Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a female hypo hondo back in the fall of '05. She was hatched in Aug '05. She's been growing steadily, but I'm wondering where she falls in the average growth rate for hondos. When I bought her she was 26g. Now she is 166g (15 months later). She only eats 2 FT rat fuzzies about every other week (she refuses any more than that).

Also, at what size would it be okay to start breeding her?

That pic was from when I first bought her 15 months ago.

David,
If she would eat every week or every four to five days she would be much bigger. It doesn't sound like she is really small though for her age.Not all snakes grow at the same rate.
I would hold off breeding her at least another year or untill she is over 350 grams.Thats kinda what I shoot for although I have had a few breed at 280-330 grams but they decided to ovulate on there own so I would have got bad eggs anyway.

Shannon

Okay, thanks! Should I feed her only one rat fuzzy every 4 or 5 days, or should I still try to give her 2 each feeding? Thanks again for the help. Waiting til she's ready to breed is a real test of patience (sigh).

I would feed her as much as she will take.Also,have you tried ween out size mice.If all she has had is rat pups she may need some calcium.Rat pups bones are very soft and very low in calcium.I use both so they get the fat put on them from the rat pups but they get things they need like calcium from the small mice.
Also,she may eat more if she likes the mice better.Try live also and she may take right off.

Shannon

That makes a lot of sense. I'll mix the rat pups and the small mice. I think the weened rats may still be a little too big for her. Thanks for the great info!

Hey David,

I have one from '05 that eats whatever I give her no matter what. I'll way her tonight or tomorrow as soon as I get my new scale (FEDEX Srewup) and get a new pic too. I bought mine in Daytona from Dunham. It has been growing very well. Derek

Cool, thanks. Nice hypo!

Here you go. This is her just a few minutes ago. She is 166 grams. I just got my new scale a little while ago. The other hondo is a female DH hybino from Paul Weaver. I just weighed her to. She is 415 grams. I thought she was heavier, so I guess it pays to have a good scale.

Hypo 166 Grams today.

DH Hybino 415 grams today.

Nice hypo! She looks a lot like my girl. I got a really nice m/f pair from Rob Haneisen at the New Hampshire Reptile Show back in '05. The male escaped and was lost for 6 months so he's got a lot of catching up to do, but he is eating and growing nicely now. I can't wait til they get as big as your DH hybino! Have you bred her yet?

No, This will be her first breeding this coming spring. I got her from Paul Weaver of Carolina Herps last year. He really has some super animals. I'll be getting another bunch from him when it gets warmer. How did you get your lost one back?Thanks, Derek

I lost him back in December of '05 only a couple of months after I bought him. He had managed to squeeze through a small gap in the corner of the tank lid. I searched franticaly everywhere. My herp room is in the basement so I checked under the furnace and the heating pipes, but never found him. I also tried laying out thawed pinky mice.

After a couple of months I finally gave up. While my cages are all raised up and the basement is kept fairly warm, the floors and walls still get very cold in the winter. Also, we had major flooding in the spring and we got a couple of inches of water down there! So I figured he was a goner.

Well, in June of '06 while I was working with my herps, I saw him crawling around behind the sink. I couldn't believe it! I looked him over carefully and then weighed him. He had only lost 1 gram of weight in 6 months! I'm not sure if it was the cold or if he was able to feed on some of the loose crickets running around my basement. either way, he seemed to be in very good health. He took food right away and has been doing great ever since. But like I said, he's got some catching up to do. He was 97g a couple of months ago. The female was 156g at that time too.

That sound like a great way to find a lost snake. If you flood your basement, they'll float to the top. Derek

np