I've been a little busy recently, what with the work on the website and Facebook page, and bringing the Corn snakes out of brumation, but time for a quick update on where we are.
Starting with the Corns - it's been a busy month with them. I brought them all out of brumation during February and gradually warmed them up throughout the remainder of Feb. After giving them a couple of weeks to wake up properly, they were all offered a feed - and I'm glad to say they all took the opportunity, making this their first meal since October. The male began his shed cycle at the end of March, with the female not too far behind him - the other female is just going through hers now. The post-brumation shed marks the start of their breeding cycle, so once they'd both freshly shed, I gave them another few days, and popped them in a breeding tub.
Starting with the Corns - it's been a busy month with them. I brought them all out of brumation during February and gradually warmed them up throughout the remainder of Feb. After giving them a couple of weeks to wake up properly, they were all offered a feed - and I'm glad to say they all took the opportunity, making this their first meal since October. The male began his shed cycle at the end of March, with the female not too far behind him - the other female is just going through hers now. The post-brumation shed marks the start of their breeding cycle, so once they'd both freshly shed, I gave them another few days, and popped them in a breeding tub.
The difference in the courtship ritual of Corns compared to Royals is amazing - very aggressive, and very fast! I popped the female in first, and before I'd even got the male in the tub, he instantly started to "fight" with me, becoming very aggressive and twitchy. Once in, he instantly made a bee-line for the female, and began positioning himself on top of the female - she didn't take too kindly to this, so they spent the next 10 minutes chasing each other around and thrashing it out, with the male keep his head constantly just behind hers. And then... (look away now if you're easily grossed out)... |
Yep, that's Corn-porn right there. Sorry about that, but you know, I'm trying to be all educational and whatnot. The "lock" lasted for about 10 mins, and then it was all over and done with. I used kitchen roll in the breeding tub, as evidence of copulations will appear as a yellow smudge on the paper - obviously no evidence was required here! I paired the two again later in the week, and once again, the courtship process was immediate, with another successful lock. I'm going to aim for 4 successful locks with each female, and with a little luck, in around 30 days time I should have the first clutch of eggs. |
There has been some development from the Royals too, or more accurately, the female (Monty). As you know, I've been pairing her with my male Fire (Ifrit) since November, observing the first lock on Dec 27th. Since then, I've continued weekly pairing, averaging at about 2 locks per month. I've been tracking the development of the female closely throughout, and attempted to palpate, or physically feel for developing follicles on several occasions. There have been a couple of time where I've thought that I'd felt something, but couldn't be sure. Well, it seems we have some progress. My suspicions were aroused a couple of weeks ago, when she refused a food offering - this has never happened before. This was repeated 2 weeks later with another feed attempt. In other behaviour to note, as well as the none feeding, I've also noticed her become more active in the vivarium recently, and spending more time at the hot end.
In terms of physical development; well this is where it gets really interesting. I've keeping a close eye on her build throughout, and I've suspected her to be gaining weight in the lower half of her body, despite to recent refused feeds. She appears to be going through a colour-change at the moment, getting progressively lighter in tone with more blushings appearing to her pattern - at first glance it's not so easy to distinguish her apart from the Fire. I brought her out of the vivarium earlier this week for a proper check over, and got a shock to see the true size of her - she's developed a beer belly overnight! There is an unmistakable bloat to her underside, from her halfway point to a few inches short of her vent. I thought this would be a good time to attempt to palpate for follicles again, and felt 8 very large ping-pong ball size lumps, spaced evenly in the lower third of her body. Compared to prior palpation attempts, this was a world of difference, leaving me with little doubt that she is on the way to producing eggs.
Time for a look at the chart:
In terms of physical development; well this is where it gets really interesting. I've keeping a close eye on her build throughout, and I've suspected her to be gaining weight in the lower half of her body, despite to recent refused feeds. She appears to be going through a colour-change at the moment, getting progressively lighter in tone with more blushings appearing to her pattern - at first glance it's not so easy to distinguish her apart from the Fire. I brought her out of the vivarium earlier this week for a proper check over, and got a shock to see the true size of her - she's developed a beer belly overnight! There is an unmistakable bloat to her underside, from her halfway point to a few inches short of her vent. I thought this would be a good time to attempt to palpate for follicles again, and felt 8 very large ping-pong ball size lumps, spaced evenly in the lower third of her body. Compared to prior palpation attempts, this was a world of difference, leaving me with little doubt that she is on the way to producing eggs.
Time for a look at the chart:
Comparing the behaviours and physical signs observed this week (large follicles, refusing feeds, and actively heat seeking) to the timescale of the chart above, it would seem these tie in somewhere in between the latter stages of follicle maturation, and ovulation. I'm anticipating signs of ovulation any day now, and for her to begin going through a shed cycle in around 30 days or so. Ifrit has timed his shed cycle perfectly - this is his "go go go" time. Monty should fertilize the eggs with the sperm she has stored in her special pocket from previous locks, and may reject any further locks attempts - but it doesn't hurt to have him present for any additional copulations where required, so for now, pairings continue.
So that brings us up to date. I'm not going to start counting my chickens just yet, as it isn't unheard of for all the right signs to lead to nothing, but at this stage it is all looking very promising, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting a little excited - in as little as 60 days we could very well have eggs! Remember to check back soon for further updates.
So that brings us up to date. I'm not going to start counting my chickens just yet, as it isn't unheard of for all the right signs to lead to nothing, but at this stage it is all looking very promising, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting a little excited - in as little as 60 days we could very well have eggs! Remember to check back soon for further updates.