An 18ft python who mated with a snake half her size has hatched a huge brood of 62 baby snakes – double the usual number of offspring.
Reticulated python Saffron had shown little interest in breeding when she was bought by owners Jen and Andy Webb from south east Asia seven years ago.
The couple, from Gloucester, had given up hope of her producing offspring when they put nine-foot male python Fire in her enclosure to show how much bigger Saffron was.
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An 18ft python who mated with a snake half her size has hatched a huge brood of 62 baby snakes – double the usual number of offspring
Saffron the reticulated python was imported from south east Asia seven years ago and owners Jen and Andy Webb ‘wrote her off’ after she showed no interest in breeding
But when they put a nine-foot male python in her enclosure in their reptile shop to simply show how much bigger she is the pair mated – and Saffron laid an impressive 62 eggs on Valentine’s Day
The eggs were put into an incubator and hatched last week. They will spend at least a week in the broken egg before shedding their skin
But the pair mated and Saffron laid an impressive 62 eggs on Valentine’s Day which were put into an incubator.
Twelve weeks later, they have all hatched and produced baby snakes measuring between 12 and 15 inches long.
The new arrivals, born last Saturday, will spend a week or so in the broken egg before shedding their skin.
They will each be fed three meals of defrosted baby rat once a week and could be ready for sale in a few weeks’ time.
They will each be fed three meals of defrosted baby rat once a week and could be ready for sale in a few weeks’ time
The baby snakes will each be sold for between £60 and £150 depending on their markings, fetching the couple up to £9,000
Mrs Webb, 30, who runs Webb’s Reptile Centre with her husband, said Saffron’s enormous clutch of eggs was down to her size – around six foot longer than most females.
She said: ‘She is an extremely large snake and she also didn’t breed until quite late in life.
‘Most snakes breed around two or three however Saffie is eight years old and these are her first babies.
Breeder Mrs Webb said: ‘I actually saw one of the baby snakes pop up out of their egg and I’ve never seen that before’
‘We had written her off and only put a male in with her to show people the size difference, but they did mate.
‘We are breeders and she is one of many we’ve got with hatching eggs, but she is quite special.
RETICULATED PYTHON – NATURE’S ‘GENTLE GIANT’
Reticulated pythons are found in south east Asia and adults can grow to up to 22 foot long but are normally between nine and 19 foot.
They are the world’s longest snakes and longest reptile, but are non venomous and normally not considered dangerous to humans.
In the wild they live in rain forests and grasslands, and often near rivers as they are excellent swimmers. Females lay between 15 and 80 eggs per clutch.
‘I actually saw one of her baby snakes pop up out of their egg and I’ve never seen that before.’
The couple got Saffron seven years ago when she was around one-year-old and were running their reptile business from home.
They moved into their shop in Gloucester in September and put Saffron in an enclosure with Fire on the shop floor.
The pair mated and swelled up indicating that she was producing eggs.
Mrs Webb said: ‘It would be nice to keep one of the female snakes just to see if you grows up to be as big as mummy.
‘She had so many because of her size. More snake means more eggs and she’s a big girl.’
The pythons could be worth as much as £9,000, depending on their markings.
They will fetch £60 if they have their mother’s traditional pattern but £150 if they inherit their father’s brighter yellow design.
