female refuses to mate

sajane · #1 12-08-2011, 01:12 PM

My 2 year old female refuses to mate! every time the male comes near her she freaks out. He has pretty much stopped trying and avoids her also.Do you think she ll get in the mood some day? What causes this ? she is a very laid back gecko. My male had luck with my more skittish female and she has laid 10 eggs.It's been since Aug. that they have been together

Mardy · #2 12-08-2011, 01:17 PM

Is she ovulating?

**Riverside Reptiles** · #3 12-08-2011, 02:08 PM

If she's not ovulating, she's not going to breed.

Saskia · #4 12-08-2011, 03:09 PM

I´d say if she doesn´t want to just let her be..... I believe in any animal species some females just don´t want to breed, it happens in dogs, cats, humans! why can´t it happen in a reptile?, and they shouldn´t be forced, if you want a breeder, you should sell her to someone that just wants a pet and buy a proven breeder, trying to get her to mate is very stressfull, If she were mine I´d leave her alone being just a happy pet

Mardy · #5 12-08-2011, 03:37 PM

Make sure the female is ovulating first. Don't give up on a female if she refuses to mate while not ovulating, that's a perfectly normal behavior. You should not be introducing the male into the female tank without making sure the female is ovulating in the first place. You are asking for trouble and potential injuries to both geckos by "forcing" them to mate.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #6 12-08-2011, 04:49 PM

I'd separate them, cool them for a few weeks, and then warm them back up. That should get her ovulating and thus, "in the mood". Then you can put him back in with her.

Mardy · #7 12-08-2011, 05:12 PM

One trick to get females to ovulate or to get them not be spooked by a male, is to take something from the male's tank, and place it in the tank with the female. It can be anything, like the paper towel used under the cool hide where the male lay, or something from the moist hide, anything with the male's scent.

You leave the item in there with the female for a week or so, and see if the scent of a male would trigger her to ovulate. This works even for a female that is ovulating, but is rejecting males. The whole idea is to get the female to get used to the male's scent before you introduce them.

Good luck.

sajane · #8 12-09-2011, 02:21 PM

I'm not going to make her mate if she doesnt want too. I thought she would ovulate after spending that much time with him.
they get along fine as long as he doesnt try anything. I will separate them so she s not stressed but she is a big fat calm gecko and doesnt act stressed unless the male starts biting her tail.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #9 12-10-2011, 10:50 AM

It's stressful for both of them to leave them together like that. It's not surprising that she's not ovulating if you haven't cooled her. Leos can and will breed without cooling, but they're much more likely to breed if you do cool them. Like I said, just separate them, cool them for a bit, and try putting them back together after a while. You'll likely find her a lot more receptive. It's not a matter of "forcing her" to do anything. It's a matter of providing proper environmental conditions to trigger her natural responses.