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i think my 04 female spilotes finally decided she's hungry because she bit me in the hand just now while i was cleaning. she never did that before! & 2nd, i threw in a live mouse for extra stimulation & she constricted it before eating it!? has anyone ever seen an adult spilotes constrict something before much less such a tiny prey item? anyway, i guess the fast is over cause i just gave her a bunch of f/t mice & she plowed right thru them.......

Good thing they have smaller teeth than Dry's right. My females hit me once without a headbutt first WTH?

Did She actually throw coils or just pin it? I've heard from someone else that he'd feed one FT follow up with another before the snake was done and it would throw a coil and hold it till it could finish the previous meal. Mine will pin an extra meal like a Dry while it finishes the first. Wierd cool snakes.

Dan have you gotten any eggs from your spilotes?
Nate

I'm glad to hear she's back on track, Dan. As for temperament, I definitely get the feeling that I should not push it with mine. The female's very curious, but I'm sure that if I made a wrong move she wouldn't hesitate to correct me. The male would most definitely let me have it if I made any quick movements around him, but fortunately, both are very handleable as long as I'm deliberate and not restrictive with my movements.
You have some awesome looking Spilotes - do you have any locality information on them?
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Roy Blodgett
Green Man Herpetoculture
royreptile@yahoo.com

1.1 Spilotes pullatus
2.2 Pseustes sulphureus
1.1 Pseustes poecilonotus poecilonotus
1.1 Lystrophis pulcher
1.1 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
1.2 Crotaphytus collaris
1.3 Crotaphytus bicinctores
2.3 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

Roy I believe his female is from Primareptilia and I have no Idea where the males from.

nate, she grabbed it w/ her mouth & wrapped it once way down her body & waited till it was dead. i gave her a 2nd live one while i defrosted the f/t's but she basically swallowed that one alive. re: breeding, nada, zilch, zero. they act like they are strictly platonic roomates. they've been in the same huge arboreal cage now for 2 years & i haven't seen one iota of interest from the male other than to just perch together. i'm gonna put a pin-up in there of brian's babe & see if that perks up his libido. lol! as far as locality info roy, the male is from ohio [alessandrini] & the female is indeed from morti & michelle. that's all i know unless i check that loreal scale but i'm not too keen on putting my face that close to theirs.........

Dan wrote: "re: breeding, nada, zilch, zero. they act like they are strictly platonic roomates. they've been in the same huge arboreal cage now for 2 years & i haven't seen one iota of interest from the male other than to just perch together."

Hey Dan, I'm in the same boat with my big pair - two seasons together in the same big enclosure but no interest whatsoever. But this coming spring I am thinking of throwing one of my smaller males (both producing sperm plugs now) in with my big pair and see what happens. Does anyone know if Spilotes males will combat? Does anyone else think this is a good idea or a disaster waiting to happen?

Brian and others with success breeding Spilotes, any hints or tips to get these awesome snakes going?

billy, combating males might not be a bad idea. i've combatted cribos before [though i found it unnecessary] & lived to tell about it. i suspect high humidity may also be key. mine are in a completely screened cage making that difficult to maintain although i do everything i can think of including heavy spraying w/ a gallon canister daily, etc., etc. i'm gonna try covering the top & one side this winter to try to trap more moist air. i have to doubt they're this difficult to breed, i think i'm just missing that 'one thing'. good luck w/ your efforts........

Thanks Dan. I feel the same way about the ease of breeding too. It simply can't be all that tough. But, I have basically stuck my big pair in the same enclosure but never made a real serious effort at breeding them the last two seasons. There's also the nagging doubt in the back of my head that my big pair may just be a pair of females...another reason why I want to throw one of my positively sexed young adult males in with both of them and see the reaction. I may also try separating them for a few weeks this winter and then reintroducing them with lots and lots of misting when it starts to warm up again. Who knows, but I am bound to get them going and get some nice cbb black and yellow monsters!

>>billy, combating males might not be a bad idea. i've combatted cribos before [though i found it unnecessary] & lived to tell about it. i suspect high humidity may also be key. mine are in a completely screened cage making that difficult to maintain although i do everything i can think of including heavy spraying w/ a gallon canister daily, etc., etc. i'm gonna try covering the top & one side this winter to try to trap more moist air. i have to doubt they're this difficult to breed, i think i'm just missing that 'one thing'. good luck w/ your efforts........
>>

While I have not yey tried breeding Spilotes I to think high hummidity is the key. In the wild they go through several weeks with close to 10" of daily rainfall. There is no cooling period so to speak in thier natural habitat but I think dropping the nighttime temps for several weeks may help a little to.

One more thing I think may be occuring. While these guys don't go through any sort of brumation maybe they hunker down durring this wet season. IE less food intake and activity, maybe when the rain lets up its time for them to get-it-on.

Just throwing out some ideas cause I want you guys to make babies!

It also may help to have people that have bred them to chime in?

Nate

One thing I've learned, they are winter breeders in our hemisphere. Don't wait 'till Spring. Here in Vegas it takes awhile to cool so most of my efforts will start in November. I've come back from a week long biz. trip and found 6 dessicated eggs in the corner of the cage..never saw any copulation or outward signs of her being gravid. Lesson-keep a nest tub in all the time!
Bill