Hi Bob, I love pits too, but that is not the point.



And the same goes for pyro.



While hes doing great and takes great care of his animals, He and you are missing the point. Don't yell at me. hahahahahaha



Snakes are prebirds, they nest, that is a huge important part of their lives. Snakes are EASY in that they can and do accept far more stress then other animals(built for hard times)



But because they can endure stress does not mean we should routinely keep them that way. Again, particularly when its easy to decrease that stress.



The main problem with smaller king neonates is DEHYDRATION, Huge surface area to mall ratio. And thin skinned. Mex milks, pyros and other small kings, are effected by dehydration. In your case, moisture boxes are not a cure, but a treatment. Stop the dehydration is the cure. Moisture boxes may help a little or not, as you have seen.



Neonate small kings, LIVE in moisture boxes, not visit them. Not wet, but humid and without dehydration. You rarely if ever see wild baby kings out when its dry. Ok, never. Adults, sometimes but rare.



You cannot expect your baby kings to feed in a normal way, when they are chronically dehydrated. In pyromainiacs case, its about nesting. In your case its about neonates.



Baby kings live in huge moisture boxes, they do not visit them when they are dried out. They only leave humid areas when they have grown enough to withstand dryer conditions.



About nesting, snakes nest in conditions where eggs hatch. Is that true(silly ? huh) They have to. The KEY TO UNDERSTANDING IS HERE. The areas they nest in are the same areas the snakes grow up in. They do not hatch and magically have "different" abilities. If an egg won't hatch in set conditions, then the hatchlings will not thrive in those conditions.



In Bob pyro's case, proper nesting will increase the strengh of both the female and the hatchlings. If he kept the hatchlings in the same conditions the eggs hatch in, the neonates will eat his face. So to speak.



Heres the problem, both of you are treating symtoms, instead of fixing the problem. If you fix the problem, insteat of treat the problem, you do not have to worry about presentation and all such. These snakes are NOT PICKY in nature.



In your case(BobS) all you have to do is make your whole cage the same as your moisture box. Which is medium humidity and no loss of moisture, like you do eggs.



About nesting, the key is LACK OF LITE, they lay in secure areas. And there are many reasons, some phyiscal, some behavioral. The physical requirements are easy to understand. They must find areas that will stay suitable for TWO MONTHS. In nature, that is not easy or everywhere. And it requires mass. Mass to keep the humidity and temps even and the same from spring into summer. This cannot be done near the surface in 99.9999% of natural cases.



This mass, is where the neonates will stay and mature to a point they are physically able to leave.



Behaviorally they also nest deep to avoid predators.



So in Bob pyros case, your forcing the females to hold eggs as long as they physically can then dropping them. Instead of laying them when they are physically ready. Which is right after the shed.



The reality is, no not all find suitable nesting right away, only the successful ones. Which is important.



Failed nesting occurs in nature, which is why they have the ability to hold eggs. I have to ask, why would WE do this on purpose?



A few nights ago I filmed a scaly have a failed nesting attempt, in nature. Crappy vid, but one thats real. Cheers

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