Looky here!! Just yesterday, I was doing the Sunday check on incubating eggs. Galahad and Purple Wonder’s starry little trio was just sitting there, plump as could be. Sure, they smelled “ripe,” but they showed no other signs. Sigh.
Nothing new this morning. Looked at the calendar and counted. Day 67. No change. Deep sigh.
Packed two youngsters for shipping, went to a doctor’s appointment, ran errands and got home about 4:30 pm. There was one baby about an inch out and most of a second head visible! Quick work! Of course they pulled back once I was staring at them in delight, but they’re coming. The lighting is awful but at least they’re visible. How wonderful!
I thought sunkissed was the only thing that broke the cheek stripe, but I guess masque can mess it up as well? Pretty little head markings! I hope you get another genetic anomaly like Muscadine! He’s grown into such a gorgeous fellow.
They’ve all stuck their sweet little faces out into the world this morning. Nobody has fully emerged yet. They’re killing me with the waiting! Hopefully one or two will be out by evening.
The first one, who came out a bit further at one point, looks to be a Strawberry Lavender Motley-Stripe. It’s got a messier pattern than Muscadine. Can’t tell about Diffused based on that quick glimpse. Here it is this morning.
The second baby is more shy so I haven’t really gotten a good look. Probably Moonstone? It’s got a very white snout with a darker spot right on the tip. Too cute!
Stripes normally have a disconnected cheek stripe. Many Motlies have this, too. It has a smoother look than the broken cheek stripe with Sunkissed. Yes, Masque can reduce the check stripe along with other head markings.
I think that it comes up with Sunkissed descriptors so much because things like “rounded saddles” can be harder to understand. The cheek stripe is easy to see, to describe, and is consistent. If one is trying to determine whether a snake is Sunkissed, it’s a good indicator. It is present but doesn’t really enter into Stripe or Motley determination. Those patterns are more obvious, especially to beginners.
Agreed. The way I see it is that the cheek stripe itself is broken or disrupted in Sunkissed. Stripes (and a few others) have a break between the cheek stripe and the neck.
I have a premonition of G R E A T things in the future for these 3 amigos/amigas? That pic in the middle is perfect and would make a G R E A T OTM contest entry!
Well, the first two are out. There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that they’ve both got very small kinks. The good news is that these ships affect their quality of life. The other good news is that they will go to apet home where I trust that they won’t be bred. (Thank you, @caron! You’re a rock star!) They’re both male RF Strawberry Plasmas (not Motley, though one has a bit of a “Notley” thing going on) and really handsome. No names yet, but GaxPW0126 has a kink which is just a bit above his cloaca. His brother GaxPW0226 has a very small kink about halfway between his cloaca and the tip of his tail. If I were the unethical sort, it could easily be passed off as having happened in an accident with a lid. I’m disappointed, of course. Praying that #3 hatches without problems.
Maybe they got got, though I don’t believe so. I certainly won’t be pairing Purple Wonder with Galahad again. Debating whether I pair her again at all. He’s had lots of babies with several females and these are the first to have a problem. I don’t think he has genetic issues. Either they have a problem together or it’s her. Fwiw, Muscadine from last season has zero troubles.
edit: I meant “maybe they got hot,” not “got got.”
@caryl. The first hatched is Galahad Jr and the second hatched is Lancelot! . Fitting names for 2 royal little boys! Bexli is super excited about her 2 new brothers!
Yeah I wondered about Goldie for the same reason as you’re worried about Purple Wonder. All of Arctic’s hypo lavenders with Luna are perfect, but both of Goldie’s lavenders had birth defects. Very weird.
Could it possibly be Galahad’s age, though? Is he getting up there? Not saying it is, but I’m just curious if that can be a factor.
I got out of lavs long ago due to kinking. I suspect there was a bad mutation piggybacking on lavender that took a while to breed out of lav lines. But I’m sure there are still copies floating around that end up creating the homo condition occasionally. Kind of like Stargazing in SKs. It seems like it’s been bred out of SK lines, but it DOES pop up rarely. My buddy in South Africa had it pop up in recent years.
Not an unreasonable question, but not the issue here. Galahad is only 5.
You might well be correct. There were major problems with Lavenders in the early years. I took the opposite path and stayed away from Lavender until 2021. Tried to be careful about purchases and pairings. Things have been decent. Obviously not for this little clutch, though.
Baby #3 is out, and he’s perfect. He is RF Strawberry Lavender Masque het Anery, Diffused, Motley, 50% ph Amel. His head stamp doesn’t show Masque but he has split checkers. He also has an astonishing amount of red tones for a neonate. Especially a Lavender, which isn’t usually going to have any! Lol. That’s the Strawberry and RF showing up and showing out.
Praise God! I was wrong about the sex but I knew this baby would be perfect! Am I good or what? And thank God too because I was trying to figure out where I could fit a third baby in, if I was wrong of course!
I was hoping for a female but this little guy is a delight. You picked one of my favorite names, Caron, but not for a pet. Daddy’s name was Arthur, and Arthur is the middle name of one my sons. So I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on that idea for this baby.
His markings are pretty regular, except for a single, distinct “M” shape. I’m thinking he needs an M name. Muscadine is taken, but maybe there’s another grape or wine variety which will seem fitting. Mortimer popped into my head but that’s apropos of nothing.
And thank God too because I was trying to figure out where I could fit a third baby in, if I was wrong of course! 
