little confusion on mating practices

[thekiltedcook]

so i understand that ball females CAN hold onto the sperm for up to 2 years in extreme cases. can/do they hold onto some if they produce a clutch? for example, if i mated a normal female with a lesser male, and the next year mated her with a spider male, is there any chance the second clutch would have lessers?

[mwolf]

I remember reading an old thread where a member had a female lay 2 years in a row even though she wasn't bred the second year. Therefore, she must've retained sperm even though she had laid the year before. That said, hopefully someone with more experience can chime in!

[thekiltedcook]

well assuming thats 100% true (not doubting you, but fish tales come to mind), then that means its not an "all or nothing kind of situation, which tells me its at least plausible! thanks for the info!

[aalomon]

I bred a pastel to a pewter male and a spotnose male, that year the pewter male sired the clutch (the spotnose male was also sold, so I know there werent any other locks I forgot to write down). The next year the female laid again but it wasnt until the third year that I had a spotnose pop up in one of her clutches. These girls really can surprise you!

[thekiltedcook]

thats awesome! well that answers my question about as much as i can hope for, so thank you very much! makes me very excited for my future breeding plans ha ha