the saga continues........

wow! i read this whole thread today it took me a while between dinner and homework but it was awesome to read. Lil is beautiful and i cant wait to see what comes out of these eggs!

The syringe feeding is underway again..........
Lil recovered beautifully from last year's breeding, she did lay an unexpected double-clutch but I only incubated the first lot. All healthy hatchlings with great feeding responses. So my great worry over her problems being genetic was unfounded. She's a big healthy normal snake!
Now after reading a thread on here about a 3 month old snow that has never eaten, I have a new foster snake. Rosie is 3 grams, very thin but stronger than Skooge was. 2 syringe meals so far, fingers crossed she'll be back with her lovely owner in a couple of months as a reformed character!

diamondlil said:

I said before there's no way I could ever breed Lil in case there's a genetic reason for her early problems. ...she's going to be best as a virgin queen all her life.

Click to expand...

Did you change your mind on this, Janine? Or am I skimming the thread wrong?

Chip said:

Did you change your mind on this, Janine? Or am I skimming the thread wrong?

Click to expand...

Yep, I did. I always thought it would be too risky, both in terms of the potential to Lil and then in terms of if her problem was possibly genetic.
As she ovulated and laid a couple of slugs the year before I was as sure as I could be that she was physically healthy enough to breed. Slim and Butch are both big husky boys with no feeding problems from hatching so I decided I'd lay my demons to rest one way or the other.
I'm pretty sure now that all Lil's problems came from my inept handling of her early days. She was a healthy well-started hatchling when I bought her. Whether her initial regurge was due to being in shed or too-big a prey item, I belive I then compounded the problem by trying to feed her too soon, and then trying too often and being too stressed about it. So I created her cycle of refusal. Not a nice thing to know about yourself, but a lesson well learnt.

Sure hope it doesn't skip a generation. Not likely, but not unheard of. If the babies do give you fits, are you going to destroy them?

Chip said:

Sure hope it doesn't skip a generation. Not likely, but not unheard of. If the babies do give you fits, are you going to destroy them?

Click to expand...

If the hatchlings had shown any signs of following in Lil's footsteps, I'd have euthed them all and never bred Lil again, Chip. I'm totally convinced there was no genetic reason for Lil's problems.
In a way it would have been easier to deal with if they had all been unhealthy in some way, kinked, non-feeders or failed to thrive. That way I would have known Lil's problems weren't my fault. Instead they were all textbook easy to raise babies. Shed and fed without any problems and romped away in rude health. I've actually been asked for amel babies from her again this year because they grew on and sold well.

I just hope it isn't recessive, or something that will throw problems down the road.

Wow, what a beautiful happy ending! You've got a very gorgeous Lil!