This year I added an additional 5 adult AZ mountain kings to my collection. Some nice locale specific animals, and a pair of adult albinos. I was told they were cooled and would be ready to go.
Well, when I got them, they were way on the skinny side. The seller had kind of hinted that they were, but made it sould like it wasn't bad. Just said some good feeding would take care of it. I fed them HEAVY, and they ate like pigs. I literally fed them every 3 days, and they took it. But it took a good while before they reached "breeding" weight.
I feel that it's hard to make up for the way they start a season. I'm not sure if they came out of brumation that way, or if they weren't being fed well enough to breed because they were being sold, but it took me awhile to make up for it. I think that when you start out behind like that, it may already make the snake conditioned to not breed.
Anyway, for the last several weeks, I've had them together constantly. They are definitely of sufficient size and weight now, but they are showing basically no interest. Just had a shed cycle for a few females, and the male made his attempt, but they bucked and fought him violently. I'm saying all this, and of course I know I could have missed copulation, but they I'm seeing no signs at all.
I'm just wondering, it is now basically June, what's the latest annyone has experienced a pairing that bred. I'd say they've been out of brumation since early Feb.
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Brian Suter
