Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In the nest box this time dude, 20 again!!!!(:
-----
www.hognose.co.uk

I like the tri-color hogs and have worked with westerns for several years. Hogs are definitely my favorite colubrid. I recall seeing the tri-colors back when Tim Rainwater seemed to be the first breeder with them. I'd like get a pair or trio but I'm concerned about where the market will be at in the 2-3 years it can take to get hatchlings up to breeder size. Even if you can get them up to size in 18 months I am seeing that you, Jim, and others are breeding multiple females, double and triple clutching them, and getting as many as 20 eggs per clutch. The bi-colors are very nice and certainly should help the market. No albinos, not yet, but should they pop up, that too would help the market.
Do you think the market will be the same as western hatchlings at 25-50 dollars per hatchling in a couple of years?

This is my first tme attempting Tris. I've done westerns so I'm excited about these. Actually Bill Gaines of Trilfiger,Indiana was the first to work with Tri's. Tim R. got them from Bill.
-----
The Crawl Space

There are only 2 of us that i know of on the UK breeding them. They are not difficult to breed but the babies are seriously hard work, so command a good price. The usual size of a clutch of tri's is 8-12, the reason mine lays 20 at a time is bcause she is a beast and weighs in, pre-ovulation at 380g!
They are prolific, but need that much extra care, thats why I charge the = of $180 each for mine.

You will always lose a few babies, they are tiny on hatching, and you need really tiny pinks, out of 60 id expect to get 50 going.
-----
www.hognose.co.uk

Ok let me break this down for you a bit!

(I'm concerned about where the market will be at in the 2-3 years it can take to get hatchlings up to breeder size.)

Some of my female breeders started producing (infertile) eggs at only 10 months old with out ever having a male with them. So I put a male in with them and 29 days latter they laid nice (fertile) eggs and then produced fertile eggs every month after that for 8 more months and only because I kept the males away from them and cut way back on feedings and cooled them down as well.

(Do you think the market will be the same as western hatchlings at 25-50 dollars per hatchling in a couple of years?)

I don’t think so. There is still not nearly the amount of tri-color hog out there for that to happen and I still sell mine for the same price that I sold them for 6 year ago.

I think the only thing that will lower the price on these guys is the other people that keep selling them for less then the rest of us and people that don’t know better buy them for less money because they are feeding on (scented) pinkies at best or not on pinkies at all. I still have NEVER needed to use any kind of scenting to get mine to feed on pinkies and I have never had one born to small to eat a small pinkie mouse. But someone must be telling people all this nonsense because I hear it all the time and tell them its not a problem to get these guys feeding and most of them will eat f/t (unscented) pinkies from their first meal on. But all my westerns are a big Paine in the a$$ to get feeding on (unscented) pinkies. That is one of the BIGGEST reasons I like the tri-hogs much more the then the westerns. So as for prices, if you want the best quality for your money, sometimes you have to pay a better price. My prices will stay were they are. And I have no problem selling my tri-hogs. As of now I am sold out and have a few people waiting for more to hatch! I say buy them now before the prices go up!!

That’s my 2 cents anyway.

JIM

The price of the snakes will most likely drop within a few years. The reason for this is because they usually eat well, grow very fast and lay numerous eggs within a twelve month period.
-----
Steve W.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts on tri-colors. Very prolific, smaller clutches than corns but more clutches per year from what Jim described. "Some of my female breeders started producing (infertile) eggs at only 10 months old with out ever having a male with them. So I put a male in with them and 29 days latter they laid nice (fertile) eggs and then produced fertile eggs every month after that for 8 more months and only because I kept the males away from them and cut way back on feedings and cooled them down as well."
I don't have a problem with the market price for w. hogs. I sell out every year. If a buyer is looking for a large group, a lot price of $25 for 10-20 hatchlings right out of the egg is fine with me. Singles, pairs, and trios go for more. Those are feeding on unscented pinks, usually have shed more than once, etc. I price them according to their looks. I also guarantee them. Meaning that I will replace one if you run into a problem.

If females can get up to size in a year, then starting a group looks more attractive to me. How about the rest of you, are your females getting up to size in a year? Is Jim the only one that is getting them up to size that fast?

Just a little more info so others understand why I'm asking these questions. First, I think everybody should thoroughly research any species that they plan to add to their collection.
My racks are full, adults, sub-adults that will be ready next season, and hold backs from projects. If I bring something new in, something MUST go. Last year I cut my w. hognose breeding group in half. I now have 1.3 adults. I also cut a corn project in half, sent those to a buddy of mine. Sold off all but 3 of my pure-true okeetees. Retired my sinaloan milk female, sold the male to Jim. This years ball projects have a priority over all the colubrids. I only plan on holding back a couple if the projects prove out. So you can see that space is at a premium. If I'm going to have to give up a mature, producing project, then I want something that not everybody has, long term before the market is saturated, yet productive. $$$ is not the highest priority but it certainly has to be profitable because it is replacing projects that are profitable.

My Tricolor pair are 16 mths old, and their first clutch should hatch mid-July. I am also expecting their second clutch to be laid in about 3 weeks.
-----
Jenea

1:1 Tricolor Hognose
0:0:2 Florida Redbelly Snakes
0:1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle
1:1 Red-eared Slider
0:0:1 Green Tree Frog
1:2:2 Mediterranean Geckos
2:0 Cats
1:1 Kids
1:0 Spouse

Thanks for the reply and good info. 16 months old, first year breeder, and she is giving you a second clutch! I wonder if you'll get a third clutch or if she'll keep producing more eggs as Jim described.

Wow! thats great. I wish I was getting 20 at a time. I get about 10 to 15 at best. good luck.

JIM

i think the reason is that you breed yours earlier perhaps? i didnt breed my females till they were 2 . The differrence is that your eggs are a lot larger than mine and perhaps why you have less problems than me getting them going, funny that you should say that about westerns....i had about 50 babies last year and only three were awkward!!!
-----
www.hognose.co.uk