Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got a pair of southern copperheads to try to breed to what I've always believed to be my (hypo) female. I was trying to find a male like her for almost 2 years but to prove if she is really hypo, I settled on a normal pair. The reason I'm questioning her sex now is because she's the one dominating the other 2. I have very minimal experience with breeding. I've had other copperheads that have come to me already gravid but never bred them myself. I've always thought that the male usually dominates the female in any species. But she's aggressively pursuing both of the new ones. And I think the other night she was hooked up with one that she's been all over for a couple weeks. I know she's wanting to breed. She's constantly cruising and fasts all summer for the last 2 summers. I have no solid proof of the sex on any of them. From what I've been seeing, it seems like the hypo is the male and the 2 new ones are females. Which would actually be nice, then I'd have 2 litters to see if any turn out like(her). Can anyone share their experience with Contorix as to how they behave when mating according to gender, if there are any tell tale signs. I'd really appreciate any comments or advice. This is something I've been trying to accomplish for almost 2 years now with her. And I was considering getting rid of one until I saw the hypo courting it last night too. Thanks alot.

If you would like to talk about breeding copperheads just drop me a line at occipital1968@yahoo.com, and be sure to put 'copperhead' in the subject box, Alex