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First time breeding Dumerils questions..

Brandonsthaman Nov 24, 2009 01:59 PM

Hey guys,

I'm very excited about my first breeding attempts and I just want to make sure that I have all my t's dotted and i's crossed...

I recently got a 5ft proven female to go with my 6ft virgin male, they are currently housed separately. My intentions are to put some weight on the female (she's pounding large rats weekly) and put them together in January.

Does that sound about right?

As this is my first breeding attempt, what kind of signs would I look for in the female to know she is gravid?

How long will she continue to feed, or should I continue to offer food until she refuses?

I'm planning on housing the babies in a rack system.

What would be a safe estimate on the number of tubs (I'm thinking 12) I would need? AND what size tubs would be appropriate to house them in comfortably?

Thank you for any replies, and if there are any further suggestions I'm eager to hear them.

Thanks,
Brandon

Replies (6)

robeyeshua221 Nov 30, 2009 11:51 AM

this site is dead as a hammer - have you tried constrictors unlimited's forum - i've been using it for my dumeril's - small forum but they will talk to you

Brandonsthaman Nov 30, 2009 02:27 PM

Thanks for the info, I was wondering if anybody would respond...

PBM Nov 30, 2009 11:26 PM

Breeding Dumerils is fairly easy, and mulitple methods will work. I generally cycle them, sometimes I don't drop temps. too much, other times I'll go into the mid 60's at night. Introduce them, and you should see courtship pretty quick. They will court almost anytime of year honestly, which is why some people get babies from keeping them together year round-not that hard, pretty eager breeders. Sometimes you'll see some off center/tilted positioning of the female early on, and you can also observe ovulation if you're keeping an eye on them. Mine generally have a POS, and also a tendency to have pre-lay sheds as well. One thing I've noticed about this-If they shed before birth it's more than likely a good litter. But, if they drop, then shed, it's usually not a good result (slugs, stillborns, etc.) I usually offer food, smaller than normal, but only early during gestation. That's some rough info, but tried to touch on a few things sort of quickly. Also, in my experience, I have better success with groups of 1.2 or 1.3 both in ovulations and number of offspring vs. 1.1 breedings. Usually all the females in a group will ovulate within a week of each other (really made things easy to track when so many did everything on identical schedules). Some will still tell you 9 month gestations, but I think that's from watching them breed one time, and then getting babies much later. Like I mentioned, they'll court almost anytime, you have to catch the ovulation to have a starting point on your dates. So, don't say "I saw them breeding November 09, and she had babies in Dec 2010, so gestation is 12-13 months", for example. If you have any questions for me, shoot me an e-mail because as was said, this forum is usually dead, so I only come in every so often to see if anything's new, which is probably the same for a lot of other Dumerils breeders that "frequent" the forum. Best of luck, they're really not that hard, and observation is your best tool.

PBM Nov 30, 2009 11:44 PM

Sorry, 12 will probably be enough tubs. I use shoebox racks for my baby dumerils. I put in newspaper and a waterbowl, that's it. Some people get into shavings, hides, water bowls, bag feeding, etc. I've kept them for the last 20 years, and I don't have feeding issues with my babies, keeping them simple and in a rack system. They shed almost immediately after birth, pretty cool, and some will feed within a few days, others a couple weeks. If rodents don't work for you, try quail. I've never had to use it, but others on here have, and they said it works great. I know adults will take chicken(s) pretty readily, so it stands to reason that babies would take quail. You don't really need to handle them a lot to keep them calm. Get them set up, feeding, doing good (secure), then worry about handling them. More than likely they'll still be friendly the first time you handle them. Only thing for me, I don't like to buy baby tubs before babies come, lol. Like counting chickens....you know the saying. Good luck.

Brandonsthaman Dec 01, 2009 11:23 AM

Thank you very much for your response! I appreciate all the input I can get. I would like to have a 1.2 or 1.3 breeding group eventually, but for now all I have time, space, and money for is a pair... May I have your email address in case I come up with more questions? Mine is: ELLER1981@GMAIL.COM

Thanks,
Brandon

PBM Dec 08, 2009 01:44 AM

nm

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