Well the male finally shed and I placed him with the female in what I refer to as the luv-tub. A 35 gallon tank with sreen top. I use deep aspen bedding and one large rock that covers a plug in the bottom of the tank. If the snakes mate I'll put a humid hide inside to provide a refuge for post mating separation.
The male is almost twice as heavy and about 18 inches longer than the female. This was the first time mating for the female and she seemed very reluctant to participate, however Loverboy would not take NO for an answer (read Mike Tyson). After about an hour of pretty intense courtship complete with twitching, head rubbing, flight and pursuit the male, for lack of a better phrase, just muscled his way in. This was quite a change from the seemingly "agreeable" matings between my albino stock. Has anyone else noticed similar behaviour between young female kingsnakes and older male kingsnakes?
One last note, this morning the male was in the humid hide and was actively preventing the female from entering. She would try to crawl through the opening and he kept using his head to block her entry. I removed them and placed each within their respective sweater boxes.
Two pairs mated and one to pair left. I'll recycle each of my pairings a few more times to help ensure fertilization. I'll post some pics this weekend.
Bob Bull
