Age

[AnnaBingham]

Just a question ive been wondering about.
I have 4 axies in a tank together. I have 3 siblings at about 6 months old. The other one i got from a pet store, i dont know ago but its the same size so i assume its roughly the same age.
They are too small to know gender yet.
When they are older i will have to seperate them depending on gender, i dont want the siblings breeding. If i was to breed id have to breed one of the siblings with the one i got from pet store.
Just curious as to what ages males will start leaving sperm around generally?
And what ages females will start laying eggs? I know its not healthy for females to breed young but is there a general age they can start laying eggs?

 

[auntiejude]

Any time from about 10 months. Once you spot a male (and it's very obvious) you can separate him, until then it's reasonable to keep them together. If you do get sibling eggs you can always freeze them. I would wait until a female is 12 months before letting her breed.

But you're more likely to get mating behaviour with a change in the weather - a sudden drop in temp about October would be typical.

Having said that, my males are currently courting each other and depositing spermatophores...