For the first season in quite a while I will not have any stripe creams. My breeding female died about two weeks after mating. There was blood in the container after breeding but it wasn't any more then I had seen before. Unfortunately there must have been some damage I was unaware of. Her replacement won't be ready to breed until next season. Every season I planned on keeping a female or two but There was always someone who could talk me into letting go of them.
It was a bad season around here. I also had a cinnamon female pass after laying. She laid a couple of eggs and then went a few days before laying a couple more etc..it took a little over two weeks for her to drop all of her eggs. I tried to get her to eat small offerings during this time, she wouldn't take anything. After laying she still wouldn't eat. When I finally "assist fed" her a fuzzy she regurged it two days later and basically that was the end for her. Both of these girls were 02's I was planning to retire them after this season. Just waiting for the stripe cream's replacement to come of age. I have several motley creams that were sired by the main male stripe cream breeder that will be old enough next season as well, so I will not be foolish again and limit myself to only one option for my stripe creams..
Question to any breeders from the Southeast...especially any of you who were affected by the wave of tornadoes...did any of you notice a lot lower production rate this season...more cases of egg binding..anything different? I've had several friends in the tornado's zone who have had problems and we were speculating on the connection. I think the extreme barometric fluctuations at or near laying time may have had an effect...any thoughts, insights, speculations???
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Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
Draybars Snakes
