Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Finally have a couple of eggs that are going to hatch. Two have slit and have some foamy material coming out. I can see the baby heads coming out a bit. Is the foam normal? Am I right to expect the other eggs to slit within 48 hours? Thanks.

Should have typed FIRST hatch.

>>Should have typed FIRST hatch.

Yup. Foam is normal. You just got the new parent jitters is all.

Thanks so much. I wonder when the others will slit.

This is the 5th clutch with disasters on the first four. Dad is a wild caught pink obsoleta with black specks (the reason for my interest), mom is a CB black from Ohio. All the babes should look normal. We will see.

We need to see the WC Pink with black spots PLEASE!
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See all my snakes at SerpenTrack.com

Still have the jitters. 24 hours now and not much change. No new slits (three additional eggs *appear* to be viable) and no progress on the first two, although I do see some movement. When do I figure there are problems? Should I slit the viable looking eggs?

If I don't see any more pipping from the other eggs WITHIN 48 hours, I slice a careful window in the egg just in case they have problems doing it themselves. As long as you very carefully slice a good long cut on the very top surface of the egg, it will not hurt the neonate whatsoever. I use a tiny pair of cuticle/mustache scissors to do this and simply aim the point of them upwards a bit so it rides the very inside surface of the egg ONLY.

Best of luck!,.....and show some pics of the little guys if you can..

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

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

First slit was noted yesterday morning so will wait till tomorrow morning to intervene. So far one baby hatched!, one piped and seeming to take his time.

When should I offer food?

Thanks!

Here you go!

Very nice!. Do you have any pics of this W/C pink sire with spots?????

The babies don't need to be offered any food until after their first shed(around 10 days or so). They have a natural head-start with a full belly of yolk when they hatch to get them well on their way in the wild. I don't EVER bother offering hatchlings anything until at least a few days after this post-hatching shed. I want to know they are actually starting to get hungry first as the yolk begins to get used up by the hatchling.

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

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

>>Very nice!. Do you have any pics of this W/C pink sire with spots?????
>>
>> The babies don't need to be offered any food until after their first shed(around 10 days or so). They have a natural head-start with a full belly of yolk when they hatch to get them well on their way in the wild. I don't EVER bother offering hatchlings anything until at least a few days after this post-hatching shed. I want to know they are actually starting to get hungry first as the yolk begins to get used up by the hatchling.
>>
>>
>> ~Doug
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>>"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"
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>>serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks! Three hatched now and two slit. One egg looks like a "dud".

The dad was completely pink when found as a hatchling. Over the years the pink has faded to yellowish pink and black spots appeared. He is quite handsome. Mom is straight up black rat. Luckily both are very easy to handle, and have never bitten.

Wow, those are really nice. You'll have a really cool project there when you breed the hatchlings back to each other to see if it proves to be a resesive trait, which it more than likely will. Congrats.
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Matt Kauffman

Wow!,...that is VERY cool!

Look forward to you producing some of those with future breedings!. As Matt metioned, it is very likely that the gene is a simple recessive trait.

Best of luck with the project!

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

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

That trait would probably be best described as "calico". But there are already a few different types of calico Black rat morphs in the hobby, although they are different from your phenotype. So maybe a name just a bit more unigue and distinctive to set this one apart from them would be better if it proves-out to be a recessive trait and more are produced into the hobby.

Maybe something like "freckled calico", or "splatter-pattern calico", or the town name in front of the word "calico" to give it distinction from the other calico traits.

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

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Any hints on getting these guys to eat? Only one has eaten so far. They are very active. I separate them and put with one thawed pink in the container. 8 weeks old now. All shed at one week of age.

>>Any hints on getting these guys to eat? Only one has eaten so far. They are very active. I separate them and put with one thawed pink in the container. 8 weeks old now. All shed at one week of age.
CORRECTION, TWO weeks old now. Sorry.

That is an awesome snake to have caught. I have no experience with black rats but I know that finding such morphs in the wild is a rare occasion with any species. Good luck, I hope it turns out to be inheritable.
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www.hcu-tx.org/

Thanks for all the help! FIVE!