UK hobby breeder of Western Hognose snakes, passionate about high welfare and responsible keeping.
(3)
The arctic/arctic clutch are all looking amazing, no sign of a second clutch coming from this girl but I'm more than happy with that as this was her first clutch. Both arctics are het snow so there's a lot of possibilities and I'm so excited to see what pops out!
NME has just 4 eggs left from her first clutch, the second clutch was 14 eggs but again she had a number of early losses, I'm happy to see the remaining 9 are all doing well.
Egg update - Beans has produced a second clutch, it amazes me how different two clutches of eggs from the same snake can look!
I'm trying out a more natural anti-fungal treatment for the eggs this year, I have two clutches with an egg or two that's developing well but starting to show some mould, so I've introduced springtails into those incubation tubs and we'll see if they manage to keep it under control - the initial signs are good!
This absolute unit of a snake is NME, she was a new arrival last year and unfortunately had a clutch of all slugs, This year she's given a beautiful clutch of 24, with just one slug - she's het snow and has been paired with Twelve, a gorgeous albino het axanthic. π€π¨οΈ
*Update* while all the eggs looked good, I've candled them now and almost all have not survived, she did wait 10 days after her pre-lay shed so I'm thinking they may have suffocated before being laid :( 5 remain with 2 still being quite iffy...
Good news/bad news/good news/bad news today!
Good news - I was up in the early hours of the morning and on a quick check I noticed Xanthi had started laying. I checked back at a more reasonable hour and she had 20 good eggs and 3 slugs laid. Bad news - she has a few palpable eggs still high in her oviduct, I'm hoping she can muster the strength to pass them - she had difficulties last year so I'm a little bit concerned about her. I've pulled out the good eggs and left her be.
Good news, Biscuit has just popped out her first 3 eggs and they're good! Both these clutches are ones I'm really looking forward to so I'm thrilled they're both looking so positive!
Bad news - Elsa, who I was getting worried about since her pre-lay was on 9/May is such a chunky snake I hadn't noticed her slight trimmer figure and she buried her clutch of tiny slugs so well I didn't see them or notice the weight difference when checking the lay box π I'm guessing they were laid a few days ago, not long enough to start to smell anyway. π
It looks like I missed the reintroduction window for a second pairing, I gave it a quick try but she wasn't at all receptive.
Another bust, this time from Rhonda, she's produced a massive clutch of 24 eggs, but sadly none fertile - the two males she was paired with were first time boys and one was only a year old. I've re-paired her with Billy, since he's fathered a lovely looking clutch with Beans, hopefully a second clutch with Rhonda will be on the cards π€π€
Three more clutches are due over the next few days with at least one showing huge girth that I'm certain are going to be good eggs (provided she manages to squeeze them out - I'm keeping a close eye on her for any signs that she's struggling.)
This arctic het snow (imaginatively named 'Arctic') has been paired to Ernie who has the same genetics - I'm excited for the huge possibilities for this pairing, super arctic snow, yes please! π
I worked out the probability of that outcome and it is pretty miniscule - 3% π a guy can dream though!
I love the colours and patterns on this snake - this is Biscuit, possibly het toffeebelly and sable. The male I was hoping to pair her with has been a little stubborn with feeding and just isn't ready for this season, but I have a different male with a similar look to the pattern and colour so it'll be interesting to see the results. Rooibos is a redline conda possibly het sable so there's a small chance for some sable babies from this pairing too.
Rhonda (conda, het toffeeglow) was paired with Billy last year but didn't produce any eggs - they're both quite reactive snakes and no locks were observed, I have a feeling they were just not compatible.
This season she has been paired with two much more chilled males, Morse (conda possibly het toffeebelly) who has a distinctive broken stripe down his back, and Murray (toffeebelly het albino).
The pair that started it all!
This is Xanthi (ID 0.1) and Pumbaa (ID 1.0)
Even though Xanthi was specifically purchased to be partnered with Pumbaa, this is the first time it's actually happening π
In previous years I had more need to prove out other snakes so they both ended up paired off to a possible het. This year they've finally fulfilled their destiny!
The axanthic gene features heavily in my future projects and this year I have four pairings that have a chance of producing axanthic, two het-het, one visual-het, and this visual-visual, with the chance of snow if Xanthi proves out her albino het π©Άπ€
Beans has pre-empted her pairing announcement and surprised me with a clutch of eggs today! It shouldn't have really been a surprise since she shed on the 30th April, but I'd somehow forgotten that and thought she was in blue, so I checked to see if she shed and found a clutch of eggs in the process of being laid! π
Beans was paired with Billy this year, a conda het toffeeglow (not proven) so I'm hoping his genetics will be accurate and we'll get some albino, toffeebelly and toffeeglow +/- conda.
Billy was paired with Rhonda last year but with no success, this year they both had different pairings and both look very positive. I guess they just weren't compatible with each other (probably for the best, they're both VERY spicy π
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After such a disappointing first clutch I'm really happy to see so many good looking eggs in the lay box!
I'll update with a count once she's done π§‘
*Update* The final count is 24 eggs, all good! She's had a meal with added vitamin dusting and is having a well deserved rest *phew*
Elsa is a stunning hognose, this will be her first season breeding and I'm so excited to see her progeny and how many show a similar patterning. She is possibly het permafrost (sable, caramel, hypo) and has been paired with Olaf and Frosty.
Olaf is also possibly het permafrost, whereas Frosty is visual frosted (caramel and hypo) the possible het to possible het is definitely a gamble, with the chance that I'll have no greater understanding of their genetics if all the babies are normals and only a very minute chance of hitting the full combo of permafrost - but the genetic lottery was just too hard to resist!
The more sensible pairing is with Frosty, since that will prove her caramel and hypo genes, meaning next season she could be paired with Olaf with a little more certainty about the outcomes, or a different male could be selected if neither gene proved out.
One singular good egg...
Poor Locke is exhausted and may still have a couple of slugs/eggs to go. I've taken out the good egg and left her in peace for now, I'll be checking back in with her tomorrow along with a lovely vitamin dusted mouse to help her regain some strength, she was in really good shape for this season so I'll pair her again with the toffeebelly and see if we can get a better result second time around...
Su had a dud year last year, she was paired with Soup and had observed locks but produced all slugs.
She has been paired with Soup again this year but also with a backup male, Kalma.
I really hope Soup isn't the issue, he's a stunning albino superconda. Su is a redline superconda het albino, Kalma is an axanthic het albino. If the first pairing succeeds then the clutch will be all superconda with 50% being albino, if the second pairing succeeds the clutch will be all conda with 50% albino.
The first eggs of the season are just a few days away, Locke had her pre-lay shed on the 25th April - she was paired with 2 different males so I'm hoping this early shed points to the first pairing being successful.
Locke is het sable, possibly het toffeebelly. Her first pairing was with Teramo, a virgin redline albino het sable from Twins Herps, the backup male was Toffee, a proven toffeebelly with no known hets.
I'll be happy with either outcome, more sable babies would be lovely, but I'm keen to prove out her toffeebelly genes to find out if I have the potential of Mai-Tai babies next season!
(Photo of Locke from her post brumation weigh in, she's tucked away in her lay box currently)
Three pairings showing early signs of success, Pumbaa and Xanthi (axanthic conda het snow + axanthic het snow) Ernie and Arctic (arctic het snow + same) and Toffee and Locke (toffeebelly + normal pos het mai Tai)
I split the babies into 3 groups last season for a small experiment, some didn't brumate at all, some had a small brumation for 4 weeks, and some a long brumation for 4 months - these are some of the longer brumation babies, there's quite a few keepers in this group!
The axanthic that has a minor congenital defect is putting on weight nicely and learning how to get around despite having an area just a few cm from his head where there's muscular, possibly skeletal and pigment differences. I was a little worried initially when he hatched that there would be internal issues that could affect his viability but I think we're well past the point at which they would show up so it looks like he's here to stay - I best get thinking about names!
There's so much variety in the 'normal' colour - some of these girls are redline and some have the pattern altering conda/superconda gene but all are classed as normal colouration.
I was recently asked if I had a normal adult female for someone who had a large vivarium in need of a new hognose occupant, I tried really hard to find one of these girls who I could part with but ultimately failed - they all stay! π
I love the axanthic morph, this little baby is a gorgeous example.
I love finding out the names that are given to the snakes I sell, continuing the toffeebelly theme this little one has just set off for her new home with the name 'pikachu'
It must be the post Xmas sweet cravings that has everyone after the toffeebellys! Another little guy reserved today - also heading off to her new home is the chonky female from the het sable clutch who decided that a new home = new outfit π
This little toffeebelly female has just been reserved, and already named! Meet Olivia who will be off to meet her new owner next month π€
The latest hoggy to go to his new home - a shy little toffeebelly boy π€
A few of the normal males from this year's clutches
Three babies going down to the brumation cupboard with the adults. I'm doing an experiment this year with any youngsters that go off food for the season with some doing a short 2-4 week brumation and others doing a longer brumation to see if that has any bearing on their return to feeding.
A few of the pretty condas produced this year, most of the adult snakes and some of the babies are in brumation now - focus is turning to cleaning, sanitising and storing all the enclosures, equipment and hides. Once the chaos subsides I'll share a few more planned pairings for next year.
Walkden
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I'm trying out a more natural anti-fungal treatment for the eggs this year, I have two clutches with an egg or two that's developing well but starting to show some mould, so I've introduced springtails into those incubation tubs and we'll see if they manage to keep it under control - the initial signs are good!
Erm... Excuse me boys, I put you together for brumation not fun! I might need to confirm the gender of the larger of these two since 'his' partner this year didn't produce any eggs... Maybe there was a reason! Or maybe these boys just like to play the mating game with each other too...
So ready to come into the world, you can do it little noodle!! I believe in you!!
Hydrotherapy for Xanthi today since she's got at least 2 eggs still inside. Hopefully this bit of movement will get things moving in the right direction again - if no joy tonight then my next option is going to be a nice meal with a dusting of calcium.π€π€
I was wrong with my predictions yesterday, Hissy Bitch is the next to lay her clutch! She's not quite done yet so I'll check back later to see how she's getting on, they look amazing at the moment though! π₯°
Hilary's first pairing didn't seem to go so well, so Pumbaa is being given an opportunity, he doesn't seem quite sure about coming face to face with a big girl, but hopefully he'll figure it out!
The season begins! Axanthic het toffee and poss albino female X Conda het toffee, albino and axanthic. Some amazing possibilities here - a last minute switch up from an Axanthic conda het albino male after I realised that Xanthi had a possibility of both albino and toffee it was the sensible choice, cutting down on my axanthic possibilities for the hope of something more exciting!
A lovely calm feeding response from this arctic het snow baby. #heterodon #hognosesnake #hognose
Grumpy noodle says "No food today!!"
