Thanks again, Its very difficult to talk when keepers make it about keepers. In person, they would have to shoot us to shut us up. And its because we are all the same. And its not about you or I. Its about the animals.



When I came here, I did explain, where my direction was based. I never said anyone had to change or do anything different.



That said, I would go slow, as you said, test a few and retest them. I say that because as with everything, there is a learning curve. Also, one clutch is not going to help a female that has had to hold her eggs.



The best test subjects are virgin females tested side by side. That way, any prexsisting problems will be eliminated.



The key is deep dark and of course the right temps. I already explained what worked well for me. I will again if you wish.



The point is, over time we were able to repeatedly have females deposit eggs successfully, the day after shedding and commonly within a few days. That allowed the females to not become dehydrated and return to feeding quickly.



It allowed females to easily multiclutch and even grow and multiclutch at the same time. As in, no stress on the female.



Its a human assumption that reproduction should be hard on a female, so we think negative health should occur after laying eggs, and the female must recover from that.



The reality is a little different, normally females do not show any illeffects from reproduction, as it is a normal fact of life that they do. If it causes problems, then something is wrong.



In the field, most females do not even look slimmer after laying. of course, during poor years, it can be stressful and even cause death. Again, we in captivity should be able to avoid harsh conditions. It can occur, but its extremely rare.



As you can tell, its not about knowing, its about learning. That is what I am interested in.



So what would happen if your crossed a vinesnake with a hognose???? It could happen.

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