How to Breed Bull Snakes

Bull snakes, part of the species Pituophis, are non-venomous biting snakes that grow to between 5 and 9 feet long. They are usually yellowish-brown with a checkerboard pattern. Each snake has a distinct pattern on its head, serving to distinguish one from another. Bull snakes mimic rattlesnakes by shaking their tail and hissing. Snakes bred in captivity and handled since birth are generally easier to handle as pets, making the baby snakes a valuable commodity.

Things You'll Need

  • Sexing probe
  • Blanket
  • Sphagnum moss
  • 2 incubators (12-inch by 12-inch cages)
  • Thermometer
  • Heat lamp
  • Vermiculite
  • Water
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Instructions

    • 1

      Determine the sex of your bull snakes by either having them examined by a veterinarian or by examining them with a long, blunt probe. Insert the probe into the cloaca (cavity that opens into the intestinal, genial and urinary system). The cloaca is on the underside of the snake, 2 to 3 inches from the tip if the tail. Measure the number of subcaudal scales of the inverted section of the probe. The inverted prove will traverse about 2 to 3 scales in females while in males it will traverse 8 to 16 scales.

    • 2

      Prepare the snakes for brumation (selective hibernation) in the first week of November by cutting off their food supply and lowering the cage temperature to 65 degrees Farenheit. Although brumation is not required for captive snakes, they are more receptive to breeding in the spring if they brumate. In December, keep the cage dark by covering it with a blanket and lower the temperature to 55 degrees. Snakes will brumate for 12 weeks. Raise the temperature over the next two weeks to 70 degrees and feed the snakes twice their normal ration.

    • 3

      Place the male snake into the female snake's cage. The male snake will massage the female with his belly or grab her neck until she lifts her tail. Copulation may take a couple of hours. Afterwards, remove the male snake to his cage. Increase the female's cage temperature to 80 degrees. Sixty days after copulation, line the bottom of the cage with sphagnum moss to encourage the female to lay her eggs.

    • 4

      Remove the eggs to an incubator kept at 85 degrees. The incubator can be two 12-inch by 12-inch cages, with an attached thermometer and a heat lamp. Line the cage with vermiculite, adding enough water to make it clump. Incubate the eggs for 50 to 60 days, checking the incubator every five days for mold.