Breeding Ackie q's

[Spike]

I just have a few questions regarding breeding the red ridge-tail monitors (ackies)
1. When are they sexually mature? Mine is almost 6months and about 35cm (12+inches) Total Length. I have heard that females if feed a lot, can get mature within 4months
2. Do they do ok in trios?
3. Is it better to introduce the female/s to the male, or is it ok to leave them together always?
4. How many do they lay? I have heard around 4-9
5. Do they need a cooling off period?
6. Is there anything special that needs to be done?

Any help is greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance

[CDN COLDBLOOD]

Hey Spike,
1) I 've found that most reds I've raised are sexually mature around 10 - 12 months. Of coarse it's pretty variable depending on the animal.
2) They do fine in trios, but you get better egg production per female in pairs. Typically in trios you will get a dominant female that does most of the breeding.
3) Leave them together at all times. Generally the male will try to breed with the female when she is ready. He won't typically pester her to much if she isn't.
4) Young females will lay fewer eggs, generally around four to seven, where older females like one I have hear can lay up to 17 eggs per clutch and lay 6-7 clutches per year.
5) They don't need a cooling period. It won't hurt them, but it's not needed. They seem to sense things (envirnmental changes) that are happening outstide and start breeding heavily at certain times of year. They will breed all year round, but produce more clutches of eggs at certain times of year.
6) Nothing special needs to be done, just feed the crap out of them and they'll breed. It's incubating the eggs thats a little bit harder for most keepers.
Hope this helps and good luck with your reds!
Brandon

www.canadiancoldblood.com

[Spike]

Thanks for that Brandon.
I only have a male now, i didnt want to get two of the same breeder (inbreeding and knowing what sex as they were only 2 months). How old (average) would a female that is 12 inches be, and does mine sound about the right size. He is getting aboiut 100 small sized crickets every 2-3 days.

Thanks again