The Dams and Sires of Spring

Captive care and husbandry.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
Kelly Mc
Posts: 4529
Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kelly Mc »

Breeders.. Do what you will with this post!

Stories, descriptions, plans and Portraits, desired to enjoy..!
User avatar
Kelly Mc
Posts: 4529
Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kelly Mc »

Come on people! Lets see some snakes.

This includes Ball Python people! As time goes on I am less judgy about other peoples interest in morphs. If someone has passion Its the Best.

Some of them are super pretty - knock out really.

Locality Garters, Boas, Pits, lets see em

And Vens lets not forget the Vens.
User avatar
chris_mcmartin
Posts: 2447
Joined: June 9th, 2010, 12:13 am
Location: Greater Houston TX Area
Contact:

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by chris_mcmartin »

I was lucky enough to collect a pair of New Mexico Milksnakes (Lampropeltis triangulum celaenops) within a couple of hours and couple of miles of each other near Marathon, TX in July 2016. It's been a goal of mine to get them to breed. Up to this point, they've shown no interest in each other when put together each spring. However, the male is finally longer/heavier than the female, so maybe he was just waiting to mature a little more. They haven't yet eaten since I've brought them out of the fridge a few weeks ago; will get them fed and then put them together and see what happens.
User avatar
Kelly Mc
Posts: 4529
Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kelly Mc »

That sounds cool, hope it happens this Spring.

I often wonder if people on here arrange for breeding loans, amongst friends, Ive seen a couple mentions.

It would be cool too, to follow the keeping and breeding journey of FHFs members in documenting our stats and experiences. The full bodied round table vibe is not really available anywhere else, in this nice of a format
Kfen
Posts: 413
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 5:51 am
Location: CT

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kfen »

This was going to be a longer post but I just spent an hour trying to figure out how to resize images on my new phone. I can't. So I then read lots of reviews and downloaded two different photo editing apps. Anyway, I am excited about this possibility:
IMG_20190318_202721700~2-02.jpeg
I've had these snakes for about a year and a half. I did put them together last spring but didn't do anything to try and cycle them, and I had just moved them into the cages shown. They now have had a year to acclimate to the cages and I also kept them drier and fed them very sparingly over the winter. I saw the male chasing the female around which is more than I saw last year. If you notice on the right side there is a "door" that connects the two sides. They are normally kept fully separate. I made it that way so that I could introduce them without totally removing either snake from it's comfort zone. Fingers crossed...
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
Kelly Mc
Posts: 4529
Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kelly Mc »

Thank you Kfen, beautiful Spilotes pair, I love how you treat them.

I think its hilarious how the black hides, who are really nice in every way except how tough the lable is to get off, look exactly like ones ive had.
User avatar
Kelly Mc
Posts: 4529
Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kelly Mc »

Love the door modality what a cool way to do things
User avatar
BillMcGighan
Posts: 2362
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by BillMcGighan »

That's great Kevin.
Your cage looks much more natural than mine that have only a suggestion of habitat!
Kfen
Posts: 413
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 5:51 am
Location: CT

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kfen »

Kelly Mc wrote: March 20th, 2019, 11:16 am Thank you Kfen, beautiful Spilotes pair, I love how you treat them.

I think its hilarious how the black hides, who are really nice in every way except how tough the lable is to get off, look exactly like ones ive had.
Thanks. The picture makes the cage look bigger than it is. Its 3' x2' x 3', and I think its too small for this species. I feel better when the two sides are open and they have 6' to move around in but that is only for a few days at a time. I wouldn't mind keeping them together longer but the female wont eat from tongs. I would like to incorporate some live plants into it, and also put in an elevated hide, both of which I think would make them feel more comfortable.

I gave up on that label long ago! And I swear I wash it.

Bill, do you keep Spilotes as well? Any luck breeding?


Here are a few more pairings. Kelly, you only said snakes, but Im going rogue. The first wasn't intentional, at least not that day. I had just put these spengleri into a new enclosure and quickly realized the dividers weren't tall enough. Not only did that male jump that divider to get to the female pictured, he jumped back over into his section, and then over the other side to breed with another girl all within a few hours. This was two days after they woke up from their winter nap.
IMG_20190307_164043140-01.jpeg
I have some other spengleri that are much smaller, so I didn't bother to raise their dividers thinking I was safe. Well today that male decided love was in the air and some stupid pvc divider wasn't going to stop him either.
IMG_20190321_124422222-01.jpeg
Back to some snakes. Put my frenata together today and they got right to it. Here are two different pairs. No I do not have some weird aberrant partial striped individual. Thats sharpie so I can tell them apart when I separate them. They are getting enclosure upgrades also in a few days.
IMG_20190321_135524339-01.jpeg
IMG_20190321_141022124-01.jpeg
Kelly, you mentioned breeding loans. Not sure if you were talking about amongst fhf people or in general. I am involved with a few (but not with any fhf members). That second pair of spengleri is not mine. I was having some better success with spengleri than a friend of mine, so he decided to loan me his trio to try and get some babies from them. I get to keep half the babies if we get any.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
BillMcGighan
Posts: 2362
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by BillMcGighan »

Bill, do you keep Spilotes as well? Any luck breeding?
Sorry, No.
I've caught a few in the field, kept a male, but never kept a pair. If I had, I would have guessed your arrangement would be the thing to do.



Those black-breasted leaf turtles are truely amazing. I've seen them only once before in a market in DaNang in 1968, which must have been close to the extreme southern edge of their range.
Kfen
Posts: 413
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 5:51 am
Location: CT

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kfen »

BillMcGighan wrote: March 22nd, 2019, 4:32 am
Bill, do you keep Spilotes as well? Any luck breeding?
Sorry, No.
I've caught a few in the field, kept a male, but never kept a pair. If I had, I would have guessed your arrangement would be the thing to do.

Those black-breasted leaf turtles are truely amazing. I've seen them only once before in a market in DaNang in 1968, which must have been close to the extreme southern edge of their range.
Ive been in their range a few times looking, but unfortunately never found any wild Spilotes. That must have been a fun snake to catch. Had I seen them in the wild though, I may not want to keep them. That mindset has happened before for me.

Spengleri have to be one of the best "pet" turtles. They stay very small, sometimes comically so, and are quite happy in a broad easily managable temperature range which is room temp for the majority of the US. The trick is starting with healthy animals, like not getting them from markets like you saw. That too must have been quite an experience. Im sure you saw quite a few species that are rare now. I will never forget seeing a talk by Bill McCord in the late 90's when he broke the news of the "Asian Turtle Crisis" after photoing and filming the Chinese markets. Some of those photos are forever etched in my mind.
User avatar
BillMcGighan
Posts: 2362
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by BillMcGighan »

The trick is starting with healthy animals, like not getting them from markets like you saw. That too must have been quite an experience. Im sure you saw quite a few species that are rare now.
I understand. I've been to those types of markets in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Peoples Republic of China and the first thing that hits you is the sight of hundreds of turtles piled in screen cages, dozens of Radiated Ratsnakes in various states of disrepair, maybe an ematiated retic or Burmese python. It's disgusting, though many Miami wholesalers in the US in the '60s were as bad or worse. :x
Kfen
Posts: 413
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 5:51 am
Location: CT

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kfen »

Bill, do you have pictures of any of those markets?
User avatar
BillMcGighan
Posts: 2362
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by BillMcGighan »

Kevin, This is such an upbeat topic that I'll answer in a separate thread as to not be a Debbie Downer:

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=25500
User avatar
Kelly Mc
Posts: 4529
Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: The Dams and Sires of Spring

Post by Kelly Mc »

I'm cheered by little randy turtles and Green Snakes, of any species, are so spectacular.
Post Reply