Breeding a snake: I stole a snake 3 years ago and I don't know it's parents

[Little lit]

Okay, the title sounds reeeeeaaally bad. Let me explain; This is long so I'll put the questions in bold. And I am sorry if these are stupid questions..

Hi everyone, sorry if I mess up; I'm new to this site. Anyway, I didn't grow up with a love of reptiles or go out of my way to learn about them. In fact I had a crippling phobia of snakes since I was born. Nevertheless, my boyfriend I was living with bought himself a baby albino snake. He's one of those people who would only enjoy owning something for the novelty to bring it out and show his friends and the novelty of an albino snake... He was a terrible owner, threw the snake at things, teased it with food, he would jump at its cage to startle it, blew smoke in its face, tie things to its tail as a game, etc. I was still petrified of it, but it was living the life I wouldn't wish apon my worst enemie.. So what else would you have me do?; I left him and stole his snake.
TLDR: ex is a dick and didn't deserve to own a snake, I took it from him.

Fast forward three and a half years later

Boots is two and a half meters long, eats one large rat every two weeks and sleeps in my hood when we go for walks.
I love boots and want to do the best I can. So I've been wanting to breed her but only to give her the experience of being a mum, tbh id probably give the babies away to LOVING homes.
But my friend says snakes have no maternal instincts, so is breeding her just going to stress her out ?
And when I even tried to research what to do to breed out your snake they all asked what kind of parents she had. The store that sold her is under new management now and all the old records went with the previous owner who went Mia. So, how important are the details of the snakes parents when it comes to breeding?


Honestly, just any tips or step by step instructions about breeding your snake would be a god send.

 

[Bl69aze]

Good job doing the right thing (sort of )
As far as I know, the parents will only determine what the babies will look like, since yours is albino, it means it's 100% Het(?) and I guess the species

It's most likely a darwin python!

There's a book called "keeping and breeding Australian pythons" by mike swan which is an awesome start into learning!

 

[Lizard750]

I don't have any advice for you, sorry, but wanted to say well done for getting your self and the snake outta there! And well done for getting over your fears to save the snake and give it a better life which you obviously have, Boots looks beautiful, healthy and happy.

Hope you get the help and answers you need.


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[pinefamily]

Well done for what you've done. I don't think anyone on here is going to judge you badly for rescuing the snake. My only observation would be you are overfeeding it. As a juvenile, feeding every two weeks is fine, but as an adult, once a month to six weeks is better.

 

[Stompsy]

Good on you for rescuing Boots from someone who sounds like a complete w****r.

I'd probably not breed her at all, firstly because you don't really know what species she is and secondly because they don't really display maternal instincts. You'll find she'll breed, lay eggs (which you'll then need to incubate to ensure they survive) and once hatched, they are completely independent of mum. So if you're only feeling like breeding her to give her a chance to be a mum, she'd honestly be fine to live out her life just as happily, not being one.

If you do decide to breed her, definitely take the above advice and buy books to research as much as possible!

 

[kittycat17]

Imo the reason you have for breeding isn't a sound one
At the moment the market is flooded with hatchlings that no one wants.

Well the mums do have a maternal instinct, they will sit on the eggs for 60ish days until they hatch in this time they will only leave the eggs to bask and maybe to drink which can take a lot out of the female. Once the eggs start hatching the baby's go off on there own and mum goes to look for a meal.

So imo you probably shouldn't breed her just for the sake of the mum getting to have a go at breeding. It's the same concept as cat and dog owners wanting there pet to have just one litter before they desex them.

Congratulations on saving boots from a terrible home though


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[Yellowtail]

I'll 2nd Kittycat's comment, the whole process of cooling, mating and developing a large clutch of eggs, (a high percentage of her body weight) laying them and incubating them for 60 days means her going without food for over 7 months. You will need to keep her at the right temperature while she is on the eggs or you can shorten her ordeal by 2 mths if you set up an incubator but that will cost hundreds of dollars and you have no experience doing this. All this takes a lot out of a female python not to mention the risk of complications with the process, it will take her a year to recover. There is a good chance that an unproven female may have unfertilised eggs with other potential health problems like retained eggs. If all goes well you will end up with 15 or more hatchlings that will need to be raised in individual temperature controlled tubs and fed for at least 2 months before you can sell or give them away. You may find someone who will take the lot and raise them but it's a lot of work and albinos of unknown pedigree are not easy to sell.
It is already too late for this breeding season so you are talking about next year.
My congrats also for saving Boots but why put her thru all that?

 

[Little lit]

Goodness gracious! I'm so thankful for the support but first and foremost; THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH from saving me from making a potentially life-threatening mistake. There are no words for how grateful I am.

I didnt know what reaction id get from admitting I stole a snake on a reptile forum ,but I love her so much and all I want for her is to be happy and never hurt by anything ever again. So I thought it might make her happy to be a mum. But I see now I underestimated how much stress, risk and danger Id be putting her through. And because of my skill level especially, not that I wouldn't devote myself to her children every waking minute! but to be a responsible for her, i need to recognise when my inexperience will put Boots in danger. So even if I still wanted to breed her, I won't until I can guarentee everyone's safety and I'm just not there yet

Thank you so much for the kind words, I was pretty worried but I hoped you wouldn't judge me for stealing her because I swear to god I love her just as much as any other snake owner that purchased her. I have no doubt there probably was another way to go about it without stealing her, but I couldn't risk fighting him for her. I can't explain it, i panicked; the type of panic you feel when you see a kid take a serious fall. It was urgent, it was wrong, he was wrong. He couldn't be her owner anymore to the point I can't allow it to even be a possibility.

Well done for what you've done. I don't think anyone on here is going to judge you badly for rescuing the snake. My only observation would be you are overfeeding it. As a juvenile, feeding every two weeks is fine, but as an adult, once a month to six weeks is better.

Thank you for the advice! Are you sure if I start feeding her once a month she will still be comfortable? And I know it's super important to keep to a schedule so when transferring to monthly feedings from fort nightly feeding is there anything important I should do or keep in mind?

 

[Bl69aze]

Thank you for the advice! Are you sure if I start feeding her once a month she will still be comfortable? And I know it's super important to keep to a schedule so when transferring to monthly feedings from fort nightly feeding is there anything important I should do or keep in mind?

She will be fine, if you are worried though slowly increase, 2weeks 3weeks 1month etc

We don't judge here... unless you were the boyfriend making the post about the snake

 

[kittycat17]

Thank you for the advice! Are you sure if I start feeding her once a month she will still be comfortable? And I know it's super important to keep to a schedule so when transferring to monthly feedings from fort nightly feeding is there anything important I should do or keep in mind?

Actually schedule isn't so important with feeding pythons, if you think about it, in the wild they wouldnt be getting a rat dropping by there home once a fortnight hahaa so you can change it up, sometimes you can got fortnightly other times do 3 weeks etc


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[Mazakeen]

You didn't steal her, you rescued her, big difference .Good for you!

 

[Snapped]

Good on you for rescuing the snake, and getting away from the ex as well. Not sure if you have a reptile licence (or even need one, depending on what state you are in) but might be worth looking into it if you haven't already.
I agree on not breeding her, just enjoy your beautiful Albino, she's a stunner.

@Little lit Just a caution as well, I noticed you said "she sleeps in my hood when we go for walks". It's illegal (in most states I know of) to take a snake off your property unless you're going to the vet, selling it or going to a Herp Society show for display) but even then it has to be bagged. Snakes like to feel secure, and warm. Better to leave her in her enclosure at home when you go for walks.

 

[alichamp]

Good to see him doing well under your care

Did you have any problems with licensing given how he came to your possession?

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Every time I see the title of this thread I have to smile.
When it was first posted I was ready to dive in and tear the OP a new one. Probably not a good title to a thread but certainly got the attention of a few people

 

[pinefamily]

Every time I see the title of this thread I have to smile.
When it was first posted I was ready to dive in and tear the OP a new one. Probably not a good title to a thread but certainly got the attention of a few people

Can't judge a book by its cover.

 

[Little lit]

Actually, I haven't gotten a licence yet, she was sold as a male accidently and they told my ex he wouldn't need a license, I took her again for a checkup when after I stole her and they told me she was a female and they were mistaken, they didn't mention the license then.. So I never thought about it. It might help to mention o live in south Australia.

Good to see him doing well under your care

Did you have any problems with licensing given how he came to your possession?

 

[Little lit]

Good on you for rescuing the snake, and getting away from the ex as well. Not sure if you have a reptile licence (or even need one, depending on what state you are in) but might be worth looking into it if you haven't already.
I agree on not breeding her, just enjoy your beautiful Albino, she's a stunner.

@Little lit Just a caution as well, I noticed you said "she sleeps in my hood when we go for walks". It's illegal (in most states I know of) to take a snake off your property unless you're going to the vet, selling it or going to a Herp Society show for display) but even then it has to be bagged. Snakes like to feel secure, and warm. Better to leave her in her enclosure at home when you go for walks.

Oh my god I had no idea that was illegal, I've just done it since I stole her for a bonding thing with her..

 

[Little lit]

It was one of those things like when you go to the doctor, I wanna take care of boots the best I can but I'm not very experienced, where as people on his thread are So it's best to tell the honest truth with all the details so I can find the best answers.

Every time I see the title of this thread I have to smile.
When it was first posted I was ready to dive in and tear the OP a new one. Probably not a good title to a thread but certainly got the attention of a few people

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Actually, I haven't gotten a licence yet, she was sold as a male accidently and they told my ex he wouldn't need a license, I took her again for a checkup when after I stole her and they told me she was a female and they were mistaken, they didn't mention the license then.. So I never thought about it. It might help to mention o live in south Australia.

SA you don't need a licence for a single animal.

 

[Little lit]

SA you don't need a licence for a single animal.

So if I was going to breed her, I'd need to get a license aswell?

Now that I wrote that I would hope in this world you'd need a license to breed anything.. (That you were gonna give away or sell) But I don't know enough about it