- Joined
- Aug 21, 2010
- Messages
- 78
I don't have access to post in the Breeding Reports forum so I decided to post this here.
I picked up 2.2 Opisthacanthus sp CF Madagascariensis from Ken the Bug Guy in April 2015. I was unsure of how to sex them but I labeled them as he did. Although the male and females look very similar, the females are definitely heavier bodied and eat more frequently. I was hoping they might be gravid but I would have expected a birth by now. Unfortunately I lost one of the males about 6 months ago...I was attempting to simulate a bit of a dry season and I think it just got too dry for him.
I've kicked up misting to about once a week for the last month and last night I decided to try paring the male with the smaller of the two females.
Setup
I house all of the animals separately in shoe box sized sterlite containers and use a bedding mid of 1/3 sand, 1/3 coco fiber and 1/3 small/medium orchid bark. Each container has a piece of cork and is on heat tape that is regulated at 90 degrees.
9:45pm - Inspected cages of the male and female, both were out and sitting on top of their piece of cork
9:55pm - Flipped the cork bark over (to display the smoother side) and set the males piece of bark in the females container. They were about 4-6" apart at this point and there was no noticeable movement or action from either of them.
10:00pm - Female approaches the male and moves onto his cork. Both inspect each-other and do some pincer touching.
10:03pm - Both are still next to each-other, the male begins short jerking actions.
10:03pm - 10:15pm - Pincer play and small re-positioning movements, the male never grabs the females pincers, the event feels very relaxed and non-aggressive.
10:15pm - 10:35pm - They appear to lock via the mouth parts, there is some pincer movement but it is minimal. For the most part the females pincers and huddled in a resting position, the males pincers are also in a resting position but on top of the female's. During this entire time there was very little actual movement from either of them, however the female appeared to be pushing the male backwards. The male would respond on occasion by pushing her back as well. It was difficult to confirm, the male could have been pulling the female but it really appeared as though she was pushing him.
10:35pm - The pair seems to start separating, at which point the female went after the male! I can't confirm if she was going to try and eat him but she became very aggressive. The male skittered away and in an effort to help him, I prodded her away with some long tongs...she was aggro on the tongs as well.
I returned the male to his shoe-box and inspected the cork for a sperm case but couldn't confirm. There was what appeared to be a glossy spot but no long case like normally seen during other species breeding videos.
I'm going to feed them all this evening then try the paring again. I have some videos and will attempt to upload them later today.
Anyone have feedback or info about breeding these guys?
I picked up 2.2 Opisthacanthus sp CF Madagascariensis from Ken the Bug Guy in April 2015. I was unsure of how to sex them but I labeled them as he did. Although the male and females look very similar, the females are definitely heavier bodied and eat more frequently. I was hoping they might be gravid but I would have expected a birth by now. Unfortunately I lost one of the males about 6 months ago...I was attempting to simulate a bit of a dry season and I think it just got too dry for him.
I've kicked up misting to about once a week for the last month and last night I decided to try paring the male with the smaller of the two females.
Setup
I house all of the animals separately in shoe box sized sterlite containers and use a bedding mid of 1/3 sand, 1/3 coco fiber and 1/3 small/medium orchid bark. Each container has a piece of cork and is on heat tape that is regulated at 90 degrees.
9:45pm - Inspected cages of the male and female, both were out and sitting on top of their piece of cork
9:55pm - Flipped the cork bark over (to display the smoother side) and set the males piece of bark in the females container. They were about 4-6" apart at this point and there was no noticeable movement or action from either of them.
10:00pm - Female approaches the male and moves onto his cork. Both inspect each-other and do some pincer touching.
10:03pm - Both are still next to each-other, the male begins short jerking actions.
10:03pm - 10:15pm - Pincer play and small re-positioning movements, the male never grabs the females pincers, the event feels very relaxed and non-aggressive.
10:15pm - 10:35pm - They appear to lock via the mouth parts, there is some pincer movement but it is minimal. For the most part the females pincers and huddled in a resting position, the males pincers are also in a resting position but on top of the female's. During this entire time there was very little actual movement from either of them, however the female appeared to be pushing the male backwards. The male would respond on occasion by pushing her back as well. It was difficult to confirm, the male could have been pulling the female but it really appeared as though she was pushing him.
10:35pm - The pair seems to start separating, at which point the female went after the male! I can't confirm if she was going to try and eat him but she became very aggressive. The male skittered away and in an effort to help him, I prodded her away with some long tongs...she was aggro on the tongs as well.
I returned the male to his shoe-box and inspected the cork for a sperm case but couldn't confirm. There was what appeared to be a glossy spot but no long case like normally seen during other species breeding videos.
I'm going to feed them all this evening then try the paring again. I have some videos and will attempt to upload them later today.
Anyone have feedback or info about breeding these guys?
