Male not copulating

[Josh P.]

Hello everyone.

I'm trying to pair this male with a female that appears to be receptive as she does not try to bite him back or anything. When I place him inside her rack he wiggles the tail as if he was interested but then doesn't actually try to copulate. I tried a few days with no result, he wiggles the tail when gets introduced to her rack but then both end up just resting by each other's side with no copulation. I always separate them after a few hours.
This time I have tried the other way around, placing her in his rack, the behavior was the same. They are both two years old with good weight, she has laid eggs last season from another male and he had copulated last season with another female. They are both quite healthy and eating.

Is this normal? What tips and advice could you give me?

Thank you!

 

[Samantha12]

As long as they aren't fighting I would leave them together for a couple of days. If he's rattling his tail he's probably interested and they're both proven, so I think just giving them more time together will get the deed done.

 

[stager]

agreed

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I'd agree that you should leave him in too. I had a very skittish younger male last year that was too scared of me near him to get his mojo on. I never saw him mate with a female and he would barely even eat when I was around but I managed to get several dozen hatchlings from the ladies he was with so he must have been doing a whole lot of something when I wasn't looking!

 

[Josh P.]

I'd agree that you should leave him in too. I had a very skittish younger male last year that was too scared of me near him to get his mojo on. I never saw him mate with a female and he would barely even eat when I was around but I managed to get several dozen hatchlings from the ladies he was with so he must have been doing a whole lot of something when I wasn't looking!

The thing is this male is not skittish, shy or scared of me. He is very calm, accepts being handled and eats normally.

 

[Samantha12]

Maybe he just wants to court her a little bit
It's still super early in the season, there's plenty of time for them to mate. Just give them a bit of bonding time.

 

[Dinosaur!]

well he doesn't have to be skittish to be left with the famale the point of leaving him with her is that he might "warm up" to her if he gets to stay with her for a few days or weeks.

 

[brillobee]

I usually never seen the actual deed. They seem to like some privacy. Sneaking around like a couple of teenagers. Lol.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

He also may know the female is calm and not aggressive but not ready to mate. He may be smarter than your average male and not want to get beaten up for being too amorous when she isn't 100% ready. You could also try lighting some candles and playing some Barry Manilow. I've seen a couple other breeders post videos of their attempts to use this technique.

 

[tb144050]

He also may know the female is calm and not aggressive but not ready to mate. He may be smarter than your average male and not want to get beaten up for being too amorous when she isn't 100% ready. You could also try lighting some candles and playing some Barry Manilow. I've seen a couple other breeders post videos of their attempts to use this technique.

I think I just found my new "signature"...haha

 

[Josh P.]

Is it always better to leave the male inside the female's rack or the other way around is also good?

 

[marcia]

I have 1 male who will not mate with me being near. My other males have no problems, they just get straight to the job lol. Just give him some time

 

[tb144050]

Is it always better to leave the male inside the female's rack or the other way around is also good?

I would think it is less stressful for the female to stay in her own home instead of having to move her and risk a "hunger strike."

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Most of my females clue me in to ovulation when they stop eating. I don't think it matters a whole lot either way. If I'm leaving them together I usually put them both in a new larger bin but if they're just together for mating purposes then I put the female into the male's enclosure until they're done.

 

[Josh P.]

I'm always afraid to leave them together unsupervised during the night under the risk of bites, injury and tail loss. :/

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Bites definitely do happen. It's a risk you take when you leave the animals together. In my experience most of the issues I've had happened at introduction or around feeding time. I've had very few happen at other times except for superficial scratches and bites. The risk that something will happen, however, is always there and only you can decide if the benefit is worth the risk.