Here are some pics of the only Golden corns I have. First pic is the male, second pic is the female. The corns in the first two pics are the only surviving golden corns to date (not counting hets or the founder animal). I do have nine hets along with those - three females and six males. The founder animal in the last two pics is at LEAST 11-12 years old, probably a lot older, since she was found in the wild as an adult in 2004. She has not grown any bigger since then, even though she's always eaten like a pig, perhaps adding only about an inch to her total length. Over the last couple of years, her colors have started to fade and become darker and she is not doing too well this year - not even producing ANY eggs at all.... She's recently gotten sick and has problems keeping her meals down the last couple of months. I have taken her to a vet and they have ran several tests on her so far: No bacterial infections found - still waiting for the results of a cryptosporidia screening I requested, which had to be done at a university lab....(keeping fingers crossed). The vet, who does have some experience with reptiles said that she looks like a very old snake, but still seems healthy and well fed for her age......
Okay, the pic in the middle was the brightest golden corn produced (in 07') It mysteriously died after about a month and a half. It was so much brighter than the two 06's, I'm sure that if it had survived, it would have most likely looked like its' mother, maybe even brighter....
Back to the the first two pics: What I find interesting is, the variability between just those two. They are both 06' animals and have bred this year (to each other), producing six eggs: five slugs and ONE good egg. As of recently I only have three good eggs out of the het breedings - next year should be much better as I only had ONE female that was decent size - the other two were barely breeding age (around 2.5 foot), and produced mostly slugs....Yes, my females have been slow growers, but they are eating better this year than ever before. It has been a long journey as some of you already know, but trust me I'm not giving up!!! The way things have gone so far, I'll be happy if just ONE egg makes it!!!! I did purchase a couple of nice incubators that heat & cool, and they work very well, as I have added an ADDITIONAL thermometer to ensure the incubator's thermometer is not lying! On top of that, I have invested in a small generator to ensure I will ALWAYS have power for those incubators!
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-
