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Posted by ike420 on April 25, 2003 at 13:09:09:
In Reply to: Age for a cresty to breed? posted by EricKlees on April 22, 2003 at 20:03:44:
I believe that in considering whether to wait longer and let the females mature or to breed them as soon as they are ready one must take in to account what has worked. Obviously, both methods have worked as demonstrated by both Mike and Allen's sucess with Rhacodactylus. Beyond that, the only concern is for the well-being of the animals. A healthy animal lives in an environment in which it can properly respond to stressors and stimulants. If a male approaches a female and mates with her, if she then goes on to lay fertile eggs, those eggs hatch, and she continues to healthily cycle and maintains good body weight then I don't see a problem and I believe that the animal is healthy and ready to reproduce.
But let's look at evidence. Who here is actually having a health problem with a female that might have been bred at too young an age?? If you are, please respond to this post because every case matters when you're looking at a species that has only been bred for the last decade or so.
Another thought: consider wild specimens of R. ciliatus. A species that lives in such a way that a male can reproduce with a female at too young an age and ultimately negatively affect her reproductive capacity is not a species fit for optimum survival. Judging by the reproductive success of R. ciliatus in captivity, I do not believe that this is a serious problem.
Please, if you have a comment, leave it.
