Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone had a Hondo (or other milk or king) that just doesn't seem to grow?

I produced a female Ghost (Het Amel) in 2008 along with some other great stuff. I also kept a female Hypo (Het Amel Poss Het Anery) as well. The ironic thing is the Ghost was larger than the Hypo! Here they are shortly after hatching (Ghost top, Anery middle, Hypo bottom):

The Hypo has grown faster than I've ever seen any Hondo grow before. Her Ghost sibling is the complete opposite. Here are some comparison shots; I tried to make the size difference more obvious by resizing the photographs to make the quarter the same size.

Please let me know what you guys think?

-Rusty

Hey Rusty, I have a pair of sib cb09 hypo tang hondos and the female is already on large hoppers, while the male is only on fuzzys. The female is head and shoulders bigger than the male. Same with my pair of 08 transpecos rats. Male is on weanlings and the female is still on fuzzys. Now, this is all related to the fact that the smaller ones are pickier feeders, so may not be relevant to your question. Still, I had a cb96 male hondo that only got about 3 feet MAX!! I think he was stunted during mite treatment when younger and had a bit of a neurological problem as well. I think some snakes just grow slower than others.

Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on with her...she wasn't the best eater, but that was only for about 6 months.

Like Don said below, she's about the size of a decent 09 hatch.

If she's something different, it would be kinda cool to have a dwarf Hondo...but I'd have to find another dwaft male...or breeding would be an issue...kinda wish she was a HE!

-R

Yeah I agree with Kevin. Appetite has a lot do do with it. If an animal is a picky eater than it will obviously not grow as much as one that devours everything it's offered. It may also have some unseen problem and it may be completely healthy. Who can really know by just lookinh at it. I would try feeding it pinkies by two's then work up to three's to open it's appetite and acclimate it to eating more. Now if it's eating well and still doesn't grow, then that's a different matter.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Yep, she's eating just fine...two fuzzies to small rat pups...she sheds often...and should be at least 3 ft by now...I guess I'll just wait and see if she takes off...being she's a Ghost Het Amel, I had all kinds of breeding plans for her!
My girlfriend's name for her is Peppa'!
-Rusty

Wow,.....you could start your own "dwarf" line of ghosts, sort of like Bob Clark's line of "dwarf" retics..LOL!

That sucker really IS a tiny one Rusty. I have had some that didn't get very big, but never one that darn small personally.

It really is ironic like you mentioned that it started out life even more robust than the other's.

Oh well, that's how some things go I guess..

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Yeah man...who knows!

Went to the local zoo today here in Melbourne...they have a male Honduran that was donated from West Palm Beach (a zoo or something there)...here's a great look at what a normal Hondo looks like!

The picture isn't the greatest because I didn't have the right light or lens!

-Rusty

Wow Rusty, that ghost looks almost the size of an '09. I have seen that in a splendida I sold years ago. He eats great but isn't much bigger then a hatchling and is 3 years old.

Well at least she's not the only one!

I have a male Ghost het Amel sibling...maybe in a few years I'll roll the dice and see what happens.

The one I kept is the aberrant one in this pic:

-Rusty

And those aren't trick quarters, right rusty? Probably no real good explanation other Than the mysteries that produce 6' 9" college basketball stars from normal sized parents.

Yeah, well my Dad is 6ft...I'm about 5-8...but I'm ok with recessive genes! HA!

Check this guy out!

-Rusty