Taiwan beauties are hatching - Pics!!!

[Scales Zoo]

Our first clutch of Taiwans, hatched Oct 27, 2002, at day 60.

This year I was a bit concerned, as the egg shells seemed really thick, tough, and like hard leather. We weren't sure if we should intervene or not. We decided to let mother nature take it's course. Yesterday, Day 64 - the eggs started to pip.

Right now, 7 babies are out - 6 more eggs pipped, and there are 5 good looking eggs yet unpipped. We had 20 eggs all together, one of which looked like a slug the day it was laid. There is another egg that looks about the same right now, but we incubated both just to be on the safe side. The 2002 clutch had 13 eggs (which were elongated as compared to this years).


They started to hatch out of the conjoined cluster in the center first .





None of the outer eggs have pipped yet. I am hypothosizing (first usage of word since high school science fair, haha) that because reptile eggs create heat, the ones in the center cluster tend to hatch first because of the higher temperatures those eggs maintain at various points of incubation.





I finally found the courser vermiculite, but I think I didn't wet it sufficiently first time using it. I ended up adding water to it, 2 weeks into incubation when the eggs started getting tough and showing signs of dimpling.





Got some pictures of the first ones out. These ones resemble the mother, high silver sides. We have a few that I think will look more like the male, with the heavy orangy yellow look. Funny thing is, they don't poke their head out of the egg for a cute picture. They sit hiding in the egg, I can go out of the room and check on them in 15 minutes, and there are 2 more snakes fully out of the egg. When they want to move, they move fast!







Very big babies! I was getting used to the burm and northern pinesnake babies - but just got to see what normal baby snakes look like at the Red Deer show. These guys are longer than the pinesnakes, maybe as long as the burms were.





They aren't bity this year. The first year we had them, My mother put the baby snakes into little rubbermades. They are very fast and flighty snakes as babies as it is, but the ones mom had to contain were also very bity. I remember how bity they were the day I sexed them, I'm glad these ones are less bity.




Whoo hoo!

Ryan

[AgaR]

congrats!!!!
they are awesome!
Ciao
Alex

[bistrobob85]

Wow, wonderful baby snakes! They look sooooo cute!!! Are they hard to keep? Do they need very low temps like mandarin ratsnakes? My compliments on those awesome babies...

phil.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Very cool!!!!

[Scales Zoo]

Thanks guys.

I covered all the holes in the rubbermade when I added the water. Next colubrid clutch is going to get some egg grate (or whatever it is called) over overly moist verm, with no holes in the container.

Also, cooked these at 82.5 - 83.0, and all 7 babies that are out are perfect so far. Last time we got 1 kinked baby out of the 13 babies from 13 eggs. I did not write down what I incubated that clutch at - but I imagine it was 82-84.

Ryan

[Scales Zoo]

Oh, Phil....

These are not hard to keep at all. They have very good appetites, and our adults are a joy to handle.

Both adults are near 8' long, and very thick. We keep them in large terrariums (6' x 3' x 3') heavily branched (they like climbing) with a fluctuating temp gradient of 72 - 85 (now acheived with a heat panel along the rear back corner - as well as a bit of light heat). We don't mist them as often as we should (ambient humidity is very low in Saskatchewan) but they shed, eat, poop just fine.

A real joy to keep, and one of the largest colubrids available. Also one of the prettiest snakes around.

Ryan

[Ryan23]

Congrats Ryan they look amazing..........I may have to pick one up since I'm venturing into the asian colubrids finally with a Blue beauty right away.

You probably remember me staring at them all night in your living room, amazing snakes.

[Scales Zoo]

These definitely compliment blue beauties nicely - we used to have blues, but sold our pair to Byron (who produced 2 clutches this year) and got Taiwans.

Oh, and did I mention that we give deals to those who live in Saskatchewan? And an extra deal for those who share my first name? No, I didn't - haha! Email me!

Ryan

[LdyDrgn]

Congrats Ryan and Sheila!! That's awesome. Beautiful babies, too. Post pics after they shed.

[Ryan23]

I knew there were perks involved with living in Sask. other than our beautiful winters of course.

[Kury]

Congratulations! Awesome pictures. They are longer than I expected for hatchlings, well, now I know ^_^

[dave68]

Wow ,very cool Ryan! Do siblings and parents count for the Saskatchewan discount too? My Dad and one of my sisters live in Swift Current LOL!! I'm gonna email you as well!

Dave

[Invictus]

They look phenomenal! This is definitely one of the coolest species to work with.

[Matt]

very nice, congrats!

[Simon]

Congrats~!

Taiwan babies are huge....especially if you put them beside corns...... makes corns look like a little worm......sigh~~

Anyway congrats on the hatchlings! Hope they'll eat on thier own soon~~