Mating age?

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:16 am

Do they have to be full size before they can mate??? My lilly is almost full size and I wanted to stick her/ him in with blue to see if he reacts to her like a female or a male. i know 100% hes a male. lilly has turned her bottom outwards and i saw pink but she has never dropped plugs. I watch for them. I could have just seen her insides. is she too young still to try to breed?

Leigh · Postby **Leigh** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 7:42 am

I'm not sure, I think they suggest waiting until a year old for females, males I assume are good to go as soon as they start spitting sperm plugs out.

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 8:02 am

i think she is a year old. I have had her about 8/9 months then she was bigger than a 3 month old when i got her

NomadOfTheHills · Postby **NomadOfTheHills** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:48 pm

As for breeding, I would wait. However, as for testing their reactions, I say go for it.

jasjmm27 · Postby **jasjmm27** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:55 pm

This is a good question...I think I have read it somewhere, but what is the "ideal" age for sexual maturity of Blueys? Are they all the same (Indos, Northerns, Blotchies, Shingles, etc.)?

I think 2-3 years was the "best" age to wait? Is that true?

I think I read that males were pretty much ready "whenever" but it is more important to have the female be ~2 years or older?

NomadOfTheHills · Postby **NomadOfTheHills** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 1:43 pm

Age in reptiles is fairly ambiguous, size is a better indicator. Normally, by 2-3 years, most BTS are large enough for mating safely and large enough to have a decent sized litter.

Geoff Gates · Postby **Geoff Gates** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 2:49 pm

jasjmm27 wrote:This is a good question...I think I have read it somewhere, but what is the "ideal" age for sexual maturity of Blueys? Are they all the same (Indos, Northerns, Blotchies, Shingles, etc.)?

I think 2-3 years was the "best" age to wait? Is that true?

I think I read that males were pretty much ready "whenever" but it is more important to have the female be ~2 years or older?

Nomad has already provided a good response.

It is the size that they have grown to that matters for sexual maturity.
In the wild this may take more than 3 or 4 years. In captivity they might attain a sexually mature length in 2 years or less.

Even so, I wait until they are 3 years before I consider trying to breed them.

Though, professional breeders will probably push them to a sexually mature size very early in their life in the hope of breeding them.

Postby **Scotts1au** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:03 pm

You have to take into account the welfare of the female in this. It can be a pretty violent affair mature animals have mature hardened scales, bones etc. So not wise to push them too early especially if the male is large and aggressive.

Scott

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:26 pm

Is this the right time for ijs to mate??? I am wondering because if lilly is a female will she actually be in heat?

Fatal_S · Postby **Fatal_S** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:58 pm

Have they been cooled?

Leigh · Postby **Leigh** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 2:16 am

They need to be conditioned properly the previous winter, and out of brumation for a few weeks.

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:07 am

I tried cooling them for a while lilly didnt want any part of it and blue has already gotten active from his sleeping and not eating.

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:45 am

Ok i put lilly in with blue and everytime lilly moved blue tried to bite her across her back. he sniffed around the leg at one point but kept going for lilly back do you think the behavior is more likely to show lilly as a male or female?? any ideas. lilly seemed scared so i wont try it again.

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:45 am

oh also i noticed lilly rear was swollen looking as she tried to get away.

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:50 am

Maybe I bumped my head ... Brigget I thought you had seen Lilly drop sperm plugs but decided to not change the skinks name. Did I dream that?

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:02 am

NO not plugs i saw lilly go to the bathroom and thought i saw hemipenes but i wasnt sure now thinking it could have been her pink inside but it was pushed outwards. I am trying for 100%

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:05 am

O.K. ... well I was pretty sure you saw something you weren't expecting. :lol:

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:17 am

well i had seen blues before a good view and he drops plugs all the time but lilly never dropped plugs i watch closely and that was the only time i had seen anything pretrude from her. then reading i heard someone say something about they saw the pink from theri female and had mistaken it for hemipenes and when i read that with me not having much experience i thought maybe she wasnt a he. so i tried putting them together.

Blotch · Postby **Blotch** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:53 am

uhhh no. If you saw something shoot out from the vent during defecation and it wasn't fecal matter - it was hemipenes. Congratulations - you have another Boy.

Brigget · Postby **Brigget** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:20 am

awww i am so sad i wanted babies in the future

Mating age?

Mating age?

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