Snake breeding progression thread...

[snakemama]

My two adult corns bred yesterday! I'll be introducing them to each other twice more in the next week or so, then letting Pearl settle down with a laying box. I'm so excited! Last year Pearl produced 22 healthy eggs for her former owner. That was her first year being bred, and corn snakes usually produce more after the first year. I'm going to have my dad build me a couple of nice racks to house the babies in so that I'm not totally overwhelmed by taking care of them! Kostya has never bred before and he's a little young for it, so he wasn't too sure what to do. I took a shed skin from another male and slipped it into the "honeymoon suite", and the scent of a rival male seems to have flipped a switch in Kostya's brain!

Here's Kostya (I know the focus isn't great, but I love this photo of him anyways!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/My%20Snakes/Kostya/006.jpg?t=1318144985

Here's Miss Pearl!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/My%20Snakes/Pearl/010.jpg

And here's the happy couple in their honeymoon suite! Click for the video. (Nothing graphic is happening here, they're just wiggling their tails and getting acquainted!!) I recommend turning the volume down because my camera for some reason puts a ringing noise into the videos...
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/th_001-1.jpg (http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/?action=view&current=001-1.mp4)

I'll keep this thread updated with any new developments!!

[Karen]

Goodness, good luck on being a snaky grandma!

[chocolatepuppy]

Good luck! Will be looking forward to baby snake pics!;)

[Bonny]

Exciting times :) Hope Pearl & Kostya are successful.

How long before the eggs are laid & how many days or weeks before they hatch?

[Cataholic]

Snakie- as you might recall, I have snakes, lots and lots of them, in my backyard. :) Is it true that they are 'aggressive' only when babies are around? I swear this snake was out to get me! When in the past, they seem more interested in getting away from me.

Sadly, one little one met its demise in my basement. :(

[happylabs]

The first thing that came to mind when I read this was Frank Zappa's song called "Baby Snakes". My ex-husband had this on an album. It was one of those funny songs. Google or Youtube it. :D

Anyway, I have always thought these pink snakes were so pretty but I will worship them from afar. I am very interested in seeing the babies. Hope all goes well for the honeymooners. :love:

[snakemama]

Snakie- as you might recall, I have snakes, lots and lots of them, in my backyard. :) Is it true that they are 'aggressive' only when babies are around? I swear this snake was out to get me! When in the past, they seem more interested in getting away from me.

Sadly, one little one met its demise in my basement. :(

Depends on the species, though I've never heard of a snake being aggressive around its babies. Most of them don't hang around to see the babies hatch. I've heard some racers can be pretty mean (though harmless!).

Pearl and Kostya will have another date tomorrow, and maybe one more on Tuesday.

After that, I'll wait two weeks or so before giving Pearl a nesting box an taking out her big water bowl. For some reason corn snakes like to lay eggs in their water bowls, which kills the eggs, so she gets a small water bowl until the eggs arrive. How long it takes before egg laying really depends on when she ovulates. Since I don't hibernate them srtificially and it stays pretty warm here year round, that's going ot be unpredictable. Probably no more than a month though, and they DO generally shed a week to ten days before laying. Once the eggs have laid, you CAN re-introduce the male and attempt to get a second clutch. I don't plan to do this as it's hard on the female. Pearl is a pet first and I need to watch out for her health. Of course, some females will drop a second clutch no matter what, so we'll see. I'll have my hands full with the first clutch if she drops 22 like last year!

Eggs take 2-3 months-ish to hatch, depending on the temperature they're incubated at.

[Scooter's Mom]

I can't wait to see how many babies you end up with!

[pomtzu]

Your snakes are very pretty, but I'm also one that likes to admire them from afar! :eek:

[snakemama]

My sis in law came by tonight and showed me how to feel for eggs, and Pearl is FULL of eggs. I'll be putting a next box in with her in the next few days, even though she's going to shed again before any eggs actually appear. I'm so excited! I needed a smile this evening after Chamomile passed away.

[Karen]

How exciting! We look forward to seeing pictures of the eggs, and the wee snakeys! :)

[snakemama]

About an hour after I posted last night, I went upstairs to find that Pearl JUST had her pre-laying shed! Nest box is going in the moment I get home from work tonight! My sis in law is making it up right now, but due to Pearl's somewhat restless nature, I'm going to have to put it in her tub. (She's not really MEAN, she was just raised in a big facility where the snakes don't get much individual attention besides making sure they're healthy.)

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/My%20Snakes/Pearl/015.jpg

[snakemama]

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY There are eggs!

Pearl laid 22 eggs today - 20 are definitely good, 1 may or may not be, so it's being incubated anyways, and 1 was definitely a slug, so I fed it to Grendel. She also still has one egg stuck high up in her body. I'm concerned, but hopefully a meal and a few round in the bathtub for some exercise will push the last one out.

Now the long wait before hatching - should be a little over two months.

Of course, I was way too excited to remember to get pictures, so I'll have to get some pics of them in the incubator in the next few days.

[Bonny]

Congratulations to you & Pearl. That is a lot of babies to hatch out. In the wild where would they lay their eggs & would they guard them against prey? Could Pearl absorb the egg that hasn't come down back into her system? Are the eggs soft shelled like turtle eggs? I hope Pearl will pass her egg safely.

[chocolatepuppy]

Oh babies on the way! Nice surprise for Mothers Day!:D

[snakemama]

Congratulations to you & Pearl. That is a lot of babies to hatch out. In the wild where would they lay their eggs & would they guard them against prey? Could Pearl absorb the egg that hasn't come down back into her system? Are the eggs soft shelled like turtle eggs? I hope Pearl will pass her egg safely.

In the wild they lay their eggs in a sheltered area and hen leave them. Unfortunately, it's unlikely for her to reabsorb the last egg at this point, it will have to come out...with any luck food/swimming/massaging her will push it out without the need for drastic measures. Yes, the eggies are soft like turtle eggs. Good eggs are white and fluffy and feel like marshmallows. The dud egg she laid was yellow and squishy.

[Karen]

Congratulations to Pearl, and to you, too!

[sallyandsnowx]

Congrats Pearl! :) I hope everything goes well with mommy and eggs. I can't wait to see pictures of the babies!

[snakemama]

The final egg passed safely, and it looks good!! Bringing the total to 22 good eggs, the iffy one is gaining veins and looking excellent.

[Karen]

Yay! Good job, Pearl! :)

[ramanth]

Congrats to Pearl! Hope you get a lot of good babies. :)

[snakemama]

Just a quick update: Pearl is still a little thin after laying, but she's eating well and she'll be back up to 100% soon.

Also, my sister in law borrowed Kostya to pair with one of her gals. She's working on a "Sweet corns" project, where the only standards for pairing the animals are their health and their temperament. She's hoping to start a line of corns that are bred for friendliness. Kostya is the perfect boy for this project, as the only time he's even threatened me was when he got out and I had to rescue him from one of the kitties. I think almost being eaten is a good enough reason to strike at a person a few times. Anyways, he is temporarily living with Torandre (Pictured below), and apparently he likes her quite a bit...they er...got to business before I got home from dropping him off! (I live half a block from her) Any babies from this pairing will look like darker versions of their mother, unless Kostya is carrying hidden genes I don't know about.

http://www.iherp.com/Gallery/91357/26994_54566_Large_nQepHE5JRIF0.jpg

[Bonny]

I always thought corn snakes were docile? What will you do with all of Pearls babies when they hatch? That is a lot of snakes to handle & tame at one time.

[snakemama]

I always thought corn snakes were docile? What will you do with all of Pearls babies when they hatch? That is a lot of snakes to handle & tame at one time.

Generally speaking, they're pretty darn docile, but there are a lot of them who will rattle their tails and strike, and we see threads on the corn snake board fairly regularly that say "Help! I'm a newbie and my new snake strikes at me!". Plus, it's just going to be interesting to see what breeding for temperament is going to do in the long run.

Well, I have 8 people on a waiting list so far, I'll be posting them for sale on the cornsnake message board, and I'll be bringing them to my local reptile show where myself, my sister in law, and our friend are planning to get a booth together.

If I have lots of them left at the end of the show, wholesalers tend to come around and offer rock bottom prices just to take the babies off people's hands. They tend to either re-sell the babies to pet stores or export large numbers of them overseas, where corn snakes aren't as prevalent. I'm fairly confident that I won't be giving the whlesalers any business though...I selected the parents carefully, I'm breeding a morph that's in high demand, and I'm known and liked by a fair number of people who keep corns as a hobby. :)

Plus...you never know...I might have to keep one or two for myself. ;) One person extended an offer to trade one of my pink babies for a butter, which will grow up to look like this one:

http://iansvivarium.com/morphs/species/elaphe_guttata/butter/images/1008LFever%20151109.JPG
PHOTO BELONGS TO ADAM AND CHARLOTTE AT acsnakes.co.uk NOT ME!

I haven't decided on this...Butters are pretty, but I'm not sure how many new snakes I want to add right now. I don't have much room for quarantining new arrivals.

Also, my friend Bob has first pick, and he's sending me this little lady in exchange. Her name is Worm, and once she arrives home she'll have her own thread.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/My%20Snakes/Worm/worm.jpg

[ramanth]

I originally wanted to get an Okeetee, but the breeder said they tend to be more feisty and nippy than other corns. She recommended a Creamsicle, so that's what I got. :)

Lucy has been a great first snake. No strikes and only rattles her tail every once in awhile (which I think is adorable). :D

Worm is so gosh darn cute!! :love:

[Karen]

Worm is adorable! And we are sooo looking forward to those babies hatching - but not more than you are, I know!

[snakemama]

I originally wanted to get an Okeetee, but the breeder said they tend to be more feisty and nippy than other corns. She recommended a Creamsicle, so that's what I got. :)

Lucy has been a great first snake. No strikes and only rattles her tail every once in awhile (which I think is adorable). :D

Worm is so gosh darn cute!! :love:

Funny you say that, my friend who produced Worm has some "Okeets" as he calls them, and he says they're nasty pieces of work too. Worm is a redcoat, which is a newer gene that's not well understood yet. She should grow up to be a very pink/red looking normal corn.

Creamsicles sure come in some pretty colors. I'm not into hybrids, but I love the rich oranges that creams tend to be seen in.

[snakemama]

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!

THE EGGS ARE DIMPLING!

This means there should be little NOSES peeking out by tomorrow.

It can take them up to 4 days to fully emerge.

I want to check them every ten seconds, I could sit and stare at them. I have been sitting and staring at them.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Pets/014-1.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Pets/013.jpg

I'm so excited! My first clutch is almost here! :love:

[Scooter's Mom]

How cool! :)
Can't wait to see them all!

[snakemama]

With a VERY valiant effort I have managed to only open that box twice today. No noses yet. SOOOOON. *twitch*

Every nine secpnos or so I get the urge to run upstairs and peek. Leave them alone....leave them alone...

[Karen]

And I will refrain from getting my hope up when I open this thread ... I do hope you have batteries charged in your camera and have it at the ready!

[snakemama]

Nothing yet....I'm sooooooo impatient....

[Karen]

Dang, saw you posted and I clicked despite myself! ;)

[Scooter's Mom]

I'm impatient too! hehehe

[snakemama]

I spy with my little eye....TWO PINK NOSES!

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202011/009.jpg

[snakemama]

Also...

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/100_1203.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/100_1202.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/100_1201.jpg

Boy that first one made itself a BIG door to leave by! The second one ducked his head back inside when I opened the lid. I'm leaving them alone until the morning. :)

[Karen]

Yay! Baby snakies! Hope the rest are matching by morning! :)

[krazyaboutkatz]

I keep coming back to this thread to see if there's been any progress. Now that there has, I hope that everything goes well.:)

[snakemama]

Gah, they both look quite cozy this morning, exactly where I left them last night. I know they'll eventually decide to emerge, but patience is not a great skill of mine!

[snakemama]

My favorite so far, Baby #2! Those white spots on his eyes will shed off in a few days. He's a boy, and he's very friendly already! Baby #1 is a spitfire, which makes her hard to photograph. There are nine out so far, and four more noses visible.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/008.jpg

[Karen]

Yay!!!! Welcome to Pet Talk, Baby Snakey #2! You hatched into a great home to start out in!

[Suki Wingy]

How adorable!

[Bonny]

Your boy snake has such a pretty pattern. He looks to be a good foot long. Are you going to name the girl Spitfire to match her personality. :D Thank you for the update & pictures. A person can learn a lot from your sharing. :)

[snakemama]

Yahoo! Individual baby pics are uploaded!! I was feeling overwhelmed with 22 babies to take care of, so I selected the best ten and sold the rest of them at a reptile expo last weekend. The breeder who I got Kostya from claimed the nicest of the girls, so I am left with nine, plus Pearl has graced me with eight more eggs!

I'm thinking now that I should have held more babies back though...I posted them up last night, and already five of them might be spoken for.

Baby #1 is my favorite. I think that even though I don't need another boy, I'm going to keep him awhile and watch him grow up, then maybe sell him once he's a little bigger. Or maybe keep him. Who knows...
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/004.jpg

Baby #2 is the brightest of the girls. She was spoken for within five minutes of the pictures being uploaded. She'll be living with my friend Bob from Mountain Folk Serpents!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/007.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/016.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/018.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/028.jpg

Baby boy #6 would like to EAT ME! He's a bitey little creature! I do love a snake with attitude! See how he flattened his head into a triangle to makehimself look SCARY! At this age, when they bite you, it feels like you've stroked your finger across a piece of velcro.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/034.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/048.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/054.jpg

Baby #9 is also spoken for. He's also HIPER and almost impossible to get a picture of. He figured out almost instantly that he could climb out of the bowl, and I couldn't get him to hold still at all!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/cebogart/Kostya%20X%20Pearl%202012/057.jpg

[Karen]

Soo fun! Glad so many are getting good homes! Hey, you should tell their new parents about Pet of the Day! It'd be fun to have on of her babies be a star some day! :) And meanwhile, we know they are all snake friends, so that would be great!

They are zoo cute, and you can assure #6 I was terrified by his scariness - ;) NOT! See cute at this age!

[Scooter's Mom]

Just for grins, do you have a photo of the entire bowl so we can see how big it is?
I'm curious to know how big they are in comparison.

hah, you've got me 'saying' something I never imagined I would say! They're lovely little snakes!

[Bonny]

The babies look like they are a good 12 to 18 inches long? Do you keep them all in separate containers to tell them apart or put the boys & girls separate? I love their coloring & can see different patterns on their heads too. I am generally scared of snakes but also have a big curiosity about them.

[Scooter's Mom]

How are these guys doing?

[snakemama]

Sorry guys, I've been in Montana for awhile! Just got back yesterday!

The babies are looking good! They each live in a little ziploc tupperware with holes poked in it, I have all of the tupperware in a temperature-controlled rack. My sister in law forgot to come feed them while I was out of town, so tonight they'll be getting more food and they'll be HUNGRY!