Breeding Male not eating regular sized meals!

[Scaleyz]

Yep, I have 5 males breeding this year, and 3 not breeding, and not a single one of them has touched food in over a month, lol.
I usually offer smaller than normal prey during the breeding season. The males like smaller prey if they decide to eat anything, because they can digest it more quickly, it doesn't take a lot of metabolic effort to digest, and it doesn't weigh them down. They're ready to cruise and find more girls.

So I figured out the trick to keep my male breeding and eating and didn't know it, lol
I'm just hoping for my (2) females to give me some viable eggs, this being my first year breeding .

[Scaleyz]

I have 3 males up to breeding size. 1 of them is breeding this year. 1 was a very underweight rescue. The one that's breeding hasn't eaten in almost 2 months. The rescue has taken 2 meals from me and the other one will ONLY touch live rats. So yes, be excited that your male is eating at all with any regularity.

I only have the one male this season that is up to breeding size and he stopped eating for 2 months, and he started looking really thin, so I offered him a meal (mouse) and he snatched it up really quick. I don't care about having to swap him over to med. rats again later, I just want him to continue eating through the season so I can breed him to my Pastel. Then I will be

[Stewart_Reptiles]

At least they are eating

Honestly medium is pretty large prey especially fir a male I would recommend smaller prey if you want your males to eat with consistancy.

I never offer anything bigger than 55 grams rats to my males and they pretty much eat year round at least fir mist if them.

Remember when breeding season is here it's not unusual for mature males to go off feed which is why it's very important to monitor them closely and pull them out of rotation if necessary if they lose too much weight during breeding season.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

[Scaleyz]

At least they are eating

Honestly medium is pretty large prey especially fir a male I would recommend smaller prey if you want your males to eat with consistancy.

I never offer anything bigger than 55 grams rats to my males and they pretty much eat year round at least fir mist if them.

Remember when breeding season is here it's not unusual for mature males to go off feed which is why it's very important to monitor them closely and pull them out of rotation if necessary if they lose too much weight during breeding season.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

Well said! My mature male spider was very plump in the beginning when I first started placing him back and forth between the 2 females, and as I pulled him out for a rest from one female to the other I would offer him a meal and for awhile he was eating then he stopped. Once he stopped he was still locking with the 2 females and I noticed the weight dropping off him. Had I not monitored and pulled him when I did there could have been problems.

I now have him started on another breeding project with only one female and he is eating mice steadily so lets see how long it lasts

[Annarose15]

Well said! My mature male spider was very plump in the beginning when I first started placing him back and forth between the 2 females, and as I pulled him out for a rest from one female to the other I would offer him a meal and for awhile he was eating then he stopped. Once he stopped he was still locking with the 2 females and I noticed the weight dropping off him. Had I not monitored and pulled him when I did there could have been problems.

I now have him started on another breeding project with only one female and he is eating mice steadily so lets see how long it lasts

How much weight loss is "dropping off"? With meals as large as medium rats, a good portion of that could just have been the ever-present meal that he was finally able to digest and poop out.

[Scaleyz]

How much weight loss is "dropping off"? With meals as large as medium rats, a good portion of that could just have been the ever-present meal that he was finally able to digest and poop out.

When Stitch started he was a rather not fatty, but very plump male. After breeding steadily with the 2 females and still offering him meals but smaller meals he was losing weight, noticeably he was losing weight. The locks he would be in would last 1 1/2 days at a time then he would be out of lock with that female for only maybe a few hours before he would lock with them again. Determined I guess. My guess is a combination of the two, the offering of smaller meals and the locks lasting so long.

That is my guess, if you have any other info. for me please share it