Horrible Odds!

[Toptech347]

So my clutch from pairing a firefly x spider hatched out recently She had 7 eggs, only 5 were fertile. Out come was 0.2 spiders, 1.1 pastels, and 1.0 normal. Out of the 5 eggs none displayed the fire gene and I missed on a bunch of 2 gene combos and a 3 gene combo. The female was only paired with the firefly so its not possible another snake is the father. Feeling pretty bummed about the outcome but at least all are healthy. I'd like to hear other stories of people missing on the odds to potentially make me feel better! lol

No post is complete without pictures.

Father


Mother


Eggs, 2 were infertile


Hatchlings

[serpenttongues]

A little Fire action might show up after a few sheds. That pastel looks rather bright


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[Tsanford]

The one on the bottom left is very bright, with a very light colored head. I think you may even have a fire fly there..

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[Toptech347]

I sure hope so, here is one of the pastels. She is looking a bit on the lighter side but I don't think I'm seeing firefly.

[EasiGregory]

I agree with serpenttongues, don't give up just yet. Both the pastel and the spider in the front look pretty bright. Give it a few sheds and you should be able to tell if they get brighter and cleaner. Despite all of that congratulations on a successful clutch of healthy beautiful animals .

Greg

[EasiGregory]

I sure hope so, here is one of the pastels. She is looking a bit on the lighter side but I don't think I'm seeing firefly.

That is a really bright pastel. Lines are clean and the color is very yellow along with a really blushed out head. Almost resembles a super...id venture to bet you have a firefly.

Greg

[Toptech347]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I am planning on holding onto all of them for a few more sheds and I will update this thread with new pictures as they progress.

[rlditmars]

If you want a bad odds story to make you feel better, here you go. Out of a 9 egg clutch from a YB to normal pairing, we had 8 hatch. The one that didn't pip was a YB that died in the egg with a twisted umbilicus. Of the 8 that did hatch there was 1 YB and 7 normal. All of the normal hatchlings were female and the one YB was male of course. 5 of the 8 required assist feeding, many 6 to 8 times before they would take food on their own. They hatched on August 28th and we finally sold the last one in late February.

For all of those people who just want to try breeding to see what it is like or because they think they can make some money, let this be a cautionary tale. Putting two snakes together and getting them to lock, and having a female lay eggs is easy. The rest requires a lot of patience, time, and money. It can be frustrating, heartbreaking, and there is no guarantee of even a modest return. Today, most two gene animals can be purchased for far less than it would cost to buy two single gene animals, raise them up, and breed them. Hope that helps.

[Toptech347]

Wow, those are pretty crummy odds. Sorry to hear that. I feel this happens a lot more often the we think, I guess most just don't share when it happens.