Just my responses, and not necessarily what other carpet breeders do.



1. I like to wait until females are four before breeding, as opposed to the more common three year rule of thumb. It just gives their bodies more time to develop. Is it really necessary, I don't know, but I liken it to a pregnant 15 year old versus a 21 year old.



2. Some cycle, and some don't. It has worked both ways. My big thin banded female produced 2 offspring(17 infertile) last year without cycling, though she produced nothing after being cycled this year.



3. I just tossed them together and let them be for the most part. You shouldn't have to worry about cannibalism. I have not found males to become violent with each other either.



4,5 see other responses.



6. All my clutches have pipped before day 51 if I remember correctly. I believe one clutch hatched out around day 40, while I was out of town. They were all incubated at 88F.



7. It seems to be more common to remove the eggs for artificial incubation. I intend on letting one of my females artificially incubate one of these seasons.



8. They tend to part ways once the hatchlings emerge.



I'm far from an expert when it comes to these things, but I've produced three clutches so far and am learning a bit more each time. Still confused to no end when it comes to ovulation, though lol.



Tim

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