In May 2020, we recognized signs of follicular maturation in the Aru female. Of course it would now have been possible to put a male directly to the female, but this seemed to us to be a rather inexpedient decision in view of the warm temperatures in summer.

Now that we knew when her next follicle would roughly mature again, we decided to wait. The breeding pair was finally put together on August 29th, 2020 at lunchtime. According to my observation, green pythons form follicles 3 to 4 times a year and can only become pregnant during this period. After our observation in May we were therefore of the assumption that the next period of follicle development would have to be in September. By the evening there was no sign of any interest on either side. This changed suddenly when the lights went out. The male courted the female immediately and copulations could still be observed in the first night, which should continue until noon the next day. The male stayed with the female until 09/30/2020. During this time pairings could be observed every night, which, as with the first contact, continued until noon the next day.

On October 2nd, 2020 we separated the breeding pair again, because the female came into shed cycle and a general progression of follicular maturation could be seen. So we didn't want to let the male disturb the female any further. It was interesting for us, perhaps a little worrying, that the female was clearly in the moulting phase, but has not shed her old skin. We should learn to understand why a little later.

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the rest coming soon