Wow that is a big clutch! Good to see no slugs. I hope everyone hatches out healthy.
Hooray for all those beautifully hatched, healthy babies! And congratulatiobs on Caldera’s clutch, too. Wow, those eggs look perfect! That is a fantastic first clutch. How old is Caldera?
She’s actually only 2. I’ve always stuck to the rules of 3 for breeding in the past, but she’s been a big girl since the day I got her. And she’s a very toned, muscular snake and over 300 grams, so I thought I might just see if she was even interested.
Looks like she was ready. I did breed one 2YO female, years ago. She wasn’t fed any differently from anyone else but she grew faster, had good muscle tone and just seemed ready. She did fine, too. Knowing your animals well is the key. I know you do, and Caldera proved it. Congratulations again!
Babies are starting to have their first sheds. So far, I think Twizzler here might end up being a holdback? I’ll have to wait until the rest have shed to start really narrowing down which one is my favorite!
I really don’t see how you will be able to decide which one or ones you will keep! Twizzler is dazzling!
Very pretty indeed! It’s going to be a tough decision so to keep. Do you have a target number or gender for the holdbacks?
Yeah, I really only ‘need’ to keep one male. And I prefer a tessera. And so far, all but two of the tesseras are male.
How fortunate! It’s lovely when the stars align like that.
First meal for Tootsie! I usually like to give at least a few days after their first shed before I offer their first meals, but she looked like she was out hunting already (1 day after her shed), so I figured I would offer her a pinkie early. She was happy to eat it, no hesitation.
No! I love Twizzler lol . He should definitely be a holdback. Such a good looking corn.
A few more sheds from babies, including Reese, who is officially a boy! He has a very classic masque head stamp, but his belly looks like normal checkers. So maybe low expression masque? I really like this guy’s head pattern though!
Bonus pic of freshly shed Pez (female so far!)
Clementine’s clutch is finally pipping! Unfortunately two of the 6 good looking eggs went bad. One sank in and went moldy weeks ago, but the other one was looking good until just a couple days ago. I candled them and it looked solid on the inside and then over the last two days it went moldy too. So I’m not sure at what point it stopped developing, but oh well. Should be 4 good eggs and hopefully she’ll have a better season next year.
(Also this clutch is hatching on exactly 77 days as well.)
Little Starburst had his first shed. Also a contender for holdback, but I think I still slightly prefer Twizzler? Love this guy’s belly!
So unfortunately, I was a bit concerned about the most recent pip. It was a small slit and no nose or bubbles were visible. I did the widen the slit after I saw it because I was going to be out all day. When I came back that evening, still no nose or bubbles. I peeked inside and the baby was white - which isn’t any combo that this pair should be producing. I left it until morning, just in case, but by morning, it didn’t respond to touch, so I went ahead and opened it up to see what might have gone wrong. Pics and description hidden if you don’t want to see.
Summary
Not totally sure what might have happened with this baby. It looked fully formed and obviously was alive recently enough to pip its egg. While I was uncurling it, I saw that its yolk and umbilical cord were wrapped multiple times, tightly around its midsection. I removed the yolk and pulled the umbilical cord out of the way and the midsection was severely pinched and narrowed. So I’m wondering if that might have caused the baby to pip for oxygen needs, but it wasn’t developed enough to survive? I’m not sure. Very disappointing, whatever the reason.
Always a bummer to lose one in the egg like that. Sorry to hear!
Thanks. Yes, it’s especially annoying since this clutch only had a few good eggs to begin with! So now I’m feeling paranoid about the remaining 3. They have not pipped yet.
Fingers crossed for you, and good luck with the remaining 3 eggs. Hope all is well with them!
Awwwwww that’s so sad! Nature has a way of discerning what should and should not be. This sweet little babe was not meant to join the living for whatever reason.
But @solarserpents you have been blessed with many others.
Reminds me of the one I lost last year with the umbilical knot/tear. I wonder sometimes if the pipping is more the result of them thrashing in the egg?