# corn mating!



## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

I mated my corn a few days ago with my male for the first time, ive now given her a few days break, and i was wondering what would happen genetically if i mated her with a different corn, different colours, is there then the possibility that she will actually have the babies of the second corn, or a mixture even? dnt know how it works with snake sperm apart from the fact that they can retain it, so just wondering. thanks


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

yes, that is entirly possible. a female can be pregnant by 2 males at the same time, producing offspring from both.


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

thank you very much, that is cool! cos i did initially want my first male to mate with her, he is bigger and better colours, but he didnt seem to want to do it so i let my other male do it instead and he was more than keen! im not bothered about morphs really but just want to do it for the experience of breeding snakes, but thats cool to know that i can give my first male a second chance. thank you.


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

this isnt always the case though, its quite rare.. its LIKELY she will be gravid from the 1st actual mating.


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

ok cool, no worries. if you have seen her mated, i mean locked properly for a period of time so you know it has definitely happened, how many times do you then re-introduce the male again to increase you r chances. because i know lots of people on the forum say put them together for a day or two and the seperate them for a few days to give the female a break and feed them, and then reintroduce them again for another couple of days, which is what im doing. i just wondered how many times you repeat this process, because obviously as time goes on i dnt want to stress my possibly pregnant female. thanks.


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## bhoy67 (Aug 26, 2008)

i repeat this process untill the female looks def gravid ie starts to get very plump n swollen and about 5 to 6 weeks after copulation the female should do her pre lay shed thats the time to get laying box set up in her home and get the incubator on:no1:


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

oh ok, does it not stress her though if she is that heavily pregnant? i guess its a good way to be sure though that she is pregnant, to keep trying it, cover all the bases!


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## bhoy67 (Aug 26, 2008)

thats it cover all the bases to be sure though dont go as far as shes heavily gravid u will be able to see yourself if she starts swelling thats unmissable thats when i would stop m8


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

oh ok, thats cool thank you.


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

if you keep regular weights of the girls, you will se all of a sudden they will put on ridiculous amounts in just a few days, so even if you cant see it you will know they are gravid... obviously dont weigh just after feeding, usually just before to ensure they are empty is the best time i find,


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

cool thats a good idea, thank you. the first mating took place about a week ago, i just wondered if i started weighing her from now how quickly would i start to see weight gain? in the next week or two or not til rite near the end when she is getting alot bigger? i have read in my corn manual that the average is 40 days after mating til laying, is that rite? cheers


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## bhoy67 (Aug 26, 2008)

its usually around that time though every snake is different mark on a calander or breeding log book etc the date from when they first bred and work out 5 weeks from then and thats when she should do her pre lay shed so get nesting box,incubator set up and just wait till she lays her eggs


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

yeh thats cool, yep the incubator is all set up cos we had baby beardy eggs in it last year, 35 of the little critters! so thats all ready and we always have the other bits around, the vermiculite and moss and peat, and all that. so now i just have to wait! im so inpatient, want them now!!


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

oh what do you reckon about the weight fing, will she start putting on weight soon to give me a clue? ive got scales that measure to the g so surely it wont be long before i start to notice even a little difference? id just like to know one way or the other cos its her first time this year, she is a newbie to breeding.


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## bhoy67 (Aug 26, 2008)

well weigh her now if shes not been fed or has pooped it all out and take notes weigh her once a week and youll c it rocketing up i did mines today for her first weigh in and will do so next tuesday that way u can compare to her first and so on just like a woman when shes up the duff lol!!: victory:


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

cool i shall do that cos i feed her on thursdays, just gotta get some batteries for my digital scales cos they have run out. why does that alwaya happen huh! thanks for your help.


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## bhoy67 (Aug 26, 2008)

nae bother


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

kerryrep22 said:


> cool thats a good idea, thank you. the first mating took place about a week ago, i just wondered if i started weighing her from now how quickly would i start to see weight gain? in the next week or two or not til rite near the end when she is getting alot bigger? i have read in my corn manual that the average is 40 days after mating til laying, is that rite? cheers


 i would weigh her EVERY time just before feeding. note down the figure and date, you need to be accurate otherwise the records are pointless.
you will notice a definate weight gain. its hard to give exact examples simply coz every female varies.


kerryrep22 said:


> yeh thats cool, yep the incubator is all set up cos we had baby beardy eggs in it last year, 35 of the little critters! so thats all ready and we always have the other bits around, the vermiculite and moss and peat, and all that. so now i just have to wait! im so inpatient, want them now!!


corns RARELY have anywhere near this, if you get more than 20 in a clutch you've generally got a big one.


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

yeh im hoping for not a massive clutch, :lol2: we only hatched 17 of those beardie babies last year and oh boy what a handful! so maybe like 10 eggs would be good. how much easier it would be if you could choose how many you would like! knowing my luck i will get like a million! but she is only a small corn and its her first time so im finking probably a small clutch. well she is big for her age, cos she isnt three yet, and has been well over 3 foot for months and months. she has always loved food. what are the chances of the eggs being infertile cos its her first time? cheers


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

Baby corns and baby beardies cant be compared for workload, corns are very simple in comparison, beardies need so much attention.
as for the age, i wouldnt worry about it, most people will bang on about being 300 g, 3 ft and 3 years old... thats afine guide to go by, but its not essential for sure.
a 300g+ snake that is 3foot and over 2 years will probably be fine, you could be unlucky as snakes will get eggbound, but i have seen corns at 130-140 grams lay, they went down to 60-70 grams after laying.. i know its not right, and i'm not condoning that for one minute, but i do think people panic over the rule of 3.
I have quite a few this year under 300grams, one not a great deal over 200.. but shes 5 years old and proven, so she'll hopefully be fine. Shes been in with a small male, i bought her that size, actually she was 174grams.. so i have managed to gte a few Gs on her lol


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

yeh alot easier, just feeding once every few days and mostly leaving them to it! i had to feed my beardies 5 times a day! alot cheaper too which is good, :2thumb: even 20 pinkies a weeks is like 6 quid so no biggie, and i have all the bits for them already. so at least i wont be eaten out of house and home this year. thats reassuring to hear about the age fing, yeh i fought cos she was oer 300g and over 3 ft that she would be ok, and she looks way bigger than quite alot of corns ive seen that have laid successful, fertile eggs. but i did worry that cos she is only two i was being bad and doing the wrong fing, and just doing it for my benefit and she was gonna get sick and all that, so i feel better now. thank you. not that i spose anyone is exactly breeding the snake for the snakes benefit anyway, :lol2: of course its for us.


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

wow i cant believe you've seen such small snakes lay successfully, i guess we all do get a bit stuck about some of the rules that everyone says you have to abide by, like the 3 rule. i always worry that im doing the wrong fing though, but all my reps seem happy and healthy so i spose im doing ok, :notworthy:


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## bhoy67 (Aug 26, 2008)

well mines weighed in at 500grams today forgot to do it last week doh :lol2: shes not massive around the 4n half foot mark and as cornmorphs said the 3 rules alot of rubbish for corns iv heard and seen females lay at 18months old n not that big as aso cornmorph said i too dont say it should be done but it can be in some cases


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

kerryrep22 said:


> yeh alot easier, just feeding once every few days and mostly leaving them to it! i had to feed my beardies 5 times a day! alot cheaper too which is good, :2thumb: even 20 pinkies a weeks is like 6 quid so no biggie, and i have all the bits for them already. so at least i wont be eaten out of house and home this year. thats reassuring to hear about the age fing, yeh i fought cos she was oer 300g and over 3 ft that she would be ok, and she looks way bigger than quite alot of corns ive seen that have laid successful, fertile eggs. but i did worry that cos she is only two i was being bad and doing the wrong fing, and just doing it for my benefit and she was gonna get sick and all that, so i feel better now. thank you. not that i spose anyone is exactly breeding the snake for the snakes benefit anyway, :lol2: of course its for us.


 i would think she would manage ok.
you can get pinks for as little as 10p each, just depends where you go.


bhoy67 said:


> well mines weighed in at 500grams today forgot to do it last week doh :lol2: shes not massive around the 4n half foot mark and as cornmorphs said the 3 rules alot of rubbish for corns iv heard and seen females lay at 18months old n not that big as aso cornmorph said i too dont say it should be done but it can be in some cases


 thats it, i mean personally i like mine to be slender when breeding. my biggest are about 510-520grams, i have about 3 females in that area. for me, they are too big, but i bought them that size. i like mine to be around 400s, but have no issues in breeding smaller than 300 if they are at least 2 years, have a strong underbelly too.. if they are just fat, then i wont. you wont find a fat corn in my house.


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

oh no id never breed em that young, esp if they were small too! wow 500g huh, i cant wait til the day that mine are all grown up and proper snakes like that, still fink of them as my babies but they arent any more, cant believe how much they have grown in the last year, amazing! and now they are men and women snakes, not babies. :lol2:


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

they do vary..
my 08s for instance, they range from about 10grams to 110 now.. all have been fed on the same regeime.


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

just out on interest how do you tell the difference between just a good size and fat? i dnt fink my girl is fat, just a good size. she is kinda like a 10p i spose diameter wise if that makes sense, maybe more like a 50p actually.


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## bhoy67 (Aug 26, 2008)

thats it, i mean personally i like mine to be slender when breeding. my biggest are about 510-520grams, i have about 3 females in that area. for me, they are too big, but i bought them that size. i like mine to be around 400s, but have no issues in breeding smaller than 300 if they are at least 2 years, have a strong underbelly too.. if they are just fat, then i wont. you wont find a fat corn in my house.

well she did first mate about 2 weeks ago and forgot to weigh her so she she must have put weight on since then :2thumb:


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

well thats good, so if i weigh her 2mrw that will be a week since the mating, so maybe wen i weigh her next wed she mite have put on a little bit cos she will be two weeks gravid by then, cool!


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

kerryrep22 said:


> just out on interest how do you tell the difference between just a good size and fat? i dnt fink my girl is fat, just a good size. she is kinda like a 10p i spose diameter wise if that makes sense, maybe more like a 50p actually.


fat ones seem to sag underneath if you hold them up. you can feel the muscles very clearly on good ones.
fat ones will look short and chunky, its quite hard really to get a fat corn. although i have seen a few really nasty chubbies that have been rescued by people/.
they can also have a kind of triangle effect, when they lay down their bodies seem to sag onto the floor.


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

oh well thats cool, all good then cos mine do not sag at at all and boy can you feel their muscles, especially now they are almost grown up! so wow 400ish g is a good weight huh, not alot left then before my girlie is perfect, i wont tell her that or her head will get big, dnt want a snake with an ego eh, :lol2: she already has an attitude which im guessing is only gonna get worse as she becomes gravid and fatter!! oh dear. thanks for all your help guys.


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

well if you pick the snake up, just be sure to support the bottom 3rd, otherwise she may snap or whip.
400 i think is a decent weight.


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## kerryrep22 (Jun 10, 2008)

yep i shall do that, thank you. she is ok as long as she doesnt see you coming!! you need the element of surprise with her, cos if she sees you coming she is out of the tank before you even have a chance to pick her up, and she is speedy!! :lol2: she sees freedom and she likes it! shes fine when you have got her, just doesnt like being picked up.


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