- Joined
- Sep 17, 2004
- Messages
- 3,783
I've had a bit of trouble mating my female P. irminia with Surena's male. On prior attempts, my girl seemed to think Surena's boy looked more like a snack than a date. I paired them again this evening and something finally clicked! 
The whole thing took about an hour (getting him to figure out which way to go, etc.) and was fascinating to watch.
Of course, I took lots of pictures.
Here's the male finally making his way over to her enclosure (for the longest time he didn't want to leave the transfer container):
As soon as he realized where he was, he almost immediately began drumming. A few moments later, the female came out of the webbing at the opposite end of the container and also began drumming.
They finally found one another and both appeared very eager to mate. I saw no defensiveness/aggressiveness from either one of them - my female was unusually laid-back (heh, literally and figuratively ):
They paired 3 different times. Each time, the male drummed first, then got her into position before (appearing to) drum on her underside before the insertions. The female only returned the drumming before the first mating - she did not return on the 2nd or 3rd, but got into position each time and appeared to be a willing participate.
The female finally turned away and retreated and I shooed the male (a bit unwillingly) back into the transfer container. I estimate the actual mating time (while they were together) at about 30 minutes - much longer than any other pairings I've watched.
The whole thing took about an hour (getting him to figure out which way to go, etc.) and was fascinating to watch.
Of course, I took lots of pictures.
Here's the male finally making his way over to her enclosure (for the longest time he didn't want to leave the transfer container):
As soon as he realized where he was, he almost immediately began drumming. A few moments later, the female came out of the webbing at the opposite end of the container and also began drumming.
They finally found one another and both appeared very eager to mate. I saw no defensiveness/aggressiveness from either one of them - my female was unusually laid-back (heh, literally and figuratively
):
They paired 3 different times. Each time, the male drummed first, then got her into position before (appearing to) drum on her underside before the insertions. The female only returned the drumming before the first mating - she did not return on the 2nd or 3rd, but got into position each time and appeared to be a willing participate.
The female finally turned away and retreated and I shooed the male (a bit unwillingly) back into the transfer container. I estimate the actual mating time (while they were together) at about 30 minutes - much longer than any other pairings I've watched.
