Snake breeding progression thread...

[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.

[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:


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.

[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).

Worm is so gosh darn cute!!

[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).

Worm is so gosh darn cute!!

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.





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

[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...