For the past four or five years i have gotten the best results from breeding hondurans after their second sheds. I noticed that maybe a tenth of my females would not proceed normally (i.e., rapidly) to their second sheds, so after waiting four, five, six weeks or more, and seeing obvious signs of ovulation, i'd get nervous--was i going to miss the "window of opportunity"? so i'd pair them up then. they'd breed, but i noticed the fertility rate wasn't as good for them as for the others, or that those clutches were more likely to be "resorbed" than clutches developed after 2nd sheds. But it did seem like some of those females unconsciously delayed their sheds, wanting to breed so that their 2nd sheds would be their prelay sheds. I viewed it basically as an anomaly--breed after 2nd shed, whenever poss., and that that was the normal (optimal) way for things to unfold.



This year however it seems like half or more of my females have deferred those 2nd sheds and, for the most part, are now breeding five-seven weeks after the first shed. In a few instances the females seem very far along in development and are not accepting the males, so I'm thinking i did miss their ovulation and i'm expecting slugs from those females.



Now i'm wondering if i should put animals together based more on the calendar than on number-of-sheds, or whether i should start putting them together early (say, routinely after the first sheds) and hope that either they won't breed then, if their bodies are more geared to wait for two sheds, or that (contrary to what i think i've seen in the past) if they do breed after their first sheds they'll be as routinely productive as my post-second-shed breedings have been.



Has anyone else seen this? How do you time the beginning of pairing your hondos? When do most of yours seem most receptive, most productive?



I realize the simple answer might be "wait til you can feel follicles" but it seems to me i've had awfully good results starting females after their second sheds, often before follicles can be felt. So would a wait-for-follicles strategy work?



I look forward to hearing about your experiences & your opinions.



peace

terry

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