Indoor Nesting Areas?

[Todd Stockwell]

Todd Stockwell

November 20, 2001 at 10:33 pm #16298

This is probably a bad week to solicit input, but here goes: I am still mulling over ideas for large indoor tub set ups (such as 150 gallon Rubbermaid livestock troughs) for my breeders. I am wondering how many successful breeders have nesting areas available at all times connected to their regular tank/tub verses how many breeders remove the gravid females to separate nesting areas (another tub or even outside) when the females show signs indicating they want to oviposit? I know breeders on this list who have had good success with each of these methods, so I know it can be done several ways. My own concerns are maximizing indoor space and the nesting substrate (sand, sand/loam) getting into the filtration system in the case of having a nesting area in the regular tub. My concern with needing to remove the females to a separate nesting area is how the more sensitive individuals might react to being relocated for nesting. I about gave up on feeding in a separate tub, but I tried it again and finally have most all adapting to that method (which sure is making tank maintenance easier!). So I have been leaning towards trying the separate nesting area next year (assuming I get some gravid females – hope, hop, hope) to allow the tub set ups to be less complex until I gain more experience with them. Also, I have gleaned from the list that some breeders keep the males with the females year around and some separate them, either most of the time or for a short time before breeding season. In my case, I am still looking at how many different indoor tub set ups I can squeeze in to separate the ssp. So, keeping males separate most of the time might allow for less overall separate tubs since females from several ssp could be kept together. But I am guessing from past list discussions that most breeeders would like to keep the males and females together most of the year to promote frequent breeding (with possibly only a short separation near breeding time)? I would appreciate hearing again from those with experience and opinions. I have checked out Jonathan’s web site descriptions several times, too, again. Jonathan, are you planning any changes in your new set ups? Todd in Texas

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