Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My daughter just got an E. Schrencki Juvenile. He is very active and docile and feeds fine but he seems to deficate too often. In the last week he's gone 4 times... Is this normal?
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Amor et Lux,
Ron

"The gods tolerate the human race for no other reason than our talent for [bleep]. It's the only thing about us that doesn't bore them to tears" Tom Robbins "Villa Incognito"

Ron:
Schrencki have a very rapid metabolism. In fact it is not unusual for a schrencki to defecate within twenty four hours after eating. How often is the snake eating? And just to let you know your daughter's snake is one of my '04 hatchlings (see attached photo of its father). So if you need any specific info on that lineage I can help you out.
Best regards
John

John,
Thanks for easing my mind a bit. He (as of this evening) has eaten twice in 10 days and deficated 4x. I can see the metabolism thing playing into this but it still seems like quite a bit. Also thanks for the pic of the father... He's beautiful. I would love any info you have on the parents (eg. size, locality, temperment, age, etc...) and you can feel free to e-mail me @ lyterius@yahoo.com. Also, how are your Longissima doing (you got yours from Gregg last year right?) My new baby has already calmed down quite a bit and I'm looking forward to watching the subtle changes as he grows. Take care.
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Amor et Lux,
Ron

"The gods tolerate the human race for no other reason than our talent for [bleep]. It's the only thing about us that doesn't bore them to tears" Tom Robbins "Villa Incognito"

As far as the metabolism, Terry brought up temperature and I would agree that you could look at that. I kept my russians with a hot side of 80F and the cool side at room temperature. They don't need high temps. I'd use a deep bed of bedding if the crap is extreme. That soaks up the liquid. Russians aren't as dirty as say indigos but they do metabolise fast.

My breeders came from Split Rock Reptiles (Jim Sargent) in Texas. I believe his stock can't be traced to any locale. They were hatched in 2000. I bred them for the first time in 2003. The father is about five foot and the mother is about 4.5 feet. I have never pushed their feeding and I believe they will still grow a little more. Their temperment is excellent. They don't resent handling at all. Of course it's much easier to handle them as adults. Hatchlings are more skittish and harder to handle because of their tiny size. The only time that handling them is risky is when you have food items (rodents) around. Then I'd be careful. Their feeding response as adults is to be respected.

I'll answer your questions from below too. This year I hatched out twelve russians. With respect to coloration they are similarly patterned but not identical to each other as hatchlings. I did have an aberrant patterned hatchling last year (very light head and disrupted chain pattern) but I'm not sure if it was genetic as that clutch molded up. I don't know exactly how the pattern and color transition from hatchling to adult. I don't think there is just a simple color change at work. The chain pattern of the adult doesn't seem to correspond to the outlines of the juvenile pattern. I didn't notice if the russian you have is the same one as the one I photographed but I'm sure you're right. I'll have to check that out.

As for the parents, the male is much more yellow in coloration than the female. Her stripes are almost all white. His are mostly yellow and her ventral coloration is much less deep yellow than his.

As for the longissima, mine are growing like weeds. They eat like pigs and are thriving. Their coloration is already noticeably different from when I got them (see photo). I have to take some more photos of them. They are very flighty so it's hard to get them to stay still for the camera. Gregg Feaster is really to be congratulated for bringing them into the country for us. He's a great guy to work with. I can't thank him enough for his help with both the longissima and the mandarins he got for me.

Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to know about the russians.
Best regards
John

He's the same one you have posted in the photo section as a hatchling (unless they all have identical markings at this young of an age). BTW, how many were hatched with him? Also, should he keep the same markings over time with just a change in coloration? And Lastly, did both parents have the yellow coloration? Thanks.
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Amor et Lux,
Ron

"The gods tolerate the human race for no other reason than our talent for [bleep]. It's the only thing about us that doesn't bore them to tears" Tom Robbins "Villa Incognito"

I agree, schrencki have very quick metabolism. I think Russians process food faster than any other Asian I've kept. But it depends somewhat on how they are kept too. Possibly you have your temps too high, or low, causing more bm's. They could poop every other day when being fed often. They tend to have quite liquidy bm's too. TC.