I’ve grown this wonderful pastel pied paradox for the last 4 years. He’s the first snake I got to actually breed. in 2021, I paired him with a girl. They locked immediately. Seems great right?
The thing is, he’s NEVER locked again that season, or this season. I tried 3 proven girls with him, the one he locked with in 2021, and a complete virgin female. Even paired him accidentally with a male. He absolutely has refused to lock or even show signs of wanting to breed. I’ve tried other male sheds in the enclosure, other male urates. Absolutely nothing. He’s a great eater though, so I can’t complain too much lol. He always ends up in the corner by himself within the first few hours until I took him out a day or two later
But has anyone ever experienced this? A male locking once and refusing to do it again?
Honestly given up breeding him at this point, found another male to raise up from a fellow breeder.
Here’s my stubborn boy 
8 Likes
Just a thought.
Have you checked his hemipenes ?
I have heard they can get damaged if withdrawn with substrate debris attached.
I might be wrong about that, but thats why I use paper substrate during breeding.
Still, I guess that’s why they have 2.
If only I had a spare.
Another idea, is he dominated by the females behaviour wize?
Maybe just not compatible, even if so with one in the past.
I have had that once and so keep alternative males.
9 Likes
Never checked that before with him because I’ve always used papertowels. I only recently (within the last few months) got him on actual substrate since humidity is a battle here.
And I haven’t noticed much of the females dominating over him. The girl he did lock with before has, but any other female I’ve had him with just keeps to themselves in the opposite corner . Sometimes laying beside him but never on top or in any other noticeable way
4 Likes
Really like the paradox on him! I was thinking the exact same as @ascended I had one that hurt a hemipene and of course he showed no interest in breeding, his was slightly prolapsed and bleeding a little so quite obvious. I would try popping him and see if you see anything or at least get the casings “more commonly referred to as sperm plugs) just to check if everything’s looking normal down there. Also @ascended mentioned being dominated, while I haven’t experienced this between a male and female before I was wondering if you accidentally paired him with a male and was dominated. Also maybe the male smells from the shed and urates are actually more of a stress to him, especially if he was dominated by another male? Just some suggestions, I have had males want to breed at slightly different times but never just refuse a ready female
5 Likes
Have you tried putting the shed of another adult male in with him and the female when trying to pair him? Sometimes it can set up a competition and gives the timid male a nudge.
5 Likes
I have no experience popping but I can probe him and see if he’ll pop the other out (that’s how I found out my “girl” was a boy when I put them together). The other male didn’t dominate him, but my other male was thrashing a bit and very stressed and corkscrewing for only a minute before I took him out (spider genetics, super fun). My pied boy was very calm though, he didn’t really do anything even though the other was freaking out. I’ve seen no added stress from the sheds or anything, but it’s possible! He’s a puppy dog, he’s so calm and friendly and I’ve only seen him stress when I’m public too long!
5 Likes
Yes I have, and it didn’t boost his interest at all
5 Likes
I would not probe, it’s probably not damaged if you don’t see anything strange around the cloaca. It’s weird to me because it reminds me of several unproven smaller males that have just refused or ignored some ready females. This is pretty common for unproven, but you got a definite lock so you would figure he must know what to do. Very frustrating for sure. What about temps? Too high temps have a effect on both sexs. I wouldn’t be any higher then 88 on the hot end and hopefully your cool end is in the low 80s Has he ever refused food, while not always true honestly 3 out of 4 my breeding males go off food somewhat when breeding is on their mind.
4 Likes
Probed him! Couldn’t get the hemipene out, which is expected. Got the tiniest bit of a “sperm plug” on the left side. BUT I just noticed the left spur is like, almost completely missing? I never saw that before, but I don’t think an almost missing spur would make him not breed?
4 Likes
He’s never gone off food, and the temps are always high 70s/low 80s cool side, and around 87-88hot spot. He’s in a rack with other males, and they all went off food and shown breeding signs this whole winter into spring
4 Likes
Ya a missing spur would not account for much, I don’t know! Now you got me stumped as well, everything seems right to me. Maybe someone else has some insight or has experienced the same thing. Maybe he just doesn’t want to breed, the good looking brat!
4 Likes
he’s such a pain in my butt, but I love him so much. That’s why I’m stumped too! Everything seems right. One of the proven gals I tried to pair him with this year took to another male, so obviously she was ready! He’s just a brat
4 Likes
Absolutely stalking this thread for the exact same problems 
wishing you luck though but sad I can’t help you, at least now we both know we’re not on our own in this boat I suppose lol. Only difference is mine is a proven male, makes me think I did a screw up with his care
4 Likes
Some last possibilities. Were eggs produced from the one lock? You say he’s never gone off food which is pretty rare for males, especially breeding size males. You also said you had accidentally put him in with a male and nothing happened. When you had done that, did they fight or thrash around? Usually it is chaos when two adult males are put in the same space during breeding season. Has he displayed any other characteristics that tend to be associated with females such as bowl wrapping or hanging out on the cool side, eating like a beast from November to March? When he was paired with females, did they lay on top of him like a show of dominance, or visa versa?
Personally, I would try pairing him again with another male that you know is a good breeder and see if you get a lock. There should be a major ruckus if he is in fact a male. If they don’t fight and do lock, then I would say you may have been using the wrong pronoun.
5 Likes
No it was just one proven male with one proven female, not others. But I have also noticed it with other males after the female has finished mating, they are either on top or pushing the male to the other side of the tub.
So on that basis, is it possible the OP just missed the lock and it led to no eggs?
5 Likes
It’s for sure a male, his probe goes nearly 8 scales deep. He didn’t produce eggs with that lock he did, and she hasn’t proven to give me eggs either this year.
When paired with the other male accidentally, he was very calm. The other male not so much lol. Very scared and thrashing. My pied boy didn’t care and just got cozy in the corner. He’s never been overly hungry except as a baby, and never went off food. He’s gone on the cold side during winter but he’s never shown other signs
5 Likes
It’s possible I’ve missed locks with him, but I want to say it’s unlikely. I checked on him at least twice a day (just a quick opening the bin slightly to make sure they’re okay and have water before/after work thing), and never noticed anything other than him doing his own thing
5 Likes
How are the females that you put him in with acting? Are any cool seeking, bowl wrapping or laying sideways or showing any signs of breeding/building behavior? @ascended makes a good point about missing locks, just wondering. Also the female that he locked with but had no eggs, has she ever layed eggs before?
4 Likes
The females I put him with all showed bowl wrapping signs/off feed (except one younger female). This was back in November-January though, I haven’t tried him again because the girls I truly wanted to pair already had clutches this year. The female I put him with that he locked hasn’t produced eggs, and hasn’t locked with another male either, she’s just about as stubborn as he is. But she did show more breeding signs, like bowl wrapping and hunger strikes. So I’m not sure if it was bad timing specifically with her, but my other gals were ready
4 Likes
I leave my males in with my females for a couple weeks, then separate to feed and then return the male after around 3 days when he’s had time to digest.
I continue to do so until the female has her POS. Sometimes this is multiple months. I know people say most males go off food, but in 13 years of actual breeding, I’ve never had a male go off food during the breeding season or in winter, so I don’t think it’s a sign of interest or not. Maybe it’s because I don’t feed them larger than a small rat? My females also eat up until their POS.
I think it just takes some males longer to cozy up with some girls than it does with others. Another thing you could try is letting a different male crawl around in the cage with the female for awhile, remove that male, and then put the Pied in. I know you said you used a shed in the cage. Did you wet it at all? I think getting it damp tends to make the scent of it stronger.
5 Likes
