Thursday, February 24, 2011

What to look for

My friend, Jackie, asked me this question in the comments a few days ago, and I think this is the perfect time to answer, as I'm sure plenty of people are wondering, and the breeding season is upon us!


"So what are the signs that they're getting ready to ovulate? Are there any signs I should be keeping an eye out for? And when exactly do I need to stop pairing her? I've been rotating her between the black pastel boy and the het pied boy, with emphasis on the black pastel... but will she start rejecting them at a certain point? Is an ovulating female a possible menace to her boyfriends"

Alright, Jackie!

Here we go.


Signs she is getting ready to ovulate:

Glowing -

If your female starts looking like another animal, or is getting to look hypo-ish, she is glowing. Sometimes this is extremely dramatic, and sometimes it isn't. But look for a color change.
If she is brighter, bigger, fatter, happier, etc (and this is true of human women too), know that something is going on!


Pre-ovulation shed -

Look for a shed. Any shed that happens during or after she is glowing is a good sign that this is the pre-ovulation shed. If she hasn't hooked up with a male yet, you should put him in NOW and pray that they get it on in time.



When to stop?

Whenever you feel like it may be time. Usually if you catch the ovulation, that is a good time to think to yourself, Hey, breeding may not be worth it anymore. If she gets fatter, chunkier, and refuses food and male advances (which she will!), that is a good sign it's not worth it to continue introducing a male. But if you have ANY doubts, it may be worth it to continue until you see a sign of something.

You need to be one with your snakes. Ohm.


Is an ovulating female a possible menace to a male?

Well, yes and no. An ovulating female in snakes is not like those stereotypical human females that ovulate and go haywire as some people seem to think... There is no harm in a female ovulating while still in with a male, but the male will be ignored and possibly pushed around or sat on. This is the biggest concern, as with a big female versus a yearling/younger male, the male will loose. Can he be killed? In a freak accident, yes. But more than anything, he will just get put in a corner, or under a water dish. So don't worry too much, but if you know the female doesn't need the male, just take him out. It's better for both the female and the male.


I hope that helps, and with a few more photographs to take, I will try and catalog the glow and ovulations that I will see.

Shoot me more questions, and have a great day, my friends!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Something I've been wondering is if every female glows before ovulating. Is it an absolute thing?

Unknown said...

Yes, but some animals are not too bright compared to others in terms of glowing.

Jackie said...

Yeah, my pied has basically been "glowing" since December. And she just shed and stopped eating... but the follicles don't feel very large when I palpate. They really only recently got large enough that I know for certain they ARE follicles, not poo.

At least my het pied and black pastel boys are both over 1000 grams, so I'm not overly about her squashing them. As long she doesn't attack them or anything like that.

... mostly I'm concerned about when I should start pulling the het pied and really concentrating on the black pastel! (I don't MIND making pieds, right? But what I REALLY want are the black pastels.)

Unknown said...

Thanks, Heather! Good to know!

I got spoiled with Irulan last year, who ovulated in late January. I still can't quite tell where Bitey is in the reproductive cycle, and it's driving me bonkers! I keep looking for glow, but so far, I haven't seen any yet (despite that I've been breeding her since October and I've seen lots of locks). I'm way too impatient!

Jackie M. said...

Hey Heather! I ended up giving up on that pied/black pastel pairing. They were locking, but she just wasn't building. And I'd like her to put on some weight this summer.

But here's my pos het lav to het lav pairing:

ttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_1g-0d-dBQWk/TcjhdJ313JI/AAAAAAAACIE/9Kmyw_PsK2Y/s640/IMG_4150.JPG

Ohmygod! They used to be the same color!