Breeding Blackheads

As stated earlier, Blackheads occupy some pretty variable habitats. For most of their natural range, they experience fairly dramatic climactic changes from season to season. The goal is to mimic the transition of long, warm summer days into the cooler, shorter days of fall and winter. This is simply accomplished using appliance timers on the cage heat and light sources. Summertime cages have 24-hour basking availability and 16 hours of daylight. At the onset of cycling, usually mid-November, the basking spot is plugged into the lighting timer and the timer is gradually reduced along with the night room temperature. By January, the Blackheads are experiencing 8-hour days and long, cool nights of about 65-68 degrees.

Males will begin getting restless early during this cycling period and will start to impatiently cruise their cages looking for their mate. We introduce pairs after the snakes are several weeks into the cycling regime. Courtship is often immediate with copulation quickly following as the female lifts her tail in the air and gapes her cloaca. The male remains with the female courting and breeding until ovulation, at which time he is returned to his cage for some well-earned rest.

Occasionally, a male may seem to have no interest in breeding the female. To initiate courtship and copulation a second male can be brought in to promote combat. A good tussle between the boys often makes all the difference. Combating males are then separated and the intended male can be re-introduced to the waiting female with a renewal of breeding vigor. Attempts at rotating a single breeding male to several females in one season has had limited success for many breeders. Blackhead males seem to "imprint" with the female they were first introduced to and too much shuffling around can result in total breeding failure.

As breeding and courtship continue through the cycling season, the female will begin to show signs of follicular swelling. The swelling will be noticed slightly below the mid-body point. This thickening is frequently mistaken for ovulation causing keepers to prematurely separate the pair only to have the female re-absorb her follicles. Once the follicles are aligned within the body, the swelling subsides a bit. At this point, males catch their second wind and copulations resume. These are the matings that seem to matter most

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Females will typically go on to ovulate from mid February to mid March. An ovulating Blackhead is completely unmistakable, swelling to almost inconceivable proportions. This massive swelling lasts 24 to 36 hours and is a sure sign that the female is gravid.

Once the female has ovulated, it is time to return the cage parameters to their normal conditions. Ovulation to egg deposition is generally 60 days and during this time females bask extensively, often in an extremely inverted position. It is not unusual to see a female completely inverted, head to tail. Females typically deposit 7 to 10 eggs although exceptional clutches have numbered up to 20 eggs. In nature, the female will incubate her eggs by surrounding them, shivering to generate heat.