This young albino male had been exposed to this female's shed skin two days before being put with her, and was absolutely tying himself in knots over it. He damaged and bruised a few scales in the process - so we took the shed out after about 10 minutes.
When introduced a few days after her latest feeding, he took no chances with her as she is much larger than he is. He grabbed her head immediately - got a perfect grip to prevent her from opening her mouth and subdued her completely. She stayed absolutely still.
After an hour of activity - looked like a successful first attempt
But digital cameras come in handy and photos taken during the breeding revealed that even though he had her head controlled, he hadn't been able to line up successfully with her cloaca and although the hemipenis is everted it was not a successful breeding attempt. Her cloaca is at the extreme left edge of the photo.
May be that my photo taking interfered, as they have since bred successfully - just wanted to post to illustrate that even when it appears that breeding has taken place and sperm spillage is evident, there is not always fertilization.
I also thought the head grip was pretty neat - although Dixie was less than impressed (slightly offended I think!) Thjis big girl laid 28 slugs last year (had never been bred).
mary v.
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