Hey, I'm a newbie here...

But seeing my poor snake's dilemma (again) got me to write and see if anyone nearby would like to help us.

It's that time of year again...when Xerxes is constantly moving, twitching, gyrating, coiling, rolling... He's totally bonkers. And when I let him out, he'll just keep on moving, doing laps around the room instead of casually exploring and finding a nice drawer or boot to curl up in like usual. And over the years I've learned that I shouldn't even try to feed him until this is over...

I think it gets worse as he gets older; he's about 11 or 12, beautiful, always healthy, really sweet. I've had him since he was about 6.

Two questions: a) is there any indication that mating in snakes will either increase or decrease life expectancy? (I guess I could probably just look up some papers on this..) My gut tells me that it should decrease life expectancy, as there's some level of stress involved, plus a risk of disease with contact with another snake. Plus, with the assurance of gene propagation, what need is there to keep on living for longer? ...Unless it's the opposite... if mating as a release results in *less* stress...

And b) If there's no negative effect on life expectancy, does anyone have a healthy, happy, docile Arizona Mtn female they'd like to mate? Xerxes has beautiful markings; I can send pictures. I'm sure he'd sire beautiful snakelets.

Thanks in advance for your help!

-bunny

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