Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious...do you do everything the same as corns?
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1.0 het albino ball
1.0 norm ball
0.3 norm ball
0.1 snow corn
1.0 butter corn
1.0 norm corn
1.0 southern plains rat
1.0 striped Cali king
1.0 western hog

Pretty much the same as corns, but a little warmer brumation temps between 55* and 65*F, wouldn't go below 50*F. I cool mine outside in an insulated brumation box for about 2 1/2 months, but I do live in s.Texas. Everything else is about the same as guttatus. -Toby

I haven't bred mine, yet, so I don't have a real strong opinion.

I bought 2.3 babies in 2003, and lost two of them that first winter when I tried to brumate the babies at about 60*F. They were a little weak from not eating well, however, and I had wanted to stimulate their feeding by cooling them for awhile. That wasn't a good idea with these snakes. They should have been kept warmer for better digestion I think.

Like with corns I'm sure they vary according to what they're used to. I think Toby's snakes are fairly hardy because of being w/c. I had kept mine too cool, at first, because the breeder had them accustomed to a much warmer regime, and they didn't make the switch very well. They're doing much better now, but still only cooled in the 60's for a month, or so, last winter. I've been a lot more cautious the last two winters. They're a lot like corns from the warmer locales, imo.

We know corns can go year 'round w/o brumation and still breed. Maybe not always the best situation, but I'd be cautious about cooling, especially with young ones. Cooling could kill weaker babies that haven't been eating. I think adults can be cooled, but I would use some moderation, and it depends somewhat on what they're used to. Definitely ease into it. I would also consider where the parent stock came from. My Brazos Island rats are from as far south as you can go in the U.S., near the Rio Grande River. Toby's snakes are from a little further north and may be hardier than mine naturally.

Sorry this was so long, but it's a topic that I'm trying to work on. We'll learn more in time I'm sure. Toby, you have gotten babies from your meahllmorum before, haven't you? How did the babies fare, what were they like?? Thanks....

Terry

Terry,

Yes, I have bred a pair twice with great results. I got 11 big, fat eggs, and 11 big, fat neonates in 2004, most of which started feeding on pinky mice immeadiately, some were a little stubborn but eventually came around. Most of these switched to f/t pretty easily. I kept a 1.1 of these which I plan on breeding in a couple years.

The same pair produced 14 feisty little guys in 2005, they may have been slightly smaller than the '05 clutch. . There were only 3 females out of this clutch, and they all seemed a little wilder than the previous year's clutch. Some of them stayed nippy and would musk and tail rattle even at several months old. An even 7 took f/t immediately, the other 7 only took live and never switched for me!

-Toby

Toby, thanks for the refresher.

It amazes me that your meahllmorum had so many large babies and that they are so healthy. It doesn't surprise me too much that your babies were a little finicky. Corn snakes can be a little finicky also, especially the ones from further south.

I think you must have started with some pretty big and healthy stock to ave. that many babies. I also think your stock is a little hardier than the B.I. or Freer stock being further north and close to the coast. Your animals may get quite a bit larger than mine too, and time will tell on that, but my largest is a pigmy compared to your largest.

The more I think about it the more I realize that my group got off to a really rough start. My snakes were tiny and skinny when I got them. Two of the five wouldn't eat and they were the two that died in cooling. The others have come along slowly and are a little smaller than I think they should be. Still, they'll be three yrs old this summer, and I'm using the B.I. male to breed a female from another group. I'll try to breed the female B.I. rat next season. She's the larger of the two fem. ASAMOF, the B.I. (coastal) morph seems to be lots hardier than the Freer morph, and larger. Maybe the ones along the coast are a little different, as we've discussed before, but I won't get into intergrades, or anything, right now.

Thanks for the info. More later, I'm sure.

Terry