Eevee was a Craigslist pickup and has always been a bit of a problematic feeder. She was fine the first three months after I got her, then started only eating once a month for several months, before going off of food entirely. I did get her for a steal, and she has always been small for her age, so my guess is this is no new scenario.
After losing Dratini, I was doing my best to just be optimistic and patient, albeit vigilant. Seeing her ram her face into that fuzzy was the best feeling. Now if only she could teach the remaining non-eater hatchlings I have to do the sameā¦
I am right there with you! Still got 5 who arenāt feeding consistently enough. They are improving but theyāre not ready for new homes just yet. for everybody!
Well, 2023 is here and the season seems to have begun. One of the, idk if youād call it a perk, consideringā¦But one of the perks of my bedroom being my reptile room is that I hear everything.
Because I have yet to find a male for my two 2020 single gene Palmetto girls, that project is on hold. Currently paired are:
Sienna (F) - Het Amel, Caramel, pos het Scaleless
Danger (M) - Scaleless, no known hets
Azula (F) - Anery Tessera, no known hets
Chipmunk (M) - Ghost Motley-Stripe, het Amel, Charcoal, Diffused, Lavender, pos het Cinder
For those of you who remember Sienna, she was the dam of my inaugural clutch in 2022. I had paired her with Danger to no avail, before giving Chipmunk a chance, and he ended up fathering ten gorgeous hatchlings. This year I decided to start pairing her early with Danger to give him the best chance. At this point, I know Iāll be cutting everything close with my trip, so Iām just letting the cards fall where they may. If Iām incredibly lucky, my girls will lay in March and eggs will hatch in May/June.
I can oblige that request! While I donāt have any recent photos, here are some from last year, in the same order as pairs are listed in my previous post:
I canāt wait to see what I get this year, hoping Sienna proves out. Wonāt lie, also hoping for genetic surprises like I got last year. I picked up Danger off of CL with very little info in 2020, and Azula was adopted with only her visual traits know, so itāll be good to know whether there are any hidden hets.
I thought about pairing Pineapple with Chipmunk as well, the breeder I purchased her from could only guarantee she was a Snow single gene Palmetto, but said there may be unknown hets.
Theyāre all lovely. I have always had a special soft spot for Chipmunk. And there are so many possibilities floating in the corn snake gene pool these days, hidden hets seem more to be expected than not. Same with known possible hets (if that makes sense). I mean that with so many hets out there, more animals have a āpos hetā of some sort than not. The question is always, will those hidden hets match? And if they donāt, do I have plans for those babies? So many possibilities!
@ghsaltie I expect them to be just as stunning, if not more so, than my 2022 clutch.
@caryl Chipmunk is a very unique boy and I truly look forward to what he passes on to his offspring. I swear with each shed his colours just develop so much more depth.
With the pos hets, Iām just crossing my fingers. That was part of my thought process with paring Chipmunk to both Azula & Pineapple. Heās basically visual, het, or pos het for some of the most popular morphs. With either of those ladies, all hatchlings will be at minimum Anery, so no possibility of wild type, which is good. Now with Sienna and Danger, there is a risk that if she doesnāt prove out as het Scaleless, Iāll have one batch of normals that are all het. However, sheās 66% pos so Iāve a better chance she carries the gene than not. If Iām ultra lucky and Danger is somehow het Amel or Caramel, I will be pleased as punch. I do know that the people I picked him up from got him from a local breeder, but after contacting said breeder, I was told they didnāt keep the records.
All in all, Iām just happy to get my second season going, even though I still have solid stock from last year. Might stick to just the two pairs to avoid being overwhelmed and give myself a chance to pick up a male for Pineapple & Sylvie.
Itās always an exciting time of year! Iām so happy that youāre up for a second season, Jess. And Iām praying that youāll have a stellar year, which more than makes up for last years challenges.
I figured after last season threw the book at me, it could only be up from there. Made sure everyone was happy & healthy before even considering pairings, just to give myself an extra little layer of protection against any issues. Iāve waited my whole life to finally be able to work with these animals, Iām not gonna let a rollercoaster start discourage me just yet!
Thatās exciting! Iāve put a couple of couples together. Theyāre doing nothing more than getting acquainted. Sometimes I think Odin is just too much of a gentleman.
Two of my three paired girls are currently in blue. If this is a pre-lay shed, I mightāve hit the absolute sweet spot for this season. I donāt want to jinx anything, but I tried to work out the timing so that I would be here both for laying and hatching, which is a very tight window to try to make work.
Idk how I manage to continue to make this as stressful as possible, lol.
Well, I speak and then I swear something manifests. I had to pull Chipmunk out of Pineappleās bin. I noticed a rather suspicious excretion when cleaning today. Upon inspection, it looks like perhaps Chipmunk was doing his thing, PiƱa wasnāt having it, and she pulled away mid-act. Heās totally fine, no injuries, but sheās got minor swelling, redness, and possibly a bit of blood on one side of her vent.
Not gonna risk anything, so heās been pulled and sheās possibly out for the season, or until Iām sure all is 100%. Chipmunk is going to be rested until I can ascertain whether or not Azula is pre-lay or just ovulating. Sienna and Danger look to be my unproblematic couple, so long as I get a fertile clutch from them.
Dang. Iām sorry to hear that things went a bit awry for Chipmunk and Pineapple. Chances are excellent that both of them will heal without issue. I see that itās been a couple of days (things have been rather stretched around here). Chances are also decent that you may get fertile eggs from Pineapple. Usually if a female pulls away, itās near the end of a copulation. Okay, thatās anecdotal, but itās what Iāve observed. I think itās in line with what Iāve heard from others, too.
Princess Irene and Artephius had a bloody event last year. It wasnāt their first mating. I assume she decided she was done. Both were a bit swollen, but in their case Artephius was the more injured one. I put antibiotic ointment on both for a while. Both healed fine, and eventually Princess Irene laid a beautiful clutch, which hatched into beautiful babies.
Hopefully your snakes will thread the needle of your timing.
Thankfully it seems I noticed it not long after it happened. Had her in a betadine soak for good measure. Swelling went down almost immediately and itās hard to tell anything was amiss. Sheās currently in blue so pulling him was going to happen either way. Pineapple is very lumpy, so I have hope that itās just a minor blip in the season.
for everybody!
Looking forward to more beautiful babies from your projects.