Re: A little suplement to the discussion on the short incubation time

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Posted by Terry on July 10, 2000 at 06:54:42:

In Reply to: A little suplement to the discussion on the short incubation time posted by Pedersen, S�e on July 09, 2000 at 00:54:06:

: I found though that it was better to lower the temp (room temp). First of all the juveniles was bigger and stronger and especially the males was far easier to grow up. I have seen it with some other ratsnakes too. The procentage of well functioning and selfeating juveniles became lower when the temperature was high.

Good point, Soe. Normally my incubation times are longer than for most breeder/hobbyists. I think the temperature fluctuations are more like in nature, and the babies are more robust, also. I try to never let room temps get above 82*F on the warmest summer days, and allow them to fall to the low or mid-70's, if possible at night. Usually the incubation temps never get below about 77*F, though, because room temps only partially affect my incubators.

I believe the dione that hatched in 17 days are from a quite harsh environment in the Ukraine, and probably have a very short incubation time in the wild also. It's possible that some dione are from much more favorable climates, and can have much longer incubation times like yours. Schulz said normal incubation times vary from 20 to 35 days. I think we may find up to 45 days eventually from dione near the southern limit of their range in China.

Clutch size is also interesting, and as I mentioned, this clutch was eight. Average clutch size is six, as mentioned by Schulz. I wonder what the record clutch size is for a dione? This species is extrememly variable, and there's a lot to learn about them in the future. I hope we get to see many more pictures of them on this forum.

TC.

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: : I found though that it was better to lower the temp (room temp). First of all the juveniles was bigger and stronger and especially the males was far easier to grow up. I have seen it with some other ratsnakes too. The procentage of well functioning and selfeating juveniles became lower when the temperature was high. : : Good point, Soe. Normally my incubation times are longer than for most breeder/hobbyists. I think the temperature fluctuations are more like in nature, and the babies are more robust, also. I try to never let room temps get above 82*F on the warmest summer days, and allow them to fall to the low or mid-70's, if possible at night. Usually the incubation temps never get below about 77*F, though, because room temps only partially affect my incubators. : I believe the dione that hatched in 17 days are from a quite harsh environment in the Ukraine, and probably have a very short incubation time in the wild also. It's possible that some dione are from much more favorable climates, and can have much longer incubation times like yours. Schulz said normal incubation times vary from 20 to 35 days. I think we may find up to 45 days eventually from dione near the southern limit of their range in China. : Clutch size is also interesting, and as I mentioned, this clutch was eight. Average clutch size is six, as mentioned by Schulz. I wonder what the record clutch size is for a dione? This species is extrememly variable, and there's a lot to learn about them in the future. I hope we get to see many more pictures of them on this forum. : TC.

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