• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

The right age to start breeding?

KillerCami

KillerCami

New member
I've read through the forum and found that the majority of breeders start breeding their corn around 3 years old. But, as of recent I've seen information saying that they could be bred as early as a year and half (sounds unsafe to me ). What was the earliest you've bred a corn? Because breeding that early just sounds unsafe to me.
 
I personally, would never breed a female at 1.5 years old. I follow the basic rule of thumb.

At least 3 years old, 3 feet long, and weigh 300 grams. Weight to me is the biggest factor.
 
It's going to depend on the snake. I know some buy into the 3,3,3 guideline. I don't buy it. I believe that following that is unsafe. A corn snakes age has little to nothing to do with breeding readiness. They aren't built like mammals and that's where we get that association from.

You need to learn how to evaluate each snake, individually, to determine breeding readiness. That's not saying that a snake is ready at 1.5 years. That's saying that with a good feeding plan(not power feeding) and a good handling/exercise plan, a corn can be ready at as young as a year and a half, two years, two and a half years, etc.

As I mentioned, I don't buy the 3,3,3 guideline at all. That is a generic grouping. All that guideline means is that you have a 3 year old, 300 gram and 3 foot snake. That doesn't mean that you have an animal that is ready to breed.

What you need to do is look at your snakes feeding schedule. How much has she eaten? How often?

Then look at the muscle tone of the snake. Is she over or under weight for her length? Does she have good muscle tone? Does she have a rounded belly or a nice strong belly? Does she have a little fat stores, because she is going to lose weight when ultimately lays?

What is her length? Is it reasonably proportional to her weight?

These are important questions you need to answer. If you follow a generic guideline and breed as soon as you meet the minimum requirement of the guideline, then you could be setting yourself up for failure. Meaning jeopardizing the life of the snake. A 2.5 year old, 250 gram, 30 inch snake may be better built for breeding then a 3,3,3 snake. AND vice versa! There isn't a set rule or guideline. Just an educated guess that is made by looking at each snake individually.

This method isn't the same from males to females. Males can breed much younger than females. The only risk with males is if they go on a prolonged hunger strike.

Wayne
 
medusacoils said:
It's going to depend on the snake. I know some buy into the 3,3,3 guideline. I don't buy it. I believe that following that is unsafe. A corn snakes age has little to nothing to do with breeding readiness. They aren't built like mammals and that's where we get that association from.

You need to learn how to evaluate each snake, individually, to determine breeding readiness. That's not saying that a snake is ready at 1.5 years. That's saying that with a good feeding plan(not power feeding) and a good handling/exercise plan, a corn can be ready at as young as a year and a half, two years, two and a half years, etc.

As I mentioned, I don't buy the 3,3,3 guideline at all. That is a generic grouping. All that guideline means is that you have a 3 year old, 300 gram and 3 foot snake. That doesn't mean that you have an animal that is ready to breed.

What you need to do is look at your snakes feeding schedule. How much has she eaten? How often?

Then look at the muscle tone of the snake. Is she over or under weight for her length? Does she have good muscle tone? Does she have a rounded belly or a nice strong belly? Does she have a little fat stores, because she is going to lose weight when ultimately lays?

What is her length? Is it reasonably proportional to her weight?

These are important questions you need to answer. If you follow a generic guideline and breed as soon as you meet the minimum requirement of the guideline, then you could be setting yourself up for failure. Meaning jeopardizing the life of the snake. A 2.5 year old, 250 gram, 30 inch snake may be better built for breeding then a 3,3,3 snake. AND vice versa! There isn't a set rule or guideline. Just an educated guess that is made by looking at each snake individually.

This method isn't the same from males to females. Males can breed much younger than females. The only risk with males is if they go on a prolonged hunger strike.

Wayne
Click to expand...

Well I wasn't asking because I have anything ready at the moment. All I have are my future projects that are all only a couple of months old. I had just been doing even more research as of late and have found that a lot of breeders were breeding as early as a year and half if the snake was ready. I plan on making sure my corns are good healthy before i set them to breed. I love my corns (all of them) I would never put them at risk. One question I do have is what is the difference between normal feeding amount and power feeding?
 
KillerCami said:
Well I wasn't asking because I have anything ready at the moment. All I have are my future projects that are all only a couple of months old. I had just been doing even more research as of late and have found that a lot of breeders were breeding as early as a year and half if the snake was ready. I plan on making sure my corns are good healthy before i set them to breed. I love my corns (all of them) I would never put them at risk. One question I do have is what is the difference between normal feeding amount and power feeding?
Click to expand...

Power feeding is when you feed every 2-3 days. Some even consider the recommendations in the "Munson" plan to be power feeding. I think it's boarder line, slightly leaning to the NOT side. It's feeding to achieve a certain size (weight and length) with the intent of breeding sooner, rather than waiting. I don't recommend it.

I would rather wait to breed. Most of my collection won't see their first "action" till they are about four. That's because I am working toward specific projects and I don't want to be inundated with babies. I have bred younger than 3, but plans dictate when.

Wayne
 
medusacoils said:
Power feeding is when you feed every 2-3 days. Some even consider the recommendations in the "Munson" plan to be power feeding. I think it's boarder line, slightly leaning to the NOT side. It's feeding to achieve a certain size (weight and length) with the intent of breeding sooner, rather than waiting. I don't recommend it.

I would rather wait to breed. Most of my collection won't see their first "action" till they are about four. That's because I am working toward specific projects and I don't want to be inundated with babies. I have bred younger than 3, but plans dictate when.

Wayne
Click to expand...

Both posts were very good!
 
medusacoils said:
Power feeding is when you feed every 2-3 days. Some even consider the recommendations in the "Munson" plan to be power feeding. I think it's boarder line, slightly leaning to the NOT side. It's feeding to achieve a certain size (weight and length) with the intent of breeding sooner, rather than waiting. I don't recommend it.

I would rather wait to breed. Most of my collection won't see their first "action" till they are about four. That's because I am working toward specific projects and I don't want to be inundated with babies. I have bred younger than 3, but plans dictate when.

Wayne
Click to expand...

Oh okay. Thanks for the info. Everyone has talked about power feeding but I never knew what they really meant. Now I do! Yea I feed my every 5-7 days. Which seems to be working well for them :)
 
medusacoils said:
This method isn't the same from males to females. Males can breed much younger than females. The only risk with males is if they go on a prolonged hunger strike.

Wayne
Click to expand...

Don't mean to hijack a thread, but I didn't feel it was necessary to start a whole new one... just wondering, how old & big SHOULD a male be? My reverse Okeetee is just over a year old and nearly 200g, so can I assume he's ready for some lovin' now? I don't think hunger strikes will be an issue, as he's one of my most reliable garbage disposals - LOL. ;)
 
Lolo, put him in with a female next year, you will know if he's ready ;)

Just my 2 cents...Routines like the "Munson Plan" or the 3/3/3 rule are meant to be very basic guidelines...The individual snake needs to be able to have a "say" in its feeding frequency and breeding readiness...Some gain weight faster than others, some may easily be "breeding ready" at two, or not til four...

Here's "the Moeller Plan"...:*)...it works for me, would work for you and is as good a "routine" as the multitude of other "plans"...Babies...1x a week, and they all get handled...many breeders feel they need more food at this age, but the extra day or two to handle them gives them exercise and starts building up tolerance to being held...I'm not someone who has more than a clutch or three of corns either tho so...nonfeeders are given away or put down...older snakes get an appropriate sized feeder every week or so..."or so" meaning as they get older I'm more comfortable letting them skip a week...sometimes they may get two items as they are able, just to vary things...I may be feeling froggy and order some week old quail when someone has a sale on them, again to vary things up...ALL my corns (and my black rat snakes too) love them...They are almost always "breeder size" at 3 but I'll let them go another year ( just not in a rush lol)...tub (and tank) dwelling snakes get very little exercise, so getting them "out and about" gives them some "workout time"...I hold mine right above the vent in one hand; they all are able to pull themselves back up to hand, because they are strong enough to...exercize...good for us, good for snakes :)...

again my 2 cents and thanks the OP for starting the post :*)
 
chris68 said:
Lolo, put him in with a female next year, you will know if he's ready ;)
Click to expand...

Touche. :D Thanks for the feeding tips, and I basically follow a similar plan with my corns. They are also feed "every week or so," but more like every week with the exception of Dash... she was (still is) severely obese when I adopted her, so I only feed her every other week. At her weight of nearly 1100g, I really should be feeding her every THREE weeks!
 
Lolo said:
At her weight of nearly 1100g, I really should be feeding her every THREE weeks!
Click to expand...

Lol yeah, thats a bigun, but sounds like ya got it under control...

Couple years ago someone online said it best...Corns thrive when you treat them with "beneficial neglect" ;)...she was trying to say don't over think keeping corns; they're just not that hard, but worrying and obsessing over every little aspect about them will make it hard :*)...It's almost to a point now where there is TOO much information available, and people try to digest ALL the different aspects (and opinions) on them as quick as they can, and it just makes the mind over-complicate things
 
Just as far as feeding frequency goes, once they are on small adults, I kinda give up on the whole strict feeding schedule thing and feed every week or two as I see fit. It's just the little worms that I feel like need the food to grow. And even then it was every 5-14 days depending on my schedule and how much I felt like digging through the freezer.
 
I bred a pair of '08s this past season. Both were over 300 grams and the female had really good muscle tone. Only a handful of the 18 eggs looked viable, and none ended up hatching. Although the female made it through just fine, I probably won't breed a female before 3 years old again. I do plan to breed a yearling male next season though...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top