Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pastel that i acquired in september and have been cycling him with 3 females i have. he has been with each of the females once, and i just put him back in with the first female he bred, and now she doesnt seem interstedin breeding the male is crawling all over the place and she just sits in the smae spot. Its kinda funny but she seems to be in a nesting type mode now. Is it possible that after one breeding she could already be fertilizing eggs. all of the females i have tht bred seem to be in a nesting kind of state. normal or something to be concerned about?

Aaron

...Your question about whether a female can be fertilized with one single mating is a good one. It depends on the dose of healthy sperm, which depends on the fertility of the male and 'contact time', ie duration of the single mating. If a mating is long enough it should be possible. Now there are those that say that a female will only ovulate with sufficient male contact, ie presence of a male. But given a highly fertile pair one mating especially just prior to ovulation most likely can result in fertilization.

The 'nesting' behavior is commonly seen particularly in fasting females. Early in egg development females may be equivocal in their receptivity, so I don't think there's anything to be concerned about. Just keep cycling the male and offer food to the females. Some females will have a good appetite at this point and others will have none. You'll need to check the females daily in order to not miss the ovulation. Good luck!
Scott J. Michaels DVM

Scott,
Thanks for the reply I wanted to see if the fact tht the male was in with each female for a total of 2 weeks per female and one of the females i noticed is looking like she is ovulating now. She ate 2 days ago, but the swelling goes from vent to mid body and the rat wasnt over 2 feet long. I will know in the next day or 2 if she is infact ovulating. After ovulation how many weeks until the prelay shed. About the male being a good breeder he has been with 3 females already and i just put him in with his 4th female and within 15 minutes he was locked up and has been for the last 4-6 hours not sure havent been home, are these the signs of a great breeder of just a snake that has a very good breeding response, i wish his feeding response was this great unfortunately he only eats live medium rats i really hope after this breding season he will kick into the f/t rat department, but if he doesnt he is a pastel and i believe i can fork over 4 bux a meal for him since he is worth it. Thanks for anything else you can tell me.

Aaron

...yes locking-up within 15 minutes is pretty affirmative that your boy is a good breeder!! I think it's a bit unusual that the female would eat so close to ovulation, but maybe she didn't read the book, lol! In any case, the female will shed about 20 days post ovulation, but this can range between about 15 and 25 days. Then laying 25-35 days post shed.
I have an early July 03 male pastel that is pushing 750 gm that I will be trying soon on a 1900 gm high yellow virgin female. I hope my boy is half as good a breeder as yours!!!Good luck! Scott

Scott
Good luck with the pastel all i did with mine was cool him down for about 2-4 weeks at about 65-70 and i heated him up he went through a shed cycle and that was it he was on the road to breeding. What line of pastel do you have i have a new line that doesnt look like any pastel i have seen and other people have said the same things. Lemme get your email and ill send ya some pics of him with a normal female.

Aaron

Scott,
I noticed in a previous post you said female will sometimes soak before ovulation well guess what the female that is ovulating now.

Aaron

...readers? Last time I posted my email here I got inundated with emails!!! SJM

Female(s) may have enlarging follicles rather than actual ovulation. Recommend that you do not assume ovulation and stop pairing the animals for breeding trials (not that you are, of course). I've noticed a waning period of breeding interest followed by a heightened interest several weeks later, may be a dry period. Also, try heavily misting the enclosure before introductions. Could be my imagination, but it seems like they are locked up sooner when I do so.

About good breeding males... I have a 2.5 year old albino male at only 800 grams who has bred 4 females a total of 15 times... and counting (he's still going like the energizer bunny) since early November. He was locked up once for over 36 hours and at least 12 hours each time. However, another 2.5 year old male (a bit larger) bred each of the 4 females only once and he was not interested in breeding until December. A 1.5 year old albino male of mine has no interest in breeding this year. Your pastel male locking up within 15 minutes seems to be a very good sign to me - my good breeder male would do that sort of thing, but not the other.

Pre-lay shed should be about 3 weeks following ovulation.