Reproductive Info:In the wild, Reti

Reproductive Info:

In the wild, Retics breed from September through November.  This is basically an interim time period after the dry season is over and before the wet season begins.  Like all Pythons, Retics are Oviparous.  They lay their eggs and then brood them.  Incubation lasts approximately 87 days at a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  

In captivity, Retics breed readily regardless of season.  Retics have been hatched out in every month of the year.  Males can easily fertilize multiple females.  Males will combat other males fiercely, and should be kept separate.  Males will be sexually mature sometime between the ages of 12 and 18 months at a length of about 9 or 10 feet.  Females are mature at approximately 2 ½ to 3 years of age and at a length of about 13 feet.  The larger your female is, the better, without being obese.  An obese Retic, male or female, will likely not be a good breeder.

In captive Python propagation as a whole, it is somewhat standard to cycle the animals you wish to breed.  In the fall you would begin to drop the ambient nighttime temperatures as well as shorten the daytime light period.  This will cause the female to become “ready” to breed and she will then begin refusing food.  With few exceptions if a female Retic is still eating, she will show no interest in breeding.  And if she’s not interested in breeding than it’s not going to happen.  For one thing the female is typically much larger than the male.  For another, if she is not ready than she won’t release any of the proper pheromones, which attract the male, so he won’t even try.  This is truer of less experienced males than of more experienced males.  A very experienced male could try to breed a female that isn’t ready, but it’s still not going to happen.  When a female that is not ready to breed is presented with an adult male, she will display her displeasure immediately.  She will begin tail wagging, whipping her tail back and forth violently much like an agitated cat.  She may also start literally pushing him around with her sizable coils, slamming him into the walls of the enclosure.   Some tail wagging usually happens, even with “in season” females, so don’t get discouraged and remove your male immediately if this happens.  You will know the difference between a slight and a severe reaction, as it is obvious.  If you get a moderate adverse reaction from your female, and she is currently refusing food, it’s best to introduce the male gradually over a few days.  Leave him in with her for 15 or 20 minutes at first.  The next day, leave him in a little longer and so on, until she is more used to him.  Never put 2 animals together and leave.  You should always introduce animals when you have time to observe them for a while to make sure they will tolerate each other.  Also, if one of your animals was mis-sexed, than you could be introducing 2 males together, in which case aggressive combat will likely ensue.  

 

Some breeders find temperature and photo cycling to be unnecessary to reproduce Retics.  In this case, the female will eventually stop feeding on her own for some unknown reason and will be ready to accept a male.  Sometimes simply introducing a male for short periods, several times over a few weeks will cause the female to become ready.  Males tend to always be ready to breed if in the company of an “in season” female.  The male’s only need seems to be that he can smell her pheromones.  In any case, the female should have a basking spot in her enclosure of 90-95 degrees F.  Eggs really shouldn’t experience temperatures over 91 degrees F, but a basking spot slightly warmer than 91 could be necessary to transfer the heat through the females sizable mass in order to affect the eggs.

It is best to move the male to the female’s enclosure.  He will than begin to tongue flick her all over, investigating the female.  He will also move the lower quarter of his body on top of hers, perhaps even loosely wrapping his tail around her.  He will than start using his spurs.  The males use their spurs to stimulate the female during courtship.  We have found that the male’s will move all over the female, picking at her scales with his spurs, even in places no where near her vent.   Eventually he will feel comfortable enough to insert one of his hemi-penes.  Actual copulation can take place for minutes or hours.  Some pairs will breed seemingly non-stop during all hours of the day for weeks, while others will only breed periodically and at night.  We have collected successful clutches from pairs with which we never actually observed copulations.  Some are shy and some are not, much like with feeding.

If you wish to breed your male to multiple females, you can move him with any schedule that you like, as many have worked successfully.  Some choose to leave a male with each female for 5 or 6 days, while others move the male every day or every other day as long as he’s not actively breeding the female.  We believe that