Taxonomy
& Species Accounts :: Ecology :: Biology :: Captive Care & Breeding
:: Misc topics
|
Captive Care & Breeding |
|
Captive Care Northern WLP Southern WLP Breeding |
Breeding |
|
| Sex determination The best way to determine the sex of specimens is to probe them! Sexual activity Barker and Barker (1994) report the White-Lipped Python to be sexual inactive until the age of 5-8 years in captivity. They seem to mature at the age of 4 years. Most often it takes a couple of years until they first breed, so I guess Barker and Barker are right! White-Lipped Pythons aren't easy to breed, anyway. Some male/female pairs will never breed or females often will not produce eggs. It is a quite hard thing to find a pair that produces offsprings. In southern Wihite-Lipped Pythons its even worse! Lots of people have tried to breed these animals for years without success. Time of mating In the northern hemisphere usually from December to February; mine alos mated in January and April in Germany. I put the pair together in late November and keep the humidity up at a high level, simulating a rain period. Mating behavior There were no male-male combat reported by Ross & Marzec but, they reported that putting together two males of different size the bigger one has dominated the smaller one. At last the smaller male died because of dehydration because the bigger once threatened him so that he didn't leave the hide box for drinking. I haven't seen any combat, too. I've seen the female whipping her tail and and opening her cloaca when ready to mate. J. Walls ("The living pythons") mentioned that if caged together they would fight viciously and he also says cannibalism was reported. By now, I actually never heard this from other breeders nor did I experience this yet. The male will stimulate the female with his spurs. Gestation Ross & Marzec noticed signs of gestation in March and April. The python refused to feed. The period of gestation is ( depending on the temperature ) 56 (Tarbet ,1983) to 60 days. My female layed eggs after 64 and 71 days. Clutch size The clutch size varies from 7 to 15 Eggs. Tarbet (1983) reported a clutch size of 13 Eggs at the Oklahoma City Zoo. My female one layed 10 eggs and the second time 13 eggs. Other breeder also report 10 - 13 eggs.  eggs, approx. 4 hours old Incubation Tarbet (1983) incubated with moist Vemeculite (1:1) at 31°C (+- 2°C). Removing the eggs from the breeding female can be a challenge because the female is very aggressive an will strike with her mouth wide open. Ross & Marzec report that at the IHR a female destroyed her clutch when trying to remove the eggs. I have incubated the eggs in damp perlite, keeping the humidity at about 90-100% and at a temperature range from 30.5 to 32.5°C (86-90F). Hatch The first of my neonates hatched after 64 days, and the last at about 70 days after egg disposal. I didn't cut the eggs, but I was worried that some neonates didn't hatch about a week later than the first did, but the eggs still looked good.  After 64 days the first three neonates started to hatch.  On day 64. A couple of hours later than the picture above.  This you can often see in neonates. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 2001-2009
by Wulf Schleip