Captive courting activity?

[jmonahan]

Hey all - I noticed the male garters emerging from my 2 artificial hibernacula this past weeks. A lone female was pursued when she was introduced to the rocks of the hibernacula. So anyway, I decided to bring the wild caught red-sided garters out too. I just returned them to their enclosure (after bringing them up from 38-41F to 60-65F over a period of 4-5 days) and am wondering how long it may take before mating commences.

What have people observed?


Joe
Iowa

[Tommytradix]

38-41 is low i brumate mine at 48-52 and i always introduce about 2 days after they take a meal then courting usually happens almost immediately my radix locked almost as soon as i put them together last season

[Tommytradix]

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[jmonahan]

38-41 is low i brumate mine at 48-52 and i always introduce about 2 days after they take a meal then courting usually happens almost immediately my radix locked almost as soon as i put them together last season

Well the storm/root/wine cellar was at 31F during the last cold snap. So they were exposed to freezing temps for at least a day or so.

But do I understand that you keep them separate for a couple days after they take a meal? How long till you bring them out till they eat?

I noticed that the males come out (in the wild) when its still very cool. But they hang very close to the hibernaculum. They are clearly searching for females - or waiting for them to emerge. If you approach close they actually glide toward you, hoping your a mate. If you sit down next to the rocks they emerge from you can bring them right to your lap by wiggling our fingers.

So, my rambling point - the males may not have fed prior to mating.

Joe

[Tommytradix]

yrs i keep mine seperate for a couple days and feed them before i pair them males go of feed most of the time for a couple weeks during this time i keep them paired for a couple weeks just to be sure