N. Mexican Pine clutch...

[Janiman]

Well, I wasn't expecting anything from this pair as I only had them together for a couple of days to get my male eating again (and I only brumated him down to 64 F due to the restraints of apartment living), but here she is 6 weeks later with her first clutch. Total of 17 but 11 are definitely slugs. We'll just have to see how the 6 viable-looking ones turn out. Sheila, Ryan, Katt... I think she's done us proud!!! (keeping my fingers crossed)

[Linds]

Best of luck with those remaining eggs!

[Simon Sansom]

Very nice! That's something you don't see every day.

Best of luck with those eggs.

Simon R. Sansom

[vanderkm]

Congrats on the clutch - very pretty female. Don't you hate it when you put all that work into giving them a really nice egg box and then they lay them where they want to!

Best of luck with the eggs,

mary v.

[Scales Zoo]

Wow, congrats! 17 eggs is a lot, even if there are only 6 good ones. Good luck, can't wait to see baby pictures.

Ryan

[gonesnakee]

2nd Mary's post. I hate it when they don't lay in their nesting boxes DOH! Most of my CK females think they double as litter boxes too. They sure like to crap in the damp moss anyhow LOL TOO COOL & Good Luck Incubating! Mark I.

[Vanan]

Congrats man!! All the best with them!

[Katt]

Wowee!!! You must certainly be happy!!! That's great!!

[Janiman]

Ryan: Yeah, I was totally surprised at the number as well. She was very defensive when I tried to remove them and kept coming back (she'd usually scurry away into her hide). The next day I tried her with a bunch of mice and after she took 3, she curled up around the rest and just stayed there like they were her eggs. Kinda made me feel sad for her. Do any of your pits show this maternal-like/protective behaviour?

Also, what do you use as a set-up for incubating your pits? I have them in wrung-out long Spagnum, 96% humidity at 81 F. I know most pits incubate at 82F but given the amimals liking for cooler temps I thought I would be better to go slightly cooler rather than slightly hotter, just in case I get fluctuations.

Katt: Still got the other male? Maybe there's a little girl in there just waiting for a sugar-daddy! (although I intend to wait a while to see how the colours develop before I even THINK about parting with any).

Francis

[Scales Zoo]

I don't know if Mexican pinesnake eggs are different - and they may be but, what we have done and gotten 100% hatchrate with the bulls and Northern pines is.....

Moist vermiculite (last time all I had was the fine stuff, and it was too wet) and let them cook anywhere from 77-81. With the Northern pines, I didn't even check their temps till near the end, and it was near 80. I think I'd have had to purposly try to kill the bulls and pine eggs for them not to have hatched. The bulls were 42 days, N pines 69 days.

Ryan

[Janiman]

Thanks Ryan, I've got them at 79F so we'll see how they fare. I'm pretty stoked about them as, if for my nicknames-sake only, I really want to have success with them. That, and the fact that there are so many people that have been blown away by them that I feel I need to make them more availible.

Is anybody else out there working with them (either P. deppei jani or P. deppei deppei)

Francis