Having a problem... male refuses to breed now?

[redshepherd]

I bred Yukon to Blissey first in the beginning of November, something like November 5th. I had to use the "put another male in" tactic to get Yukon to breed, and then he locked with her twice within a few days then.

It's been over a month before I'm trying to pair them again, and the male refuses to breed now and shows no interest at all. He also seems worn out (even after doing nothing) after a couple days, like a limp noodle when I took him back out. (I tried putting another male in again, but it didn't do anything this time)

I understand sometimes it just doesn't work out, so I waited something like 4 days and paired them again... left them at it for another 2 days, tried the adding a male trick again- still no interest from the male.

I don't think the female is even close to ovulation, after staring at her some more LOL. She's thick in the middle, but doesn't have that thick tail end that ovulating females have. So I don't think that's the reason. And that they've only locked once/twice.

Tips on what's going on with the male? I wouldn't really mind if I don't get a clutch, but I'd like to find out why he's suddenly no interest in breeding.

Info on my snakes:
male is around 850g and 1 year 3 months old
female is a 2012 and over 2000g, has had a few clutches before

[Eru_Iluvatar]

Although I may not help much, at least I can try to make you feel better by letting you know that I too have the same problem with my stingerbee male, he locked 2 months ago and afterwards he just was not interested, I put in him today after trying 2-3 things and he seems to be more receptive.
Crazy balls...
I hope you can produce some nice BELs, I am trying to do the same but with a Butter Lesser to Lesser
Best of luck!

[Sallos]

Maybe you raised a gentleman?


I wonder if they had a nice feed and some silk flowers, or a snakey version of wine and dine to set the mood...

[AlexisFitzy]

How often are you pairing? You honestly don't need many locks to get the job done. One lock a month is good enough, so he may just need a break. Even though he's a nice breeding weight all males aren't breeding machines. So I'd give him a nice break and then try again a little later. Wait for a big storm rain or snow and pair them up then. Storms usually get the males frisky and ready to breed! Good luck my friend, keep us updated


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[redshepherd]

Like I said, it's been a month since he last paired. I only have this one pair, so not sure where the breeding machine idea came from. He's had a full month rest LOL.

I actually paired him this time during a couple rainy days too, but no luck. :\

[Hannahshissyfix]

They could have locked up for a shorter time that you didn't notice and is why he seemed lethargic. Was there crap all over the box? I usually take that as a good sign they probably got busy and I missed the visual lock. While I'm not breeding hundreds of snakes, I've never needed to add another male to get one motivated and that's with 2 of the males I'm using this year being pretty small and their first season. It seems to work for some people but I would guess could also have the opposite effect on a more timid male so I'd honestly not bother doing that again. If they locked once before it'll happen again. Just be patient and make sure he gets a few meals in before trying in a couple weeks and like mentioned, one lock is all it takes sometimes. Good luck!

[AlexisFitzy]

Like I said, it's been a month since he last paired. I only have this one pair, so not sure where the breeding machine idea came from. He's had a full month rest LOL.

I actually paired him this time during a couple rainy days too, but no luck. :\

I didn't mean for that to come across as you were breeding him Like a machine, just was pointing out that some males are breeding machines and can go through multiple females with ease. Like those males that would probably try and lock with a stick lol. But I was just saying that some males aren't breeding machines and can barely handle one female lol. I didn't mean to offend you at all if I did.


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[redshepherd]

They could have locked up for a shorter time that you didn't notice and is why he seemed lethargic. Was there crap all over the box? I usually take that as a good sign they probably got busy and I missed the visual lock. While I'm not breeding hundreds of snakes, I've never needed to add another male to get one motivated and that's with 2 of the males I'm using this year being pretty small and their first season. It seems to work for some people but I would guess could also have the opposite effect on a more timid male so I'd honestly not bother doing that again. If they locked once before it'll happen again. Just be patient and make sure he gets a few meals in before trying in a couple weeks and like mentioned, one lock is all it takes sometimes. Good luck!

Thanks- I'm sure they haven't, because I check pretty often and every time I check, he barely even moved/changed position. Overall, he starts seeming lethargic only a few hours in, without even courting behavior. The enclosure is clean as can be too LOL.

Yeah, I'll try next time without adding the other male. It helped immediately the first time, but who knows.

[redshepherd]

I didn't mean for that to come across as you were breeding him Like a machine, just was pointing out that some males are breeding machines and can go through multiple females with ease. Like those males that would probably try and lock with a stick lol. But I was just saying that some males aren't breeding machines and can barely handle one female lol. I didn't mean to offend you at all if I did.


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I see, no offense taken!

[Bcycling]

I have two males I'm putting with four females. One of my males always wants to lock up and the other one would rather just push the female off the hot spot. I hope the one guy can get the job done. I have been seeing locks with him about every week. The other male only witnessed one lock and now he seems uninterested. Maybe he knows she isn't ready and doesn't want to waste his energy. Lol