, if possible, before feeding her. I feed the male on the same schedule as the female, only every 12 days.

When the pairing is done, after five successful matings, or the pair quits, I feed every 5 days until the female goes blue for her pre-lay shed. After the matings are complete, I also remove the female's large water bowl and replace it with a very small one, and provide a lay box. The female often takes up residence in the lay box immediately. Once the female is blue, I do not feed again until the clutch is laid.

When the clutch is laid, I feed that evening or the next day, a smaller meal like a couple hoppers, and then return the female to a 5 day schedule on adult mice. The female will go blue almost immediately, and I will continue to feed while she is blue, for this time only. (I normally avoid feeding snakes while in blue). Once the female sheds, I again watch her weight and keep her at a 5-7 day schedule as she regains her weight. I have heard, but have not really experimented with, that the heavier you feed the female during the post-lay period, the more likely she is to double clutch. So you _may_ be able to use feeding amounts to either promote or discourage double-clutching, depending on what you want.

If the female is going to double clutch, she will generally lay the second clutch at about the time the first clutch pips. When she goes blue, I switch out the water bowl again and provide a lay box again.

After the second clutch is laid, I feed every 5-7 days, and then gradually move from 7 to 10 to 14 days, and keep the female on a 14 day schedule through the winter. You definitely don't want a fat female going into breeding season; lean and muscular is better than fat and flabby.

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Since it's the beginning of breeding time for most, let's bring this to the top. Great guideline Nanci, thanks for sharing!
 
My females average Day 12, but it can vary widely from that. Some will even lay without a pre-lay shed- which is why I have the lay box ready to go as soon as I stop breeding her. It's usual for the female to spend her blue period in the lay box, then come out when she sheds. She will then be in and out to some extent in the following days. If she's in the lay box, peeking her head out, she isn't ready to lay. If she's in the lay box, motionless, with a distant stare, having cleared a bare spot on the bottom- laying is imminent.
 
She shed yesterday outside of the lay box then yesterday and today she goes searching eound the whole viv and then has a drink and goes back into the lay box
 
I don't feed the female after she goes blue for the prelay shed. You want all her energy going toward laying, and if she should have complications, a clear bowel is always preferable. I _will_ feed her when she is blue after she lays, though; this is an exception to me never feeding when blue.

It's a long wait from now to eggs- I know! Remember, when she does start laying, try to refrain from checking on her constantly. You can upset her enough that she will stop laying. I _try_ to limit myself to checking about every 8 hours. If I see she's laying before I leave for work, I'll check when I get home, then before I go to bed, then in the morning.
 
Glad to help! We all have to start somewhere! It's really nerve wracking the first time. Just wait till you have eggs; then the real torture begins!
 
Hi Nanci
I have 3 corns (1 male and 2 females) **this is my first time trying to breed**

We did brumation and everyone came out healthy with minimal weight loss, etc. Had 2 feedings after warming up and then 1 female and my male shed so I immediately put them together. The male was all about it - twitchy and tail foreplay. The girl...every time he touched her, she whisked away real quick. Not aggressively. I watched this for the length of a movie and she finally calmed down and stopped pacing the cage (not in a looking for sex way). So I left them in there overnight and the next day. They ended up curling up together but I never saw a lock or any interest from the female.

So I put them back in their individual cages and then a couple days later my other girl shed so process repeats. Put her and the male together and she does the same thing but more calmly (the first female is a feisty b**** and the 2nd is a sweetheart).

So neither female is showing interest, that I can see. I've still been leaving them in with the male for a couple days since no one is in danger there. But I'm just unsure what to do here / what I'm doing wrong. Everyone says corns are easy to breed and my girls are just seemingly not having it. Is there anything to help them?

Thanks!!!
 
I don't feed the female after she goes blue for the prelay shed. You want all her energy going toward laying, and if she should have complications, a clear bowel is always preferable. I _will_ feed her when she is blue after she lays, though; this is an exception to me never feeding when blue.

It's a long wait from now to eggs- I know! Remember, when she does start laying, try to refrain from checking on her constantly. You can upset her enough that she will stop laying. I _try_ to limit myself to checking about every 8 hours. If I see she's laying before I leave for work, I'll check when I get home, then before I go to bed, then in the morning.
All this information is very informative! My female just laid her first egg. Smaller and discolored and outside of the laying box. Is this normal. You can see her on IG at Perfectpalmetto

Thank you
 
Eggs left outside the lay box is normal for some snakes. In my experience these eggs are usually infertile. Occasionally you get a snake that just didn't read the manual and lays none of her clutch in the lay box but rather scattered throughout the enclosure or, worse yet, in her water bowl. Just make sure the box is to her liking; correct humidity, size, privacy. Otherwise she might retain the eggs because she doesn't find the right place to lay in time.
 
Good afternoon!

"I weigh the female at every feeding so I have a good idea about how much weight she is gaining or losing".

What is the ideal weight? Per age, height,...How do you go about it?


"(It is also a good idea to exercise your female from now until she goes blue before laying. You just need to do 10-15 minutes of gentle exercise daily to make a difference in how toned she is for egg laying)."

How do you exercise your female snakes?

Thank you!
 
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