H. orientalis monogamy?

[stanleyc]

I have a group of 4 adult H. orientalis, 3 females and 1 male. I get them when they were sub adults, and since they've reached adulthood,about 4 years ago, the male has only mated with 1 female. Every year only that female has laid eggs, and I've only ever seen the male actively courting that one female.

Has anyone else observed this in H. orientalis or other species? Is it likely that just coincidentally the other 2 females available are infertile and somehow he can sense that? Or is it that males can only mate with one female per breeding season and the female he has exclusively mated with is just more fit, and therefore, he chooses her every year? I don't know, but I would think that they would be able to mate with more than one female per year, and if that's so, I would assume he'd try to mate with as many as possible.

Or maybe it really is just love (unlikely)

 

[Azhael]

Are you sure the other two are female?
Males will court anything....literally, not just as many females as possible but females of other species and even occasionally, inanimate objects.
The fact that you have only seen the male court the one female doesn´t preclude that he could have courted everybody else, particularly since the bulk of this species´s courtship tends to happen at night.

Either that or yeah, her crimson belly and generous hips have him totally smitten

 

[stanleyc]

Are you sure the other two are female?
Males will court anything....literally, not just as many females as possible but females of other species and even occasionally, inanimate objects.
The fact that you have only seen the male court the one female doesn´t preclude that he could have courted everybody else, particularly since the bulk of this species´s courtship tends to happen at night.

Either that or yeah, her crimson belly and generous hips have him totally smitten

Yes I'm sure the other 2 are females. Pointed tails, longer bodies, less pronounced cloaca. It's definitely possible he has been courting the other females and I have not noticed it, but neither of them have ever produced eggs or seem to have been gravid.

 

[JD49]

I guess you can play with several females, but the others may not be fertile

 

[Redear]

The female might be the only one responding to the male. When viewing courtship behavior I have noticed some females are more interested than others. The male might take the cue from this particular female. (or maybe she has a sparkling personality)