Breed female before she lays infertile eggs?

[SueAndHerZoo]

Hello. I have a male veiled (about 3 years old) and 1.5 years ago I purchased a young female from a reputable breeder. They are and have been in separate cages ever since and I've patiently been waiting for her to lay some infertile eggs so that I could start planning to breed her with the male. She just turned 2 years old and she has never laid any eggs yet.

Can I start the process anyway (lowering the temp for a while, then slowly raising again to simulate spring) and introduce them to see if they are receptive? Or do I have to wait for a batch of infertile eggs before attempting a meeting?

Thanks in advance.
Sue

 

[Beman]

Personally I would wait to ensure she gets through laying her first clutch without any issues. This will also give you a good idea how large the clutch will be. It will also tell you if the eggs come out fully calcified and healthy.

 

[MissSkittles]

How much are you feeding her?

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Thanks, folks. I know it's wiser to keep waiting until she lays unfertilized eggs, but patience has never been one of my strong suits and I've been waiting 1.5 years for her to mature and be ready to breed. I won't do anything that could cause her any harm . . . is there any medical or health danger in attempting to breed a female that has never laid eggs? Or just less chances of a successful breeding?

I feed her 5-6 dubia roaches twice a week, sometimes 3 times a week. The male gets a little more than that because he's larger and was on a lousy diet when I rescued him (an impulse buy by someone who didn't do their research and was only feeding him fruits and vegetables and no supplements.
Sue

 

[MissSkittles]

The amount that you’re feeding your girl is great for reducing egg production and is obviously working very well for her with that. In order to have her produce eggs, you’ll need to feed her more than that. I’m not sure how much, so am asking @jannb to offer some advice.

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

The amount that you’re feeding your girl is great for reducing egg production and is obviously working very well for her with that. In order to have her produce eggs, you’ll need to feed her more than that. I’m not sure how much, so am asking @jannb to offer some advice.

Thanks, MissSkittles. I look forward to more information on how much to increase her feeding. I have a fresh supply of dubia's arriving tomorrow so I guess I'll be a bit more generous at feeding time.

FYI, I have a hamster named Skittles.
Sue

 

[MissSkittles]

Thanks, MissSkittles. I look forward to more information on how much to increase her feeding. I have a fresh supply of dubia's arriving tomorrow so I guess I'll be a bit more generous at feeding time.

FYI, I have a hamster named Skittles.
Sue

I love hamsters! So cute and fuzzy!
Generally the number of eggs they produce is directly related to how much we feed them, so just be careful not to overfeed. @jannb has bred veileds so will be able to give you advice.

 

[jannb]

I don‘t think she needs to lay an infertile clutch before you mate her. I would never breed before a year old. Just be sUte she is receptive to your male. I watch my guys the entire time they are together because one could turn on the other very quickly and once she‘s done with him, she’s done. I don’t increase the food intake that much, maybe a bug or two a week. I do think a good variety of well gutloaded food is important. I also give a drop or two of liquid a could times a week up until she lays the eggs and everyday after laying for 3 days.

 

[PetNcs]

Personally I would wait to ensure she gets through laying her first clutch without any issues. This will also give you a good idea how large the clutch will be. It will also tell you if the eggs come out fully calcified and healthy.

This is more dependent on the quality of feeding and supplementing and lighting than on the female itself, although genetics can play a role too IMHO

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Well now I don't know if her eggs were fertile or infertile. She laid some very small ones and some larger ones, so I put them all in a home-made incubator and watched them for a few weeks. The tiny ones shriveled and molded, but the larger ones stayed plump. Then a friend gave me a "real" incubator and as soon as they went into that one, everything started shriveling. (shrug).

When I see her being receptive again I'll try again, but I don't know if I should trust that incubator or not. The difference in the two was that the humidity was a little lower in the manufactured one, where in my homemade one, there was a LOT of humidity and condensation.
Sue