This one should get the response of Hypomelanistic. It is a young female (photos from a few months old to two and a half years of age. cb. 1999) from the Darin Bell bloodline of Hypos. If you look closely at the eye, she seems to have crinkled eye caps. I think that this is because these guys NEVER soak. They are very unusual in this way because all of my other BRB's spend at least 25% of their time in a water bath. I DO NOT mist any of my cages and never have problems with them being too dry because if they need more moisture they just soak a while. The Darin Bell animals do not soak however and I have figured out that providing a 25 QT sterrilite hide box with a hole in the lid and lined with wet newspaper will keep them moister than the surrounding cage and thus de-wrinkling the eye-caps. They fit great in my cages, over the heat and right next to the 25 QT water dish..

(HINT, an empty can of beans/vegetables with the label removed makes a great tool for cutting nice smooth circular holes in the plastic shoe boxes by sitting the can on the stove and letting it get hot enough to melt through the plastic shoe box)…

By the way, yesterday was the first day that I visited the Kingsnake Rainbowboa Forum….this is great. (and a great way for me to procrastinate from writing two more term papers and setting up two Power-Point presentations before the end of the semester)

For the regulars, if I do not respond right away, forgive me, Grad students are essentially slave labor at most universities and I always have something that I should be doing. I am pretty good at checking my E-mail regularly, so if you really want a fast response, Send Me an E-mail as well as posting a response.

Thanks and GOOD LUCK TO ALL in this breeding season.
I saw my first pair of the year locked up last night, it would have been a fantastic photo; a stunning six to seven foot sire wrapped like a ribbon around a faded five foot female, all inside a 25 quart humid hideout. Unfortunately, I must borrow a camera to take my photos because I cannot afford a good one right now (remember the slave labor…..well not quite slave labor; I actually take home $972 a month, but 300 goes to tuition, 325 goes to rent, and the rest goes to life, mine and my snakes). With the number of snakes I am keeping (27 adults plus babies)…I would expect them to pay for themselves, but alas, it still seems that my hobby is just a hobby….maybe it should always be like this.

I look forward to more photos of Boas Breeding, Brazilians Birthing Beautiful Babies, and any Bonus Blindingly Bright Brazilian Beauties anyone has to share (or brag about).
Bye, BHH
http://www.rainbowboas.com/images/HypoFemaleBRB