Doug, just a couple other thoughts.
You say last year she shed two months after warming up and by then it was "too late". What's the foundation for that statement: They showed no interest in each other? One did, one didn't? If she's been up for a month that means you warmed them in January. It's hard for me to imagine that putting them together in March would be "too late" so i think there may be other explanations worth considering as well.
Feeding more aggressively, as suggested by others, is a good idea. In addition to being a possible stimulant for reproductive behavior, it will accelerate progress toward the female's shed so she coincides with the male's readiness--AND doesn't drive you crazy while you wait and worry. BTW, males can father second clutches with breedings well into the summer so it's sure not likely March was "too late" for the male.
I think waiting is a good idea, and patience a virtue. And I"m speaking from hard-earned experience!
These animals have their own internal mechanisms, and we can't fully understand them, and we can only partly manage them. When people post about their breeding strategies, those are averages, things that work with most of their animals, etc. There are always exceptions. I think if you put them together and nothing happens--or worse, as in your case, there's a feeding response--it makes sense to chill, wait a week or ten days, and try again. You won't miss a receptive period if you try every week, but you can't FORCE them to breed when they're not ready. I'm assuming you cooled them properly and for a suitable length of time....wanna provide any details on that? Maybe someone more knolwedgeable than i can make suggestions on that front.
Anyway, I'm a pretty obsessive guy, and i spent some early years fussing over every detail, trying again in two days if something didn't work. I've learned that may have had more to do with addressing MY needs & anxieties than it did with the logic of catching the snakes at the right time.
So I'm encouraging you to not worry--because there's not a lot you can do about it: If they're going to breed, they will, and if you brumated them ok and keep them feeding and put them together only at reasonable intervals, you'll catch them during a period of readiness. If that never happens, it's not your fault, one or the other of them may simply be an animal that's not going to breed. That may be discouraging, but don't let it paint a broad swatch of futility over your enthusiasm for breeding.
peace
terry
>>Alright, here goes. This is a follw-up to a post I made last week.
>> I finally did it. I placed my Cali kings together. As you'll see below, I've had some difficulty with knowing when the time was right. Alas, it was NOT time. I put the male in with her and very quickly things turned ugly. It wasn't a matter of them striking at each other and trying to get away. I mentioned to my wife that it looked more like the female was hunting when the male went in. She started at the tail and worked hr way up. As soon as she saw his head she pounced. Before I could react she had three coils around him and was sqeezing pretty hard (she is 3" and 40% heavier).
>> I was able to get them apart without too much difficulty, and the male seems OK, a little spot of blood behind his head. but otherwise good. The next few hours the female was prowling her cage, and the male was active for at least 8 hours more.
>> Last week I posted that message regarding how to know when the female is ready. A year ago she didn't go through a shed for two months and by that time it was too late. It looks like she's going to do it again this year. She's been out of cooling and eating for nearly a month now and shiwing no signs of a shed.
>> So now I have worries. I do not know if, when she'll be ready. I also do not know if I'll be able to put them together again. It's really making me doubt my little project. I purchased them a few years ago to breed them, and this clearly isn't the result I was looking for. It's a bit disheartening.
>> If anyone has any advice for me that would help me to get through this anmake it work, I would be grateful. Thanks.
>>
>>--Doug
