Do your animals show mate preference?

There’s an lot of evidence, anecdotal and scientific, about mate selection in various creatures, wild, domestic, and captive. There is often a degree of choosiness involved. I’m curious, how many of us have seen that choosiness with the creatures we keep and breed? I don’t mean a lack of interest from, say, a female who isn’t yet biologically receptive. I mean, “Nope. :face_with_raised_eyebrow: NOT you, dude. HIM!:heart_eyes:

I had an example of this yesterday and today. (Yes, I kept a constant eye on all participants. Yes, there were rest breaks between introductions. No, no one was harmed in the slightest. ) One of my females had just shed and was clearly ovulating. The first male I paired her with was young and interested but clueless. She was bored. I thought, "Okay, I’ll try them again next year. " Next up was an experienced male. He knew what to do all right, but his smoothest moves left her annoyed and in a snit, doing her best to get away. Third time was the charm. Introduction to lock took under 5 minutes.

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Anecdotally, I have seen a number of female snakes refuse a male, and then accept a different male that is older/larger/more experienced.

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To what species are you referring? Mine happen to be corn snakes but I would expect to see something similar in other species as well.

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I have noticed this with Angolan Pythons and Corn Snakes.

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Interesting, thanks. In the case of the snakes which started me to cogitating about this (to borrow a friend’s delightful turn of phrase), the successful male was the middle-sized one. Curiously, he was also her mate last year.

With the Angolans, the preferred male is both the oldest/largest, and the most familiar to the females. So it could be either factor, or both.

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Hmm. That does make sense. My Rubik and Victory normally aren’t near one another though. Their vivs are in different rooms, different parts of the house.

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My VPI Axanthic female hates everyone I’ve tried to lock her up with :smiling_face_with_tear:

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Aww, I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully she’s going to be more “in the mood” soon. And with your choice of suitor, too! Maybe a “teaser” will help.
Has she been breed before?

No she hasn’t. This will be her season. I’ve tried pairing her the last 8 months. Just havent found someone who suits her needs or she’s just into females :rofl:

Lol well then, I guess you’ll just have to keep trying. I hope for the sake of your breeding plans that she isn’t into girls. At least, not exclusively. May she find her forever lover soon and may they make lots of pretty babies for you!

Here is my picky girl Victory who triggered this topic, cuddled up and basking in the afterglow with her (apparently) forever lover, Rubik.

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Leachinus geckos are very hard to breed because the pair has to accept each other. So, these geckos definitely have a mate preference.

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That’s interesting, I didn’t know that! How long does it take a prospective pair to make up their mind about each other? Do they mate for life?

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They don’t mate for life, when you pair them they are much more likely to fight and it’s best to keep them together when you start pairing with a divider to be sure they won’t fight. They can change their mind in a few days about the other gecko and suddenly start fighting.

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That sounds a bit like the procedure for introducing certain varieties of fish to a new tank, or a prospective mate. It also reminds me of introducing a new horse to a herd with a barrier between. Kudos to you for doing all of that! I confess to being glad that my corn snakes aren’t so stressful to breed

That sounds like the introduction process for certain fish. It reminds me of introducing a new horse to the herd, also. I’m thankful that my corn snakes are relatively easy to breed!