Brumation and Breeding Northern BTs

[dingopanga]

I have some questions for successful Northern blue-tongue breeders:

1. How long do you typically wait after bringing your breeders out of brumation until you introduce them for breeding?

2. How many times do you allow your female to be bred by a male?

Here are my own answers but I'm very interested in other approaches.

1. In the past I've usually waited a couple of weeks before introducing the males and females. This year I let the males breed in the first week and I suspect that was too soon. Two out of five females produced live babies, but based on the elapsed time between breeding and parturition, I suspect the females did not ovulate until a few weeks later. (Retaining the sperm.)

2. I typically try for three successful breedings for each female. Females sustain skin wounds during breeding, which I try to avoid as much as possible. And females also seem to grow more alarmed and hostile after each encounter with a crazed male -- so I limit it to maximum of three but curious how other people approach this with their breeders.

I will look for answers here but people interested in the topic can email me directly at:

devildingocafe@gmail.com

Thank you

[splashy07]

I wait until they start acting normal again, basking, eating and just doing what skinks do. Often my males show little or no interest in food, as their mind is elsewhere. I don't really put a time frame on it, I just let them tell me.
I try for three successful pairings.
I also let them wake themselves up, usually in early February here in the Northeast.
I have had three successful seasons, smallest litter 9 largest 14.
I also let them tell me when they want to go to sleep, usually right after Thanksgiving,

[dingopanga]

Thank you, Splashy07 for your response.

I think I've seen some of your babies up for sale -- they are very pretty.

My males really don't show much interest in eating until the breeding season is over, which is one of the reasons I've tried to compress the time range a bit. Next year I am going to wait a few weeks before I start introducing the adults, and hope to observe cues as to when the females are ovulating.

I also limit the breeding encounters to 3 because by the time each female is bred the third time, they are a bit chewed up on the shoulders and just seem in no mood to go on another 'encounter'.

[splashy07]

Thank you for the compliment! Best of luck to you, it's so exciting to have babies, and such relief when the wait is over!