breeding my corn snakes

Question
I have 2 corn snakes. A female Snow corn snake, and a male Creamsickle who is younger then the female. I'm not sure what exact ages they both are but i was told by the owner that they are old enough to breed. I've put them together twice so far. Once for 2 days, and the 2nd for 5 days (and i have been told i should've separated them quicker but i wanted to make sure they mated). I have been trying to get answers about how long will it be before she starts showing, am i allowed to pick her up, how often should i feed her? I care about my Snow corn so much and i don't want anything to happen to her or her eggs.
Thank you so much,
Theresa

Answer
You can actually leave them together (other than feeding time) corns can live together no problem-assuming they are roughly the same size.  As to the breeding, she will have to "cycle" in order for them to breed.  Snakes ovulate in response to weather cycles and only breed when the female is cycling.  In order to cycle my corns I stop feeding the first week in Nov. kept them up to temp. for about another two weeks and then put them out in my garage where it is not heated for 2 months (this year it was actually 3) then I pull them back inside, warm them up, start feeding heavily, and watch for a shed from the female.  That shed signals her readiness to breed and than I put the male in the cage for about 3-7 days.  So what I'd suggest for you is to put the male in for 3-7 days right after she sheds for the next few times.  If she goes off food but starts looking thicker in the bottom 1/3 of the body it worked!  Handling is ok, just be gentle.  I'd suggest you get the book The Corn Snake Manual by Kathy Love, it will answer almost any question you might have.