A question about BHP breeding

[NCHERPS]

Munkee,
I think you can take it that although one male may well do the job, two males allowed to combat may well increase your chances of achievement in the first year of breeding.
I agree that if you wish to line breed a specific male you have to remove the other after combating, otherwise you won't have a clue which one got her gravid.
As far as viv size, the larger the better, as combating can get quite heated and the more space the better. Also remove any large or heavy movable objects from the viv when combating, as they can move and push things around, they could quite easily put a water bowl through a glass door if it was at that level.

Good luck with it all.

Neil

[Jungle_Freak]

Hi all , just my 2 cents worth etc ,
one male will do the job if he is kept seperate from the female all year round , except for introductions for copulation purposes , , males should be introduced early winter for a few days only , and then once every 2 weeks for 2 days at a time , they useualy copulate imeadiatly if you check them in a few hours , the closer it gets to the time that a female should ovulate , the more often he should be introduced , working on a cycle of a few days in with the females and a few days back in his own cage by the time the females are going to ovulate , males can become bored with female if left together continualy and loose interest in copulating , signs of bordom in males are searching the cage and not spending much time coiled with female etc ,
cheers Roger

[Jungle_Freak]

Also ,
females ovulating after a succesful copulation is another matter altogether , single males can copulate supplying the female with fertile sperm but if the female does not ovulate ,
then she will not produce a clutch and the folicals will be reobsorbed , eggs cannot be reobsorbed ,
ovulation is when the female fertilizes the eggs with the males sperm ,
slugs are wrongly formed gestated ova or unfertilized ova ,
cheers Roger

[zulu]

A friend used an old single male with a young female and it produced infertile eggs so he says,another this year produced mostly fertile eggs with one male.When i used two males they never looked like combatting and just mated with the female and she had fertile eggs,why use one male if you can use two,they are cheap enough to buy now or borrow a friends for a while to spice things up.

[Jungle_Freak]

if the simply breeding technique , i mentioned above worked for me then it can work for others , the condition and age of both parents is an important factor in the succesfull reproduction of any species, as well as the correct husbandry , i recommend anyone hoping to breed there pythons read or purchase the book
by Richard A Ross and Gerald Marzec ,
the Reproductive Husbandry of Pythons and Boas ,
its a excellant book ,
must go now ,
cheers Roger

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I have to disagree. 1 male will suffice, no combatting required.
I know plenty of keepers who use a single male & produce every season.
There is plenty of recorded information around also to verify breedings with single males. Many years ago it was believed to be impossible without the aid of excess males, but I would like to believe that we have come along way since then.

Have you bred BHP yourself Ad?
or are you quoting & passing on "OLD HABIT" advice that you have heard or read ?

Hi JandC - You question my breeding experiences and yet it appears you have no solo breeding experience from your post - maybe it is you that is quoting and passing on information you have heard or read? Rather than your actual expereince?

I've heard and been told it's necessary to have multiple males for breeding by many experienced bhp breeders but also know a few who only use one male

Hi Browns You have heard from 'many' but believe that the 'few' are right?

I hardly consider myself an expert but I have 3 years bhp breeding experience - both solo and combatted incl a friends who hadnt bred his until we did combat them - I am speaking from my experience - and I do know a few bhp breeders of good calibre that have given me advice and I do read.

Each to his own how they breed their bhps and everybody has a right to their 'opinion' -

but,

Why question my experiences to prove your point - when your points are based on hearsay and your opinion rather than experience - rather ironic I think from both of you.

[JandC_Reptiles]

Ad,
I was not taking a shot at you or your experience.
I was simply asking if you had bred them yourself or if you were posting out of date info that was produced in the 70's.

My reply was also aimed at your comment that solo breeders are the exception. As many have now answered they have bred with single males or know someone who has there seems to be alot of exceptions out there.


PS.
You could also purchase multiple lotto tickets to enhance the chances of winning.

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No Probs JandC - your first statement sounded authoritive and your last condescending which is why I got a bit defensive. Bridge has been built! lol - lets move on.

When you say 'old habits' i prefer to think of them as the 'basics'. In the old days they were convinced this was the way to go - because it worked for them - and continues to work for a lot of breeders today.
"up-to-date" methods may be good for people 'fine tuning' their breeding - but certainly not the definitive method.
Solo breeding can and does work - JungleFreak has indicated his method above. But to say combat breeding is a thing of the past and shouldnt be used because of that is no grounds - when it still works.

I combat breed because I think it reduces a 'what if' out of the equation in a step towards a succesfull breed. This is why I will continue to, even though my male has had a proven solo breed.

Do the methods of solo breeding correspond with what JungleFreak has written above?
Why do you think solo breeding is better (other than the obvious -1 less mouth to feed).
Cheers
Ad

[Jungle_Freak]

Guys ,
a single male can do the job and a pair of males will do the job ,
if you only have one male use him as described above it should work but if you own 2 males use them both
theres no harm trying either method ,
everyone has there own ways of doing things etc so there will be varying results with both methods etc
because we all have different cage set ups and husbandry skills ,
cheap pot shots at each other are not necessary ,
we are all here to learn or help each other if possible ,
now im gunna duck for cover ???
cheers Roger

[JandC_Reptiles]

Hi Ad,
I wouldnt say I think 1 method is any better than the other.
I am sure combatting has its place in Herpetology. However if its not necessary I dont see the point in doing it. Of course it may increase chances of breeding (see my PS message) but if you can breed without risking harm to your male or males why would you? Now if solo attempts failed, sure go ahead. But I believe if conditions are perfect there should be no need for it.

Why I would prefer solo breeding:
1 less mouth to feed as you mentioned.
No risk of injuries to breeders.
Precise calculations of breeding traits.
Accurate account of parentage & history.

[BROWNS]

I hear you didn't have too much luck this year ad,maybe next season try 3 males

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Why I would prefer solo breeding:
1 less mouth to feed as you mentioned.
No risk of injuries to breeders.
Precise calculations of breeding traits.
Accurate account of parentage & history.

I agree with the first 2 points JandC, but the last 2 points apply to both imo.
Combatting is definitely a breeding trait.
We combat the males in a seperate tank before sending to females so are aware who is mating who.

Why I continue to combat - is:
It is something they do in the wild - has succesfully been used in breeding cycles for years.
The main point and the one most breeders stick to - it worked for me.

I think solo breeding has its benefits, and Im sure it will be refined more -esp with multi generation cb animals.

I think we have put up enough valid points for people to form opinions, They are a harder pyhton to breed and that can be agreed on.
Cheers
Ad

[dugadugabowbow]

I used one male on one of my females this year and she laid. I did combat the male i used with a lazy male i have that has no interest in mating.

You can do it with one but i think it's better to have a spare male there if anything just to combat them.

[zulu]

Originally Posted by Jungle_Freak

Guys ,
a single male can do the job and a pair of males will do the job ,
if you only have one male use him as described above it should work but if you own 2 males use them both
theres no harm trying either method ,
everyone has there own ways of doing things etc so there will be varying results with both methods etc
because we all have different cage set ups and husbandry skills ,
cheap pot shots at each other are not necessary ,
we are all here to learn or help each other if possible ,
now im gunna duck for cover ???
cheers Roger

Your problem roger is that you make to much sense you have to degenerate and learn to fight bitch and claw more Those that talk about male combat what do you do to make them that aggressive? My males when placed with the female just mated and i never cooled mine down i suspect that must make them aggro?It appears to me that there is those that cool females and males down for a period before introduction,and there is also others that provide heat constantly and rely on the drops in night time temps to stimulate mating activity.

[whatsup]

what age and size can they successfully breed at?