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I wasn't planning on having any clutches at all this year 'cus we were in the process of moving. However, last Fall I had put my older bimac pair together for a little while, Elaphe bimaculata, Chinese twin-spotted ratsnakes. They were not together this Spring at all. Before I went on a trip for over a week I put a moist hide in with the female, just in case. When I came back I didn't expect to find anything, so it was at least another week before she came out of her moist hide. Then I checked and found a clutch of six eggs. That's why they show stains from the sphagnum. They likely had been in there for around two weeks with no extra heat or moisture. I moved the eggs by hand to an incubation tub (shoebox), but didn't put it in an incubator. I put it on a shelf in my back room. The temps have fluctuated from about 78 to 83*F. The tub has lots of little holes in the sides, so lost moisture easily, so I had to moisten the vermiculite fairly often. The eggs started pipping last night...

Regards...Terry

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Conserve reptiles by helping protect habitat.

This is a baby from the same pair, also hatched in early August, but 2007. Photo was taken in Dec '07. Notice the color change...

That's a nice suprise. Congrats Terry.
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Randy Whittington

Great looking snakes, Terry. I love the color change from baby to adult and the deep red as they age. Very nice.

>>Great looking snakes, Terry. I love the color change from baby to adult and the deep red as they age. Very nice.

Me too! I should take some with me to the Tucson show in Sept. I have some from last year too...

TC

I like my new setup a lot. It was 80*F. on the shelf in a closet when I just got these pics. The closet is on our back porch (Arizona Room.) Room temp was 82*F. All six are out of the eggs already.

Unfortunately, the pics are kinda dark, at least on my machine...

Here's a group of the babies. They'll lighten up quite a bit in the next few weeks after they shed once or twice...

>>This is a baby from the same pair, also hatched in early August, but 2007. Photo was taken in Dec '07. Notice the color change...
>>
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Roberts Realm Of Reptile Research
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Thanks,

I opened my mouth and out flowed a melody black.

>>I wasn't planning on having any clutches at all this year 'cus we were in the process of moving. However, last Fall I had put my older bimac pair together for a little while, Elaphe bimaculata, Chinese twin-spotted ratsnakes. They were not together this Spring at all. Before I went on a trip for over a week I put a moist hide in with the female, just in case. When I came back I didn't expect to find anything, so it was at least another week before she came out of her moist hide. Then I checked and found a clutch of six eggs. That's why they show stains from the sphagnum. They likely had been in there for around two weeks with no extra heat or moisture. I moved the eggs by hand to an incubation tub (shoebox), but didn't put it in an incubator. I put it on a shelf in my back room. The temps have fluctuated from about 78 to 83*F. The tub has lots of little holes in the sides, so lost moisture easily, so I had to moisten the vermiculite fairly often. The eggs started pipping last night...
>>
>>

cool, congrats Terry
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

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Congrats Terry! Nice, healthy lookin' little bimacs.

-Toby
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Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research

Hi Terry
Congratulations on your bimaculata. My first clutch hatched yesterday. 3,6 out of 9 eggs.

Best wishes
Søe

>>Hi Terry
>>Congratulations on your bimaculata. My first clutch hatched yesterday. 3,6 out of 9 eggs.
>>
>>
>>
>>Best wishes
>>Søe

Greetings, Soe.

Beautiful snake. It sounds like a very large clutch. Have you had that many before?

Cheers...Terry

Hi Terry
Yes that is actually normal here. 8-12 eggs but sometimes not all are fertile. I got some infetile eggs in one of my clutches this year.
Maybe it is because, I await growth before breeding. My females were 90 cm, before I bred them the first time.
My problem has been the sexratio. Always too many males, but this year it looks very fine. I actually have had very good results in lowering the temperature even further than I use to. Many females in dione, bimaculata, persicus and mandarins and even sexratio in gloydi.
A funny thing about the female, who produced the eggs. She is from the origional line, that was in Klaus - Dieters article so many years ago.

Best wishes
Søe

>>Hi Terry
>>Yes that is actually normal here. 8-12 eggs but sometimes not all are fertile. I got some infetile eggs in one of my clutches this year.
>>Maybe it is because, I await growth before breeding. My females were 90 cm, before I bred them the first time.
>>My problem has been the sexratio. Always too many males, but this year it looks very fine. I actually have had very good results in lowering the temperature even further than I use to. Many females in dione, bimaculata, persicus and mandarins and even sexratio in gloydi.
>>A funny thing about the female, who produced the eggs. She is from the origional line, that was in Klaus - Dieters article so many years ago.
>>
>>Best wishes
>>Søe

Wow, that's a lot of eggs for a bimaculata. In the monograph by Schulz, he says bimaculata can have up to ten eggs, but I've never seen more than six. He also says Elaphe dione usually has six eggs and I've seen up to sixteen in my South Koreans.

PS: I'd love to see a pic of the parents of your bimac babies.

Best Regards...Terry

Hi Terry

Go down to Fri Jun 20 07:07:36 2008 "Pictures of my ratsnakes depositing eggs 3".

There are pictures of the females

Best wishes
Søe

Thanks, Soe. You're bimacs are pretty amazing. Do you have a length measurement for your largest female?

Terry