Reptile & Amphibian Forums

That works with Eastern Kings. I have a big WC female Eastern that attacks anything that moves. I also have another WC male that is a little bit smaller than her. They were both cooled for the winter and have both shed and eaten several times since Feb. 15. My problem is that every time I put them together to breed, the female attempts to eat the male. Does this behavior usually mellow as the female starts to feel the need to mate? She was gravid when I found her in '06, it must have been one hell of a male to escape with his life from this female! LOL!
Any ideas or solutions would be appreciated. Thanks!
-Phil

Is there a possibility the male is just trying to grab her by the neck to hold her down and mate with her?, or did you actually witness him trying to kill her by constriction?, as "Kings" many times do this.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

But in any case, females sometimes will do this!,..generally, when the time is right for the female, and her eggs are ready to be fertilized, they usually calm down and allow the male to breed. But there are sometimes exceptions to everything!LOL

Good luck with them!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

she may just have a big appetite. feed her alot every time she poops give her more and have daily introductions on full bellies, its very possible since you said she is w/c gravid last year she retained sperm and is gravid now, ive noticed when my femmes ovulate and are prime for breeding that week to 2week window they really dont show aggression towards males at all or eating. now before and after ovulating/breeding ive noticed they have really strong feeding responses anyway best of luck with them,,,,,,,,,thomas davis

you female is hungry.
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I don't need no spell chack.

Not eastern king ... but -

That female could eat that male in a heartbeat.
She has an extremely strong feeding response. If she's hungry, anything that moves - including my nose - gets attacked.

I feed her gobs the day before - let her digest a little overnight - and then put her in the males cage. She hasn't tried to eat him yet.
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3.6 L. getula californiae
1.1 L. getula nigrita
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus
1.0 Boa constrictor constrictor (suriname, fostering/rescue)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata
1.1 Felis catus (neutered)
1.0 Homo erectus (me)

her being able to put the hurt on him in no time flat!!
If she weren't fed - very well fed, I wouldn't take my eyes off of them.

You're doing something right there though.

byron.d

Yeah, I guess the 40grm. rat a week diet that I have her on is just too lean. LOL! Thanks Rainer, next time I'll try Guinea pigs! LOL!
-Phil

Big Jack,

I feed my females all they can eat and then throw my males in. I watched the late Lloyd Lemke do this early in my life and have followed suit ever since.
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I don't need no spell chack.

While your once-a-week schedule may be fine for maintenance, breeding females will need more food, and they respond by wanting to eat anything and everything that moves.

I agree, step up the feeding if you will be breeding that female.

That once-a-week thing is your schedule. Give her a choice and see what happens. Sometimes she will eat daily. Sometimes she will skip a few weeks.
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Mark