Posted by:
FR
at Thu Aug 18 12:11:43 2011 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by FR ]
Congrats, but what actually occurs? Why would that change things?
This is another of the bandaid fixes. Which is fine if you learn from it.
First off, they should feed well in their cages, that is, if the cage is to their liking. Temps/hydration/security.
If those areas are met, then feeding is what the snakes do.
And yes, these things I keep breeding up are important in this area.
Whats most important is, there is something lacking in the cage if all you have to do is take them for a ride and they feed. Thats common sense.
Also its important to note that a range of conditions for the snakes to pick and choose, also enables a range of individuals to meet their individual needs. Which do vary from individual to individual, as you are now seeing.l
I wondered from the snake world and landed full on in the world of varanids. I was very lucky and very successful. The methods of choice I developed breeding many species of snakes, worked far better with varanids. They use a huge range of temps.
Same lows to hotspots over 150F and yes, they use it ALOT. even up to hotspots of 200F, which works but is dangerous and expensive.
i produced many world firsts and established many species in captivity. Folks asked me how I produced so many species(over 18 species in a single year) I said, I keep them all the same. I treat them as individuals, not species. I give them a range of choices and let them work.
Varanids do not play the average thing at all. its either right or they are done. When its right, its way right and they multiclutch to the extreme, one individual produced 14 clutches in a year.
One female I hatched produced over 80 clutches in her life(13yrs) Which is astonishing. A healthy female averages 3 to five clutches a year.
Now consider the average lifespan for varanids in captivity is less then a year. 99% of all imported monitors are dead by the next years quotas. Its better for captive hatched but not much.
Back to kings, the varanid method was developed with kings.
In a nutshell, its very normal to feed, if one does not, thats not normal.
Why some feed in your conditions and others do not is your question. Its about this simple, each snake is an individual, some are smaller, weaker, etc etc. Yet if they can find the conditions they need, they thrive and catch up quickly.
Again, your task is to figure out how thats done. Its easy.
Remember, most folks support a average range of temps/conditions which will work for some or even most of the animals. A full range of temps/conditions, will work for the vast majority of individuals. And yes, maybe one out of five hundred that appears normal is not normal and will fail.
This is the good part, you do not have to provide a full range to the neonates are are doing well in your conditions. Just the troublesome individuals, Humidity choices are key, as well as a decent temps range and security is off upmost importance.
Its also my experience that hatching/nesting conditions and overall health of the female are what causes this variation in neonates.
So what your seeing is how you guage your conditions. Its a teaching tool for you to learn from. Keep learning. Thanks
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