Post by bryan on Sept 19, 2008 17:52:56 GMT -5
I thought I would post this for review before posting to the site !
Don’t be a cookie cutter breeder! What does that statement mean?
I spent many hours surfing the web for information my first few years. What Temps? , what size tubs? What age and weight to breed? Etc. Informing yourself is great but if you plan to learn new things you need to venture into new ideas. Many breeders have similar schedules for breeding and use what works best for them. I will give you an example of ours.
Cooling starts the first of September and tape temps are lowered at night from 95 degrees to 85 degrees 12 hours daily. We continue to offer feed to all breeders during this time. October 1st males at a minimum of 750 grams are rotated through females with a minimum weight of 1500 grams. Males are rested on the weekends and continue this cycle until March 1st. Weights are monitored closely to insure the health of all breeders. Weekly feeding is continued and offered to all animals in the breeding project as well as others.
Should you follow my breeding recipe step by step ?
Not if you want to learn and experiment! Herpetology is the study of reptiles not how to follow some breeder’s recipe. I would recommend following a known successful recipe and tweaking it to your needs by experimenting and keeping good records.
Many breeders will now use males at very low weight and age with success. There have been claims of males breeding at 400 grams with viable eggs produced. This was accomplished because a breeder tried a new process and proved his theory. This is how new and more productive procedures are developed and become mainstream. So don’t be afraid to venture outside your usual processes. You may learn that your new schedule or temp or intervals may help your project. Try one small change and keep records to see what the results were. By doing this we will learn more information about the breeding process and what new procedures will help to achieve higher production and produce quality healthy offspring.
Don’t be a cookie cutter breeder! What does that statement mean?
I spent many hours surfing the web for information my first few years. What Temps? , what size tubs? What age and weight to breed? Etc. Informing yourself is great but if you plan to learn new things you need to venture into new ideas. Many breeders have similar schedules for breeding and use what works best for them. I will give you an example of ours.
Cooling starts the first of September and tape temps are lowered at night from 95 degrees to 85 degrees 12 hours daily. We continue to offer feed to all breeders during this time. October 1st males at a minimum of 750 grams are rotated through females with a minimum weight of 1500 grams. Males are rested on the weekends and continue this cycle until March 1st. Weights are monitored closely to insure the health of all breeders. Weekly feeding is continued and offered to all animals in the breeding project as well as others.
Should you follow my breeding recipe step by step ?
Not if you want to learn and experiment! Herpetology is the study of reptiles not how to follow some breeder’s recipe. I would recommend following a known successful recipe and tweaking it to your needs by experimenting and keeping good records.
Many breeders will now use males at very low weight and age with success. There have been claims of males breeding at 400 grams with viable eggs produced. This was accomplished because a breeder tried a new process and proved his theory. This is how new and more productive procedures are developed and become mainstream. So don’t be afraid to venture outside your usual processes. You may learn that your new schedule or temp or intervals may help your project. Try one small change and keep records to see what the results were. By doing this we will learn more information about the breeding process and what new procedures will help to achieve higher production and produce quality healthy offspring.