Two Issues... One Post.

Okay, I have two issues... They coincide, although one issue really doesn't belong in this category... I apologize.

Issue #1: My female granite is my breeder, and she hasn't had any mate since the start of the mating season. Since I just got a male spider yesterday, I'm hoping to breed the two for this season. I have NEVER started the mating season this late! Well, my question concerns the female... Before I placed the male in, she was in the "blue" stage of shedding. My question is: will the act of shedding become a problem for copulation between the two? Will she be disinterested? Will it be a problem post shed?

Issue #2: As I stated above, she's in the process of shedding. I keep that tank, when I see signs of shed, at a humidity of about 60%, to aid in a solid shed. The problem is, she's playing the whole "let's ball up in the water and get the tank soaked" game.... It is to my understanding that BPs will do this to help aid the shedding process when humidity is low... Would you suggest upping it up some more? I've tried sixty five for a short period of time, but she kept doing the water-bowl thing.... then I dropped it back down.

Some BP's will lock during a shed others will not. I personally don't have much luck with pairing them while in shed.

A BP soaking can mean many things....Double check all of your parameters and also check for mites. I know you will often times find snakes with mites soaking in a bowl.

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Originally Posted by zmd0827

Okay, I have two issues... They coincide, although one issue really doesn't belong in this category... I apologize.

Issue #1: My female granite is my breeder, and she hasn't had any mate since the start of the mating season. Since I just got a male spider yesterday, I'm hoping to breed the two for this season. I have NEVER started the mating season this late! Well, my question concerns the female... Before I placed the male in, she was in the "blue" stage of shedding. My question is: will the act of shedding become a problem for copulation between the two? Will she be disinterested? Will it be a problem post shed?

Issue #2: As I stated above, she's in the process of shedding. I keep that tank, when I see signs of shed, at a humidity of about 60%, to aid in a solid shed. The problem is, she's playing the whole "let's ball up in the water and get the tank soaked" game.... It is to my understanding that BPs will do this to help aid the shedding process when humidity is low... Would you suggest upping it up some more? I've tried sixty five for a short period of time, but she kept doing the water-bowl thing.... then I dropped it back down.

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to answer your locking while shedding question, it all just depends on the snake, some do and some don't. for example, I had to pull my male last night because I noticed the female was totally unreceptive to him and this morning awoke to a perfect shed :) I just put the male back in this morning and I'm hoping he gets the job done again ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Xan Powers!

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Originally Posted by Xan Powers

to answer your locking while shedding question, it all just depends on the snake, some do and some don't. for example, I had to pull my male last night because I noticed the female was totally unreceptive to him and this morning awoke to a perfect shed :) I just put the male back in this morning and I'm hoping he gets the job done again ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Xan Powers!

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I know that mites aren't an issue. I haven't seen them in the tank at all, the water is clear, no sign of mites or bites whatsoever. That female in the tank also lived with a female pastel before this male, and it was only the granite that wanted to jump in and splash around... If it were mites, you'd think both of them would do it, considering there were two bowls of water in there...

My female dinker locked no problem with my male spider and she was in full blue.

What happened to quarantine?
What if your new snake is sick or has mites or.....?

It's not too late to start breeding, I have several that will start this next month.

In my experience THE best time to introduce a male is after the female sheds, I don't even try when she goes into blue.*because I want him with her after the shed*

I didn't believe quarantine was an issue. This snake was from a pretty distinct breeder around here. He specializes in bearded dragons, for the most part, however, he has had BPs. I overlooked quarantine. If you saw his living conditions, and how that individual took care of his snakes... Man, it was PRISTINE.

Anyways, I caught them locking up today. A few times actually. This is the first time the spider has mated ever, so he's a bit goofy at it. It's entertaining to watch. She hasn't fulfilled her shed yet, you can start to see the rough edges of her skin, between the sharp folds along her body around angles, but it hasn't gotten to the "ditch the skin" stage yet. At least they're locking.

Congrats on the lock, but as far as not quarantining, I don't care how pristine a breeder may be, things can happen, what if she had started to develope an RI just prior to you getting her, you put her with your snake, now yours has it to, even worse, said breeder is exposed to IBD and unkowingly exposes said female prior to shipping, now your male has it also :(, like I stated QT is a must.

I don't care if Christ himself showed up with a snake especially made for me, you can bet your buns, it will be in QT for 3 months.

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Originally Posted by zmd0827

I didn't believe quarantine was an issue.

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Quarantine is always an issue.
It starts with the 2nd snake you own and gets increasingly important as your collection grows.

One word QUARANTINE :gj:

Do not jeopardize your animals because you are in a rush to breed, if you are serious about breeding and keeping snakes quarantine is something you must know and practice regardless of the source of the animal.

Well about a year and a half ago I got a young snake from a known breeder, as most of mine are. After a close inspection I saw no issues or bugs but he was put in a quarantine tank in a separate room anyway. He ended up having mites. I suspect that he may have been treated before shipment or had gotten them before the breeder was aware. I also got a snake in from a very well known big breeder that had worms..

Anyway, I quickly got rid of the mites but the point is, it doesn't matter where you got the snake. Sometimes these things can slip under the radar even for the best breeders. Quarantine is always recommended unless you end up with a rare morph that you absolutely must breed right now. In that case, I'd quarantine both male and female together, treat both and the enclosure for bugs, and treat both for internal parasites before breeding begins. Even then, there is the off chance that the new snake may be sick and not showing signs yet.

Better safe than sorry but we have learned that it doesn't matter what kind of advice is given. You will do what you want to do anyway but making it obvious that you do not practice quarantine will make it very hard for you to establish yourself as a reputable breeder among the community. Which may hurt your sales later on if you decide to sell.

Just my 2 cents.