What makes a good breeder?

[bacardigod]

What are some characteristics that you look for when selecting potentional breeder animals? I'm not talking about obvious visual trates (coloration, morphs, genetic hets, etc), but physical signs that the animal could reproduce/donate spurm ~. Someone mentioned to me that they had a male that was "too big to breed" so it got me thinking, what makes a good breeder?

 

[TeguBuzz]

A male to big to breed? I don't understand that. Maybe that male was too big for his/her females? I had reds that were nearly 5ft in length and they weren't too big to breed.

 

[Deac77]

I've heard if obese males that can't breeds maybe that's what they mean.

 

[TeguBuzz]

I've heard if obese males that can't breeds maybe that's what they mean.

Yeah, that would clear things up.

 

[bacardigod]

Sorry for the confusion, that was exactually what he ment, it was obese, a 25lb blue.

 

[Josh]

Whoa, 25 lbs?!

 

[TeguBuzz]

Yea, 25lbs is definitely "too big", that's unheard of. Thanks for clearing that up.

On a side not, my Cayman hybrid cyclura iguana Buzz was a whopping 24.3lbs at last weight check - which according to my vet and Blair, was a healthy weight for a full grown male rock iguana.

 

[TheTeguNovice]

This is good info to know,in regards to weight of a tegu, is there a chart that gives the appropriate healthy weight of a tegu starting with hatchling to adult?,...

 

[Deac77]

It's different for every animal just like humans

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

I cannot imagine a 25lb blue..... in fact I don't believe it lol. you can look at a tegu and think its massive but weigh it and its only a 12lb tegu. 20+lbs is an absolute huge tegu. Leo (my red) is one of the largest tegus iv ever seen in my many years of tegu keeping... and hes only 21lbs. I cannot even imagine that on a smaller framed tegu.

 

[laurarfl]

Having too much weight or too little definitely affects sperm production in males.

 

[Roadkill]

I would remind people that "25lbs blue" literally means almost nothing. Weight is pretty much a meaningless value without relation to the size of the animal. People always assume blues are smaller, but many have spoken up saying their blues are the same size as the rest of the Salvator merianae species, and considering no one will ever actually spell out what makes a blue a blue.....
But as Laura has hinted at, body condition, especially in relation to total body fat, is a big influence on reproduction in both males AND females, this is because fat tissue is itself a hormone secreting tissue, and these hormones impact the reproductive cycle. Whereas a female does want to have a fair bit of fat when it is time to lay the eggs (as the fat gets sequestered into the eggs), during much of the rest of the year, too much body fat can have a depressant effect upon her regular reproductive hormone cycling.

 

[Renske]

I have a blue who is over 5ft long and no problem breeding him.
Most important thing is that they are not overweight. Better a little skinny then overweight.

 

[laurarfl]

I've also wondered if a shorter bodied male has a difficult time breeding a longer bodied female, or do they...ahem...adjust?

 

[Roadkill]

You think they're kissing or something?!?

 

[laurarfl]

lol. My male is short and my female long. Last year they couldn't quite connect. He would grab her by the shoulder area, but when he twisted around, he didn't quite hit the mark. I wondered if he was too short or if she was just not helping out.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

haha poor Charlie!