I have several thayeri and last year I tried breeding them for the first time. I have 3 females. 2 of the females are 4 years old and it was the first time they were breed. One is about 10 and she has been successfully bred before by a previous owner. I keep them all together in a large wooden chest/ cage. I have a small heating pad in it but no additional lighting other than a nearby window. Last year I brumated them for 3 months in the basement which is about 50-60 degrees. They all had 6-8 eggs. All the eggs varied in size and were soft, yellowish and eventually rotted. I wondered if my adults are not getting enough calcium and was considering adding lights to their cage. Would this solve my problems. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions.
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Thayeri Breeding help?
Replies (3)
Sounds like the females are doing their thing, and your conditions seem ok to me. Thayeri don't really need lights on their cage, they normally spend a great deal of their time under the surface and don't need to bask in sunlight. For your calcium concern, as long as they are eating normally and taking decent-sized mice they should be good there also. I would be more concerned about the condition of the male and his fertility.
How do you keep the male(s)?
Mike
Thanks for the advice. I used to keep my male with the females all the time, however I divided them up during brumation. I separated them after seeing what happened to the eggs and kept the male separate since in a smaller tub. All of my Thayeri have normal and enthusiastic appetites.(one of the things I like about them) I did obtain another male this summer, so maybe I'll use him instead this year. Any other suggestions I would really appreciate.
the females. Although I have had one dud female in the past. My males don’t get much colder than that so that is probably okay. If the males get too hot though it can kill the sperm. I do not let my males get over 84 on the hot spot (okay it might get 85 sometimes). I try to keep the temps between 82 and 84 for the males. They do not seem to care about lights much. Once a month or so (when I think about it) I will dip the rear of a F/T mouse in calcium powder before feeding it to the female. Also do the same with “nutribac” (probiotic). My guess would be your males are too hot though.
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Rick
Never Enough
Reptiles
