Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wanted to share photos of some of the thayeri I produce this past summer. 2004 was a great breeding season and hopefully 2005 will be more of the same.

There was a pic posted by RD Bartlett way down the page and someone had asked who produced it...ME. I'll post the pic of the same snake at the time I sold it to him and you see if you can pick it out from the group.

I love everyone's thayeri pics and I'm extremely jealous of those killer San Luis Potosis that have recently been posted (Chris I think??).

Later,
Russ Bates
- Coils -
Captive bred Colubrids

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how do I delete old post so that I can replace the pics in newer threads??

It gives me an error that says "duplicate post" not permitted. I've probably posted that photo earlier in the summer and the forums still remember it

Oh well
Russ

Hi Russ

Nice thayeri you posted!

Weird, I've posted the same pic a few times on this forum recently and had no problems. I wonder if the error message means your image NAME is a duplicate of someone elses image name. Try naming the image something else. Good luck. Bill

Bill,
I figured out what my problem was.........my internet connection is too fast Evidentally my cable internet is out performing Kingsnakes servers and it sees the follow on post as a duplicate. I've found that if I just hit refresh a time or two it will post.

Russ

I like the color on this one. I like the way the ground color changes down the body toward the tail. Cool snake.
John Lassiter

Those are just Awesome Russ!
I have seen some of yours up for sale on the classifieds. What line are you breeding or is it some unknown line that throws nice babies? There are lots of those out there. I got some myself. I have never seen an ugly Thayeri. And I think all thayeri no matter how ordinary someone thinks it is, can produce awesome offspring.

As for your picture posting problem, I dunno. I have posted the same pics numerous times in the past.

Here is one I posted not too long ago.
John Lassiter

Thanks man. Really I'd have to say they are a "no name brand" line of thayeri but produce really good looking babies. I would love to keep them all but I just don't have the space. The ones I kept back from 2002 are ready to go this year but will get another year since my active breeding females will produce more than enough eggs for me to handle. In 2002 I produce 26 eggs from one female and in 2003/4 I produced at least 40-60 more. I have a buddy on the west coast and he loaned out some of his girls since I seem to have a better success rate with them. I usually ship him a clutch or two and keep the rest.

My original female came from San Diego reptile breeders and my founding male came from my buddy in San Diego. Our goal in breeding thayeri was to shoot for the super clean yellow line. So far I've had pretty good success in getting a hihg count of really clean yellow snakes.

Love the mex mex.
Russ

I know what you mean about wanting to keep them all. Out of my first clutches in 2002 I kept 4.8 initially but have slimmed that down to 1.3. I hatched about 40 that year. In 2003 I hatched out 47 from 4 clutches and kept 1.3 again. Last year was not a good year. I only hatched out one clutch and sold all but 0.1.
I have sold some of my breeders that were old and close to retirement. I got my first breeders from Kims' Colubrids, coincidentally some of them were from San Diego breeders and the others were from Tim at Vivid. I have yet to produce that elusive yellow thayeri, but have high hopes for this year.
My 2002 holdbacks could have bred this year but I also decided to give them another year to mature and grow. Next year will be my best. I am breeding 2.3 Thayeri this year and a pair of mexmex along with numerous getula, elaphe and alterna pairings.
You gotta keep us posted on how you do this year. Your thayeri have a clean cream look to them. Great job you did with them.
John Lassiter

Here is a clutch pic from 2003:

Here is a very anticipated pairing of my Orange Vivid milksnake phase Thayeri. This pic was taken on Thanksgiving Day right before they went into brumation. Today all my colubrids were removed from the cold and will be warmed all the way up this coming weekend, then the feeding and breeding shall begin, I hope. LOL
John Lassiter

I purchase a thayeri in November 2004. I took a gamble and bought it from this guy off of kingsnake. It looks very pretty, similar to the ones you are pairing, but it won't eat F/T. I even asked the guy if it would eat F/T before I bought it and of course he said it would/does. Man some people will do anything for a buck. I'm glad and fortunate that I have a well paying job/career ....it must suck to lie to people to make a sale. The guy was an amature and I gambled and lost.

I'm going to put the snake out to breed loan to my buddy with a live food source. Hopefully he'll get it eating consistently.

That's another thing I can boast about my thayeri collection...never had a problem feeder.

Later,
Russ

That is amazing that you never had a hatchling thayeri refuse food. Must be nice. LOL
Do you hibernate your hatchlings or start feeding as soon as they shed? There is a thread that was started about feeding traits being genetic or not. I wonder if they are, but I have a few nonfeeders from all my colubrids (brooksi, alterna, californiae, splendida, meahllmorum and mexicana mexicana).
John Lassiter

After they hatch, I wait for the first shed and then offer a 1/2 of a f/t pink. 99% of the time they eat the first time offered. I believe this is because of the pink juices and the strong scent of brain fluid...it really motivates them to eat. I usually feed all hatchlings regardless of type of snake 1/2 pinks until they are firmly established both feeding and girth. I hate dealing with regurges and this is my way of dealing with that issue and stretching out my rodents too.

I guess you could consider it a method of braining. it works for me so I stick with it and I feed my thayeri hatchlings year around. In fact the few I have left from last summer (1.1) and (1.1) hold backs )have been eating every five days without problems and always have very strong feeding response. So much so, I've been struck at and bit by a couple of them

If you decide to try this method, I'd be curious to know what your results are.

thanks,
Russ

Russ,
Out of 47 hatchling thayeri I had everyone of them eventually ate. I have never split pinkies but I have no problem getting them going with brained pinkies. I am having one stubborn '04 thayeri as of now. She has eaten two tease fed pinkies but other than that no brained or live pinkies. I have scented with Med. Geckos with no luck, but she will eat the lizard itself no problem. I think I will split a pink next feeding. Split meaning lengthwise on the the mouse, right?
Thanks Russ and nice Thayeri.
John Lassiter

I cut in half so that one animal eats head and shoulders and the other eats belly and butt It works great.

Oh, I have done that too. I thought when you said when splitting a pinkie the brain matter was exposed, that confused me a bit.
Thanks again Russ,
John Lassiter

Thanks for sharing Russ. Great looking snakes there.

Here is a 2004 female I picked up from you at the Philly show. She is eating well and growing like a weed.

I really like the color and contrast of this snake. She has a great wishbone head pattern as well. Sorry for the blurry pic.

Do you keep photo records of the thayeri you breed? I would love to see pictures of the parents of this one.

Enjoy,
Tom Anderson

Like I said clean and creamy. I like them. Good looking snakes.
John Lassiter

I live in Florida. Did you buy it second hand? I did ship quite a few thayeri out this summer but don't remember sending any to Philly.

Russ

Russ,

If you weren't at the North American Reptile Breeders Conference in Philly last Nov, then I must be mistaken. Unless the guy was selling some of your thayeri second-hand and using your name.

Sorry for the mistake.
Now I am REALLY curious...

Tom Anderson

Great babies Russ....thanks for showing them........chris bodner

Russ and everyone incredible thayeri pics. It's rare at a show I even see nice mexicana ssp. as what presented in the forum. Good luck to all on this years breeding,
Uncloudy

just more thayeri pics. some you've probably already seen.

Russ

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I like this one Russ. What do the parents of this one look like?
Did you hatch any more that have the absence of saddles on the dorsum or was this the only one?
Great looking Thayeri Russ,
John Lassiter

Slidell, LA to be exact. I still have is contact information if you want it. He's a really great guy and he produces some interesting thayeri....quite an extensive collection too. His last name is Allen and I believe he is from New Orleans.

Russ

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have you had enough yet

I remember seeing that one for sale last year.
Nice Russ,
John Lassiter