Does breeding stunt a snakes growth?

[gbrown]

Hey guys it's something I've heard I don't know how true it is though. Can anyone enlighten me?

[steve]

yea id say they do, mine tend not to feed during the breeding period, so they dont grow very much at all.

[froot]

Maybe not stunts, but definitely slows growth down. I have a female boa that breeds every year and her growth rate is definitely slower than the male.

[Bjorn]

I have a female king that should be a lot bigger. I have tried twice taking the male away before breeding season and she still falls gravid from retaining the sperm from previos matings. She hasn't seen the male for over 8 months. No male until she reaches her true potential. Otherwise she is healthy but I do want to give her a break.

[gbrown]

OK so while their growth is discernably slowed due to a lack of feeding, there is no permanent change made to their growth? I mean they are not going to stay at the same size they were for their first breeding??

[froot]

If they are fed regularly between seasons they shed more often so they must be growing, just slower on average. Carrying eggs/babies takes up much of the stored energy/nutrition from feeding through the year too so it is a good idea to feed hard (not to overdo it) when they are eating.

[Burmbuddy]

OK so while their growth is discernably slowed due to a lack of feeding, there is no permanent change made to their growth? I mean they are not going to stay at the same size they were for their first breeding??

So you want to know if they will be a smaller max size eventually if you bred ,them then if you did not?
The awnswer is no, breeding a snake does not shorten its eventual max size, provided the animal is bred at the right age, (a little older and bigger is always better), snakes do slow down after they have started to breed but this is also due to the fact that sexual maturity has been reached and certaim hormones are released, as much as it is due to less food intake.
BIG snakes (the likes of what Bob and Mike and the rest of the big breeders in the states have) are all animlals that are bred regulary. Fasting for these animals is a healthy part of life.
On the other hand if you take a tic or burm and feed it as hard as you can for say 4-5 years, no breeding. That animal will be huge and FAT and will die b4 seeing its 6th b-day.
BIG snakes are older animals that are healthy.The biggest retic of all time was from the wild, so it surely bred, fasted and all the rest.
To get a snake to get HUGE it has to be healthy.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
DAN

[Bushviper]

Burmbuddy I bought a "breeding pair" of yellow ratsnakes last year. The female had laid 5 eggs. When they arrived she was possibly 50 cm in length. Even being kept on her own and fed as often as the other snakes she is still less than 70 cm whereas the male (which was about the same size) is close to a metre in length.

Early breeding does seem to stunt the growth however breeding when properly mature should not make a difference.

Until someone does a comparative study we will speculate about it however I will never breed a female that I think might be breedable but looks too small at the time.

[Burmbuddy]

Burmbuddy I bought a "breeding pair" of yellow ratsnakes last year. The female had laid 5 eggs. When they arrived she was possibly 50 cm in length. Even being kept on her own and fed as often as the other snakes she is still less than 70 cm whereas the male (which was about the same size) is close to a metre in length.

Early breeding does seem to stunt the growth however breeding when properly mature should not make a difference.

Until someone does a comparative study we will speculate about it however I will never breed a female that I think might be breedable but looks too small at the time.

So then if she were bred at the right age and size she would prob have gotten bigger.Like i said, breeding them at the right age and size should not have a negative impact on growth.
But if you breed them too soon the will start releasing hormones sooner then they would have if they were not bred and thus their growth would be stunted-"vroeg ryp ,vroeg vrot"

I agree that breeding animals too soon is bad fotr their health and that is a bigger concern them the size they will get too.
Cheers
DAN