So at what general age and weight should a male be producing sperm plugs? Now I know they’re not actually sperm plugs but that’s the term I learned when I first started breeding for anyone who was going to correct me. My young male is 622g and will be a year old next month. I’m really hoping he will be breeding for me this year
afaik they’re hemipenal castings, much like the shed skin that comes off of a snake.
They don’t hold any real indication if a male is ready to breed or not.
I’d just try the male out when you are ready to pair, give him a couple days with the female to see if he shows any interest. If not, pull him and try again a month later.
I’ve had a male breed at 500 grams, and others that didn’t show any interest until they were a bit older, but the general rule of thumb is 800 grams for males and a year of age.
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It varies. Some will breed at ridiculously young ages. Some just won’t. I have one male that didn’t produce a clutch until he was 4 years old.
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I’ve paired him with a few of my females and all but one were interested in him. He just didn’t seem ready so I popped him when I got home from work today and didn’t see any “sperm plugs” so I put him back in his tub and he’ll be staying there until he hits that 800g mark. I’ve always heard 500g and a year old was the general rule
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That scares me a bit lol I have some big plans for this little guy. I had a male produce a clutch for me at 450g last year. I’m not sure how old he is though
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I never pulled out the bag of tricks with him but even after his first clutch he wasn’t consistent till like 6yo. Now he’ll breed a PVC pipe if that’s his only option lol. If it won’t lock you can pop the hemipenal casts off of other males and rub them on your females tail/back, combat the males (it’s not really “combat” and it’s hilarious to watch out in the open), salt the cage with other male’s sheds, etc.
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That’s too funny! I hope my boys get like that.
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I tried using another males castings but he didn’t seem to care. Either he just isn’t mature enough or he’s going to be a stubborn breeder. Like I said he’s a year old and 600g so I’m gonna get him to about 800g and try again hopefully by January-February. I’m gonna pull out all the tricks, shed, another male, etc