Eggs laid on Days 428 & 429; sperm retention

I spoke too soon. I posted a couple things here, went to check on #3 Nepr lights-out in the incubation area and oh, my goodness gracious THERE IS A PIPPY!!! I'm pretty sure Dan thought I'd hurt myself when he heard me yell.

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*before lights-out. Sorry, my hands are shaking!

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Alright! ��

One last picture before lights-out. Gonna be a long night, lol. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve who can just catch a glimpse of something amazing peeking out of her stocking!

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Yay, how amazing!!

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There's another miracle in my world this morning! It's a Butter Masque Stripe (or Butter Stripe Masque?). It's calm and sweet, weighing in at 6.4 g. That's certainly not huge, but all things considered is plenty big enough. The baby seems to be healthy. There's a tiny bit of swelling at the umbilicus but not really anything concerning. I expect that to vanish quickly. Didn't try to check gender, though I'm leaning toward male based on the tail. We'll find that out after the first shed.

This baby answers the question of whether Artephius is het Stripe or het Motley. That's part of the reason he and Sceptre were paired, though I never expected to wait so long for the answer, lol. I was surprised not to get that answer from Artephius x Princess Irene's clutch this year. She's het Amel Stripe (Tulip is her dam), but none of their babies show Stripe or Amel. This one is both. Goes to show again that odds are odds, not absolutes.

I'm beyond amazed this at the gifts of this season. Thanks to those who've cheered this on!


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Awesome! And in good hands. Merry Christmas in August!

Beautiful little butterball!

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How many eggs were in the clutch that failed to produce any amels or stripes? There is a chance this egg is a case of parthenogenesis. I realized that is what one of my females did when the male failed to produce any more amels despite breeding to multiple females het for amel.

Shiari said:

How many eggs were in the clutch that failed to produce any amels or stripes? There is a chance this egg is a case of parthenogenesis. I realized that is what one of my females did when the male failed to produce any more amels despite breeding to multiple females het for amel.

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That's a good point, Shiari. This season's clutch from Artephius x Princess Irene which hatched without Amels or Stripes was a clutch of only 14. A big enough clutch that I was surprised, but certainly not a vast number.

The thing is, Artephius produced a Butter baby years ago with Tulip, an Amel Stripe het Anery, Caramel. This long-ago little one was a Cubey sort and at the time I wasn't sure if it was Stripe or Motley, having seen very few Cubes at the time. Unfortunately I have only memories as the photos of that baby seem to among the lost ones following some hurricane or another, lol. This baby did prove Artephius as het Amel and Stripe or Motley, which I now believe is Stripe based on this new baby.

I'm confident that Sceptre's baby was sired by Artephius rather than being parthenogenetic. Artephius's having proven het Amel and Stripe/Motley are part of the reasons. Artephius is Masque, and has sired many Masque babies. This one is Sceptre's first Masque, so that's another part of it. I don't know the mathematical odds of sperm retention vs parthenogenesis, but I really do think that this is Artephius & Sceptre's baby, not just Sceptre's.

That said, the science teacher in me is always curious. I would happily submit everybody's DNA for analysis. Is there anybody doing such a thing with corn snakes?

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Frank Pinello said:

Awesome! And in good hands. Merry Christmas in August!

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Thanks!! I'm thrilled to say that Aurelius has taken his first meal. He declined the first offering, which had me a bit worried. I normally don't fret much if they say no the first time, but I freely admit that I've been more nervous than usual about this particular baby.


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schnekkie said:

Beautiful little butterball!

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Thank you! I'm quite in love.

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Caryl said:

Thanks!! I'm thrilled to say that Aurelius has taken his first meal. He declined the first offering, which had me a bit worried. I normally don't fret much if they say no the first time, but I freely admit that I've been more nervous than usual about this particular baby.

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What a stunning baby! Wow

Thanks! I guess this one is a proof of what my mama always said about taking time to do things right. Artephius and Sceptre did a good job, even if it take longer than I expected, lol.

He's blue right now. Should have some beauteous new pics soon.

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