Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Wow really?
I had put my pair of albino black rats together this spring hoping to get a clutch from them and have been watching for eggs.
I brought my wife down to the reptile room to show her which ones to keep an eye on for eggs and she says theres an egg right there! ??? no hun thats the male...a...that is an egg(?)What the?
There were 9 eggs in all badly dried out I think beyond help.
No laying box was placed in "his" tank and I wasn't looking in there for eggs.
Damn. How could I make that mistake not recognizing which was male, which was female?
When I bought them as young adults a couple of years back the breeder showed me them saying which was which and I guess I never looked that hard at them or even thought to challenge his judgement on that. Thier patterns are very different and I just went on that to tell them apart. I can't believe in 2-3 years I didn't pick up on it.
Wow what a dumb mistake.
Mike.

LOL!!,........that is too funny!, and I can DEFINITELY relate to that for sure.

I have ALWAYS tried to make a habit of "double-checking" the sexes of thing I acquire myself, no matter WHO I got them from, or how experienced their reputation is thought, or said to be, because it inevitably happens now and then to everyone at some point over the years. It just isn't worth not making double-sure. There is nothing more disappointing than raising an animal up to breeding age for several years only to find out it is the opposite sex you though it was.

This has happened to EVERYONE though at one time or another, and I am certainly no exception..LOL!. I feel your pain..

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

Don't beat yourself up.

Thanks guys, I appreciate that.
I would have thought myself better than make a simple error like that. I had held off breeding them because the one I thought was female was very thin when I got them and I waited until she (he) was healthy enough to bear young. The one that was always feeding well and robust turns out was the female.
I could have bred them last year. : /
Damn.

She is still very thick so I'll back her up with a couple of healthy feedings and see if I can't get a late season second clutch from her. I don't normaly do that but she is very heavy and routinely eats small rats. I think she'd be ok with it if not doe every year.
Mike.

been there sorta and done that sorta....

I actually just put nest boxes in ALL my snakes cages....aaaaah....cheating...I mean...they need the moist hides right?....

this year my sinaloans ended up in the wrong cages....actually they are still there.....LOL....

.....I draw head patterns or tail patterns on the back of their feed cards if necessary....at times you got 1.2 snakes and they all almost look alike...

.....
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........JY

"I actually just put nest boxes in ALL my snakes cages....aaaaah....cheating...I mean...they need the moist hides right?.... "

Thanks LOL I was actually thinking of doing just that.
I gave some thought to the date of the eggs found being a bit earlier than expected too. before putting the albino pair together I had her in a tank with "another" male which was a yellow rat. Albino black and yellow rat, wonder how that would have looked?
Oh and ya the yellow is a proven male
Mike.

Not laughing about the lost eggs, but it just brings back memories.

My first breeding of rosyboas happened as a result of housing two "females" together during spring, separating them later on. The one who turned out male was given to me as a female, and I never checked in the two years I had her, or him.

Anyway, I learned how easy it is to get rosies to breed, so that was a good thing. And now you know who is who, so that is a good thing.
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Mark

THanks Mark, I guess I was hoping to hear you guys relate with your stories which make this mistake more of just a learning experience. It definitely helps.
Thanks all.

Mike.

Well, now you know for next year Don't hit yourself too much for it.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake