i think my Female hates all men

[blackdragonkelly]

So My German GIant citrus Female, Cheeze, has been introduced to THREE different males since i brought her home as a "proven breeder" last year. And she has yet to even bow. One time she did wave, but when the male mounted her she took off. shell have none of that! also, when any of the males head bobbed at her, she would bob back and stomp at them? whats her problem?
(yes she is a female, DNA tested to be sure) She is about three years old and very Hefty. I regularly supplement with liquid calcium and dust three times a week. shes also had a pinky mouse once a month since i got her. At first i just blamed my males virginity and smaller size, but since paired her with a dominant male more her size, and even a younger, feistier male. no luck.

whats up with her?

 

[Buggsy]

well you should be giving liquid calcium three times a week, unless she has either MBD or eggs, and you really shouldnt be dusting aswell! too much calcium is just as bad as not enough!

Some female are just picky, so you could keep trying, or just accept she dosnt like them. Sorry i couldnt be of more help i dont have much experience in the 'deed' just the egg laying!

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

What you have is what I call an Alpha female. She is big, and knows she can fend for herself in a mating situation. She may be a proven breeder but im sure she was bred at a smaller size. You may or may not find a male capable of mating Her. I have a 650 gram female that has never been mated. She want nothing to do with it. Not even Dozer has gotten anywhere and He has fathered over 400 dragons.

 

[Buggsy]

400! really Tom? wow, me female is now 700g and i dont think she would like a male! (shes a princess that way)

 

[spyder79]

Big alpha females tend to be a bit harder to breed. I have a alpha female and she is a pain to breed. But if you get a big enough and alpha enough male the clutch will be awesome.

 

[blackdragonkelly]

oh boy. I dont know how many grams she is, but my digital scale says she is 1.4 pounds? the Only male to successfully mount her was another german giant male, but he for some reason couldn't figure out how to lift her tail out of the way. they stayed mounted together for about 15 minutes with him rubbing his bum around the ground until i tried to help him out by lifting her tail. as soon as she felt him come underneath her, i saw her eyes get all buggy and she TOOK OFF.

is an alpha female something genetic like in dogs? or is it simply because she is a BIG girl?

 

[andrewlloyd]

How long are your dragons?

- sorry to ask a completly unrelated question..

You say they are german giants? and weigh 600-700 grams?

My guy is 1.8ft long and weighs 530grams.. He is no german giant though..

 

[Buggsy]

1.4 pounds is roughly 600g.

 

[blackdragonkelly]

Cheeze is 19 inches from nose to tail tip

shes only half german giant. mother was a citrius and father was the giant. he was 23" and 700 grams.

 

[spyder79]

Cheeze is 19 inches from nose to tail tip

shes only half german giant. mother was a citrius and father was the giant. he was 23" and 700 grams.

Just want to tell you, the German Giant title is far over used in this industry. It is a marketing strategy only. A true german giant would dwarf that dragon. I have a friend that has verifiable German Giant line dragons and the females tend to be 27-28 inches and well over 1200 grams when fully grown. So i sincerely doubt your dragon has any german giant in it. Dragons can be large without being a german giant. Next time someone tells you they have a german giant ask them to prove it and I bet they wont be able to. just sayin.

 

[blackdragonkelly]

thank-you for the replies. I am aware of the misusage of the term german giant, hence why i found out the linage of the parents before i bough her. but my question remains, is her dominance a factor of genetics? or size? and if its something that can be passed along to her offspring, wouldn't that be something i wouldn't want to breed? kind of like dogs?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

It just is. An alpha is almost a personality trait. IMO.
Size helps in this deff, but it isnt necessary.

 

[aoscar]

I am not near as expierenced as Tom or Brian, however I think she may be a bit more receptive after a brumation period so that her hormone levels can build up. You guys feel free to correct me.

As far as lineage goes, citrus dragons tend to be good sized dragons.

Also, how reptile expo savvy would you consider yourself? I vend 3 expos a month and there are a lot of vendors who have no buisness vending let alone breeding so much as a corn snake. These yo-hoos will tell you anything to sell you an animal. And unfortunatley, most expo promoters only care about selling table space, no matter how much of a tard someone is, if they pay their table cost, they are in.

 

[blackdragonkelly]

I've noticed her try to go down a few times since i got her, but she seems to nap on an off for about two weeks, followed by a period of psycho glass dancing and digging. From what i've read on the subject,they kind of do their own thing, so i haven't tried to force her to go fully to sleep. None of my males have tried to go down at all. Im located in california, if that matters. How would i go about that? is it the wrong time of year for breeding? she just woke up from a spell yesterday, but today she's back in the corner of her cage, buried in substrate away from her lights and basking spot.

As far as reptile savy-ness,Im more expierienced with leopard geckos, which i've been breeding for about 5 years. i've had beardies for three years. when i got cheeze she was only my second dragon, my first being a rescue. admittedly i knew a lot less than i know now. Compared to the two males i have, she's much stockier and bulkier in build then them. I bough her from a private breeder of ball pythons, who said one of the parents was a giant. He was reputable and it made sense at the time. But if you guys are saying that its an overused term, perhaps he was only repeating bad info. how would i go about getting that proven for sure?

Its cool to hear that The yellows are big to begin with though. I didn't know that!

 

[aoscar]

I have personally never forced a brumation, however my undestanding is that you gradually reduce the light cycle to about 8 hours on and 16 dark by about 30 minutes a day(on 15 min late, off 15 min early), and at the same time reduce the temps to about 85 basking/ warm side. Don't quote me on that and I'd appreciate a second opinion on it as well.

Also I meant your EXPO savvyness, there are a lot of cons that set up at shows, some you see from across the room, others are not as easy to pick out.
Not that I am in any way questioning your intelligence, or bashing the guy you bought her from. Genetics and lineage are in my opinion hearsay unless the individual produced the animal or can tell you who did (even sometimes the latter option can still be considered iffy information). However, I would still market the offspring as the genetics you were given, maybe adding the words probable GG/ definate citrus blood. One more point is that an animal can and will not acheive full size potential if not properly and adequately fed.

Hope this helps.