Breeding at Living Gems Reptiles is going well. Two months ago we visited the Vlad-Topaz pairing, so this month we’ll visit the Hills-Alexandrite one.
When we last left our happy couple in late March, they had just been separated for feeding after a month of steamy cohabitation. Both snakes fed and weighed in fine.
April
After reintroductions, Hills took a few days catch up on the situation, then got right back to business. He joined her in the water bowl on the evening of the 8th…was still there the next morning…and that evening…
…and two days later was in the hide with her…for two days...then back to the water bowl…and the water bowl…and the water bowl again….
I eventually had to separate them just to clean the water they had fouled from passing their last meal.
While that cooled the mood for the moment, that evening saw two sperm plugs in the water bowl. Two days later there was a clear tail wrap in that same bowl (the third or fourth of their courting -- just counting the ones I’ve seen!).
After that, all activity seemed to grind quite suddenly to a halt. The two hung out barely at all for the next ten days, until late on the 29th I separated them for monthly feedings. Both snakes fed and weighed in fine.
May
In order to give Alex and Hills a short break -- he was in shed -- I postponed reintroduction by a few days. During this period, I was thrilled to see Alex hugging the heat right in the open, something she *never* does.
If you look closely, you will also note she looked rather swollen, as shown by the following series of three shots. I was hoping this was related to something else than the single medium rat she just ate, but only time would tell (left, mid, right):
She was there for almost 24 hours, wrapped awkwardly around the large water bowl…and then quite suddenly moved away. She high-tailed it to the cool end of the viv and sequestered herself inside the damp hide, where she remained as she clearly began to enter shed.
I reintroducing Hills on May 7th. The two snakes ignored each other completely, with Hills taking up a spot behind the hide rather than in with her.
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