Not what I hoped to see

My regime:-

Small feed post lay, if she will take it.

Bump right back to an appropriate food size when she has her post lay slough.

I do not double clutch a young / 1st time female. If she throws out another smaller clutch herself then I will mark it on her records for future years.

She may not, indeed, accept a male again this year anyway, but, it's your call.

Nope, these gals who have produced slugs this year don't seem to have lost much in the way of body weight.

I know how disappointing it is to receive this news, however, there's always next year.........& the female will be larger & ready to go :)

Lex

Hi,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by twh

what's her age,weight etc. ?

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To be honest I am not quite sure on her age - I have had her for roughly 8 years but before that the boss at the pet store had her for at least 4 years and she was originally handed in to the shop as an unwanted pet.

She is tiny though - four feet and a half maybe? and her post clutch weight was 473g. She is kind of a bucket so I could easily over feed her but she looks quite good on a large mouse every week - would every 5 days be an ok schedule till she fills out again?

She has been bred successfully by the boss at least three times and this will be the second year I have bred her ( I wasn't really that intrested in breeding het amels to be honest so never brumated them until this year).

I know the clutch I got last time had no slugs at all and produced some nice healthy babies so both snakes can reproduce.

But then she might actually be getting too long in the tooth to breed. Do they produce more slugs if they are too elderly?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blueapplepaste

Were they both first time breeders?

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Well the male has only bred twice with me but the first clutch was fine and that was about 4 (or maybe 5) years ago so he shouldn't be ready for holstering the pistol yet I hope? I do know his age because I sold him to the original owner 8 years ago. :gj:


dr del

seeing she's at least 12 years old and on the small side i would not attempt a second clutch myself,so heavy feeding is not advised as it prompts the female for a second clutch.hope this helps.

Hi,

Yes it does thank you. :)

Small meals till she sheds then normal feeding pattern and no :date: it is then. :gj:

Do you think I should avoid breeding her again at her age?


dr del

...well i guess that's a tough call,if she very active and generally healthy next year i would try her again.also her weight gain this year would be a good indicator,if she throws a bunch of slugs next year it's probaly time to retire her.have fun !

4-1/2 feet is not tiny, most of my females are that size or smaller. If she'd been eating right up to egg laying she's probably ready to go again. I'd double clutch her if you want any babies from her this year. Shouldn't cause any harm.

Cup is half full.......................some eggs look good, maybe they'll go full term! Good luck! Let us know how everything turns out!

She doesn't sound tiny at all. I don't think at 12 years she's too old to be bred. If she's healthy, active, rapidly puts weight back on then I bet she's fine. You may have just had some bum luck this year. And a mouse every 5 days is aggressive, but not overly so, especially after laying eggs. Once she's back up to pre lay weight, I'd go back to normal feedings though.

Bummer about the slugs, Derek. :( She sure is a pretty girl. =)

maybe the male did'nt get his job done. Mine double clutch every year,first clutch is ready to hatch this week & they just shed & are ready to drop the second clutch! mine double clutch no matter what made sure my male went back with them after the first couble of feedings,last year no male & got slugs in the second clutch.