Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After 4 years of trying, I finally got my Lampropeltus Knoblochi to breed and I now have 10 hatchlings that just won't get started on newborn pinkies.I have been scenting the pinkies w/fence swifts and isolating them in dixie cups, but 4 attempts and no luck.Any suggestions?

You never mentioned how long ago they hatched?. Many times it can take several weeks after their first shed for them to really become good and hungry because they have a good reserve of yolk to give them a good head-start in life. Also, depending on where you are in the country, any cool weather that might shown up in your area could be telling them to focus on brumating instead of going in search of a meal. It really all depends on a lot of things and there environment, even their bloodline's predisposition for brumation preferences could play a part in this.

If it has already been several weeks after they hatched, and you cut open a freshly killed sceloporus and smear the pinks in the guts, and they still have no interest in eating, you might want to consider cooling them down good for the fall/winter into the mid 50's so they can conserve what body weight they have. Then later on when they are warmed up again, they might start eating well. This can sometimes be pretty typical of pyro and zonata hatchlings.

Maybe some others can offer some other suggestions too.

Good luck with them!..

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

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Best thing you can do with this species is cool them down for a few months and forget about them. Think of it as an extended incubation period.

After a cool down they will come out eating like champs in the spring.

I have had stubbron feeders that I cooled like this while their siblings ate all winter. What happened is the cooled snakes actually surpass those in growth that ate all winter. That is because the winter cooling makes them eat more frequently and more ravonously.

Be patient! This hobby requires it!
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www.Bluerosy.com

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Like the others said, just brumate them and start again in the spring. I have six baby pyros that hatched in early July and that have all eaten at least three times, but now not even a lizard can tempt them, so off to winter sleep they go. This is their nature. Next year I am going to bring my breeder pyros out of brumation later so as to have the babies hatch later, so less time until brumation. That way they wont run the risk of losing too much weight between hatching and brumation.

If you want snakes that will eat straight out of the egg, while in blue, and once a week like clockwork, try bull snakes. Baby bulls are good therapy after dealing with baby pyros! LOL!
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

Thank you for the advice.I have bred corns, gophersnakes,rosys, etc in the past and they ate right out of the gate, like you said.Due to space restrictions, etc, I just kept my Knobs and finally got them to produce--then this.I suspect I will brumate them, the weather has turned here in N. California and it's probably my best option.

Whats funny is wild pyros, here in my area, are still feeding. odd I tell ya

>>Whats funny is wild pyros, here in my area, are still feeding. odd I tell ya

Mine are still pounding food and the young ones usually never "shut down" for the winter......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Yup, I have a lone male that eats like a champ year round, and then I have the young pair from Bob Applegate that eat like champs until the 3rd week of August and then just flip a switch and shut down for the winter.
www.4lakessnakes.com

are those babies that just hatched this year? or are they yearling or older?

I wonder if neonates that are born are just desigened to go until spring because they have enough to keep them through winter.
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www.Bluerosy.com

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I wonder if neonates that are born are just desigened to go until spring because they have enough to keep them through winter.
I think this is the case. Finding a first lizard meal may not be that easy in the high elevations, when all the reptiles go to ground with dropping temperatures. So these snakes have evolved to survive until spring, when things warm up again and the prey is also awake.

I have lots of captive lizards and keep them out in my green house. When it is cold they go bury themselves in the ground. This would make it pretty hard for a snake to find one. Also I have been offering my baby pyros lizards, but they have all also eaten live pinks and when the seasons changed so did they, resulting in no more feeding of any sort. All my pyros are now in brumation except for a few yearling females who still want an occasional meal.

The specific local of the pyros may matter, too. Mine are mostly Chiricahua.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

>>
>>I wonder if neonates that are born are just desigened to go until spring because they have enough to keep them through winter.
>>I think this is the case. Finding a first lizard meal may not be that easy in the high elevations, when all the reptiles go to ground with dropping temperatures. So these snakes have evolved to survive until spring, when things warm up again and the prey is also awake.

Pyros can go underground with the lizards and eat.......huh?

What are these "safe" underground temps?

Who says the are "asleep?"

Hmmmmm
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

What are these "safe" underground temps?

Hmmmmm

True True!
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www.Bluerosy.com

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**I think this is the case. Finding a first lizard meal may not be that easy in the high elevations, when all the reptiles go to ground with dropping temperatures. So these snakes have evolved to survive until spring, when things warm up again and the prey is also awake.**

Well here in Arizona in the high country where I live (5,000 ft).....and where pyros and lizards live......and the night time temps have been below 32 degrees the last couple of nights..... during the day when the sun is out 90% of the time in Arizona....the lizards are out during the day time. Pyros have been found on Thumb Butte (6,000 ft) by hikers on Thanksgiving day here in Prescott.

Pyros finding lizards is never a problem, even in October.

Kerby...
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Life is like a bunch of fish in an aquarium....we all get along (bonding) until I want to eat you....and I do.

Probably the time of year. I have a pair of appelgate knobs, and every year about the 3rd week of August, they just stop feeding. So they go down for the winter at that point.
www.4lakessnakes.com