northern breeding behavior...male seems ?? Need some advice

[Spindown]

My female finally came out of brumation, and I introduced my Northerns today (under VERY VERY CLOSE SUPERVISON)!! This morning the female seemed receptive, and the male got a mating grasp, but then the female kept running away. The male tried multiple times, but after a while the female decided enough was enough and starting getting aggressive, once she started to open her mouth to bite him I separated them for a few hours (no one was hurt, no worries

This afternoon I tried again. The female was disinterested at first, but finally did the whole dance, head bobbing, tail wiggling, the whole nine yards. The male followed her around and got into a position where he could have gotten a neck hold, but then didnt. He started to appear stressed, and I separated them again (he was closing his eyes and just acting really stressed.) Gave them another few hours, and just tried again. The male didnt even try this time, even though the female could have cared less. Wasnt giving him the glare, etc, but he was totally disinterested.

I know it can take a week of trying to get mating, but is there any way I can make the male less stressed? He was all gung-ho this morning but after the rejections seems disinterested.
I wont let them hurt each other, and I dont want to stress them out, should I try every other day?

My male is est. to be 8-10 years old, and my female is a virgin 3-4 year old, do you think my male is too old and is getting "performance anxiety?" (jk lol)

People with breeding experience only please, I dont want to hear "well i looked on google and..."

PS. (both have gone through QT long ago, and finished up being treated for pinworms, and are now clean, neither have any current issues)

Please no flaming about breeding, I've done lots of research, am being super careful about not letting them injure each other, and i'm fully prepared for the time commitment, space commitment, monetary commitment, etc.

[Fatal_S]

I've found that my males can really only get in the mood once a day. It seems to take a lot out of them to even make an attempt. Keep trying, but not all on the same day. Let him rest and build up his energy again so he can make a good go at her.

[Spindown]

ahhh that makes sense
thats exactly the kind of advice I need! If anyone else has any, please chime in!
Thanks Fatal_S!

I've got my fingers crossed!!

[Katrina]

It seems super late to be breeding, but like Mel said - it can take a while for them to both be in the mood. The timing won't necessarily be right when you first introduce them. I'd just keep trying once or twice a day, supervising closely and see how it progresses after a week or so. It might take them a while to both be in the mood.

[Spindown]

I couldnt believe my girl slept from october to june myself...i was like O.O, but then i was told that they are usually in the mood soon after waking up from brumation, so I figured I'd give it a shot
I had pretty much written off breeding season this year, so hoping this works for me! Thanks!

[Spindown]

Well, shes still receptive, and i've been trying once every day for a while, but he's still getting stressed out. I'll try for a few more days, but I'm thinking its a no go for this year.

[Fatal_S]

How are you introducing them? Try putting the female in the males enclosure. Or put the male in an empty enclosure, let him get used to it, then place the female in. At times I had to wait up to 30 minutes for the male to calm down or build himself up before he made a go at the lass.

Of course, his breeding window could very well be passed, so just some tips.

[Spindown]

I have been either putting her into his enclosure, or putting them into a neutral location, i will try putting him in first and wait a while, i've been waiting at least 30 mins per try, usually more.

[Richard.C]

8 month brumation is super super long,especially for a tropical species,how long was the male brumated for,and more to the point when did he come out of brumation,normally for good results they should come out of brumation with in a week or 2 of each other

not knowing all the details makes it hard to give advice,but whats been mentioned so far is good,they can breed this late over there if cooled properly,so if cycled properly,both of them things could still workout

males if in the mood are normally the aggressors,persistant ect,fiesty lasses can prevent it though,but usually if lasses are ready the males are to persistant to be scared off`

its hard to know exactly,so i guess keep trying and see what happens,female may not be ready yet,but also may not be cycling,but if u dont try u miss another year of trying,keep us posted on how it goes