My first couple...

I introduced Toby into Mona's tub yesterday, and left them alone for the night... I did end up adding a second hide, with the same heat distribution as the other (the tub is shelved sideways). Went to check on them tonight, partly because I wanted to remove Toby for feeding - since I was feeding everyone else. I lifted the first hide and it was empty, so I lifted the other to find this:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF1644.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF1646.jpg

Awwwwwwww. :):) I know snakes don't "cuddle," but I still thought this was too cute for words... you can barely tell which head belongs to which snake! I was afraid maybe I'd interrupted a lock, but you can see their tails aren't anywhere near each other. So I don't know if they actually did anything last night, but at least they aren't completely avoiding one another - right?

Oh, and when I went to remove Toby, Mona got REALLY mad at me. She's usually a very docile girl, but she actually lunged and raced around her tub for a minute. I figured it was just from smelling the mice (waiting to be fed), but she had zero interest when I offered one. Do females actually get possessive about their mates, or was she just startled and/or responding to the smells? Anyway, just thought I'd share my very first pairing with you all... I know it's not a special mix or anything (pastel/normal), but it's still exciting to me. ;) I'll put Toby back when he's digested, and hopefully the sparks will fly!

i think your pastel is a little confused where to put his.... stuff :D

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Originally Posted by extensive

i think your pastel is a little confused where to put his.... stuff :D

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Clearly... LOL. :D He is a young virgin, so it might take a few tries! Hopefully he'll figure it out soon, though.

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Originally Posted by extensive

i think your pastel is a little confused where to put his.... stuff :D

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My pinstripe was :rolleyes: I don't know how many times I witnessed him rubbing and stroking his spurs down the belly of a female no where near her tail. He'd get almost there and then reposition and start over. I did a happy dance when he finally locked! :banana: In fact, he's in there with his favorite girl right now, lol.

I've noticed that they do "cuddle" when interested, I often see the male on top of the female resting. One of my current pairings aren't interested in each other, they're on opposite sides of the tub and have been that way since yesterday, so I'll be swapping males out in a bit.

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Originally Posted by HerpKeeperVA

My pinstripe was :rolleyes: I don't know how many times I witnessed him rubbing and stroking his spurs down the belly of a female no where near her tail. He'd get almost there and then reposition and start over. I did a happy dance when he finally locked! :banana: In fact, he's in there with his favorite girl right now, lol.

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Sweeeet - go pinstripe! :gj:

It's possible Toby did do the job, and was just resting after a long night... typical man, LOL. :D

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I've noticed that they do "cuddle" when interested, I often see the male on top of the female resting.

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Good, that's encouraging! :) He's still digesting his mice from last night, so I'll put him back tomorrow or Monday. How long do you suggest leaving him in (each time)? I've read 2 days on / 2 days off, and also one week on/off.

I do three day cycles here. I wouldn't do a week, just to keep your male from over doing it. And it's totally possible that you just missed the actual mating. Plenty of people have gotten eggs from a pairing they never actually saw locked. Sneaky little buggers ;)

this year my my first time breeding and i noticed they "cuddled" for a few days b4 I saw a real lock. so if you ask me really good sign.

Just a note - I remove hides when pairing mine together. That way I can actually observe locks, and they really don't need the hides while they are breeding.