Well, my first breeding season has had some ups and downs, and a bit of head scratching.
My first clutch was a bit iffy. I posted pictures and was terribly excited. Within a few days many were clearly bad, but I still held out hope for the rest. Meanwhile, another clutch had to be placed with the first in a pinch (the tub is fairly spacious) because of number and shape of of the clutch. Well...the "bad" clutch became infested with maggots. None of the eggs looked viable, so I tossed them all and surrounding moss a day or two ago. I've now got some small flies in the box still, and I fear for the second clutch. Are healthy eggs at risk? should I change out the remaining moss as a precaution?
Also, the girl who laid that same first bad clutch at the begining of april just laid a second clutch. Normally not a giant problem, but she's a first year and didn't gain much weight back yet. Another female who might have laid a whole month ago (now i'm kicking myself for assuming that with so few snakes that i'd remember exact dates) just shed after refusing the last meal. So with 3 meals under her belt she's going to lay again. Is there anything I could possibly do to at least delay this? Could there possibly be a pharamone issue that prompyts females to ovulate again after clutching that might be lessened by moving males and females to seperate racks? It's just kind of disheartening to see a female that just cut her weight in half popping out another load...
My first clutch was a bit iffy. I posted pictures and was terribly excited. Within a few days many were clearly bad, but I still held out hope for the rest. Meanwhile, another clutch had to be placed with the first in a pinch (the tub is fairly spacious) because of number and shape of of the clutch. Well...the "bad" clutch became infested with maggots. None of the eggs looked viable, so I tossed them all and surrounding moss a day or two ago. I've now got some small flies in the box still, and I fear for the second clutch. Are healthy eggs at risk? should I change out the remaining moss as a precaution?
Also, the girl who laid that same first bad clutch at the begining of april just laid a second clutch. Normally not a giant problem, but she's a first year and didn't gain much weight back yet. Another female who might have laid a whole month ago (now i'm kicking myself for assuming that with so few snakes that i'd remember exact dates) just shed after refusing the last meal. So with 3 meals under her belt she's going to lay again. Is there anything I could possibly do to at least delay this? Could there possibly be a pharamone issue that prompyts females to ovulate again after clutching that might be lessened by moving males and females to seperate racks? It's just kind of disheartening to see a female that just cut her weight in half popping out another load...
