Tho I'v ownd snakes 4 nrly 14yrs, Im new 2 breedin & want 2 start as sn as poss. I do av sum concerns howevr, as the female I wish 2 mate is a California king. Most of u Im sure, r aware of the King's cannibalistic nature so cn undrstand y I want 2 approach this cautiously. The last fing I want is 2 make mistakes & end up with a stressd, wounded or dead snake.

Any help/advice wud b appreciated, tho a's 2 the following q's wud b fantastic!

Dus the snakes age affect it's ability 2 reproduce? r they evr 2 old?

Is brumating only 4 females, or do males need 2 go thru this process aswel before mating?

Cross-breeding: I recently found out that it's actually possible 2 cross breed my king snake with my corn snake, (amazing) I'l b doin more research in2 whethr it's a gd idea or nt. (The hybrids are super cool lukin tho!) Dus any1 hav any experience doin this?

Fanx 4 takin the time to read ths & pls pls get back 2 me on these points as sn as poss.

Fanx. Craig.

Hi Craig,

Snakes do become 'too old' for mating. The sperm usually 'dilutes' within age, I think most breeders stop after 10 years, usually 8.

I brumate both males and females from November through to March at a temp of 13-15 degrees.

I have no experience with hyrbrids, not do i think I ever will. It's not my cup of tea.

Scott

Thanks Scott, appreciate the info'. Ummm, I am still wondering if the '8-10yr rule' applies to the female snake? Would age affect her abitlity to concieve?? & what can I say about the hybrids? lol. They just catch my interest! Thanks again.

Hi Craig

Age does affect reproduction, but saying that Bob Applegate has females that are 15yrs plus and still producing healthy babies, but the clutch size is dramatically reduced - I have 2 of his thayeri which are from 17yr old girls!

Breeding is relatively straight forward in lampro's, helps to cool them down, then heavy feeding for the first couple of weeks after warming back up seems to trigger breeding responses

Hi newbie here!
Bought an adult pair of Cali Kings recently and were told they'd been observed mating several weeks ago though they hadn't been cooled. Not had a lot of experience with Cali's but isn't Feb too early. Thought around May would have been when they bred in the wild. Seperated now and will be pairing them up again around end of April. Any advice on the chances of success this year considering the circumstances?

Sorry Dunnyc23. Didn't mean to hijack your thread. Posted it in the wrong place by mistake.