I check in every couple days or so. Too busy to keep right on top of fast moving threads.

Seems to me there are only a limited number of ways to precipitate follicle development. Most are internal only to the female. One could hypothesize a number of male induced triggers - copulation (similar to how cats must be copulated in order to stop estrus), presence of retained sperm/semen hormones (current or prior year), or tactile stimulation.

However, I believe I have observed females develop follicles in the spring where there has been no male influence in the current or prior year (other than presence in nearby cages). Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests to me that what drives follicle development is entirely internal to the female – at least the first time in the Spring. That’s part of why I would expect that the development of a second clutch in a second season is entirely dependent on the female, and body condition is one of my prime suspects.

I do wonder if given different times of year, will the same female in the same condition produce a second clutch under one circumstance, but not the other? I.e. Allan, if your female had laid her first clutch on June 23rd (after the summer solstice) rather than in May, given the same conditions, would she have attempted to produce a second clutch? Could she be sensing that daylight hours are still increasing, and thus, she has ‘plenty of time to give it a second go’?

-----
Ophidiarium Charieis

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]