Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was looking forward to throwing my female in with my male Eastern tonight...and something occured to me! I dont know if when I put them together I will be able to tell them apart when I go to pull the female out. They are very close in size, neither have any flaws to identify them by. What should I do? Since nobody in my household is willing to hold my Indigos but me it would be hard to hold them up side by side to look at tail length...This is probably screaming "stupid newbie question" but it is what it is, and I am what I am. Thanks in advance!

First...I think it's still a little early for Easterns to breed. You need some fairly low nighttime temps.

Secondly...if you can't visually tell the difference, are you sure you have a male and a female? There should be a fairly readily visible difference when you look at their tail. The female will have a much steeper taper from body to tail and the tail will be shorter. The male will have a more gradual taper and the base of the tail will be wider and the tail longer. It should be pretty easy to tell them apart if they are of breeding size.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was expecting the comment about timing. Im positive about the male/female thing. Thanks for your help. I guess I will just have to try to compare them. I can pretty well tell them apart as far as personality goes.

when introducing your snakes together, make sure you do not leave them unattended for any length of time. If you have an unreceptive female, the male could put a real "hurtin'" on your girl which could result in a trip to the vet to stitch up a big wound. That is why it was recommended to wait a little while longer when the snakes have been cycled properly before introducing them to each other. I typically begin the process in November. As a sidenote, you should know your snakes inside and out and even though all indigos may appear to look exactly alike, each are actually quite unique with very subtle differences; just spend a little time looking over every square inch of them. The tail differences is one good way.

Rob Carmichael

ZPD,

Way to early to put them together. Right now we still have temps out here of 85-90 degrees daytime high. Feed them both well, espeically the female. The male will begin giving you cues when it is time, like crawling the walls of his cage. You can also go by Baromotric pressure. Stormy, cold weather is great for breeding.

Fred A

When it is time to mate your pair I would put the male in with the female. Not the female with the male.

Someone shoot me down here if I’m wrong.

In the wild it is the male that hunts for his mate and will find his mate in her area. You may have less trouble with her acceptance in the security of her area.

Make sure all cage furniture is out except the water bowl.