mating

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sarah
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mating

Postby sarah » Sat Jan 19, 2013 9:04 am

Will a male mate a female if she is gravid?
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Jeff
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Re: mating

Postby Jeff » Sat Jan 19, 2013 9:46 am

A pair of skinks will generally mate over a two week or so period of time. At some point either the male will lose interest or the female will no longer allow him to mate. Once the female is done she should not allow any male to mate with her again.

Sometimes a female will reject mating a few times in the middle of her breeding window and then start mating again, but when that happens it means she was not "done" yet. After the female's breeding window is closed, she will at some point ovulate. Once she ovulates, if she has viable sperm in her, the eggs should be fertilized. That is the point when she becomes gravid. After that point, she shouldn't allow a male to mate with her. These skinks do some crazy things at times though. They are constantly surprising me.

If I had two skinks mating, I would assume that the female is not currently gravid.
6.10.9 T. s. intermedia
2.2.7 T. s. scincoides
1.2.1 T. nigrolutea
2.2.0 T. r. rugosa
1.2.3 T.g. keyensis
2.0.5 T.s. chimaera
0.0.0. T. occipitalis
0.0.0. T. multifasciata
http://www.btskinks.com
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sarah
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Re: mating

Postby sarah » Sat Jan 19, 2013 9:24 pm

My male mated her two times the week of Thanksgiving and then lost interest.Then he mated her two times this week thought she was pregnant from the November sex but now I am confused.
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Jeff
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Re: mating

Postby Jeff » Sat Jan 19, 2013 9:35 pm

What species do you have, and how long have you had them? If they are mating now, she is most likely not gravid from previous encounters. I would be extremely surprised if a gravid female allowed a male to breed with her.
6.10.9 T. s. intermedia
2.2.7 T. s. scincoides
1.2.1 T. nigrolutea
2.2.0 T. r. rugosa
1.2.3 T.g. keyensis
2.0.5 T.s. chimaera
0.0.0. T. occipitalis
0.0.0. T. multifasciata
http://www.btskinks.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bluetong ... 846297977#
sarah
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Re: mating

Postby sarah » Sat Jan 19, 2013 9:42 pm

There IJ and I have had them for about a year and a half.
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Jeff
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Re: mating

Postby Jeff » Sun Jan 20, 2013 9:32 am

I have not bred them myself, but from what I have heard, IJ's will breed pretty much the same as northerns if cycled the same. What I have found with other Indonesian BTS is that it is not unusual for them to copulate pretty much any time of year without successfully impregnating the female. They seem to have a high number of "unsuccessful" matings.

My guess is that IJ's probably have the same tendencies if they are not given a distinct cooling period in order to trigger breeding. Did you intentionally cool them down for 7-8 weeks prior to their first matings? Do they live together? Once my skinks are done mating, they are kept separate, so they don't have the opportunity to mate anymore. Because of that, I can't say for sure that they would not, but I would be shocked if a female let a male near her once her breeding window has closed. Once a female is gravid, I believe the breeding window remains closed until the next season.

It is not unusual for skinks (especially Indonesian varieties) to mate without becoming gravid.
6.10.9 T. s. intermedia
2.2.7 T. s. scincoides
1.2.1 T. nigrolutea
2.2.0 T. r. rugosa
1.2.3 T.g. keyensis
2.0.5 T.s. chimaera
0.0.0. T. occipitalis
0.0.0. T. multifasciata
http://www.btskinks.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bluetong ... 846297977#
sarah
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Re: mating

Postby sarah » Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:30 pm

They don't love together and I didn't cool her.
sarah
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Re: mating

Postby sarah » Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:32 pm

What should her temps be when cooled?
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Jeff
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Re: mating

Postby Jeff » Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:44 pm

Like I said, I have not bred IJ's myself, but from what I have heard, they can be bred the same as northerns. For my northern, I simply turn off all heat for about 8 weeks. I the room they are in, that means their daytime temperatures are around 69-70. At night it might drop a degree or two. Some people feel that it is not necessary to cool them at all if you just shorten their photo period. I have the lights on 4-5 hours a day during the time they are being cooled. The rest of the time they are in total darkness.

I'm just curious. If you skinks don't live together, why did you put them together 2 months after they had mated? I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, I'm just curious why you did.
6.10.9 T. s. intermedia
2.2.7 T. s. scincoides
1.2.1 T. nigrolutea
2.2.0 T. r. rugosa
1.2.3 T.g. keyensis
2.0.5 T.s. chimaera
0.0.0. T. occipitalis
0.0.0. T. multifasciata
http://www.btskinks.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bluetong ... 846297977#
sarah
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Re: mating

Postby sarah » Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:19 pm

I just had them out at the same time,when my male assumed the position.
I didn't stop him.
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Fatal_S
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Re: mating

Postby Fatal_S » Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:45 pm

I will say be cautious when brumating IJs. Just my own experience, but every year I've lost an IJ during brumation, and had others get RIs. Same conditions as all my northerns, the IJs just can't seem to handle it. That said, my normal brumation has been putting the skink in a dark box at room temperature all winter. It worked great for the northerns, but I've decided it's too harsh now. I didn't both with brumation this year, so I still have a year to decide on a new, safer, brumation method.
sarah
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Re: mating

Postby sarah » Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:14 pm

Ok thanks so much.
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Richard.C
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Re: mating

Postby Richard.C » Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:34 am

Mel did they kind of slow down regardless of no full cooling,they may still have cycled if your room temps drop low enough,northerns are from the tropical north of australia,its generally 30 degrees there during the day year round,humid is summer dry in winter with mostly a night drop in temp over the dry season,a 20 degree day where they are from is akin to a snow storm,even in the cooler dry season,i think northerns tolerate cooler temps being subspecies of easterns,perhaps making them more forgiving

All the indos are from a similar climate,some possably warmer year round and more humid,similar to pythons from same areasfull shut down hibernations is more for temperate species,can work for others but can also put them at risk

If i was breeding ij,id be aiming to simulate the wet dry seasons of the tropics,not so much with excess humidity,though it could help,but more the fluctuating dirunal cycles of the tropics in the dry season,wet season small fluctuations in temps over a 24 hour period,dry season with a big night temp drop

That works great for me living in a temperate zone,full shutdown would be to cold
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Re: mating

Postby Fatal_S » Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:59 pm

They have slowed down somewhat, and I will be pairing them in spring, I just don't care this year if I get babies or not. Some of my Northerns went into a full brumation even without cooling them, others are mostly awake. IJs and tannies are all sleepier than normal, but alert and eating (smaller portions). It will be interesting to see how they warm themselves up and breed, and whether they all cycle the same. I do have some that definitely won't be breeding though - they're getting a year off for their good work the past few years. Those also happen to be the 2 who are in the deepest brumation.

I can't simulate wet/dry seasons right now, but once I move I hope to have more control over the humidity in the reptile areas.

We're getting OT now :) I only mentioned it because brumating IJs was mentioned, and I think it's something to be a bit more careful about (as opposed to Northerns, who seem to tolerate anything).

I don't really know about gravid females mating. I suppose it's possible if the lass is laid back and the male is insistent, but in my (very limited) experience the females will tell the male off right away if she's done. And I know Meraukes are notorious for breeding a lot and never producing babies, so I'd assume IJs could do the same.

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