First ever lock!

[Daigga]

Just saw my first ever visual lock, and I'm so excited! This is the second time I put my lesser bee in with my big normal girl, and I didn't have any luck last time, so this is an exciting thing for me. I introduced them together last night and saw them locked up when I peeked in the tub this morning. Not going to be a very special clutch, I know, but it will be my first one if all goes well. No good pictures or anything, I just really wanted to share.

[AlexisFitzy]

Yayyy congratulations i can't wait for my first lock up. My girl will finally be up to size this upcoming season and I'm so excited. You will have to share pics with us when you get eggs and when they start hatching

[Lizardlicks]

Aw, who says it's not a special clutch? I think even the basic morphs are super great, so what if they aren't some magical 3 or 4 gene babies?

[Sammiebob]

Congrats! This is my first season too. Your clutch is just as special as you make it out to be! Heck, I've got a pinstripe to a normal and I'm freaking out about when my eggs are going to be here!

[Snake_Tooth]

Hey, you don't need 3 or 4 gene snakes for it to be special! Breeding is all about your personal goals and preferences My first clutch was a yellowbelly to a normal and I couldn't have been more excited! Now I'm breeding that same yellowbelly male to my yellowbelly female in hopes for ivories this year... good luck on your clutch and get that camera ready

[Daigga]

Thanks for all the support. I know this clutch will be very special to me, and I'm very eagerly setting everything up for if/when my girl decides to lay. One other question, though; How often should I be introducing them to each other? I was going to put them back in together over the weekend, since most of what I've read seems to point at one lock not being quite enough (This is my males first season, not sure how "potent" he would be?) but I'm not quite clear on how long between locks is a good resting period. Will a couple good lock stimulate her to ovulate, should I just not worry about pairing them anymore until she starts to ovulate, or what should I be doing besides testing incubator temps? Newbie questions, I know. I just really want all of this to go as smoothly as possible.

[rlditmars]

A lot of breeders will put them together once or twice per shed cycle. That way you don't over work the male, especially if you are breeding him to multiple females. He should be able to get things done on that schedule. Assuming your female is eating normally and shedding every 5 to 7 weeks, you can put them together every few weeks or so. As far as potency, it only takes one good lock but it is really about whether the female goes or not. Sometimes they will just reabsorb their follicles. As far as what to do in the meantime, there is a really good item out there by Markus Jayne on breeding. Just google it and it will show you the steps to be watching for. Best of luck.

[AlexisFitzy]

I'm in the same boat as you are and I've read that many breeders try and go for a good lock once every month up until the female ovulates. This will be the schedule I follow next season with my pair. But if you look around a lot of people do their breedings in different way because it works for them, this once a month thing is something that I've seen more often though. hope this is helpful. So excited for you. Can't wait until you have eggs and are sharing hatchling pics lol