You may be interested to learn that when crossbred snakes are born, they are fertile and can produce young of their own. This is not the case with many other hybrid animals such as the mule the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey.
Scientists have theories that these different varieties of snake are more closely related than anyone suspected. You may want to crossbreed your snakes so that you can see a variety of scale patterns and colors. Crossbreeding snakes like pythons and garter snakes produces a nice range of hybrids. If you want to crossbreed a snake, first you should put two snakes of the same breed in the enclosure together.
When the male snake has begun courtship behavior, quickly replace the female snake with the species you want to crossbreed. Captive snakes may crossbreed on their own, but it is more common that you will have to switch them out. Many reptile keepers discourage breeders from crossbreeding snakes because it has a large impact on the gene pool.
First, you need to find out whether your snakes are males or females. As you read above, a vet or a reptile keeper with a lot of experience needs to do this for you, or you might injure your snakes. To prepare your snakes to breed, first you need to make sure that the enclosure has the right heat levels. Keeping the heat between 85 degrees to degrees Fahrenheit will produce the best results. Many different types of snakes need a hibernation chamber to breed successfully.
Cold-weather snakes may especially need to hibernate before they will breed. This mimics the conditions under which snakes breed in the wild. A hibernation chamber should be kept at an even temperature between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. To prepare your female snake to breed, first you should give the snake warm baths each day.
This will help the snake to clean waste from its body. Every day, lower the temperature of these baths by a few degrees. Make sure that the water is the same temperature as the hibernation chamber when you are done with the process.
Put your snake in the hibernation chamber and wait for about eight weeks. Make sure to give her water and replenish it each day. After eight weeks, gradually increase the temperature in the hibernation chamber. When the temperature has come up to the same as the regular cage, you can move her back. Now is the time to introduce your male and female snakes. If your female snake lies down near the male snake and seems relaxed, she may be ready for mating.
Keep reintroducing your snakes daily until the female loses interest. She should be producing eggs by this point. It usually takes between 28 and 45 days for the eggs to develop inside the female, then they are laid in a nest. You can either keep or sell your baby snakes. Some snake species can hold sperm inside themselves for up to five years. The female snake has the ability to decide whether it is the best time to be pregnant and lay eggs. If the conditions are not right, the female may hang onto the sperm and use it later on.
It is often important to move the female snake out of the enclosure with the eggs. Sometimes snakes will eat their eggs, and they will probably try to eat the newly hatched babies as well. If you want your eggs to hatch, you need to use an incubator.
You can buy an incubator online or from a reputable breeder. You can also make your own incubator using a plastic box and a Styrofoam cooler with heaters. It is easy to find directions on how to do this online. Place your incubator in a room where the temperature will stay constant. Unlike bird eggs, do not turn your reptile eggs in the incubator.
If you are using a chick incubator, make sure that you can shut the turning function off. Also, do not use a fan in the incubator because the eggs may get dehydrated. Incubators with water baths may be the best choice for snake eggs. A water bath will provide even humidity and heat distribution.
You can make a water bath by hanging an opaque plastic box holding the eggs in a water bath. You can also put a dish of water in the incubator to keep the eggs from drying out. You should keep your incubator between 82 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have python eggs, they prefer slightly higher temperatures between 85 to 88 degrees. If you have your incubator set too low or too high, you could produce birth defects and fetal deaths.
Now that you have baby snakes, you will want to know how to care for them. Taking care of baby snakes can be challenging, as they will not want to eat right away. Baby snakes often have enough food reserves inside them from the yolk to last several weeks. If you want to have baby snakes, you need to be prepared to feed them.
Many people will find the process of feeding any snake to be disturbing. For smaller species, you may need to cut these mice in half. Some snake species are reptile eaters in the wild. These include the milk snake and king snake.
This may trick the baby snake into thinking it has a lizard to eat. Before you sell or give away your baby snakes, make sure that they are eating on their own.
If they are not eating on their own, their new owner may have difficulties keeping them alive. In this article, we have covered the basics of snake reproduction. Breeding your own snakes can be challenging, but it is a good way to see some crossbreeds that you would not see in the wild.
When you are getting ready to buy a snake for a pet, it pays to understand everything you can about it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Home Amphibians All Frogs Salamander. Axolotl Care: How to take care of an axolotl. Jumping Spider Care Are jumping spider good pets? What do jumping spiders look like?
Snakes are truly unique creatures, and their reproduction is an interesting topic to learn about. Even though they have all the instincts they need to mate on their own, it always helps to educate yourself on the entire process before trying it at home. Hallie has been a proud nature and animal enthusiast for as long as she can remember.
She attributes her passion for the environment and all its creatures to her childhood when she was showing horses on weekends and spending her weeknights devoting her attention to her pets. She enjoys spending most of her time in Michigan playing with her two rescue cats, Chewbacca and Lena, and her dog, Clayton. Skip to content. Are They Asexual or Sexual? Hallie Roddy. Sep 10 The only snake species to remain with their young after they hatch is the African Rock python.
The females circles the nest to protect them from predators and only stay for about two weeks before she leaves them to live life on their own. Snakes lay anywhere between 1 and fertilized eggs, although the average is usually around Not all of the eggs will hatch because not all were properly fertilized.
Hatching could also not take place because of temperatures. Do not handle your snakes right after they feed to prevent them from regurgitating their food. Give your snakes a hibernation chamber to help with the breeding process. Some snakes have to hibernate before they are willing to breed. It also mimics the natural conditions of the wild.
Prepare the female by giving her warm baths every day to clean waste from her body. Each day, slowly start to lower the bath by only a few degrees. Set her in the chamber and wait for 8 weeks. Replenish her water every day. After 8 weeks have passed, slowly increase the temperature inside the chamber until it is the same as the enclosure.
You are now ready to introduce her to the male. View this post on Instagram. Hallie Roddy Hallie has been a proud nature and animal enthusiast for as long as she can remember. Related Posts. What You Need To Know! Terms of use Affiliate Disclaimer Credits Menu. Facebook Instagram Twitter. While we provide information resourced and canine education, the content here is not a substitute for veterinary guidance.
Any eggs that have not pipped after 24 hours may need assistance or be nonviable. Some breeders choose to cut open unpipped eggs. Females reach sexual maturity in 27 to 31 months. Males mature faster and mature in 16 to 18 months. Once sexually mature both sexes can successfully reproduce for most of their lives. For breeding you will want a healthy female with no chronic problems and a good feeding response.
Generally larger Ball Pythons produce healthier eggs and are less likely to suffer health effects from breeding. A good rule of thumb is to wait until your female is at least 1, grams before attempting to breed her.
Egg development in ball pythons is directly correlated with fat reserves. Breeding a small or underweight snake often results in fewer eggs, more egg casualties and harm to the mother.
Picking a male is much easier. He does not need to weigh much more than grams and will normally be smaller than a female. If you are breeding for a specific morph then you will need to pick parents that exhibit strong traits. Breeding for morphs requires knowledge of genetic dominance e. Lower the temperature in small increments over the span of three weeks to reduce the stress on your snake.
Follicles are reproductive structures that eventually form eggs once fertilized. Follicle size is key to reproductive success. Receptive females will have at least one follicle that has a diameter of 10 millimeters.
This is one of the reasons it is important she must be at a good weight before breeding. Males should be healthy and sexually mature.
He should be older than 18 months and does not need to weigh much more than grams. Prior to introduction both Ball Pythons should habituate to cooler temperatures for three to four weeks.
If a female is ready to mate she will allow him to approach and touch her with his spurs. This movement stimulates the female to become receptive to the actual mating process. Females that refuse males may need more time in cooler temperatures for larger follicles to develop. Once receptive females will allow the male to insert one of his hemipenes into her cloaca; this is known as locking.
To improve the chances of breeding success it is important you wait and observe your Pythons until you can confirm a lock. Do not assume that a female was receptive. Locks last anywhere from four hours to two days.
Once a lock is confirmed then leave the mating pair alone and disturb them as little as possible. Locks are easily disrupted by a sudden noise or movement.
After locking is complete the snakes will separate. At this point return the male to his enclosure. Males can be bred with more than one female in a single breeding season. Just make sure to give him three or four days rest between pairings. If you do not see a lock leave the male with the female for two days. This will give them plenty of time to mate. Female ball pythons can store sperm from males for several months.
This is a process called ovulation. Six weeks before ovulating females may undergo a color change. This is easily observed as their contrast between their dark and light spots considerably increases.
This often coincides with a pre-ovulation shed. As the female builds her follicles she may also gain a lumpy or uneven appearance when curled up. Ball Python ovulation lasts for six to eight weeks. During this period females will become significantly fatter and thicker — especially near the base of their tails.
As the eggs become larger the tail thickness will become more prominent. During ovulation females often seek out the cooler end of their enclosure. A python wrapping around her water bowl is a common sign of ovulation. Another commonly seen behavior is inverted laying. This occurs when a python rests with the lower half of its body belly-up.
Food refusal is due to a shift in energy usage. Energy normally reserved for digestion is used for embryo development. Snakes that are large enough to breed i. They will regain their appetite after laying and incubating their eggs. Halfway through ovulation Ball Pythons have a pre-lay shed.
This is a clear indicator that around three to four weeks are left before they are ready to lay. At this point you should purchase or construct an incubator. The incubator should run for several weeks prior to introducing eggs.
This will ensure that temperature and humidity levels remain stable and within the optimum range. A sure sign of a heavily gravid female is the development of a triangular ridgeback i.
During laying females can become aggressive. It is best to leave her alone until she has finished. In the wild Ball Pythons remain on their eggs to incubate and protect them until they hatch. In captivity most breeders prefer to remove the eggs to a separate incubator. This allows them to closely monitor the eggs. You will need to remove her gently but firmly.
Grasp her behind the head and tail and unwrap her from the eggs.
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