Out of curiosity - why are males kept warmer?

[wodesorel]

I get the whole reason behind keeping the females cooler (smaller clutches), but what is the benefit behind keeping the males warmer? In the wild wouldn't they be found at the exact same temperatures? I haven't seen any explanation of why both sexes wouldn't do better at the same lower temp and it's something that I've been wondering about.

 

[Decadancin]

Its about ideal conditions. The idea is that females will live longer and have less stress with egg laying at the lower temps and with controlled feeding. Not necessarily due to the "best" conditions for them. There is no one right answer, but these are the guidelines that have proven to be successful.

 

[jajeanpierre]

The warmer temperatures are "ideal" but not necessarily the best if you want a female to live very long. Under "ideal" conditions, the female will produce clutches of eggs, and with no food shortage, will produce bigger clutches. At least, that's the theory.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

<sighs, looks out of his cave and thinks 'now wtf' >

"Proven successful" is a loose term when it is applied to reptiles. I've seen some things work for one keeper and not work another keeper with the same species. Here's a better way to put this, in the wild the animals have access to everything they need. Do they have the same luck while being in your home? Hell no. Not even my animals have access to a perfect environment, they have access to as near perfect as I make it. The point being it is subjective to my knowledge, resources, dedication, etc. etc.

IF you can provide a captive female with everything she needs there is no reason to cool her. However if you don't want a female laying eggs on a regular basis, if you are unable to give her everything she needs, you'll eventually lose her due to the stress of constant egg laying and what that does to a body. Cooling it slows that process telling the body "hey it's not time to produce eggs."

In the case of a male his only need is to digest food, typical huh? So warmer temps in a simplistic way make your pet more active and hungry and in the case of a male none of that causes an issue, unless you add in beer and a couch.

<Goes back to his cave>