Reptile & Amphibian Forums

after a male and female are introduced how long after should a lock up take place? and also how long should they be kept together before being separated? thanks for your help!

Generally, they won't lock up unless the female is receptive (which usually is only when she is physically ready to breed). I've seen my pairs lock up within 10 minutes of being introduced all the way up to sometime within the first 12 hours.

Remember they are nocturnal and there is a fairly good chance you won't see them lock up. The time they spend copulating can also vary. Sometimes it is only a few hours while at other times they will lock up for over a day.

I usually give my animals three days together followed by four days apart. If the female is lined up to breed with more than one male I will rotate the males so that they do not end up with the same female twice in a row. This seems to work well for me. The schedule allows the animals a day of "alone time" in their own tubs before I offer them food and rotating the males between the females means that the scent of competing male is still lingering in the female's tub which seems to help fuel their competitive sex drive.