New crestie questions

[rawsunset]

If I were to buy two young cresties and was unsure of their sex, but when they got older, one was a male and one a female, will I have to separate them? I'm not planning to have crestie eggs! :wink: Also, if I were to house the young ones in a sterilite bin, would it get too humid in there? What would be good dimensions for the tank to keep 2 young cresties? Thanks!

[mlededee]

first of all take a look at this care sheet: http://www.ball-pythons.net/Sections...11-page-1.html

second of all, if you do get a pair that turn out to be male and female you will have to separate them to avoid them possibly breeding. it might be worth it for you to purchase two cresties that have already been sexed even though it may mean they are more expensive than unsexed. it would save you money in the long run anyhow, as far as getting a second enclosure or having to care for and feed a bunch of babies.

[led4urhead]

Marla's caresheet is the most complete and best i've seen. I'd definitely give it a look through. She goes over caging, and has a great idea for some custom crestie caging.

[rawsunset]

oh ha ha. I was poring over that caresheet today. I guess it completely slipped my mind that she suggested the use of the rubbermaid bins. thanks

I think I'm going to go to a reptile show next week. Would a breeder have a good idea what sex they are even if they are young? (I don't know if the temperature-sex thing applies to the cresties)

[kavmon]

you can't really be accurate with sexing cresteds until around 6 months of age!

thanks
vaughn

[Marla]

The temperature thing does not seem to apply to cresties as far as can be determined so far. The gender ratio for crestie hatchlings seems to stay about 3 females to 2 males, or 60% female hatchlings for large populations. That gives you slightly better than even odds of getting females if you buy them too small for sexing. If you wait, your odds of getting males go up tremendously because breeders hold on to females more. Some breeders have pretty good ability to look at the preanal pores with a jeweler's loupe and determine sex before the "cresticles" develop, but in general most wait for the bulge.

[Marla]

Oh, and if you use Rubbermaid or Sterilite housing, be sure to provide good ventilation by replacing half or more of the lid or most of one side with galvanized or plastic mesh. Otherwise it becomes stale in there pretty quickly. Welcome to the site, by the way!

[rawsunset]

great! thanks a lot everyone!