Crowley *holdback spilotes*

[LdyDrgn]

http://primareptilia.com/gallery/albums/crowley/Crowley.sized.jpg
http://primareptilia.com/gallery/albums/crowley/Crowley_2.sized.jpg

he's got a Demon, see it?

http://primareptilia.com/gallery/albums/crowley/Crowley_demon.jpg

[Katt]

Absolutely beautiful! And big!

[LdyDrgn]

Thanks, Katt! :) Yeah, they were good sized babies and grew about twice the size in a month. :eek:

[Clownfishie]

Gorgeous snake! Those head markings are just awesome... very cool!


Jen

[munchy]

note to self: obtain a pair of those!!!


nice pics.:cool:

[Vanan]

Love the name! ;)

[LdyDrgn]

Thanks!

Vanan, do you read Pratchett, too?

The second clutch is due to hatch in less than 2 weeks.... WHEEEEEE!

[Katt]

Wow how exciting! Thanks to you I had a dream about a class of kids buying spilotes and tormenting me that I missed out! Thank goodness I have my own already!

[LdyDrgn]

LOL, cool. Post pics!

[gonesnakee]

Nice looking little one, Mark

[Simon Sansom]

Very nice! How's it doing for you? Have they fed yet?

Simon R. Sansom

[LdyDrgn]

Thanks Simon! Yes, they have all eaten and all but one took f/t on the first try. The that didn't eat on the first try ate f/t on the second attempt. One of the first eaters stopped eating and will now only take live. I'll get him switched over as soon as he gets well established. But all the others eagerly take f/t. :)

[Simon Sansom]

That's absolutely outstanding! I've heard that they can be a bugger to get started...

What's your feeding protocol?

All the best,

Simon R. Sansom

[LdyDrgn]

After thawing I take the fuzzy (or peach fuzzy) mouse by the scruff of the neck with a pair of hemos. I walk the mouse around the cage and up the branch. That is usually when they show the most interest. They strike at anything in their enclosure (territorial) and once they figure out it's food they are striking at they grab it on the second or third strike and eat it. Now I just have to put it in front of them, LOL. But it's more fun to watch them stalk their prey. ;)

[ChokeOnSmoke]

Wow thats a real beauty. Are the adults as bad as they are made out to be? I saw 2 at the Toronto Zoo and they were amazing. They also had impressive size. What is the average adult size? They would make an excellent show animal. I dont have any room for any more animals right now so could you all hold off on posting any more pictures for a while?

[LdyDrgn]

LOL! Not possible, we're too proud of these babies and when the second clutch hatches I will be inundating the forum with pics again ;)

Our adult male which is a LTC is about 9' (hard to accurately measure, they don't sit still long enough to photograph on the floor!) and pretty thick. He's nippy in the cage, but fine once he's out...unless you are trying to tub him. If he climbs out of the tub and he's grabbed to be put back in he'll bite, but just handling him is no problem. The adult female is about 8' and more slender. She was captive bred at Moscow Zoo and has the same temperament. Average size is 8-9', the all time record is 14'. They are BIG, impressive and interesting colubrids which are pleasure to work with.

All the babies aren't too nippy as long as you handle them like any other arboreal: underhand and slow deliberate movements. They have excellent eyesight and are VERY aware of their surroundings. They will zero in on any movement, even objects moving by them as you walk, LOL.

Simon: When will yours be ready to breed? Let me know and I'll send you my info. I haven't put it up on our site yet since I want a couple years of hard data to back it all up better. But I can give you what I have if you want it. Just PM or e-mail me. :)