Things You'll Need
- Private tank
- Egg incubator (optional)
- Tank thermometer
Instructions
Understanding and Breeding Spotted Pythons
Stop feeding your spotted pythons in the winter, around the beginning of December. Gradually induce hibernation by lowering the temperature in your snake's living environment until it is between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius. Reduce the daylight that your snakes are exposed to to 10 hours per day, turning off the light in their tank after this period of time. Hibernation is a natural process and greatly increases your pythons' chances of breeding successfully.
Resume feeding snakes in early May. Feed your pythons frequently in order to help them achieve their optimal weight. Monitor their health carefully and give them extra care and attention in the months that precede breeding. This will increase their chances of producing healthy offspring.
Weigh the pythons you intend to breed. While most spotted pythons should be ready to breed at around 18 months, their weight is more important than their age. Spotted pythons enjoy over a year of high fertility, and can still be bred very successfully at two and a half years. For best results, breed pythons when they weigh between 270 and 400 grams.
Place male and female spotted pythons together in a separate tank. Do this in early June, as the pythons should achieve an ideal weight after about a month of plentiful feeding. Leave the male and female together in the tank for about one week. Repeat this process every other week for about one month or you until you observe that the female has become visibly bloated with eggs. Remove the male when you suspect breeding has been successful. The female should lay her eggs in the late spring after shedding her skin. It is likely that the female will reject food in the time after mating before she lays her eggs. As soon as she has laid them, she will be extremely hungry. Provide her with extra food until her weight returns to normal. Only breed a female every other year to maintain her health.
Decide whether you want to incubate the eggs artificially or naturally. Different breeders achieve different success rates with each method. If you wish to artificially incubate, remove the eggs once the female has laid them. Expect about a dozen eggs to be laid by each female. Take the eggs gently from the cage and place them in an incubator that maintains a temperature of 31.5 degrees Celsius. Incubators can be purchased at most pet stores. Remove rotting eggs immediately. If you choose to incubate eggs naturally, leave them in the tank with the female. She will curl around them for two to three months until they hatch.