First breeding attempt a bust

Well my virgin RO female shed overnight so I decided now was the time! Granted, I have a lot of snakes but have never bred before so this season is hopefully the cumulation of a lot of time and research. So I placed my RO with my male snow motley who has been active and prowling his tub.

I got lots of jerky motions from the female and Casper definitely smelled her at first then he just took to exploring the tub I put them in and she took to fleeing every time he touched her/came nearby. I took them out after about ten minutes and put them back in their respective tubs. Casper seemed content and lazy, and unimpressed, but Popcorn, my RO was pretty freaked out and was squirmy and went straight to her hide as soon as I put her back in the tub.

Sooooooo I'm guessing not ready?? Kind of afraid to try again after watching her fly around the tub I put them in.

Sounds exactly like my girls' first encounter with a male. Tried again a few weeks later and now she's expecting some valentine's eggs. Be patient and good luck to you.

My virgin girl reacted very similar. What kind of bin did you put them in? I put them in a bin that you can't see out of, then gave them space. Put a lid on it, and come back in about 5-10 minutes, If they seem to have calmed down, then leave them in there for about 30 minutes then put them away. You don't want to stress your female out too bad.

Good luck! Being patient is the hardest part about breeding!

I put them in a big 90 quart clear tub (but with a dark lid). I will give them some more time next time and give them some privacy.

She just wasn't ready! (As long as you're sure she's sexed correctly)! So now all you have to do is put them together every Sunday evening until she says yes. She will! Then put them together every three days for 4-5 times or till they stop. Even if they don't mate one time, I still put them back together three days later to make sure they are done.

With all that breeding going on, it's hard to coordinate everyone's feeding schedules, to I feed _after_ mating_, the female once every six days and the male once every 12 days. The male can feed right after breeding, but I let the female rest quietly in the breeding bin for an hour or two before feeding her and replacing her in her viv.

The snakes will usually hook up in 10-15 minutes. If they haven't in 30 minutes, they most likely are not going to, that day, and it's safe to put everyone away.

Ours was a bust as well... Don't feel bad, from all my reading, it happens a lot. Our male was chasing the female all over and she wouldn't hold still. We finally took her out because I was worried she was getting too stressed. The second time we tried our male was not pursuing her... I told my husband that his feelings were still hurt and he was sulking... lol the female seemed a little more accepting of him this time, and actually rubbed against him and went over him a few times, but he wasn't so sure he could trust her... We are waiting a few days and will go for round 3! Thanks Nanci for all the info, I was actually looking for exactly what you said!

My info about timing breeding attempts comes straight from, well, second hand from, The Don, and it has been 100% true in my experience.

Wait til she's obviously ovulating, she'll be puffy looking, the scales spread apart a bit, gets that 'fishnet' effect going on. I'm still a couple months out from first pairings. Did she brumate? How far over 300 grams (on on empty stomach) is she?