Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm hoping to produce some hatchlings next year and having difficulty finding answers to my questions. Are the hatchlings really small? Do they feed readily? Will the female double-clutch? Is 6 eggs an average clutch? Thanks.

I've been breeding knobs for six years. My females' first clutches of their lives are usually around six to eight eggs, increasing in number with each passing year. This year, my oldest female laid 13 eggs, all of which hatched. Hatchlings are smaller than pyro hatchlings--about the size of corn snake hatchlings.

Hatchling knobs feed readily enough, if they are going to be good feeders. I wait until mine have shed their neonatal skins, then offer defrosted pinkys. I really want them to eat defrosted mice, so I start there. Some will eat without hesitation. Holdouts get cupped with a defrosted pinky, and left overnight, or until they eat, whichever is sooner. Often, baby snakes will eat if left in a deli cup with the food. Those that feed are set aside. Remaining holdouts wait a day or two and then get cupped with a live, unscented pinky. After the ones that were waiting for a live pinky have eaten, the remaining holdouts start getting scented food--scented with lizards.

The kind of lizard used for scenting seems to make a difference. Other knob owners may have different experiences, but I find that using Fence Lizards or Spiny Lizards for scenting with cloacal secretions, or scenting with juice from running dead lizards through the blender, works. I don't think anoles or geckos work as well.

Hatchlings that refuse to feed for several weeks may get force fed. If I force feed, I use snips of mouse tail, which slide down pretty easy. Just a section, not the whole tail. Be sure to orient the hair so the section slides down without resistance. After a short time, or in worst cases several months, most hatchlings will feed voluntarily.

Once knobs are feeding, they can be garbage cans. Some will power feed, and grow rapidly. I suggest waiting to breed even precocious female growers until they pass their third birthday--wait until the spring after their third birthday to breed them. Breeding any snake too young risks egg binding and death. It's not ethical to treat an animal in our care that way, and also, don't throw away years of maintenance just because of impatience. Wait until the female is ready.

I usually keep first year hatchlings warm and on summer light schedules for their first winter to keep them feeding and get them a headstart of growth. I cycle my animals starting with the first winter following their first birthday. That way, they are used to a seasonal cycle by the time they reach first breeding age, and I have never had any hesitation to breed on first breeding attempt among my snakes. I hear some breeders report low interest on the part of their breeders, and sometimes I learn later that the breeders did not cycle the animls for the first time until the winter just prior to attempting to breed them for the first time.

I don't double clutch my females, although perhaps I could, but I think it puts too much strain on them, and might shorten their lives. I worry about quality of life for animals in my care, and don't try to turn them into breeding machines. I never have infertile eggs or stunted hatchlings, and my females have the rest of the season to recover and regain weight before the winter cycle.

Knobs are great snakes--beautiful, calm, nicely sized and long-lived wth good care. Good luck with your own little gem.

Thank you so much for taking the time to address my question in such a clear and concise way. I do appreciate your expertise and willingness to share. My first snake ever was/and still is a Knob. I purchased this snake online and he was guaranteed to be baby tame. I was afraid of him when he arrived but determined that I would handle him anyway. When I picked him up he was so calm and docile. He was great mental therapy and he was beautiful to boot. Long story short, I was hooked. He has been single for the two years that I've had him. I decided to find him a female and surprise, surprise, when I probed him he was a female. Well, how about that! I have been able to purchase a pair of breeders and so now I have a trio. I plan to use all of your wonderful information next year and I hope to see some beautiful babies hatching.