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These guys are less than two weeks old. I'm really glad to start with CB neonates as this species is difficult to acclimate as WC adults.

An exceptionally light neonate (a keeper!).

A more typical looking neonate.

A group shot of a few of the babies to show the variation in color and pattern.

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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

Hey there Pierson, I've been "off sick" for a bit so I'm just poking my head out from under my rock now. Glad to see you're back from Costa Rica. Saw your stuff, very, very nice!
As for the redbellys, congratulations. We know you've been waiting a long time for this. A few of the babies? Just how many are there? And while we're at it, how are all the others doing? The snakes you sent me are eating me out of house and home ... I love it!
Michael

I got 29 live babies 2 stillborns from two females. The babies lack the typical Nerodia feeding response to minnows but will take them reluctantly.

As for the rest of the collection, it suffered a bit while I was away in Costa Rica. The skin disorder progressed rapidly in the few snakes that had it and I lost my female Green and both adult Mangroves. My male Green seems to be doing ok despite the presence of two large dry lesions on his sides that look like they should come off with his impending shed. I treated him with betadine today and will begin Panacur treatment next week when I return to school.

On a brighter note, I picked up three Tampa Bay Mangroves from Crimsonking in Daytona along with a yearling female Green watersnake who looks to be WC.
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

Holy Dinah Pierson! I'm glad to here that the caped crusader, Crimsonking was able to lift your spirits.
Considering the Mangroves you sent me, they're monsters! For just four inch snakes I've never seen battles over food like these guys go through at dinner time. Twenty fish in the dish are ignored if a snake has one in it's mouth! Are these guys brother and sister?
The greens seem to be on the mend though scars are evident. One in fact, after stuffing itself on minnows, seems to have a scar that circles half of its' body. It looks like a single, large bite! The snake is actually constricted (from scar tissue) at mid-body. From the way they eat it will be stretched out of sight soon enough.
The Gulf Salt Marshes, hard hitting feeders that they are, tend to be more quiet or reserved than the others.
And the northern, if I could get him to crap into tins, I could open my own cannery, for all the fish he puts away! Pate' de trout a la sipedon, I could make a fortune!
Michael

Those little Mangroves are viciously cute. I seperate them for feeding. Otherwise I'm having to pull them apart every few seconds. And yes, they are brother and sister.

My male Green is looking like he's going to recover. I treated him today with a silver sulfadiazine cream that should eradicate any fungal or bacterial presence within the lesions. It looks like he's going to have some severe scarring as well.

I know what your saying about the sipedon's crap. I fed his brother a small rat last week and he's been unloading the remnants into his water for the past several days. I'm getting tired from making trips to the sink.

Any progress on your fasciatas' eye infections? You may want to try some of that silver sulfadiazine if you can get a prescription from a vet. It goes by the brand names Silvadene, Thermazene, SSD, and SSD AF.
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

There is no change to the fasciata's eyes. From time to time I think there is an improvement and find that that I'm mistaken, and too hopeful. I absolutely will ask the vets if silvadene is availabile, and aquire some if possible. Not giving up yet!
Michael

Those are some amazing looking babies,man. The red in them is incredible. Will id dull as they grow into adults though ? They really look similar to the blotched water snake babies I find
around here this time of yr..........Scott

They are gorgeous babies but their coloration changes drastically as they mature. Their dorsal pattern will gradually fade away until their dorsum is a uniform tanish green. They will develop intense orange pigmentation on their venter and labials until they look like their mother...who looks like this:

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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

She is a beauty! I think the adult erythrogaster are very handsome snakes.
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Tim

Wow! I've neve seen baby redbellies. I just thought hey would be the same color as the adults.
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Justin

All subspecies of N. erythrogaster have similarly patterned babies and gain their geographically distinct coloration as they mature. It's the same phenomenon that occurs with the North American Ratsnake (Pantherophis obsoleta) and Racers (Coluber constrictor).
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture