Advice on breeding Halmahera Pythons...

Dear VPI,

I just got a male Halmahera python from Bushmaster not to long ago, and purchased a female that I found for sale. I was wondering if you guys had any notes/records you would be willing to share, and maybe what you think everyone has been doing wrong that they have not had luck reproducing them in captivity.

I'm just trying to get as many opinions on the subject as I can so I can look at all the info and plan out my "breeding attack plan" so to speak.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!  Thanks for your time

Andy

Dear Andy,

At the time I am posting this, late 2006, the Halmahera python remains the only python species that has never been bred in captivity.

I think that essentially the sole problem is that wild-caughtHalmahera Python female Morelia tracyae are VERY difficult to breed, as are the wild-caught females of all the amethistina complex. I think that captive-bred and captive-raised females will end up being very easy to breed, because as scrubs go, this species is very calm.

Realize a very high percentage of female pythons of all taxa that are wild caught as adults NEVER breed in captivity. This is true even for what we today feel are very easy taxa to breed, like mackloti, brongersmai or IJ carpets--but especially true for the high-strung python taxa like albertisii or any of the scrubs.

When wild-caught females do breed, it is usually 3-8 years after capture.

So be patient and do everything that you can to acclimate your female to captivity. She needs a quiet and secure environment with minimal interference from humans. And good luck! Tracy and I would very much like to see her namesake established in captivity; they are fabulous animals.  DGB