Merauke, Halmahera, and Northern Breeding Thread

[Dakota]

Or maybe it was because he hadn't had any in a while. But Virginia didn't fight back, so I think it was a legitimate mating, and not a rape. She is quite an aggressive skink towards other skinks, so she'll definitely let him know when she is done.

I tried introducing again, and he had no interest in her. Maybe since it is super early in the season, it takes a while for his libido to increase? Who knows..

[Richard.C]

Yeah temps can play a role,with my northerns they usually go when temps are at there coldest and if a cold snap hits they can turn off,perhaps cant get warn enough

Good sign with yours though is if females can be cranky at other times but are letting male go ,then that u see as a good sign both are probably in the right zone

I have a couple of females that beat up on males either side of being ready,its usually the female persuing them around cage,lol

But when females ripe,they tend to change that attitude,the nutty ones i just mentioned when ready,if males still being shy they get up in his face and gently bite at his head or front legs until he wakes up and does something

There all different though,and love to keep you guessing at times

Looks promising for you though i reckon

[Dakota]

Funny thing is, temperatures have only went down a few degrees at night so far. No cold spell has hit. Goes to show you that they do not need any type of cooling down to mate. It still rains every evening here, like it does in Indonesia, so not sure what trigger they are relying off of, but I'm glad they are taking the hint!! They will be really confused when it actually starts getting cool and stops raining. I never heard of Meraukes mating in August and September, but seems like a lot of people are getting matings already this season. This is my 2nd attempt at trying to producing babies, so I'll be ecstatic if even one pops out a single baby. I'm hopeful, but I've learned not to put too much hope into it. Lol.

[Richard.C]

Seeing mating at leasts gives u some confidence,but yes,tge long wait to see if they take is the painful part,lol

That slight drop your witnessing may be all they need,being that you arent in indonesia,the trigger there may not seem like much to you but gets them going,even night drops can be enough

If u waited till others were getting matings like alot seem to do,you could easily miss the window,they could be to early as well
Theres still a lot to learn with indos so you cant write anything off,in nature you never know they may also mate befire its at its coolest,or thats just an artifact of captivity and the cooler climates some keepers live in

Tgey seem to be doing all the right things though so yeah keep it up

[Dakota]

Almost had another textbook perfect mating. I first tried to introduce him to Xaunder to see if he'd git-r-done, too, but he still had no interest in her at all. Like diddly squat! But then I put him in Virginia's cage; he was on her like white on rice! It just took him seconds to start going after her. However, once he got his "final" bite, it was too high. Every time he'd tuck under, his cloaca was at her belly. He tried and tried for like 5 minutes, but eventually gave up. I guess he lost his courage, too, because he lost interest. I am going to try again later today to see. Picture showing his hemipene not aligned:

[Richard.C]

Haha,yeah sonetimes they dont get lined up well enough and seem to burn them selves out by persisting and they just give up in the end,trying again later is your best bet when that happens,as it seems to wear them out hust like a good lock up does ive found and they need to recover before trying again

Good signs hes ignoring other lass at moment as well,as good chance his picked up cues from the lass his covering hence the interest there rather than just trying willy nilly on anything

[Dakota]

Virginia charged Hunter today. I guess she is back to normal, and her window is closed. He didn't even pursue her and she just tanked her way over to him. So, now the waiting game. Xaunder really only gets aggressive once Hunter starts pursuing, so I'm not totally sure she is done yet.

Halmaheras are still not showing interest. Maybe after this shed?

[aaronhouts]

They look great.
What are the sexes on those two?

[Dakota]

Top is confirmed male, bottom is virgin female. Maxx, the male, is usually a light auburn color. Vera, the female, is usually a very deep bloody red. Vera is usually a VERY aggressive skink towards anything she sees, but today she was not aggressive at all. Hopefully that means she is close.

[Dakota]

I am not sure at all how she got this huge with just one meal in her tummy, but she IS huge!! I hope this is ovulation. During breeding, she was kinda on the slim side, admittedly. Now this.


Trying not to think about it, trying not to think about it, trying not to think about...

[Susann]

Trying not to think about it, trying not to think about it, trying not to think about...

Hahaha! We all know how successful you'll be at not thinking about it.

Xaunder is normally built very slender, like my Rosy, so it's looking really good.

[Dakota]

I measured her, and she is 24 cm in girth. I measured Ema, who is still feeding normal and ate just the same amount, at 20 cm. The amount offered was about 2.5 tablespoons. I will offer this same amount next time and see if she gets this large. I might be trying to see things, but I don't ever remember Xaunder getting this large after a feeding... Maybe I'm going already.

[Richard.C]

See if she deflates abit over night,tgey dobt all shoe goid signd of ovulation but unexplainable bloating look can be it,if do she should lose that pretty quick to

[Dakota]

Measured her tonight at 21 cm and Ema at a wee under 20 cm.

[Dakota]

Well, I figured they are done. I put them together today just to test the water, and Hunter snuck another one in! Another textbook example mating. He got his bite and hung on until she calmed down. Another long mating, too.

[Susann]

What's that white, "furry" stuff in there?

You'll have babies next year for sure. And if you don't, I'm thinking you need to just pack up your animals and ship them to me ...not that I need more Meraukes, but still.

[Dakota]

It is sphagnum moss; it was concentrated to one side of her cage, but you know skinks..... The bald spot is where her water bowl is, if anyone wonders why there aways seems to be a bald spot. I think I got three matings out of her in 2013, so with 5, hopefully babies. But you know my luck...

[Richard.C]

Amount of times doesnt matter,well if they do it at the right time,hence its good to persevere just in case,lol

[Dakota]

Lol. Hunter is definitely trying to make sure he has some more children!

6th mating; long one, too!


Expelled semen:

[Jbolar]

any additional pairings? successful lock ups?