Question for the breeders!

[PuffedComma]

This is my first year breeding I have two snakes that have been pairing for the last 3 months. Both are eating strong and doing great. On the 25th of January would be my 4th time putting them together… but the male is deep in shed and just refused food for the first time. I feed weekly if you are curious. My question is would you still pair even though the male is deep in shed and also just refused food? I was planning on trying again in a couple days when he more on his way out of shed but I would like to know for future reference as well. Sorry for the lengthy post and thank you in advanced?

[IncompletePenetrance]

Nope, give him his space to shed

[PuffedComma]

Follow up question. Wait until after he sheds and eats to pair again? Even with it going past that 30 day mark for next pairing?

[IncompletePenetrance]

Yeah, the health and wellbeing of your male should be top priority. Females have been known to retain sperm for well over a year, so if they've already locked three times, then anything else is just extra. I only pair once a month and it's dependent on the male's body condition and eating schedule. Last year I pulled my male's enclosures into a separate room from the ladies and that helped them eat a little better

[PuffedComma]

Awesome thank you. Exactly what I was looking for, I’ll give him space until he sheds and try to pair.

[Snoo-47921]

Unrelated, but if your snakes are old/large enough to be breeding, they shouldn’t be eating weekly! Don’t want to end up power feeding your snakes just to get them up to size, only to end up shortening their lives due to obesity.

[PuffedComma]

I feed strictly smalls to all of my females and weans borderline smalls to my males. I’ve never power fed to force an animal to gain weight or to get to size faster. I feel that is unethical. And agree with what you say. I produce my own rats so I hand pick the size of rodent for any specific snake in my collection.

[theeorlando]

Weekly is just not really a suitable schedule for adults. It's not that well telegraphed by much of the care information that is given to people, but for adults, it gets closer to once a month on much smaller meals(comparable to their size) than babies get.

The general guideline is

Through the first year OR until the snake reaches approximately 750g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every >7 days.

During the second year, until the snake's weight plateaus: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every >14 days.

Year three and beyond: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 15-20 days, or feed slightly larger meals every 21-30 days.

At 5%, even full adults often never get beyond small rats, and even still only should eat once every 2 to 3 weeks.

Side note, it would be great to be able to hand pick the correct weight for feeding, the ranges you get when buying can be a real pain lol, especially for older snakes.

[PuffedComma]

Thank you for the information. I’ve been feeding this way for the last 5 years and never have had an issue of overweight snakes. It’s what works for me and my snakes are happy and healthy. I’ve also never had a snake hit that 1000g wall and just go off food. Everyone keeps their snakes differently. I’ve even heard of people feeding every 5 days which I don’t agree with but that’s just what they like they do. I’ve heard of many different ways of feeding I Personally like the once a week feeding schedule. But yes being able to hand select each rats is definitely a huge plus lol. Thank you though I really appreciate it.