1st mating attempt

[Graeme Wright]

Hi guys this is gona be my 1st mating attempt. I have a mature male P murinus RCF and have just gotten a big fem for him.

Any tips.

[Carl Portman]

FIRST MATING ATTEMPT

Hi,

It is exciting isn't it, the first mating attempt? here are a few top tips then. Doubtless other people will contribute/add to them but these are key.

Firstly you must always introduce the male into the female's enclosure and NOT the other way around.

Make sure the female is already well fed and not approaching a moult and that she is well settled into her quarters.

Put the male into a container with a few air holes in the lid. then put him into the female's enclosure. If she is unwilling to mate, she cannot attack him as he is well protected. With luck they will receive pheromone signals through the air holes and will be aware of each other's presence.

With luck, they may both begin to drum and you will know that they are ready to mate. At some point if you believe the female IS ready to mate you will have to release him and see what happens. When they get together initially it may look as though they are going to fight, but it may just be clumsiness.

Be sure top put something in with the male so he can attach a sperm web to it - a piece of log or cork will do nicely.

Don't shine lights on them.

Remove any crickets that may distract them in the act of lurv.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR VENTURE!

[Richard Gallon]

murinus rcf mating

Make sure your female is well-fed first (over a few days).

It's good to include some hard surfaces (cork, rocks) within the female's tank, because the male will need a good firm footing to lift her during mating.

Transfer the male to the female's tank, but not too close to where she is sitting. With luck the male will start courtship as soon as he toutches the female's web (this may take several minutes, so don't hurry him). The female (if receptive) will respond to him and he'll advance towards her. She will splay her fangs and raise-up allowing the male to lock his tibial spurs over her fangs. A good mating is when the female is pulled towards the male (shows he got his bulbs in). He'll break away and start cleaning his bulbs. She'll probably remain in a 'trance' for a few minutes.

Leave the lid off the tank, so the male can make a quick exit if things turn nasty. Otherwise she might case him down and kill him.

Good luck!

[Graeme Wright]

Thanks Guys

I'll try them next week. I'm gona let my fem settel down 1st and build a web.