Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all....I saw the post below about mandarin care...very nice by the way...I was just wondering about breeding size...what is a good weight for mandarins going into brumation? Also, if anybody would know of individuals that have older close or ready to breed females...

thanks
mgl

I'm no expert breeding Mandarins, but may have a couple pointers that could help. Mandarin Rats vary quite a bit in size over their extensive range. My s.e. China pair are around three ft. at four years of age. Some have snakes well over four ft. at that age, or younger. Breeding has to do with age and development too. Also, remember that E. mandarina is a montane snake, cool adapted, and matures slowly. I and many others recommend going at least one extra year before breeding. For example, if they are three yrs. old and look big enough, wait at least one more year. The smallest breeding female, imho, should be at least three ft. long. At that length they could be various weights, but I would imagine the snake would be two fifty to three hundred grams, at least, to be ready for breeding, although it may have more to do with age.

Good luck and ere on the side of caution. TC.

Thanks for the response....I have a few that are almost 4 years old and I was thinking of holding them back a year anyway...since they are slow growers and there metabolism can only digest smaller prey at a time...shouldn't weight be correlated more so than size? Just wondering because I have 3.5-4 ft animals that are the same species that are tremendously variable wrt weight more so than length.

thanks for the response and keep up the good work
matt

"...shouldn't weight be correlated more so than size?"

Well, there is a point there, but lots of folks don't have the means to weigh them, and it depends on if we're talking just females or males and females. It would be good to have data on weights, but at 3.5 yrs, my male had no problems as a breeder. My female did have some problems. Currently, he is 254 grams and she is 367 grams. She wasn't that big with the first pairing though and didn't seem ready, not wanting to breed. I'm guessing she was too small and too young, but there could have been some other reasons.

Some females could be shaped more like a male at that age, i.e. slimmer, and not have enough weight for reproduction. Although it's very soon to have enough evidence, my guess is the female was just not mature enough and/or she didn't have enough reserves to develop a clutch of eggs. The next female I raise up will be 4.5 yrs. old, at least, and hopefully lots more receptive. As stated, my current female is 367 grams and probably will get even heavier next year. I'll try to mate her again next spring and see what happens at 4.5 yrs. of age. You're smart to be cautious.

Good luck....TC.