- Joined
- May 22, 2009
- Messages
- 271
This is my second attempt to successfully breed Lampropelma violaceopes. Back in January of this year, I cohabitated my male with this same female for almost a month (the male had his ultimate molt at the end of December 2009, and the female's most recent molt was mid-December 2009). I then sent my male off to make his rounds with some other ladies.
No sac was produced and my female molted on 04/07/10. I received a male on loan at the end of July. After receiving permission from the male's owner, I allowed him to cohabitate with my female beginning on 07/31/10. The male was still in her enclosure when she molted on 08/28/10, and I had not witnessed any mating prior to that time. The male had taken up residence in a corner opposite of where the female has constructed her little lair, and several times I saw evidence of sperm webs.
I allowed the female some time to harden up, and then generously fed both of them. They are still cohabitating, and last night I witnessed them mating. I would not have noticed, but males of this species tend to use their front legs to loudly 'slap' what ever surface they happen to be sitting on in order to gain the attention of the female. I heard this slapping, so I looked into the enclosure (Exo Terra rainforest terrarium, for those who may be curious about the setup), and saw that the female had come out of her lair. At this time, she was rapidly drumming in response to the male's slapping. I grabbed my camera and was able to catch the actual act of insertion on video, but the quality is rather poor due to not having time to adjust settings and shooting through the glass.
For those of you who have experience with pairing/breeding this species, I would be very interested to hear your observations and stories. I am also open to suggestions regarding any other measures that may assist me in inducing my female to drop a sac. Several experienced people have already provided me with some helpful tips, and I am grateful that we have such generous people within our hobby community.
No sac was produced and my female molted on 04/07/10. I received a male on loan at the end of July. After receiving permission from the male's owner, I allowed him to cohabitate with my female beginning on 07/31/10. The male was still in her enclosure when she molted on 08/28/10, and I had not witnessed any mating prior to that time. The male had taken up residence in a corner opposite of where the female has constructed her little lair, and several times I saw evidence of sperm webs.
I allowed the female some time to harden up, and then generously fed both of them. They are still cohabitating, and last night I witnessed them mating. I would not have noticed, but males of this species tend to use their front legs to loudly 'slap' what ever surface they happen to be sitting on in order to gain the attention of the female. I heard this slapping, so I looked into the enclosure (Exo Terra rainforest terrarium, for those who may be curious about the setup), and saw that the female had come out of her lair. At this time, she was rapidly drumming in response to the male's slapping. I grabbed my camera and was able to catch the actual act of insertion on video, but the quality is rather poor due to not having time to adjust settings and shooting through the glass.
For those of you who have experience with pairing/breeding this species, I would be very interested to hear your observations and stories. I am also open to suggestions regarding any other measures that may assist me in inducing my female to drop a sac. Several experienced people have already provided me with some helpful tips, and I am grateful that we have such generous people within our hobby community.
