Reptile & Amphibian Forums

- This clutch went 5/5

Rather neat - one hatch per day, and when one was out - within an hour the next one was pipping but there was never a time when two were pipping.

I'll do each one as a reply.
Sexed by probing.
Clutch is het lavender (what strain I don't know)
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Male
Already took a f/t pink (day after hatching)
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

FunkyRes,

Why did you feed them so soon after hatching? I am not leading this to something else or judging; just curious.
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Peter Jolles
www.heat-pits.com

Home of TEAM ECC
It's an Inner Circle thing... you wouldn't understand...

I don't think they always wait in the wild when they come across food.

Last year - the snakes that took food before first shed had their first shed several days before the snakes that didn't, and I saw no ill effect as a result of it.

No real reason - just neat to get them off to a good start when they will feed early.
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Funky
I always try and feed mine asap. It makes sense to get snakes that will eat (pre-shed) started on mice. Sometimes there are relultant feeders and its hard getting started on unscented mice. This way you insure the snakes imprint on mice and makes futere feedings (post shed) easy.

I don't see why people wait. There is not one good reason not to. The health of the snake is better when they grow. In the wild they have better suvival if they feed and grow. In captivity it makes sense that any neonate that grows faster will insure better health and longer life down the road and the first 1-2 years of life.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

I will often put a pinky in the egg/hatching box as they come out of their eggs. Some, but not all will take a meal the day they hatch. You know you'll have few problems with those.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Interesting.

I wait. Usually, in my experience, the Eastern Kings and Florida Kings that I have bred are stuffed to the gills with yolk upon hatching. Typically I wait a few days or more after they shed to try to feed anything.

Concerning the comment that it is a way to "imprint" mouse scent or mice as a food source I have to politely disagree about that. They aren't as smart as birds and I believe they either see an object as a source of protein and energy or as a threat (typically).

In my experience, a lot of baby Eastern Kings will crawl over live or dead pinky mice and will starve to death if you let them: but put a small snake or skink in the face of a baby Eastern King and you had better watch your fingers.

Just my experience.
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Peter Jolles
www.heat-pits.com

Home of TEAM ECC
It's an Inner Circle thing... you wouldn't understand...

She tried to double clutch w/o second mating - a mistake I won't make again, she goes in with male after first post lay meal next time.

Anyway, it was an infertile clutch - and a bigger clutch. She had trouble passing them, the last one I had to palpate down a little bit before she was able to move it the rest of way and lay it.

She refused to eat even after all the eggs were out. Wanted nothing to do with mice. I tried hoppers, and then even fuzzies. Finally - same day she rejected fuzzies - I put an anole in. She couldn't resist the anole - and ate it. Two days later when checking her, her feeding response was so strong she grabbed my hand and constricted it and would not let go.

It took a reptile to get her eating again, but once she was eating again, her strong desire to feed returned.

Kings really like reptiles.
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Concerning the comment that it is a way to "imprint" mouse scent or mice as a food source I have to politely disagree about that. They aren't as smart as birds and I believe they either see an object as a source of protein and energy or as a threat (typically).

In my experience, a lot of baby Eastern Kings will crawl over live or dead pinky mice and will starve to death if you let them: but put a small snake or skink in the face of a baby Eastern King and you had better watch your fingers.

I have had a higher number of pre shed neonates eat mice when offered before they shed than not. Of course not all will take them but at least you can get some that do. No worries trying to imprint those individuals later on with scented mice.

basically what you are doing with easterns is the same with all getula. Scenting helps them "imprint" on the mice as a recognizable food source. In other words you have to scent or they will starve to death.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

Hmmmm....

Rainer I had never thought of this and I have never tried it. I have several eastern kings that will hatch in the next couple of months. I am going to try this.

For the record: I am highly skeptical - I think that some baby eastern kings are afraid of baby mice because the mice have the scent of the mother mouse on them (and momma mouse would likely kill a baby eastern king) but it is worth a shot.

I hope you're right. It would make life a lot easier.
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Peter Jolles
www.heat-pits.com

Home of TEAM ECC
It's an Inner Circle thing... you wouldn't understand...

Some of the snakes I "work with" are Miami corns. They are tiny most times compared to "normals" and many would eat an anole but I try each with a live pink first. You'd be surprised at how many will eat while in the sphagnum. I have literally had a few crawl from their egg to the other side of the box and begin eating on a pink. It sometimes takes them a while..
For my kings, it really just depends. Some hatch out in the blue it seems and won't eat then at all.
All are individuals however and I figure "what have I got to lose?" when trying to feed early.
I've got mole kings hatching right now and I bet I'm out of teeny live pinks! Damn.
Oh well, maybe one or two will eat. Today.. maybe not.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

If you are keeping the eatsern togther pre shed a lot of times their fiestyness will illicit a strike and grab which leads to eating mode. Then at least those that have eaten you don't have to worry about using scented since they imrinted. I used to use a tease method with rosy boas all the time since scenting won't work because they are rodent eaters.

Oh and you have to use live pinks. At least you will have more success that way.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

Female

Has not eaten yet
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Male
Has not eaten yet
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Female
Took f/t pinky the day after hatching
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

My favorite - hatched today

Male
Has not fed yet.

17 half bands SV
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Congrats!I like #1
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Todd Hughes

Thanks!
I think #1 has the neatest head pattern - with the three dots.
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Nice looking babies. What are your plans now as far as breeding them?

I'm holding back #5 (male) and #2,4 (females) and will inbreed to produce homo lavenders.

I had originally thought about just holding back the females and buying a homo male from the breeder I got the mother from - but this is the father :

IMHO his banding is a much nicer banding than the mother -

and I have a reverse trio of his locale (local to me, but female won't be breedable until '09) - so I think I may try to breed the lavender gene into this locale (of course not calling them locale anymore) to try and make a really nice looking lavender with better looking bands.
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

CONGRATS FUNKY!! and being 100%het.lav. makes it ALL the sweeeeeeeeeeter imho,,,,,,,,thomas davis
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Morphs... just like baseball cards BUT ALIVE, how cool is that???

my website www.barmollysplace.com

n/p
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6.8 L. getula californiae - 11 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - 14 eggs (Cal. Alligator Lizard)