congrats...comments

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Posted by Jim Demirjian on August 04, 2001 at 15:42:54:

In Reply to: E.p.coxi- THE TALE OF THE TAPE/CHECK THIS!!! posted by Walt Deptula on August 03, 2001 at 11:06:11:

Great success! WOW Thanks for sharing.
My own experience has also been great with lower/longer incubation times. I have seen great neonate size with lower temps. I simply use a well circulated high (height) area in a snake room, rather than an actual incubator. I have also swithced from using vermiculite, to a mix that I think I am definately going to stick with in future years.
As far as your second unexpected clutch with these, I heard (not directly) that someone had doubled up on their pair as well this year, with success, depending on how you view it. Like you, I do not generally agree with this practice, simply because I feel uneasy when I think of trying it. I have preety much stuck with these gut feelings on this.
I do however have my own animal that like it or not, produces a second clutch every yr. -E.o.rossalleni- The U.S. coxi :)
This year I placed the pair of rossalleni together deliberately trying to double them up, since I knew she would lay a second clutch regardless. Well she just laid 8 good eggs, which blows away previous 2nd clutch numbers, some of which I only had 1 good egg. Anyway, my point in sharing this was that my female is in much better physical shape because of adjustments I made in feeding and temp management for both male and female, which sounded like something you were eluding to. She also did not go through the whole process again in vain, which as a keeper I can feel good about. My observations have been that it is a very tough process on many animals, I think that is why we usually have chosen not to put our females through it twice in a season.
I for one would be very interested in hearing what happens with your 2nd clutch, and also the conditions that the male and female were under.
I must admit when I read your post I felt a bit nervous for you. Good luck!
I also will add a flip side to 2nd clutches. I know many people whose opinions I value who make great points advocating 2nd clutches, many of whom breed corns. One thing I can say is that with overfed animals, which are more and more abundant, just look at many captive Lampropeltis animals, as well as many Elaphe guttata, is that breedings seem to have a huge role in moderating weight. I can also say that breeding many ratsnakes at two years old seems to be beneficial in captivity because of the way we feed animals, especially in their first two yrs, which is so dramaticly different in the wild!
Again, thanks for sharing!
Jim

Follow Ups:

Re: congrats...comments Walt Deptula 08/05/01 (1)
- Incubation mix, getting away from vermiculite patricia sherman 08/08/01 (0)

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: Great success! WOW Thanks for sharing. : My own experience has also been great with lower/longer incubation times. I have seen great neonate size with lower temps. I simply use a well circulated high (height) area in a snake room, rather than an actual incubator. I have also swithced from using vermiculite, to a mix that I think I am definately going to stick with in future years. : As far as your second unexpected clutch with these, I heard (not directly) that someone had doubled up on their pair as well this year, with success, depending on how you view it. Like you, I do not generally agree with this practice, simply because I feel uneasy when I think of trying it. I have preety much stuck with these gut feelings on this. : I do however have my own animal that like it or not, produces a second clutch every yr. -E.o.rossalleni- The U.S. coxi :) : This year I placed the pair of rossalleni together deliberately trying to double them up, since I knew she would lay a second clutch regardless. Well she just laid 8 good eggs, which blows away previous 2nd clutch numbers, some of which I only had 1 good egg. Anyway, my point in sharing this was that my female is in much better physical shape because of adjustments I made in feeding and temp management for both male and female, which sounded like something you were eluding to. She also did not go through the whole process again in vain, which as a keeper I can feel good about. My observations have been that it is a very tough process on many animals, I think that is why we usually have chosen not to put our females through it twice in a season. : I for one would be very interested in hearing what happens with your 2nd clutch, and also the conditions that the male and female were under. : I must admit when I read your post I felt a bit nervous for you. Good luck! : I also will add a flip side to 2nd clutches. I know many people whose opinions I value who make great points advocating 2nd clutches, many of whom breed corns. One thing I can say is that with overfed animals, which are more and more abundant, just look at many captive Lampropeltis animals, as well as many Elaphe guttata, is that breedings seem to have a huge role in moderating weight. I can also say that breeding many ratsnakes at two years old seems to be beneficial in captivity because of the way we feed animals, especially in their first two yrs, which is so dramaticly different in the wild! : Again, thanks for sharing! : Jim

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