Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am putting the male in with the female this weekend for courting...I just have one concern. My female is a strong feeder and I feed her inside the cage. When the doors open for food, she is ready for it. And she is hungry since I reduced food this month. I am afraid when I put the male in, she might think its feeding time (even though no rat smell is present) and bite/constrict him. Has this happened to anyone before or should I not be so concerned. She should be smarter than that, right?

Thanks,

Mat

I've never had a problem with a female thinking a male is food.

If you're really concerned you can always take your female out of her cage cage. Then put the male in her cage, but don't put the female back right away. Let the male be in there for about 20 minutes to check it out and maybe put down some scents. Then put the female back in the cage. You still should watch them for a little bit, maybe 15 minutes or so. Just enough to make sure they're "playing nice".

Removing the gal first and then keeping an eye on them when introducing them would probably be your best bet.
In my case though, I would either remove the female first, or what I usually do, is if the female is a 'hardy feeder' and looks interested in eating whatever moves, I have a spray bottle present for misting certain animals that I use to calm them down. All my animals know that when they get sprayed down, I am either coming in, taking something out, or putting in another snake ;p I'm sure most people have different tricks, but this one works for me and is readily available. They have to get used to it first though, over a period of time, so that it is clear what the spraying means. I also use it when returning animals to cages if they're with another animal after feeding, they are separated for a long period of time and then sprayed and wiped down to keep from any possible accidents. They don't really care for the spraying, but it has it's purposes and I don't do it to egg them on. I spray my emerald and GTP's cages regularly for humidity purposes, but I usually spray them once to let them know I'm not chow... since they are super attracted to movement and heat (ie-my hand!)If you have a larger collection, it helps to have a trick for multiple uses... everyone seems to use something different. I have several pairs together and snakes that have a heavy feeding response toward anything that moves, so to protect me and my males... I developed a system that they've come to know.
Done rambling now ;p Good luck!

-----
Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
1.0 Het. Anery (Guy)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hogg Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Apricot)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)

Thanks, I took your advice and everything was fine. Immediately, the male took an interest in hey, rides on her back, and both are tongue flicking eachother like crazy. I hope all goes well..

Only problem is that I noticed on the male..his right nostril looks slightly crusty. I have had this problem with him (and my other boas before) but when they shed it comes off. I am not sure if its the start of a mild RI but there is more heat in the females cage and its gone away with no problems in the past so I assume he will be fine. I examined him and there was no mucus, crackling sounds, and he doesnt open his mouth so Im not too worried...