RE: original question-- I wonder if it's hormones that are causing the color change?
08-08-2019, 09:44 PM
John1982
Re: Color Change BHP
Quote:
Originally Posted by dr del
They look adorable. :D
Sorry you lost a couple though - is there any info on cutting BHP eggs and the results?
It's a species I know very little about but the little I have read makes them sound facinating. :)
They're kind of notorious for failing to hatch or spontaneously dying off during incubation. So much that it feels like there might be some missing key component or parameter that isn't dialed in just right yet in a captive setting. It's hard to imagine them being this bad at hatching in the wild. I set up multiple tubs so I could mess around with stuff to hopefully see what'd work best for me. Even the ones I had set up with 0 moisture added(bone dry perlite and sphagnum) released plenty of moisture on their own to fog up the lid where I'd have to pop the top and wipe condensation before it started to drip - water contact on eggs is largely accepted to kill quickly with this species. I did end up adding water for the dry batch after they started dimpling too much for my comfort about halfway through incubation. I think that having to open the container to wipe the lid was the culprit here since there wasn't a separate source of moisture to bump humidity back up once closed again. I have a feeling I'm closer to my goal of hands off incubation with the bone dry ones if I can only figure out a way to prevent me having to open the tubs so much. Maybe a sloping sheet of plastic over the eggs so water will bead down to the side instead of risking the drip would do the trick? Then again, maybe the air exchange of daily egg box opening is a boon. I was popping tops daily from pretty much the first week. That will be something I mess around with the next go around. As for cutting, I think it's pretty much the norm for this species. I personally will continue waiting until I notice the first pips to cut the rest. I might have been able to save the the ones that drowned if I cut a day earlier but I'd rather lose one or two and be on time with the rest than cut early and fret over that the remainder of incubation. Even the ones that had pipped and poked their heads out didn't make large enough slits and were basically stuck until I widened the hole a bit.
08-08-2019, 09:45 PM
John1982
Re: Color Change BHP
Quote:
Originally Posted by FollowTheSun
RE: original question-- I wonder if it's hormones that are causing the color change?
Could very well be hormones. I don't think I've ever seen a color changer that revealed itself before getting into puberty/maturity size.
08-08-2019, 09:51 PM
John1982
All 6 remaining snakes out as of today. I honestly couldn't be happier with these animals. Probably the best part of this whole experience is being able to tell myself, "I'll take the lot", without having to worry about the budget, haha.
