JaxKiwiTiger
New Member
With the recent developments of my female xanth Kiwi appearing healthy and thriving, I thought I'd do an experiment and see how she responds to my 2 boys (Jax and Tiger). Normally if I introduce her to either of them, they immediately start w/the head bobbing ritual and coming closer, while she would flare up black with white spots and back away quick. Some times she would gape her mouth. Afterwards, I would bring her back to her cage, at which point she would practically be leaping off my hand to get back into the comforts of her cage.
Today, quite a different story. I took Kiwi out of her cage and placed her in Jax's cage. He wasted no time w/the head bobbing and heading towards her. To my surprise, she just stood there, looking calm and relaxed. He made it pretty close to her, and she didn't budge, so I removed her (sorry guys!). I went to put her back into her cage, and opened the door to put her back in. The funny part was she wouldn't go back into her cage! She then proceeded to turn a little dark and open her mouth. I know she wasn't thirsty, and I know I wasn't being a threat to her, so my perception to that was she was mad at me and didn't wanna go back in her cage!
Her grip on my hand was tight and she totally didn't wanna let go. I seriously had to physically coax her to get back into her cage, after which I felt like a horrible tease
A few hours later, I went and grabbed Tiger from his cage and took him to Kiwi's. I placed him a couple of feet below where she was perched, and he wasted no time with the head bobbing and making his way toward Kiwi. As soon as Kiwi noticed, she gaped and rocked on the branch she was on for a few seconds. Tiger continued w/the head bobbing and advancing, and for some reason, she stopped and got calm! I guess she had a change of heart?? Tiger continued to advance and probably got within inches of her (while she sat there still calm/relaxed colors) until I grabbed him and took him out.
Soooo, looks as though my Kiwi is ready for breeding?? Except she's only about 10 months! She's nowhere near full grown, and I wouldn't want to risk her health/well-being. The boys are about 9.5 months but it seems as though they've all reached sexual maturity, which is kind of a surprise given their size (they're maybe 7-8" horns-to-tail). I've done so much to get her to where she is now and it's not worth it. Plus I still feel like I have a ways to go before breeding becomes something I'm knowledgeable and comfortable with. Any successful Xanth breeders out there, feel free to weigh-in on the topic!
Thanks for reading!
Today, quite a different story. I took Kiwi out of her cage and placed her in Jax's cage. He wasted no time w/the head bobbing and heading towards her. To my surprise, she just stood there, looking calm and relaxed. He made it pretty close to her, and she didn't budge, so I removed her (sorry guys!). I went to put her back into her cage, and opened the door to put her back in. The funny part was she wouldn't go back into her cage! She then proceeded to turn a little dark and open her mouth. I know she wasn't thirsty, and I know I wasn't being a threat to her, so my perception to that was she was mad at me and didn't wanna go back in her cage!
Her grip on my hand was tight and she totally didn't wanna let go. I seriously had to physically coax her to get back into her cage, after which I felt like a horrible tease A few hours later, I went and grabbed Tiger from his cage and took him to Kiwi's. I placed him a couple of feet below where she was perched, and he wasted no time with the head bobbing and making his way toward Kiwi. As soon as Kiwi noticed, she gaped and rocked on the branch she was on for a few seconds. Tiger continued w/the head bobbing and advancing, and for some reason, she stopped and got calm! I guess she had a change of heart??
Tiger continued to advance and probably got within inches of her (while she sat there still calm/relaxed colors) until I grabbed him and took him out.Soooo, looks as though my Kiwi is ready for breeding?? Except she's only about 10 months! She's nowhere near full grown, and I wouldn't want to risk her health/well-being. The boys are about 9.5 months but it seems as though they've all reached sexual maturity, which is kind of a surprise given their size (they're maybe 7-8" horns-to-tail). I've done so much to get her to where she is now and it's not worth it. Plus I still feel like I have a ways to go before breeding becomes something I'm knowledgeable and comfortable with. Any successful Xanth breeders out there, feel free to weigh-in on the topic!
Thanks for reading!
