Re: Walt ,more questions for you! HEY GLEN!

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Posted by Walt Deptula on May 21, 2001 at 13:48:32:

In Reply to: Walt ,more questions for you! posted by glenn n nancy on May 20, 2001 at 12:03:34:

: Walt, congrats your your breeding. Just wanted to find out some more info. on the coxi. How large are your adults? male? female? What does your breeding group consist of? What type of setup do you use to house them? Sorry for all the questions I just want to see how others are keeping there animals. Also, how are your frenata doing? and can you elaborate on them as well. Thanks so much. ----glenn n nancy

Hi Glenn and Nancy,

Thanks but I don't want to even think about counting my coxi until they are hatched. We will see what develops. In their first year, my coxi displayed an amazing growth rate which made me believe that their ultimate adult size might be quite larger than previously published info indicated. This growth rate seems to have slowed considerably, and while snakes will grow for their entire life, it seems likely that my reverse trio have reached a point at which their growth has now slowed to a level which will limit their future growth to another 15 cm or so (6 more inches in America). Male number one is nearly 71cm (28 inches) and male number two is around 61 cm (24 inches). My female is in her nest box so I don't want to disturb her but I would guess that she is at least 84cm (33 inches). My animals are only about 21 months old, an age at which I generally would not feel comfortable breeding most species of snakes. My female coxi was clearly ovulating at the age of 10 months however ! (This ovulation occurred last season after a brumation designed to begin naturally cycling my animals in anticipation of the possibility of breeding them this year). I should add that my female was not power-fed as I hate animals that look fat or unhealthy in captivity. The worst mistake we make in captivity is overfeeding, in my estimation. She is not one of these animals with a tiny head attached to a big, fat body. She actually looked like an adult at 10 months old and the fact that she ovulated at that young age made me feel that she might well be ready this season. I should also add that the reverse trio proved very beneficial in my case. The larger male seemed interested in the female immediately upon combining them, while the smaller male appeared scared to death of her and in no way would have been a viable breeder this season. My thought on keeping the two males was that I would be able to cover myself with regard to natural breeding behavior. That is, I planned to use one male as a "sperm regenerator" and one as a "sperm storer". I planned on bringing one male up, getting him feeding and regenerating new sperm while keeping the other male in cold storage until he would be combined immediately with the female. This plan did not work at all because as I indicated, the smaller male wants no part of the female.

I am not keeping frenata any longer. I did visit you page though and found all of your animals to be very beautiful, particularly your mandarina and your male ridleyi, which might be the best I've seen.

Walt Deptula

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: : : Walt, congrats your your breeding. Just wanted to find out some more info. on the coxi. How large are your adults? male? female? What does your breeding group consist of? What type of setup do you use to house them? Sorry for all the questions I just want to see how others are keeping there animals. Also, how are your frenata doing? and can you elaborate on them as well. Thanks so much. ----glenn n nancy : Hi Glenn and Nancy, : Thanks but I don't want to even think about counting my coxi until they are hatched. We will see what develops. In their first year, my coxi displayed an amazing growth rate which made me believe that their ultimate adult size might be quite larger than previously published info indicated. This growth rate seems to have slowed considerably, and while snakes will grow for their entire life, it seems likely that my reverse trio have reached a point at which their growth has now slowed to a level which will limit their future growth to another 15 cm or so (6 more inches in America). Male number one is nearly 71cm (28 inches) and male number two is around 61 cm (24 inches). My female is in her nest box so I don't want to disturb her but I would guess that she is at least 84cm (33 inches). My animals are only about 21 months old, an age at which I generally would not feel comfortable breeding most species of snakes. My female coxi was clearly ovulating at the age of 10 months however ! (This ovulation occurred last season after a brumation designed to begin naturally cycling my animals in anticipation of the possibility of breeding them this year). I should add that my female was not power-fed as I hate animals that look fat or unhealthy in captivity. The worst mistake we make in captivity is overfeeding, in my estimation. She is not one of these animals with a tiny head attached to a big, fat body. She actually looked like an adult at 10 months old and the fact that she ovulated at that young age made me feel that she might well be ready this season. I should also add that the reverse trio proved very beneficial in my case. The larger male seemed interested in the female immediately upon combining them, while the smaller male appeared scared to death of her and in no way would have been a viable breeder this season. My thought on keeping the two males was that I would be able to cover myself with regard to natural breeding behavior. That is, I planned to use one male as a "sperm regenerator" and one as a "sperm storer". I planned on bringing one male up, getting him feeding and regenerating new sperm while keeping the other male in cold storage until he would be combined immediately with the female. This plan did not work at all because as I indicated, the smaller male wants no part of the female. : I am not keeping frenata any longer. I did visit you page though and found all of your animals to be very beautiful, particularly your mandarina and your male ridleyi, which might be the best I've seen. : Walt Deptula

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