Help with getting Childrens to breed?

[sued1980]

They just wont breed!

We have owned them both since hatchlings. Male is approx 8yo, female is about 6yo. Very healthy, checked out by a vet.

Both have always been kept in the same enclosure together. Is this the problem? We have never seen them attempt to mate.

We are going to take the male away for a while, then put him back in and see if this helps.

Does anyone have any suggestions for us to get the party started??

 

[Ramsayi]

Get them probed for a start.

 

[waruikazi]

Sounds like they aren't a pair.

 

[seumas12345]

I would be getting them both probed by a experienced breeder, because it sounds like you've got two males or two females....
Then, if the breeder says you have a pair (male and female) then next season I would try pairing them up with different snakes... Sometimes (rarely) two snakes just won't mate with each other, and using different snakes can get results.... Good luck, let us know when they're probed if you have a pair or two of the same sex...

 

[sued1980]

Already thought of that one guys!

Male was probed by breeder when hatchling, female was probed by vet about 2 years ago. So unless someone got it wrong? Might check them out again, just in case someone got it wrong......funny!

 

[sued1980]

We definately have a male and female. Seen the hemepenes come out.

Going to take him out for winter cool down then re-introduce in spring. See how that goes.

And they say childrens are meant to be easy to breed............

Thanks for the help.

 

[MrBredli]

How have you cooled them in the past?

If you separate them now and re-introduce them in Spring you probably won't have any success as they do most of their mating during the cooler parts of the year, not in Spring.

 

[sued1980]

We have just been letting them cool down naturally as winter approaches with the light in the tank for heat. Summer we dont give any extra heating as we live in Qld and the house gets hot during the day.

MrBredli, from what I have read, the process is to begin the cooling down in autumn and then introduce the male in Spring for mating.

When do you advise I re-introduce him?
And should I I do it several times, taking him out for a week and then back in for a week?

Were also going to try and reduce the daylight hours, which we havent done previously.

Also, we have another male snake, although of a diferrent species. Do you think introducing him at the same time will provide some competition and get the male Childrens interested?

 

[CodeRed]

get them both re-probed for starters. Its easy to make mistakes.

Seperate them and start cooling from easter onwards. No night heat at all. re-introduce them 2 weeks after cooling has started. If mating doesnt start after 4 days, then seperate for a few days and start over.

 

[sued1980]

Thanks CodeRed. Ive taken him out now. Will try and re-introduce him in a few weeks time.
Isnt it too early for them to mate now though?

How cold is too cold over winter?
Should we be leaving a heat cord in the bottom of the substrate (corse sand) to increase the minimum temp to no less than say 20deg? Because it will get lower than that in winter, maybe 10-15deg, and the sand can be quite cold.

 

[CodeRed]

Thanks CodeRed. Ive taken him out now. Will try and re-introduce him in a few weeks time.
Isnt it too early for them to mate now though?

How cold is too cold over winter?
Should we be leaving a heat cord in the bottom of the substrate (cold sand) to increase the minimum temp to no less than say 20deg? Because it will get lower than that in winter, maybe 10-15deg, and the sand can be quite cold.

my antaresia get to 15 deg C (hot end) and whatever ambient allows (maybe 7-10 deg C on the coldest of nights) for the cold end. During the day they get 30 deg C in the hot end.

 

[sued1980]

Assuming these are your winter temps?

 

[CodeRed]

yes those are my winter temps