Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Good data relevant to indigo breeding / eggs can really be helpful to field studies and, ultimately, conservation.

This year...I would really appreciate anyone who would be willing to record and share the following information about their breeding couperi:

- Size and age of both "parents"
- Date of first copulation
- Approx total # of copluations and # of males used
- Date eggs are laid
- Number of eggs and, (when known) number fertile vs slugs
- Sizes of eggs when laid (in cm if possible)
- Weights of eggs when laid (in grams if possible)
- Weights of eggs when babies first pipping
- lengths and weights of newborns.

If anyone is willing to record this data, I will be sure it gets to interested parties doing field reseach in GA and FL.

Please contact me if you think you can help at:

herpconservation@hotmail.com

THANKS

"Good data relevant to indigo breeding / eggs can really be helpful to field studies and, ultimately, conservation."

...and captive breeding programs!

Excellent points Dean!

The herpetoculturist community has access to a wealth of information if everyone would take the time to keep notes and share them. one of the questions that would be of interest to this group is whether multiple males and multiple matings increase fertility rates and fecundity in females. if this occurs in indigos as it does in so many other animal species, then this information would certainly change the way captive breeding is staged.

matt

Sorry guys, i will have to wait another year to contribute....my female still to small

I definately believe multiple males and multiple breedings increase fertility % in Drymarchon.

In my 10 years experience breeding Drys...I have only "single maled" any given female a couple times and fertility has been lower that with multiple males.

Interestingly...some of the GA study animals have been found to breed with multiple males. One girl bred with 5 males in a single breeding season!

Oh, and there have been several clutches laid in captivity in the past couple years from wild - collected gravid females (study site snakes...done legally of course)

The eggs were hatched in captivity and the babies released.
Those females to my knowledge all had 100% fertile clutches, so they know what they are doing!

"Interestingly...some of the GA study animals have been found to breed with multiple males. One girl bred with 5 males in a single breeding season!"

did they know this from field observations or captive observations of matings or is someone actually doing DNA studies?

matt

Field observations.

Actual matings may not have been seen, but a tagged male hanging out in the same tortoise burrow with a female during mating season is a pretty good indicator that they are breeding.

Indigos almost never "shack up" unless they are mating.

information on wild couperi with us?