Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was asked for typical egg weight for couperi eggs by one of the field research folks in GA.

That is one stat I never really paid much attention to.
Anyone have any data?

Thanks!
Dean

Or should be.

Hi Dean, how are you doing? I'm going to hold off on breeding my easterns one more year but am looking forward to seeing what I can do with the Texans you sold me.

They are doing great, by the way. I can't thank you enough times, so thanks!

Those erebennus always bred EARLY, like earlier than any of my other Drys. They bred a lot, and then the male lost interest.

If you have not started cycling them, START NOW

Adjust daylight hours to about 10 day 14 night, and cool them to about 60-65F at night if you can. I take them as low as 55 at night as long as they are warmed back up during the day. They will continue to feed. Feed smaller meals less often, but they have never had a problem digesting food...even with the cool nights.

If you do that for a couple weeks...they will breed like crazy if you start introducing them in early November. The male has never tried to make a meal of her...and always seems to know just what to do with her. But of course be careful.

I'm cooling my couperi now...I will be breeding just 2 girls this year, one is the solid black female that I think you saw, she's close to 7' now, the other is a first-time breeder, 3.5 year old...very very RED phase. I have 3 males to work them over!

....about cycling errebenus gives rise to a heap of questions about Easterns!
Is it OK to go so low at night with couperi as well? Furthermore, how large is your 3.5 year old first time breeder female, Mr Alessandri? What is more important, size or age for successful breeding?

Thanks
Mark

n/p

I cycle couperi and erebennus identically with good success. Yes, absolutely eastern indigos can take the nightime drops to mid-50's in the fall / winter as long as they can warm back up during the day. I beleive that the day / night light cycling and the temperature cycling in the fall / winter is key to successful
breeding. SUCCESSFUL breeding...not just mating, that is!

And yes, the 3.5 year old female, this is her first breeding.
I do not breed them younger than that. Size is really more important than age in my opinion, but you rarely see a female that is large enough that is younger than that. They take their time reaching maturity. I look for a female to be AT LEAST 66" with very nice girth before considering breeding her.

See more in my article from Reptiles mag...look at part II here:

http://www.indigosnakes.com/Greatest am serp. 8.7.01.htm

N/P

Thanks for the reply and link to your article. My first pair of couperi are from 2004, so I'm a couple of years away from any breeding trials - but it's nice to be prepared!

PS "Alessandrini" is that an Italian name? Just idle curiosity!

Mark

Yes, Alessandrini is an Italian name.
Both of my gradparents were actually born near Rome.

"Alessandrini" is actually the Italian form of "Alexander" as in "Leader of men"

Of course, the suffix "ini" means "little".
So...Alessandrini would actually mean

"little ruler of men" or, even worse maybe...

"Ruler of little men"

Hi!
Could you tell me how big is your 3.5 year old girl and what's the recommended size most guy use to breed females?
Thank's

I recorded egg weights several years ago and I recall 35 grams being the average for my D. couperi clutches at the time they were deposited into the nest box. I continued weighing them throughout incubation and recall most weighed close to, or just over, 50 grams approximately one week prior to hatching.
I will go back through my notes, as I measured and weighed each egg on a weekly basis and recall most of them not only gaining a great deal of weight, but incurring a 50 – 75 percent increase in size as well, during the course of incubation…

Best regards,

Jeff
-----
Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947

np