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I have two pair of brooks/florida kings that I am trying to breed - a bone white hypo / hypo het and two anerys with supposedly multiple hets behind each of them.

I put them together yesterday for the first time for most of the day - they all came out of brumation a couple of weeks ago, have al eaten well and the females have both recently shed. Both pairs looked at each other the whole day; no movement or interest in the opposite sex. I removed them from each other and put them back to their individual enclosures in the evening since I wasn't able to check on them periodically and being a novice I am still fearful they might begin to cannibalize each other. I'm not sure this is a valid concern, since they are all about the same size, but I'm bit apprehensive and what I've been able to read indicates that this could happen?.

Couple of questions:
- Can I leave the pairs together overnight and for extended periods of time (a few days) or should I continue to remove them from each other in the evenings to play it safe?
- If I can leave them together overnight or for an extended period of time, how long should I leave them together before removing them and giving them a break from each other?
- Since there is no interest shown yet among the pairs, should I wait awhile longer before introducing them again or should I just continue on a regular basis until there is some activity?

Sorry for the long winded post, but any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim

Continue what you are doing and watch them carefully.
Since they were not brumated together they do not "know" each other. If the female is ovulating then keep pairing them up until the females go into the blue again.
You can palpate for egg follicles to ensure she is ovulation if you want.
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

John - thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

Jim

Next year cool them together, meaning in one large enclosure where they can sidle up on one another if they want. Seems to really enhance their desire for one another in the coming Spring while lessening any inclination for one to eat another. I said lessen, not 100% eliminate, though in my experience it pretty much eliminates it as long as the female is fed well. As always, be aware of what you are doing with them and read their behavioral hints.

>>Next year cool them together, meaning in one large enclosure where they can sidle up on one another if they want. Seems to really enhance their desire for one another in the coming Spring while lessening any inclination for one to eat another. I said lessen, not 100% eliminate, though in my experience it pretty much eliminates it as long as the female is fed well. As always, be aware of what you are doing with them and read their behavioral hints.

Great info Mark....I concur.....
Once mine are paired up prior to brumation their first winter they are never separated except when the female is nesting. With some I separate to feed, because of their individual attitudes...
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Thanks John. I stumbled on that by accident a long time ago. I had all my Cal kings in those 1st Phillips polycarb boxes with the lids - all in a big plywood box in a basement during Winter. When I checked on them one day, I found 3 out of 4 Cal kings out of their boxes, with one big male and one big female coiled on top of one another, and the smaller female coiled nearby but not touching the pair.

From then on I simply kept pairs together during Winter that I wanted to breed in Spring. It worked with rosy boas as well. But I was not smart enough to know why it worked, I just repeated what did work.

Then years later I read Rete's posts here about that subject, and it all made sense. It was great to see that info presented here.

The interesting thing that occurs is when you keep a trio (1.2) together. It seems the male chooses which one to breed with first. The male will lay around on or near the female like he is waiting for her to ovulate. Whenever she moves he's right there with her. If she ever straightens out he tries lock up with her.....This happens with pairs as well.

After he breeds with that first female he finds the second one and breeds her too.....

Another interesting thing occurs when feeding. I throw in 4 appropriate size f/t mice. The male will let the female eat first. Sometimes she eats all four, sometimes 3, sometimes two and sometimes just 1 or none. He will eat the left overs or refuse to eat until breeding occurs.
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Great info, thanks!

>>Great info, thanks!

Well...at least that is what happens with my snakes....
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

John and Mark - again thanks for the valuable information, it is much appreciated. I'll keep in mind putting them together during next season's brumation period. I've got to tell you though, I guess I'm still a bit apprehensive; but I'll give it a try.

Thanks,
Jim