Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Now that I have more than one snake again(), I figure I better start keeping records like in the old days.

But I figure now I don't need to do as much long hand: Are there any computer programs, or even predesigned forms which can be printed out and copied and then filled in available?? Thanks in advance.
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Lloyd Heilbrunn

Palm Beach Gardens, Fl.

I don't know of any programs specifically designed for snakes, but I'm pretty happy with a simple spreadsheet I created on Microsoft Excel. It has one column for the date, and one column for notes. In the "notes" column I keep feeding records, record when they shed, when I last cleaned their enclosure, make any notes about behavior changes, whatever.. That way I don't have to have a seperate column for everything.

I have a seperate tab for each snake, which number 12 at the moment. I would be interested in hearing other techniques. I know some people tape an index card to the enclosure to keep notes on.

Greg

1.0 l. alterna
1.0 l.p. knoblochi
2.2 l.p. pyromelana
3.3 l.m.thayeri

I agree with microsoft excel suggestion. if you have windows you already paid for it, and you might as well make it into the ultimate personal program- as simple or complex as you need it! I have almost 50 animals plus each season's hatchlings, excel gives me plenty of room and the tools to do what I need.
dave b

Yo Dave,
Fantastic Pic!!! What exactly is it????
Pat

that is a female florida "brooksi" kingsnake. i hatched her out in '02. Thanks for the comment, but she did all the work!
dave b

>>I agree with microsoft excel suggestion. if you have windows you already paid for it,
>>
I'm a mac user and on that platform excel is a part of microsoft office, not of the operating system. does MS include excel with windows? (apple's computers do come with apple works, which includes a comparable--perhaps simpler but less powerful--spreadsheet app, so maybe windows does too?
terry

There are specific programs written for snake record keeping but most of the ones I have tried weren't very useful, for me at least.

I use excel. I have approximately 25-30 animals. I have a different file for each year. In each file I have 13 tabs, one for each month plus a yearly totals tab.

Each monthly tab has the days across the top of the page and my snakes in the first column. I print off a sheet each month and keep it on a clipboard in the snake room. That way, if I have anything to record, I simply reach for the board and mark the appropriate box with a set of standard abbreviations that I like. At the end of over month, I change sheets, enter the data from the last month into the computer. I also make notes in my yearly overview sheet (which has one column for each week).

I have a separate file for keeping monthly weights. I weigh snakes at the beginning of each month (or thereabouts, depending on how recently they fed). I have been keeping these data for over 10 years and it gives me the ability to quickly get a graphical look at growth patterns, etc.

Here are an example data sheet (top) and one of the graphs I produced using my weight data for a pair of cb desert sandboas.


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Chris Harrison

niiiiice work!

db

Wow,that's cool!! But I don't think I'm good enough at Excell to figure out how to set up the layout.

I did find a program which I downloaded as a demo last night.I need to see if I like it later today: http://www.eyehit.com/software/herphelper.htm
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Lloyd Heilbrunn

Palm Beach Gardens, Fl.

you don't have to be "good" to use it. all it amounts to is data entry. type in headings ( dates, feed, shed, mate, whatever you want to record) and your animals just like if you were making a chart on a piece of paper, the boxes where you want to record data accept words and numbers. it might take a few minutes to arrange it the way you want but I think its worthwhile.
db

I made a fairly extesive spreadsheet on Excel and printed it on the front and back of heavy stock paper. Each snake has its own record sheet that we keep in a three ring binder. The spreadsheet includes tables with feedings, sheddings, etc, a weight/date table, and a medical/breeding notes section. This works for us. It is a simple hand written solution, but the data could easily be transfered back to the Excel spreadsheet and saved at any time. When I fill up the paper spreadsheet, I will probably just key all the data into Excel to save it permanently anyway... and then I can make cool graphs!

Sounds like the method I was using up until about a month ago. It was'nt working, or rather, I was getting lazy with it and it was causing problems. I figured if it's not working, even if it's just because I'm a lazy-ass, then I'd better change it. Now I'm down to index cards that I can just slip under each enclosure. That way the snake and the records are in the same place. In addition to that I've always kept notes on my plastic containers with a dry-erase marker. The date of the last feed and shed are on there as well as a space to enter a code letter for misc. Ie: "S" when they are in shed, "L" if I'm waiting for eggs, etc. It's all about finding what works. The best method in the world isn't worth a thing if you're too lazy to keep up with it.
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Martin Whalin
My Email

Quotes from guys named Carl:

"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
-Carl Jung

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld

We use a similar method for hatchlings. At any office supply storeyou can find little sticky clear plastic envelope type sleeves... I think they are meant for labling 3-ring binder spines. We have index cards in these on the front of the hatchlings' boxes.

>>Now that I have more than one snake again(), I figure I better start keeping records like in the old days.
>>
>>But I figure now I don't need to do as much long hand: Are there any computer programs, or even predesigned forms which can be printed out and copied and then filled in available?? Thanks in advance.
>>-----

You may elect to transfer notes to a computer periodically, but i think the card-right-on-the-enclosure method is an essential tool, being right where you need info when you need it.

Here's a pic of a typical front of a rack system tray during breeding season:

The card on the left (used year-round) records each feeding record including date and type of food (live? dead? pinky? fuzzy? mouse? rat? scented? by what?); dates the animal goes into shed; shed dates (the green notations); any/every medication, regurg, copulation (the orange notations), egg deposition (is coded yellow), beginning and end of brumation; periodic weights, etc. Not bad for a 4 x 6 card. I've got five year old snakes now on card 18, for example, so they have a pretty effective lifespan (the cards, as well as the snakes!)

The post-it sticker on the right is used during breeding season only. Those post-its identify the female in question; the male she's to breed to (checked & double checked each time she's moved); the date and sperm rating of each copulation; the shed date prior to deposition, and the outcome of laying. I move these cards with the eggs when the eggs are moved to their incubation box: the lay date helps me keep the clutches in sequence and once they hatch, i record the genotype/phenotype/gender outcomes on the post-it as well.

Here's a closeup of an unusual example: In this instance, i bred a female x two different males, making sure i'd know which male was the father due to the phenotype, or appearance, of each youngster. I noted that on the card, so i couldn't get confused later. One of the big advantages of these on-the-cage-cards is that people (ok, me) often think they'll remember something when it happens, but weeks or months later, that crystal clarity has faded or disappeared, buried by 100 other "must recall" incidents that occurred since, some perhaps of very similar nature. As breeders we can't afford a single mistake of that kind, so i've found it useful to write it down.

During breeding season i also keep a log on an excel spreadsheet: it records for ALL females, grouped with the males they'll be bred to, the dates of their first and second sheds, the dates and sperm ratings of all copulations, the date of the post-breeding shed, the date a box is added, the date they lay, the number of eggs, etc. The beauty of a spreadsheet program is that i can then sort, for each male's "harem", by the 2nd shed date, for example: that re-orders the females in the sequence in which they're most likely to be receptive to breeding, the sequence in which they should be offered to the male. This is important because i often breed a male to half a dozen or more females. Later, I can again re-sort the info based on the column showing dates of pre-lay sheds: This tells me when I need to add layboxes, and where. This is all just effective management when your collection grows beyond your ability to retain all this detail in your head.

peace
terry