Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So this is my second attempt to breed alterna....my first clutch had 2 early egg deaths and 2 deformed babies that died within hours of hatching. One was accordianed together with the body mostly fused together ventrally. This year a different pair bred and the first baby to hatch has a major kink in lower half of body as if the body was fused together ventrally. So wtf! These clutches are from 2 different pairs and they were incubated in vermiculite with good humidity ( enough to keep eggs round but not damp) and a constant 81-85 degrees. The parents were fed on primarily mice. 1 pair I personelly caught and the other are captive born. Has anyone had similiar problems?????? I know these snakes are prone to kinks but this is much more severe of a developmental deformity. Any insights would be much appreciated. I don't know if I can handle another disappointing clutch.

Your incubation temp is TOO hot! Try 74-78 degrees!

1st, I would agree with buzzard that those incubation temps are way too high. The other thing I would change is the vermiculate. Some people lately have switched to spaghnum moss with good/better results. I personally believe in perlite with a dryer ratio. The perlite allows more air/oxygen around and under the eggs. I used vermiculite for years and always had some very disapointing results. Once I switched to perlite [David Dohertys tip} hatch rate went way up and 0% kinked babies. But definitely turn the thermostat down. These aren't python eggs.
Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck next year. BA

Thanks for the advice.....everything I have read (including care sheets from this site) about incubation of alterna says to incubate between 81-85 and also suggests vermiculite. If you all have had good success using perlite and lower temps I will definitly give that a try. I feel dumb now. I guess thats what I get for reading books instead of asking the people who really know!

I live in Phoenix. The temps during the summer are Africa HOT. I'm a throwback and use incandescent lighting for overhead ambient heat, mostly 25 watt bulb, but occasionally 40 watt if the tank is taller than a 20L. I have a little over 30 tanks with light bulbs in my snake room. I keep my house at 77F during the summer months. I hatched out 8 clutches of very healthy looking alterna, 3 clutches of celaenops and 1 clutch of "annulops" lol using vermiculite. I've always used vermiculite (soaked then really squeezed of all water), and I incubate at room temps, but the temps are variable in my snake room, ranging from a low of 77 to a high perhaps of 86 (maybe a little higher) after these lights have been on all day. My guess is that these eggs are at 77F for 12-14 hrs, then only at peak temps for 2-3 hours, and somewhere in between for 7-10 hours. Anyway, that's what has worked for me.

Robert

"annulops" are awsome. keep em coming.
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Steve W.

How dry are we talking for the perlite?

When I was usung vermiculite I was using a 9-1 ratio of vermiculite to water. I had my share of dead full term babies and a few fused together babies. Dave D. suggested perlite with a dryer ratio so I used a 10-1 ratio and had much better results. Plus depending on where you live and humidity levels. I live in Kansas where summertime humidity is quite high so I don't need as much moistiure in the substrate for the eggs. Robert lives in a blast furnace with 10-15% humidity so the extra moisture is required. Just remember these are desert animals laying eggs underground. Its probably not 81-85 degrees the whole incubation time and fairly dry. Vermiculite obviously works well for Robert but I'll stick to perlite/shmerlite. LOL. BA

If you’re using a swamp cooler to cool your inside environment, then all bets are off lol. One thing I forgot to mention is that I do put a few tufts of sphagnum moss (again squeezed completely free of water) between the eggs and the vermiculite, so the eggs sit on this bed of sphagnum moss. I prefer to use the long-stranded sphagnum because I think it’s better at inhibiting fungus.

Robert

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I now feel much more confident in my future alterna endeavors.

Where did you "observe" the blairs phase in the photo? My guess is juno or 277 or I guess anywhere in val verde or terrel counties.

I (legally) caught her along 90 just west of langtry a few years back before the big ban on cruising the cuts. I was lucky enough to catch a male the second night about 60 ft from where I I found her. This was the pair I was trying to get babies from this year. I actually didn't mean to post the picture I was trying to see what photos I had uploaded to my album. I posted a picture of the male below.