second attempt at mating, total opposite to first!

[Kate Arbon]

Well I just tried pairing my G. rosea up again. The male hadn't made a sperm web but I figured it was worth a try. Nearly got him munched, hope he doesn't hold it against me!

I'm going to share here a piece of advice I got from Louise in case anyone else here doesn't know it. She suggested a way to tell if a female will be receptive to mating, by approaching her with some tongs held low. I did this before trying to mate them the first time and this is what happened:



She slowly raised up and exposed her underside, and just stood there. Louise told me this was a good sign, and sure enough when I paired them up the mating went brilliantly.

I tried the test again today and the results were different. She was more flinchy and cringey. But I wasn't sure if it meant anything because I have never seen a proper threat pose as all my Ts are so chilled out. So I decided to pair them up again anyway.

Last time, they ran at each other and were mating seconds after I put them together. This time the male went into the female's hide and the female sat as far away as possible. After about ten minutes I think the male got interested, and he started coming out towards her. She moved towards him but it didn't seem right, she looked too much like she does when she's stalking a cricket!

He touched her legs and she raised up like she did when I tried the tongs thing earlier. I noticed she partly extended her fangs as well. So I got into position with the tongs above them just in case, and I'm glad I did. He tried to lift her and she went for him. Luckily he dodged back into her flowerpot, and I got in there with my tongs and blocked her because this wasn't just one strike, she kept trying to come for him! I fenced her into a corner with a piece of card and removed the male. He is uninjured, thankfully.

So I can definitely vouch for Louise's tong-test for females! I shouldn't have tried pairing them after the reaction she gave me, but like I said I hadn't seen a threat pose before. Now I know exactly what to look out for. I wish I'd got a photo so it could be compared to the one above.

Now, I've heard that a female will be unreceptive if she has already been succesfully mated. So I'm hoping that the first attempt worked, and she isn't just being moody for no reason! I will probably try mating them again when the boy makes a sperm web, but I will definitely be doing the tong test first and this time I will listen when the lady says no, lol!

Sorry for writing so much I'm buzzing, haha.

[Colin D Wilson]

Well writen little piece Kate,

There's some nice hints, tips and info in there for others relatively new to the breeding scenario to inwardly digest

Keep us posted

Colin.

[Louise~Nichols]

Awww Kate, thank you for the high praise there...and most of all, thanks for listening and letting me share advice, it's a pleasure to help you on the road to loads of breeding successes.

Congratulations again on the mating, best of luck for loads of babies, and I look forward to the progress reports as your lady starts to show her *gravidness*!

[Kirk McNulty]

Thats great Kate I hope it did work 1st time for you and the tip about going in low with the tongs is good idea and the pic show it works a treat ! Keep all the experiences with these two coming as I'm reading up on breeding roseys myself ! Well done for saving your male.

[Kate Arbon]

Thanks guys. I try to make detailed observations with my Ts in the hope that I can learn something about their behaviour. I think it comes from studying a science, I am obsessed with taking notes and things, lol. I know it's useful for me but it makes me worry that I waffle too much when I write about it, so I hope it has some use for other people as well.

Louise you are quite welcome, I am very grateful for all the advice you've given. Hopefully it will help me to be successfull with breeding and then I can pass on advice to even more new breeders

Incidentally, if the first mating was a success, how soon should I expect to see some signs of gravidness (gravidity? lol)? I have been offering her food regularly but she hasn't eaten anything since she was mated. I'm not sure if that means anything or is just a coincidence. I do wish she'd eat but I guess she knows what she's doing. I'm going to get some waxworms this week and see if she just wants a change from crickets.

[Louise~Nichols]

Louise you are quite welcome, I am very grateful for all the advice you've given. Hopefully it will help me to be successfull with breeding and then I can pass on advice to even more new breeders

Incidentally, if the first mating was a success, how soon should I expect to see some signs of gravidness (gravidity? lol)? I have been offering her food regularly but she hasn't eaten anything since she was mated. I'm not sure if that means anything or is just a coincidence. I do wish she'd eat but I guess she knows what she's doing. I'm going to get some waxworms this week and see if she just wants a change from crickets.

Kate...there's no hopefully about it...you ARE going to be a successful breeder, your logic, common sense and the ability to expect the unexpected will see you safely on that route.

Your lady may start gaining more weight than she normally would from just regular eating over the course of the next month, but the real chubby bum effect start coming at 8 weeks and upwards, depending on female, conditions etc.
They do sometimes get funny over their food after a highly receptive mating, and I take this as a sign that they were fully primed, in perfect condition, and ready to go...so their appetites cut down quicker than if it was a *half-hearted* mating.
Waxworms yup, often a very good treat, and intersperse those with the crickets also. She may feel like eating, but don't panic if she doesn't...you know what Roseas can be like!! LOL

[Colin D Wilson]

Kate...there's no hopefully about it...you ARE going to be a successful breeder, your logic, common sense and the ability to expect the unexpected will see you safely on that route.

I seem to get that impression too

[Andrew Ferguson]

An interesting read Kate and a lovely picture too if may add. I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to breeding (spiders that is! I can breed as my wife is heavily pregnant! ). At the moment I'm happy with one tarantuala (but would love a second) and I am looking forward to just rearing my smithi.

[Rich.Harrington]

Ok that tong idea is very interesting, so can someone throw me a more detailed discription of how you go about it? I'm guessing you don't just poke her with them or such.

[Louise~Nichols]

Ok that tong idea is very interesting, so can someone throw me a more detailed discription of how you go about it? I'm guessing you don't just poke her with them or such.

Tried and tested, works everytime for me...hence I told Kate. Simply lower a set of tongs gently down towards the female, if she attacks, bites, or flinches then she's probably going to give the guy a hard time, or at the very least you'll need to be on guard...
However, if when approached with the tongs she stands up, nice and steady without a fang display, try stroking her legs gently...if she remains in this frozen, docile state then she is more likely than not going to be receptive to the male.

[Rich.Harrington]

The problem I have is when I approach my two with anything they just remain motionless. Untill i actually make contact with them or the ground they do very very little.

[Kate Arbon]

The first time I tried it with my lady she had her back to me. I tapped the ground behind her lightly to let her know I was there so as not to startle her. Then very gently touched her back leg. She turned around and raised up. I then stroked her 3rd leg (the most forward leg that was still on the ground) and she raised up even more. She held her legs and palps fairly straight up just stood there very still.

By contrast, today when I tried it I approached her from the front. I tapped the ground again, then tried touching her front leg. She pulled her legs backwards to avoid the touch. I stroked her some more and she reared up but it was different to before, it was obviously a warning. Her front legs and palps that were raised were bent over as if ready to grab something.

It's hard to explain but now that I've seen both different responses and the resulting attitude towards the male I know it will be very obvious what to look for when I do it again. Like I said I wish I'd got a photo of the "go away" pose, I may try and get one in a few days as I think it would be more helpful than just the description.


Oh, and I tried feeding her again after today's attempt and she is munching on a cricket right now, so that's good

[Louise~Nichols]

I'll have to grab a photo of Myfanwy...she's my psycho-moo RCF...she'll show the *anti* pose!! LOL

[Tom Forman]

hee, when I spotted this thread I thought someone had replied to mine from a few of weeks ago

Very similar scenario to mine although your female sounds as aggressive if not more so than what mine had become by the 4th mating attempt. I think she might very well be gravid already.

Mine is eating about 4 crickets a week atm.