Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Second litter of the season has arrived!
I came home last night from dinner at the in-laws to find that another female had her babies while I was gone. This was an interesting one for me as it was the first time that I got to watch a new rainbow mom eat her unfertilized ova and nose around all the newborns. Pretty cool. Other times I usually find the mom on the opposite side of the cage looking tired and done.
Final count on this one appears to be 11 live healthy litte guys and two that were still born.
There seems to be some real lookers in this litter too!
Also, this was the female that I had mentioned nevered had a P.O.S or any sheds for that matter during her gestation.
Hope you enjoy the pics. My batteries died so I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked.
Milo

This one had just pushed out of the membrane when I took this shot.

circle back looking one!!!!

I love how the mom is in the pics with them very kewl stuff!!!

Interesting breeding season. Where are you located geographicaly..Australia ?

>>My Second litter of the season has arrived!
>>I came home last night from dinner at the in-laws to find that another female had her babies while I was gone. This was an interesting one for me as it was the first time that I got to watch a new rainbow mom eat her unfertilized ova and nose around all the newborns. Pretty cool. Other times I usually find the mom on the opposite side of the cage looking tired and done.
>>Final count on this one appears to be 11 live healthy litte guys and two that were still born.
>>There seems to be some real lookers in this litter too!
>>Also, this was the female that I had mentioned nevered had a P.O.S or any sheds for that matter during her gestation.
>>Hope you enjoy the pics. My batteries died so I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked.
>>Milo
>>
>>This one had just pushed out of the membrane when I took this shot.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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=========================================================
Roberts Realm Of Reptile Research
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Thanks,

I opened my mouth and out flowed a melody black.

Australia?
Nope, I'm in Colorado. I was experimenting a little bit with the cooling and introductions this time around.
The mom was pretty neat to watch with the babies. She seemed to be very curiously checking them out.

I realy don't know where any ones from, I just wondered why your babies are like 3 months behind every one else's
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=========================================================
Roberts Realm Of Reptile Research
=========================================================
Thanks,

I opened my mouth and out flowed a melody black.

Wow, not only first litter of the year but second one also!!!

Congrats and yeah, looks like some stunners in there!!!!! I see a lot of great paterns and crescents, first shed will be fun!!!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks Dave, and yeah, I can't wait to see them all post shed. I have been pleasantly suprised with both these litters so far. Looks like I got some nice ones!
Funny how, first you can't wait to see the pairs start breeding, then you can't wait to see the babies they make, then you can't wait to see them shed and eat, then you can't wait for them to really start coloring up.
This hobby is just filled with one anticipation after another!

Milo,
....Exactly right! The anticipation is a big part of what makes this so much fun. If you have enough snakes and are breeding them and raising at least some of them up it seems like there is always something to anticipate. Did you get any PICs of her eating slugs? I have several PICs of it and it sometimes causes problems for people with "weak stomachs" which is funny, at least to me it is. LOL. That one PIC really does well showing mom nosing thru the litter like she is looking for something. I have seen them doing that and eating slugs quite a few times but have never seen them grab a baby which for me was a worry the first few times I saw them doing it.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Jeff

>>Thanks Dave, and yeah, I can't wait to see them all post shed. I have been pleasantly suprised with both these litters so far. Looks like I got some nice ones!
>>Funny how, first you can't wait to see the pairs start breeding, then you can't wait to see the babies they make, then you can't wait to see them shed and eat, then you can't wait for them to really start coloring up.
>>This hobby is just filled with one anticipation after another!

You mean like these???

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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

lol....NOT!

That grosses people out? It looks like she's having eggs for breakfast. Looks kinda cool.

She was "having eggs for breakfast", not exactly free range eggs but ya take what ya can get!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I think its wicked cool she can make her own breakfast, what with having no arms and all. Very clever girl!!

yes, excellent PICs Dave.

>>You mean like these???
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>>-----
>>Thanks,
>>
>>
>>Dave Colling
>>
>>www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com
>>
>>
>>
>>0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
>>0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)
>>
>>LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
>>26.49 BRB
>>20.21 BCI
>>And those are only the breeders
>>
>>lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

The funny part is I was feeding them to her, I had pulled the hide with all the babies and slugs. I kept tossing the slugs back into her cage and she kept on wolfing them down. So I served up her home made egg breakfast. And I got stiffed on the tip - well not really, I did keep this one for my troubles...

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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Listen to you! She made her own eggs and bussed her own table. You should have given her a tip!!

Men!

I fed them to her.....and followed it with a nice rat or two!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I can't say that this grosses me out in the least. Interesting pics, Dave.
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Danielle

Herps:
2.1 BRBs
0.0.1 BCI
1.1 Black Milksnakes
1.0 Amel Motley Corn
----------------------
Other critters:
1.0 Great Dane
1.0 Siamese
1 Senegal Parrot
1 Blue Fronted Amazon

Yeah , I did get a couple of pics of her eating them. Not as many of them as I would have liked because my batteries died but I guess that should be a lesson for me to keep spares around.
It's funny how squemish some people get around the natural aspects of keeping and breedind these animals. My wife actually thinks that the baby slime and that very distinctive newborn odor is "gross". That shocks me, to be honest I get quite excited about it.
Funny story, I was expecting a litter of Dumerils about 4 years ago and I was going out of town for a while so I asked a buddy of mine who's a nurse to watch over them thinking of all the gross stories he's told me, he'd have absolutely no problem with a little baby goo. He refused, the though of touching slimy newborns just sounded way to disgusting to him. Luckily, the dumeril waited until i got back. Unluckily she only had one single baby.

You like that, try adding in another species on another time cycle. I've transitioned from BCI breeding to BRB breeding to BCI birthing and anticipating the rest of BCI birthing followed by BRB birthing then will be time to start the BCI breeding again!!!!

I'm lovin it!!!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I know exactly what you mean, I have some BCI due in July, and some still breeding, I'm expecting my first clutch of eggs in a week, and my rosys are just starting to breed for the year. It's alot to keep track of although I imagine that you're going to have a "few" more litters than I will. It's just all to much fun to stop though!

Milo,
....I used to record every shed and of course also kept track of delivery dates. I did this religiously for my first 50 or so Rainbow Boa litters and saw from 1 to 4 sheds (usually 2 or 3)while gravid but never saw one go the whole time without shedding. I also never saw any relationship between shed dates and delivery dates like Dave and Mike have recorded the last several years. My litters back when I was watching closely were mostly pretty early like your litters this year in contrast to most of the much later litters many of us are having in recent years. It has got me thinking??? Which always makes my head hurt.
Jeff

>>My Second litter of the season has arrived!
>>I came home last night from dinner at the in-laws to find that another female had her babies while I was gone. This was an interesting one for me as it was the first time that I got to watch a new rainbow mom eat her unfertilized ova and nose around all the newborns. Pretty cool. Other times I usually find the mom on the opposite side of the cage looking tired and done.
>>Final count on this one appears to be 11 live healthy litte guys and two that were still born.
>>There seems to be some real lookers in this litter too!
>>Also, this was the female that I had mentioned nevered had a P.O.S or any sheds for that matter during her gestation.
>>Hope you enjoy the pics. My batteries died so I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked.
>>Milo
>>
>>This one had just pushed out of the membrane when I took this shot.
>>
>>
>>
>>

I was suprised that she didn't shed at all too. The other female that gave birth already shed twice during gestation and the other one that I'm expecting from has shed twice now. It's pretty weird but I guess like anything snakes are all individuals and there'll be exceptions to the norms.
I have never really paid that close attention to shed dates for rainbows because I have always been told that you couldn't predict a due date from them but I thought I take better notes this year and see what came of it since others were watching closely to try and figure it out.
What has changed for you that you're now having later litters than you used to?

Milo,
...My litters are coming later for two reasons. Or at least two reasons I can think of. For a couple years 4 and 5 years ago I had some trouble putting enough weight back on after they had babies and so I delayed introducing them for breeding. The last two years we have had very mild winters and my snake room was not cool enough for good cooling until late january and early february.
Jeff

>>I was suprised that she didn't shed at all too. The other female that gave birth already shed twice during gestation and the other one that I'm expecting from has shed twice now. It's pretty weird but I guess like anything snakes are all individuals and there'll be exceptions to the norms.
>>I have never really paid that close attention to shed dates for rainbows because I have always been told that you couldn't predict a due date from them but I thought I take better notes this year and see what came of it since others were watching closely to try and figure it out.
>>What has changed for you that you're now having later litters than you used to?

I've had the opposite problem. The winters here are too cold and too long! At least for me. Actually I have found that since moving to a house with a basement a fews years ago, cooling and heating is much easier for me than it used to be as the temperature stays fairly consistent down there.
I used to move all my rosy boas to my parents basement for the winter, every year but they need to get down to about 60 degrees. So glad I don't have to do that anymore. Of course my Rubber boas get to go in the fridge for the duration of the winter. Very nerve wracking the first couple of times but they will actually stay active above 40 degrees!

Wow, a fridge full of boas. And I thought I was bad taking over the veggie bins for rodents and the cheese bin for vaccines!

Very interesting about the rubber boas staying active above 40.

I've got all kinds of thoughts on what custom kitchen cabinetry in your house might look like...hehe.

Congrats on another great litter!! They are such cute little buggers
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

Thanks! I am definately super pleased with these two litters so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for one more healthy group of babies to arrive soon.

Milo,
Congratulations on another great litter. The only time I witnessed my female give birth she slugged out. Though depressing, it was fascinating to watch her consume most of the slugs (I don't have my notes here but she ate something like 15). I've got some cool photos of the event.
Congrats again,
Paul

It is kinda cool to watch. It reminded me of an National Geographic anaconda birthing video that I saw about ten years ago where the female did the same thing. I think that's the only other time I saw it although I did know other snakes did it.
You'll have to post your pics for us sometime.

Milo,
I was looking at my records and she threw 23 slugs and ate 12 of them.
Here's a couple of pics:

Chow down!!

Paul

That's a great pic!

Great pics! I know slugs are a huge bummer but I guess at least by chowing down on them she was able to gain some of her lost effort back from them. Better than nothing anyway.
I had a 40 pound redtail give birth last year to ten live babies, a few still borns and 30 somthing slugs. Of course she didn't eat any and I was pretty disapointed by the outcome but at least I got the ten live healthy babies. Oddball thing was, dad was a hypo but of the ten live not a single one was.
Great looking BRB buy the way. Is that the same one that had the nice litter for you late last year?

Eve is really my only breeding female. I kept back a girl from the first litter but she has always been a poor feeder and is smallish. I think she actually ovulated this year but I've seen no action and she just had a good size rat last week (though I just got home from being out of town for a few days and she's laying flopped over on her side, always a guessing game with me).
Paul

..just lookit 'em! So cute, all slimy and new like that. Another nice litter, sweet! Neat that you got to watch her take care of them. Congrats!

Thanks! It was very neat to watch the female with them. I know that boas aren't maternal in the sense that mamals are but there was definately a certain gentleness and tenderness that she exhibited while nosing through them. Of course her reaction to me differed a little bit when I stuck my hands in there!

Wow! Busy month for you and your crew.

Congrats! I love that first pic. Boogly baby snake eyes always get me.
-----
Danielle

Herps:
2.1 BRBs
0.0.1 BCI
1.1 Black Milksnakes
1.0 Amel Motley Corn
----------------------
Other critters:
1.0 Great Dane
1.0 Siamese
1 Senegal Parrot
1 Blue Fronted Amazon

Thanks, I was pleased with that shot too. Looks kinda nice using mom as a backdrop.

Wow, some very nice babies there! Great job, congratulations!

Keep the pics coming.

Thanks,
Ed

>>My Second litter of the season has arrived!
>>I came home last night from dinner at the in-laws to find that another female had her babies while I was gone. This was an interesting one for me as it was the first time that I got to watch a new rainbow mom eat her unfertilized ova and nose around all the newborns. Pretty cool. Other times I usually find the mom on the opposite side of the cage looking tired and done.
>>Final count on this one appears to be 11 live healthy litte guys and two that were still born.
>>There seems to be some real lookers in this litter too!
>>Also, this was the female that I had mentioned nevered had a P.O.S or any sheds for that matter during her gestation.
>>Hope you enjoy the pics. My batteries died so I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked.
>>Milo
>>
>>This one had just pushed out of the membrane when I took this shot.
>>
>>
>>
>>

Wow nice litter!!This is driving me nuts i have a gravid female that last shed at the end of january and i am still waiting!!LOL this is my first year breeding BRB's though

Thanks, and patience is a virtue... Of course that is much easier said than done, lol. Good luck with your first litter and if you're anything like me you'll be just as antsy about every single one after.
Be sure and post pics once they get here!

Thanks Ed, and don't worry more pics will definately be on their way once everybody sheds.