How do you keep track??

[PitOnTheProwl]

4x6 index cards.
Like having a hard copy and IF I ever let one go the new owner will get the whole file.

[Jay_Bunny]

I write all records by hand in a journal and maybe once a month I update my iHerp account with the information. I have a little under 30 snakes and so far, its working for me. Not sure what I'll do when I have 100 snakes to keep track of though.

[PitOnTheProwl]

I have a little under 30 snakes and so far, its working for me. Not sure what I'll do when I have 100 snakes to keep track of though.

I forgot that part LOL........... sitting on 27 legless kids right now

[Don]

I use a label maker to put a label with the male's ID above the female's tub (to know who is breeding with who). I record locks on a white board and rotate the male to the female who has the longest gap in locking. I label the female's rack with ovulation date (if I see them) and shed dates. ARS racks have very nice metal bars for the labels. Breeding females get a bigger orange label, non-breeding snakes get a smaller white label. Proven females get a Yellow "P" above their tub.

For feedings, I feed everyone around the same age on the same day. If someone does not eat, I put a small blue dot on their rack. Then I can just look and see where the blue dots are for non-eaters. If a male gets three or four blue dots, I hold him back from breeding until he eats. Once a non-eating snakes eats, I remove the dots.

For hatchlings, I keep a feeding card on a 4 X 6 index card for ones that go up for sale. For hold backs, I use the blue dot method (and keep a feeding card for several months in case I change my mind about selling them). On the back of the card, I draw the pattern of the snake so if they get mixed up, I can figure out which card belongs to which snake.

This system works for me and takes very little time to keep records. I can look at my racks or white boards and see exactly what is happening with every snake with just a glance. I tried doing paper records and computerized records, but spent too much time writing down things, transferring them to a book or computer and then looking back over the records to get a feel for what is going on with particular snakes. My method is very visual and centered where I am when working with my snake colony.

The disadvantage of my method is I cannot tell you that last year, a particular snake had a bad shed. If that is important to you, then my label the rack method may not be the best for you.

Also, for each clutch of eggs, I make a paper record to put in my files (number of eggs, breeding snakes IDs, type of morph, lay date, hatch date, etc.). Those are the only records I keep for more than what I can see on the racks and white boards. I also photograph each snake in my collection, even hatchlings and keep them on my computer.

I would experiment and see what works for you. If you like to keep records and record every defecation, feeding and shed then by all means keep those records. I changed things up and came up with a method that works very well for me.

[PitOnTheProwl]

On the back of the card, I draw the pattern of the snake so if they get mixed up, I can figure out which card belongs to which snake.

Thats not a bad idea but I get double sided cards. I take a couple good pics and load them to my home pc and photobucket. Will see how that works when my girls start dropping eggs

[mechnut450]

I was done several things over the years, mostly i got a paper I print out wit heach snakes name ( on a line ) and set it so it devided by 4 and jusr put a letter in that week for each activity I had to do/they did.
example :
ID week 1 week2

snake n fpsc fpc

Letter were for what they did
feed ( ate)f
poop P
shed s
clean cage c
when I breed I have a index cage that I mark locks and who with who
like
butter with normal n
locks seen on 12/3,12/8, 12/12, type deals . this way when I seprate them the card stay with female so I can remember who is being breed to who.

Right now with all my snakes with mom I no able ot keep record s well cause she 100miles away . but I get phone calls almost daily .( she can't ID the snakes too well like het from normals )

[simpsonke]

Just found out that iherp also has a mobile smart phone friendly site called http://iherp.mobi.
Very nice. I think Im sold.

[Inknsteel]

I use iherp right now to track feedings and refusals. I write them all on the dry-erase board in the snake room and input into iherp after I'm finished feeding everyone, or if I have my iPad with me in the snake room I'll just enter it on there as I go. I'm also trying to breed for the first time this year so I'm tracking my pairings and locks on iherp too.

I think it's about time to try something different though. I work for a computer software company and I started talking to one of my developers about putting something together that will incorporate the camera of my phone, barcode scanner software and either a spreadsheet app or another independent app to do the tracking all from the droid.

[Dave Green]

The more snakes you get the more difficult this becomes. I use stickers that are on the individual tubs. This way I can see what is going on at a glance. I keep track of feedings, breedings, ovulations, etc. I use this while pairing snakes so I can check who's breeding in the am without having to remember or check anything. Works for me...

[RobNJ]

I write feeding(or lack thereof) and shedding as it happens, record and write down weights the first Monday of every month...easy to do as my collection stands at 30ish. Breeding females get an index card on their tub, and any male that goes into their tub gets written on the card. Observed locks are noted with a check mark. Index cards are kept on the females' tubs till eggs hatch.