Reptile & Amphibian Forums

These guys are taking one f/t pink every 7-10 days and I have them at about 74-77 degrees. Really being careful and taking my time with them. So far no troubles and they seem to have even grown already.

This is the male

Van

BTW, these are '03 hatched by Carl Gilmore. They were the only deppei I saw at the whole show. The photos of the adults looked pretty good- one was bright yellow and the other was more of an olive-silver. Hopefully I'll get some diversity in colors from these two. I really like the stripe on this one though.

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Hey there!

Maybe these were the two outta the three I saw there in Daytona. Were they at a table where there was some black pines, hypo bulls, applegate babies, and an adult pair of a killer male applegate gopher and a het female?

Very nice snakes bro!
Take care!
Billy
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Genesis 1:1

I bought a pair out of the trio. Thought about the trio but had other animals on my list and didn't have the money available.

Van

Van,

be sure and take pics every 3 months or so and compare the difference in them as adults. Then you will begin to understand why so few of the collectors in Old Mexico did not bring them out on the permits they had. As hatchlings they are the ugly ducklings of the pit world, but boy are they beautiful as adults. I believe you are going to have a green female and either an orange or yellow male from the way they look right now. Enjoy they are some of my favorites. Here is a bad pic of some adult yellows.

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms

John,

That is the reason why I have passed on buying some deppei or jani when I would see babies at shows. Not knowing what they will look like as adults bugs me, but at the same time, I know that it is one of the coolest things about these snakes, to watch them as they grow and change colors. Pits are my faves, and I do feel sometimes that I am missing out by not buying any of these.

I will see you Sunday at the Houston show. Due to the pits you may have, I am sure that I will not be able to tear myself away from your table. LOL!

That killer locale Tx het albino bull that I got from you last November at the Bayou Breeders Expo is doing great, along with my Pandale Dirt grayband I got from you last year at the ETHS show. Thanks again!

Billy Fraser
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Genesis 1:1

Even if they don't turn out to be the best adults, I really like the clean pattern that deppei have. I also like the size they reach and the longer time it takes them to grow. I hope what you say is true though- a yellow male and a green or silver female would be the best combo in my mind.

Van

Van.........I hope you are not feeding these guys a mouse pink every 7-10 days. They are big enough to eat mouse fuzzies right from the get go. As long as your temps average the high 70's, don't be afraid to feed these guys. My experience is that frequency is the key. These guys have a slower metabolism than N. American pits. They can handle a reasonably sized meal, as long as they get the time and proper temps to digest it. My jani holdbacks from last year have grown to 43-46 inches in one year. I go with an 8 day feeding schedule. If anyone out there has grown their deppei or jani to better than 4 feet in one year, I'd like to hear about it. Most people are so afraid of their regurge reputation, they are afraid to increase the size of their meals as they grow. It's all about temps and frequency, IMHO. My little monsters love to eat!

Right now I have a boatload of frozen pinks to get rid of so I might go for 2-3 pinks at a time. Just don't want to push them too quickly.

Van

Steve,

I hate to disagree with you, but in our experience size of the meal does matter. Many times these guys will feed like crazy and then all of a sudden they will start having problems. We suggest feeding once per week a smaller than normal meal and they do much better. Speed of growth is not as important to us as the overall health of the snakes which we feel is insured by slow steady growth as versus pushing them. Additonally we also suggest temps that are in teh range or 72 - 78 as a maximum range, with a night drop down to about 72. The adults even do better as far as breeding etc. at these lower temps. These are high elevation montane animals and are rarely sujected to really high temps. We do agree with you though that getting them on rat pups as soon as they can take them will provide increased growth and weight.

Below is a pic of a partial stripe Limburg line deppei deppei, neat light blue ground color also.

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms

John........Feel free to disagree, as I've only been working with the deppei complex since '99. With my original group, I took the standard advice as to temps, don't feed them more than once a week, and feed them small meals. I still got a couple of regurges during the first 3 months on my male jani, and one of the females. Never had a problem with the other female jani or my female d. deppei. After 3 months or so, never another problem. The females grew to 39-41 inches in one year, the male to 44". They are now absolutely as easy to keep as corn snakes.
My opinion of a reasonable meal is one that simply puts a small lump in the snake. If you are feeding a meal that doesn't produce a visible lump, you are not feeding them enough. I'm also of the opinion that a single prey item of a more mature rodent may be more nuritious than multiple small items. In other words, give them a meal with some fur and bones, rather than a couple of little soft pink tissue bags. I never said anything about the need to get them going on rat pups as soon as possible. The jani in the pic are holdbacks from last year. They are now big enough to eat adult mice or small rat weans. They have never been picky, whether their meal was a rat or mouse of appropriate size.
With these holdbacks, I made a slight change in the regimen. I put them on an eight day feeding schedule, and this time around I had absolutely no regurges. It may be that extra day is optimal for them to completely digest and assimilate their food. The proof may be in their growth records, as these guys outgrew their parents in the same first year period.
John........What has been your experience with the deppei complex, as to developmental or longer term problems when growing at these rates? I'm of the opinion that once you get them going and past that first 3 month hurdle, they are quite the hardy colubrid. Anyone else, feel free to chime in on this one. Pits rule, but jani are royalty...........Steve G.

Hello Steve,
Nice looking snakes, and thanks to you and John for your opinions on the deppei feeding regimen. I also fed them small meals and no more than once a week. I did throw in some extra food here and there, and no problems ever occured. I have just recently started to feed them larger items. I keep records of everything, so hopefully in the next several months i can also let you know if i have any troubles with the larger meals. I have not had any problems to date though, and believe that the more CB generations there are the more hardy they will become. Just my thoughts.
Have a good one Steve, and the Gulf Hammocks are doing great.
Gregg F.

>>John........Feel free to disagree, as I've only been working with the deppei complex since '99. With my original group, I took the standard advice as to temps, don't feed them more than once a week, and feed them small meals. I still got a couple of regurges during the first 3 months on my male jani, and one of the females. Never had a problem with the other female jani or my female d. deppei. After 3 months or so, never another problem. The females grew to 39-41 inches in one year, the male to 44". They are now absolutely as easy to keep as corn snakes.
>> My opinion of a reasonable meal is one that simply puts a small lump in the snake. If you are feeding a meal that doesn't produce a visible lump, you are not feeding them enough. I'm also of the opinion that a single prey item of a more mature rodent may be more nuritious than multiple small items. In other words, give them a meal with some fur and bones, rather than a couple of little soft pink tissue bags. I never said anything about the need to get them going on rat pups as soon as possible. The jani in the pic are holdbacks from last year. They are now big enough to eat adult mice or small rat weans. They have never been picky, whether their meal was a rat or mouse of appropriate size.
>> With these holdbacks, I made a slight change in the regimen. I put them on an eight day feeding schedule, and this time around I had absolutely no regurges. It may be that extra day is optimal for them to completely digest and assimilate their food. The proof may be in their growth records, as these guys outgrew their parents in the same first year period.
>> John........What has been your experience with the deppei complex, as to developmental or longer term problems when growing at these rates? I'm of the opinion that once you get them going and past that first 3 month hurdle, they are quite the hardy colubrid. Anyone else, feel free to chime in on this one. Pits rule, but jani are royalty...........Steve G.
>>
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Gregg F.

http://www.greggsrb.com