Not what I hoped to see

[dr del]

Hi,


So I had a feeling I needed to come home a day earlier than planned from my trip.

I got in at 5pm and immediately went to check on all the snakes and especially on my amel corn who had had her pre-lay shed on the 1'st of June.

I did manage to catch her right in the middle of laying her clutch which I had really wanted to see - but the clutch itself wasn't exactly all I had hoped.








I did try and candle them but can only see tiny thin veins in 4 of the clutch and don't think anything is going to come of any of them if I'm honest - I think she knew as well as they were getting fairly battered about by her when she was laying the last couple.

But she does seem to have held better condition than I was expecting and has already eaten a small half grown mouse so if she bounces back well enough I might think about double clutching her.

But that's a decision for another day - should I keep her on smaller meals for a couple of weeks?

She only missed one weeks feeding during all of this and normally eats fairly large full grown mice with relish but I wasn't sure allowing her to go straight back to that was wise.


dr del

[Patrick Long]

wow, Derek, that isnot a good birthday present at all, what a wench she is!

no comment on the food, never done colubrids, but my condolences.

[Rapture]

Hopefully you can get a couple little worms out of those eggs. Better luck next year, don't give up!

[littleindiangirl]

Aw, I would be so disappointed as well. Cheer up mate, always next year! And hopefully she'll throw 20 good fat eggs!

[twh]

if your thinking about double clutching you'll want to feed her heavy for about two weeks then introduce the male.

what's her age,weight etc. ?

slugs are a bummer but it happens to everybody,it's no indication of future clutches.

[Blue Apple Herps]

But that's a decision for another day - should I keep her on smaller meals for a couple of weeks?

I usually give them one or two small mice then go back to feeding regularly. I personally never intentionally double clutch mine, but if you want to, you might want to feed a little more frequently over the next couple of weeks.

As for the eggs, the two in the left box that you have marked look pretty good to me. The other two on the right look questionable, but you never know. The rest are definitely slugs. Sorry that this happened. I know it sucks! Were they both first time breeders?

[AzureN1ght]

Awww! Derek! Hopefully now that your girl's given you a "trial run", she can produce some fantastic little ones for you on the next go 'round.

[LadyOhh]

Derek,

You and I are living in the year of the slugs... I'm sorry, and I feel your pain as to how frustrating those suckers can be.

[joepythons]

I usually give them one or two small mice then go back to feeding regularly. I personally never intentionally double clutch mine, but if you want to, you might want to feed a little more frequently over the next couple of weeks.

As for the eggs, the two in the left box that you have marked look pretty good to me. The other two on the right look questionable, but you never know. The rest are definitely slugs. Sorry that this happened. I know it sucks! Were they both first time breeders?

I second this info .Sorry for the slugs .

[Schlyne]

Bummer. Good luck with the four...maybe they'll surprise us. Hopefully she'll produce some really nice stuff for you next year.