Reptile & Amphibian Forums

No, not the neighbors...

My computer is right next to my cages, I noticed this a few
monthes ago when I introduced a silverback male to a female,
& I just heard it again now as I re-introduced a male to a
female's cage.

It was very loud, it sounded like a diarhea commercial. Liquid or
fecal matter being violently expelled, I haven't looked to see
yet.

Does it mean anything, like maybe she is getting ready, or
the opposite?

I believe that would be the female exhibiting cloacal gaping. From what I understand it usually means that the female is not interested, either because she's not sexually mature yet or she just doesn't like that male.

I have heard some people report just the opposite though. That the female could be spreading pheromones around to entice the male.

Personally I have seen one of my female Nics do this. She's an '05 so I thought she might be ready to breed. Within 5 minutes of the initial introduction of a male Nic, she thrashed her tail, wandered all over the cage until her tail was perched on the rim of the waterdish, and she expelled a lot of liquid and urates. The male was very interested immediately after and chased her around for a few hours. By morning they were on opposite sides of the enclosure. I have not seen any breeding activity from them. I think my girl was telling the male to "back off".

Amie

Thanks, that's why I posted. I remember reading posts about both
reactions too.

They are all tangled up in the corner. He is on top of her.
He refused to feed for the first time this past week, so I
figured he still was in breeding mode.

The analogy I heard about cloacal gaping is that it's akin to a woman flipping her hair while looking at a guy in a bar. It's a good sign.
And in my experience, 3 of 3 clutches of BCC have included cloacal gaping upon introduction.

jb
-----
Jonathan Brady
*You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.*

They both appear to be in the mood, but I've put them together
before and I've seen them copulating but she never appeared to
ovulate, at least I didn't notice...

Tom

Was she doing that to you or to the male snake?? I told you last time it was impossible to breed your own snakes !

haha

your brotha from another motha
-----
Spencer

She's always a woman with me...

This is wayyy before your time.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4nQB3V10i8).

I have seen it go both ways. More often than not I have experienced good courtship to follow. I believe it is the females way of saying yes or no. The male knows which one.--Kraig