To breed or not to breed?

I posted this at ks too, but thought I should get as many opinions as possible.


Ok, I think I know the answer already, but i'll ask the experts.

I have a 3 year old 5 1/2' female weighing 1.7 kilograms & a 2 year old 5' male weighing 1 kilogram. Are they ok to breed or should I wait another year?

Thanks!

Eric

Nevermind

Eric,
You asked, so here goes. Remember Gidny? She was same age, and just a hair bigger when I bred her to Mongo. Now she is dead. You sure don't want that.

We don't know for sure about all the ramifications of age and size as they relate to breeding, and egg binding. Personally, and from experience, I do believe that size is a factor. But if we love our girls, then we must do everything we can, NOT to learn about egg binding from them. One might use the logic which says that since they are of age to become pregnant, then it should be o.k. for them to give birth, or lay eggs. But we know that this is not necessarily true. Yes, many will wonder what would happen if this animal were in the wild. Would it, or would it not breed? Would it, or would it not become egg bound? We will never know. If you love her, let her grow. Give her every chance for success that you can bestow upon her. That way, if you wait for her to be 4 or 5 years old before you breed her, and she dies from egg binding anyway, you'll know it was not your fault. It's bad enough to loose an indigo. It's way worse when you feel like it was your fault. So my advice is spare yourself every possibility of a guilty conscience. WAIT! Trust me. I know, my friend.
T.

Thanks Tony!

I already knew the answer. I guess i'm just excited about breeding something again. It's been a few years.

When's the St. Louis show????

Eric

Eric,
"Exited about breeding something again"???? I could really have fun with that one!

I'm not sure which one I'll be going to yet. Right now, I'm just tryin ta git these critters started eatn. So far Just a few have taken FT minnows. After they all get goin well, then I'll worry about the dates. I plan on doing the K.C. show too. And I am still working out details of making prints of my artwork. Some of which are rather large, and require special equipment just to scan them. But I should have it all together before the end of the year,...hopefully sooner. I'll post an announcement here when I'm ready. I look forward to seeing you there! Bring a fishin pole!

I know how you feel bro,... It's hard to wait! But you will be much better off if you give it enough time. How big is your male now? Flea is now 6 ft., I think. If he keeps growing like this, he just might set a record. He just turned 2 years old. And he wasn't much bigger than a night crawler when I got him. Hence the name, "Flea". Amazing.

Hang in there, your time is comming.
T.