This headache is totally worth it.

So, I went to the Grand Rapids Reptile Expo (and those who told me it was small were right! I bow down before your wisdom!), and ended up with this little demon:



I say demon because he is my first of three corns to rattle his tail at me . It was bound to happen eventually.
However, here comes to confusing part, and I'll need your help.

How long should a two month old hatchling be? While deciding if I wanted to purchase him, I asked the man how old he was, and the man stuttered before replying "two months, or so".
This snake is about 18 inches or so. Maybe longer, since I can't measure him while he's all riled up. Tell me I'm not crazy.
My Aris, whom I've had since November, is still only 13 or 14 inches... is it just him? He's shed once a month since I got him, and he's eating double pinks (very well, I might add). Was I lied to by the guy, who couldn't even tell me what my new guy was eating? He said at first, when I asked him what the snake was eating, "Pinkie." So, I asked him one or two pinkies. THEN he said, "Fuzzy." So, now I'm confused. A weigh will sort that out, but I no longer trust anything this guy said, except for maybe the morph.
He said my new guy was a crimson, and had his mom on scene, who was a Miami. I believe this, a bit. I can't really tell the difference between Miamis and Crimsons, so a little help here, too?
I have such a headache with this little guy, and then he went on to do a nice little tail rattle at me. I don't think he was handled much at all, as he's very, very jumpy for his size. Curious, though. A little TLC and he could end up being a very nice snake.

Still, it was nice to be able to come home and reassure myself that Aris was still the same . You never realize how lucky you are until faced with a dilemma.

I can honestly say, though, that even if everything he said checked out to be true, I will NEVER buy from him again. He was very rude, giving me and my mom looks that made it seem like we knew absolutely nothing about what we were doing. It was very gratifying to shake him up by asking some questions. Really, the entire show was rude, except for a guy who sold us a water bowl.
In all, it wasn't a very good experience.

They had an awesome chameleon out, though. Love the eyes.

Anyways, here are a couple more pictures... not very many. These were taken on the two hour ride home, and he was exploring the whole time...











Also, he's got no name. Any help here?

Thanks for looking!

tl;dr : How long (average) should a two month old hatchling be?

Who the heck had hatchlings in December? I doubt it was 2 months old...but is probably an 09. Crimson sounds probable...but I'm not good with the Miami/crimson morphs either.

Thank you!
Whew, I'm not crazy. I'm not happy, though, that the guy felt inclined to lie to me about the age. It's not like I would give him back simply because he wasn't born in the right month..
In all actuality, he probably had nothing to do with the snake, and was just saying stuff to make me happy. Joy.

I too doubt this little one hatched in 12/09, but I'm sure it's an 09. And very cute. And I have no idea whether this is crimson, Miami or a classic.

I love the tail-rattling hatelings, which is a good thing because I own one! So enjoy!

It has a pretty clean background color (typical of a Miami), and definitely looks to be hypo to me, so I would say that the guy was honest about the morph. As for the age, well, it's way too hard to guess by size. Not only are some born smaller/larger than others, but feeding will greatly affect the size.

All in all... Looks healthy, and it looks like a Crimson, so congrats!!!

Very cute little bugger for sure. My Squiggle is allegedly a year now & about 18" long. So, either yours is extremely well fed (power feeding?) or your little bugger is also a year. :idea:Btw, my Squiggle weighs in at a hefty 77 grams, which is about what my Slither weighed at about the same age. Ironically, she was also about 18" & a year when we got her.
Don't know if that helps as I'm a newb to reptiles. But Mike at Regal always tells me that my babies are "fluffy"! :roflmao:

I've decided the name will be Spitz, for Spitfire. Because that's what he is, through and through. Crazy little thing. Everytime I blinked while I held it, it flinched. I'm going to let it go for a week before holding it again, I just wanted to get a picture for you guys to see his size:



And yes, I used a glove this time. I use it with all new hatchlings, since it seems to calm them down a bit x3

Very pretty snake! I didn't go to the show today, but my daughter did and said it was the same as always. Sorry you had to travel so far for such a little show. Hopefully the people who took it over will make it a more worthwhile show.
Atleast you got a very nice snake out of it.

Cute new guy! I'm no expert, but he looks very much like a Crimson to me, too. And definitely not a 2-month old baby. He also has some crazy belly checkers, so he may have some interesting ancestry lurking in his genes... or just crazy checkers, lol! Either way, congrats on the new addition! He probably won't stay a hateling forever.

Yeah, it was a bit of a let down, but I got him, and I got to spend some time with my mom, which was nice. Thanks for the warning, though xD I guess I just had a hope, since they advertised it as "huge".

And yeah, definitely not two months. Not sure how stupid he thought I was saying that, but I just had to check up, just in case.
When I lost my normal, and got my amel, one of the things I missed most were the checkers, which I LOVE. It's great to see them again, even if they are a little sparse ;D

I'm going to suppose this'll end up a progression thread, so it'll probably be popping up every now and again. I feel like I'll just waste space if I create a whole new thread.

And now... I hope he doesn't stay a hateling! I want to be able to handle him without fear of him taking off every time I blink!

I love the name!! =] Gorgeous little guy, too.

He's _beautiful!!!_ I love his huge belly checks! And such a nice, clean background. Well, he's going to cure you of your fear of being bit by hatelings, if you are afraid of them!

Not really a fear... just nervous I know it's not supposed to hurt, but I still won't get over the nervousness until he takes the initiative and tries to take a hunk out of me :grin01:

Who the heck had hatchlings in December?

Click to expand...

You would be suprised who hatches their eggs in December and early Jan...


Regards.. Tim of T and J

He's a beautiful little guy

I think I've discovered why so many people like the hatelings, and I add myself to that list. They have such personality! He sulked all day today in his hidey hole, then took off right after I turned the light off for the night.
I'm pretty sure he'll calm down after the next week or so. It must've been pretty stressful being cohabbed, stared at, handled, put into a tiny box, put into a new environment, gone on a bumpy ride for two hours, and then dumped into a huge new home. Poor guy must be incredibly confused xD
I'm counting down this next week.

A little feisty is a good thing, in my opinion, because they usually have the best feeding response. I've yet to have a baby that hasn't calmed down with regular gentle handling, but I've had some stubborn feeders, and I'd much rather tame a feisty baby than feed a stubborn one.

Great updated picture, by the way. I really like the clean colors, and the red is very intense.

Well I had my Male Butter for ooo.. Maybe 6 mo.. and he hardly grew at all! He was a 08..and Like half the size of my 08 RO female. And I think he may have gained 10grams in the 6 mo or so I had him. Lol And he ate once every 5-7 days!

so, Like people tell me.. some grow Slower then others.. So.. Who knows!

My corn was 14g and about 16" at 6 months of age. I say 16" because she is longer than half my 20gal long, but it's hard to pinpoint her exact length.

This is her right at 6 months old.

He's settled down some, now, and has found a favorite corner (warm side, underneath the thermometer). He and my amel had to switch tanks, since he's the larger, but my amel is now in a different room, taken care of. I think I've got everything under control now, which is a relief. Within the next month or so I'll be setting up the 55 gallon tank I have, and I'll be splitting it down the middle, with Aris on the left, and Spitz on the right.

Thanks again for all of the positive comments, everyone. Next week, after he's adjusted, I'll post a pic of him near a ruler to see how long he really is... and maybe a feeding pic. After that, it'll be post-shed pics