No Tarantulas for Heather

So the Tarantula project is a bust.

4 out of 6 eggs normal, 2 Spiders...

So far 4 are out. 1 Spider, 3 Normals.. ALL MALE.

None of the normals look anything like Mom....

Here are pics of the parents..

DAD:



MOM:



DAMN.

I was REALLY hoping for something, but I guess it just isn't meant to be. I was at least hoping for reduced pattern Spiders, but... even that wasn't meant to be..

Here they are so far





And to top it all off, the Spider is the spawn of satan. He tried to bite me within five minutes of my taking him out of the incubator.

Man, oh, man...

I got nice healthy babies, but not what I was expecting..

Next year we will try for something else...

San Diego Super Show Recap

I had a Blast.

Bottom line, thank you sir.

It was a lot of fun at the show, and helping out a friend made it that much more rewarding.

I got a chance to practice my social skills behind a booth, and enjoyed it very much. This was the trial run before Anahiem, and I am READY!!!!

Got to hang out with a bunch of my cool rockin friends on the net, and it was great fun!

Took some pics, not a lot since I was busy, but here is a couple that I took while behind the booth.










Some girls that had never held a snake before.

The younger one held it earlier, and started BAWLING because she wasn't finished holding them... So they came back. And I took pics of them. Gotta love young enthusiasts...





These are mine










Again, had a BLAST, and will be posting other pics that I didn't get a chance to upload later this evening.

Me cortarlas

Translation: I cut them (in Spanish)

My Tarantula project is cut.

And the results are:

2 Spiders
4 Normals

I am not wholly disspointed in this as much as it looks like these normals look nothing like Mom...

Hopefully when the come out of the egg, there may be more to see.. Here are the Spiders.





And a Normal with its head where I cut...



No blurry balls as I can see yet...

Oh well.

FRIDAY!!!

ONE MORE DAY til San Diego...

I'm getting a bit more pumped...

It may also be the fact that I just had some of my morning Coffee.

I am trying really really hard to not plan to get everything I want tommorow. I actually don't think I will have enough time to get anything, considering I will be working, so that is alllll good for Heather's Wallet.

Many many pictures will be coming, as well as stories.


Last night I cleaned, and realized a very important thing, which I'm sure a couple of my readers will also agree with.

I NEED MORE SPACE.

I don't have enough space for everything anymore, and my imagining being able to shove more stuff in my snake room is getting less and less likely.

It's time for a change..

I'm not sure what, but it'll hopefully happen sooner rather than later.

Anyway, no cutting has happened. I didn't do it. Maybe tommorow.


By the way, if you haven't noticed, I've been playing with my smilies.. Yeah. They are cool.

Have a great weekend, folks, and I will get back to you on Monday with the weekend update!!!!

GET SMART

This week has been deathly slow at work, so I have been having a hell of a time entertaining myself on the internet as well as coming up with a couple new things for the upcoming shows...

I've been trying, with the help of some friends, to come up with clever T-shirt ideas that people as herpers wouldn't mind wearing. It has been interesting, as my ideas versus what other people like is totally different. I LOVE COLLABORATING!!!

If you have any ideas, PLEASE let me know.. The more ideas I get, the more I can put it into action, and if you actually come up with something super AWESOME that I can put on a shirt, you can have one!!!

Anyway, after a long and dreary day at work, I went out. I HAD to...

So, Joel and I went to see Get Smart.

Bottom Line:

Steve Carrell is hilarious, the movie is MUCH better than Love Guru, but on a different tone...

Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, is my altime favorite sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy man. Did I mention he was sexy??? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah, baby.

I dunno.. I don't actually like Anne Hathaway. She was badass, to be sure, but she... made it seem contrived. Maybe its just me.

Go see it. Its really worth seeing if you need something stupid to take your mind of things.


Got home last night, and managed to take some pics of some animals I've been putting off for a while.

Took pics of Chipo, my little survivor.






San Diego countdown: 2 days...

Half way done...

It's Weds, and basically all I am doing is trying to get thru the week so that the weekend gets here faster.

SAN DIEGO, babaaayy!!

Super super super show... (We'll see how super it is...)

I'm ready to be there already. Seriously. I need my snake fix.


Other than that, I have been going in and checking on Chipo ("gift" in swahili), the little Black Pastel girl that came out of the clutch from hell.

She only weighs 40 grams!!!

Pretty small, but not too bad, considering. I'm not complaining. She's alive and tiny, and I'm okay with that.

Cleaning tonight... WOOHOO..

Yeah, not too exciting right now. Sorry...

I've had some time to reflect

So, after last nights debaucle, I went down to the incubator and put more dry vermiculite in ALL of the boxes.

After that, I sat and tried to figure out what could have been the reason for such an odd clutch to go so wrong..

I still have a sneaking suspicion it was too moist in that egg box. The two surviving eggs that made it all the way thru were eggs that were swollen with water by the time hatching had come.

When I cut them, this is something I had noticed immediately, which I had mentioned a couple days ago.

Yolk was still present in the eggs, in a very odd form. Usually when eggs and fully formed babys come out, there is nothing left in the egg but the occasional bit of embryonic fluid.

THIS is what was still in the egg when the babies were out.

This is the egg with the dead baby.



This is the egg with the runt.



Either these eggs were meant to be twins that didn't thrive, or something was wrong inside?? There is never this much yolk left in a regular healthy egg.

Gives me more to reflect upon.

There are so many things that could have been wrong with the scenario. I've just never had it happen to me before, and it puts things in an interesting perspective..

We are making life. Life is easily distinguished.

I'm glad that the dead baby didn't suffer in life. It died where it began.

It was alive at some point when I cut the egg, as I poked it and it moved, but during that short period of time, it expired. Do I regret that? Not at all.. I think it would have been that much harder to have to put an animal that deformed to sleep, seeing it thrash around..

I've had friends have this problem, and didn't think it would be mine. It happens in this hobby, and you can't assume that it won't happen to you. It's a good wake up call to remind you that nothing goes as planned, and that life is precious.

Worst DAY EVER

So... I usually save the evening stuff for the next day, but I can't help but post now.

I am devestated to report that the Black Pastel clutch that I hatched went HORRIBLY WRONG.

4 eggs were laid..

2 eggs went bad..

I cut the eggs a few days before. I knew something was wrong, but let it slide until the other two got out.

Today I get home, and one is out. It is TINY.

The other, I notice, is still in the egg.

Poke poke poke... Nothing.

I have a overwhelming feeling of dread, and I do what people don't normally do. I pull it out.

And... this is what came out.







It absolutely broke my heart... My eyes are still red from crying.. I could have done SOMETHING...

Thank god there was one alive.. And she is a girl.. She is the most BEAUTIFUL CREATURE I HAVE EVER HATCHED, and she is staying here to remind me how fragile life can be..





Seems like my luck is really not doing too well...

My heart hurts.

Monday Madness and Weekend Update with Heather WONG!!

Its Monday!!!

It begins again, and honestly, this week, I am not dragging ass as much as I usually do on Mondays.

It must be the rest I actually got this weekend. Imagine that!!!

Well, since I already posted about the eggs yesterday, nothing much more to update other than a small head is poking out of one of the eggs, and the other... a little more shy.

Friday was supposed to be a double feature of the Love Guru and Get Smart, but we only managed the Love Guru before it was time for some sleep.

My review of the Love Guru?

It was very much like Austin Powers. Lots of immature jokes about midgets and sex, but what else can you expect?? It was very visually stimulating, and I really like Indian Culture, so I was pleased at the use of it, but Elephant Sex and Justin Timberlake with a Mustache... Not so believable. Also borderline disrespectful of the culture? (I am on the fence about that)

And Guru Pitka was just not believable either.. But I loved the Deepak Chopra references and lots of star power in short bursts.

Bottom line... It is not a mature movie by any means. It is pretty, has some nice songs and beautiful clothes. Elephants and pretty women (Jessica Alba, Meagen Good).
Its a rentable movie, but not a movie theatre movie.. I was kinda dissapointed.


So Saturday, we had a couple of visitors come over and check out the "facility". My friend Lewie and his girlfriend Jasmine came over and played with my Balls..

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA... (Immature moment, I admit it. I was due, right??)

He took the pics, so when I get some pics from him, I will post.

We had a lot of fun with it, and had a great day hanging out.


Sunday was relaxing day. It was hot. The air was ON.

George Carlin passed... Sad sad day.

And here we are at Monday. Lets hope it is more fruitful and less depressing.

Sunny Sunday!!

So I usually take blog breaks on the weekend, but I have a lot to cover, so I wanted to get it out there today instead of tommorow.

Quick recap on what has happened.

I cut the eggs a while back, and have finally taken some pics...

Two of them were bad, and I decided to take some pics of that as well.. It seems that it went bad maybe within a month of being laid, if not sooner.

Poor little pinky... You can see the eyes and the heart slightly.



Here are the two that are alive. I think that these eggs should have been twins, but I don't think there are twins in there.. I can't really explain it other than there is way more yolk than necessary, but I will post pics of the egg once the babies come out to elaborate.






More updates on Monday as to what has happened here, but I wanted to post photos now to make sure I didn't forget.

By the way...

IT'S HOT

Summertime, and the living is easy....

Oh my goodness..

It is so hot.

I think the high temps today are supposed to be around 99 degrees.

I am not ready for the heat already...



Bleh.


So last night I got home very concerned for my critters and their ability to survive the heat.. But everyone was fine. Phew!!

I wasn't... I was baking.

It was so bad, in fact, that I decided to give myself a present. I cut the Black Pastel eggs. My sad little clutch of 4 eggs in which two went bad.

Looks like two Black Pastels in there though, so I'm not complaining. I'll have to go back and get some pics though...

Now back to the heat.

Bleh.

AARRGGGHHH

I HATE SLUGS..

Bottom line.

The End, No discussion.

Let me tell you a story about my slugs...

I have a large female that was given to me three years ago. I bred her to a Pastel, and she gave me 12 (TWELVE) slugs the first year.

I was not happy.

I gave her a year off. Didn't breed her last year to see if she could and would redeem herself.

Bred her this year to a Black Pastel male.

Got eggs yesterday...

7!! ALRIGHT!!! .... Oh.... wait... 5 slugs. TWO good eggs out of that whole ordeal.

SHE IS MAKING ME MAD.

But... maybe its not her fault.. maybe the male didn't do her right, so to speak.

I'm giving her one more year.

RAWR.




But on a brighter note.. My friend Tom Baker does it again! He has hatched out the Super Crystal.

Here it is, in all its glory!!

IT'S SO HOT.....

So since I don't have much more snake news other than I fed yesterday in 90+ weather again... (I'd use the AC, but the house is so old it doesn't usually help), here are some photos of the other girl, I have affectionately dubbed "Cheryl's Girl". After all, she is Cheryl's girl! She is a SUPER STAR. Look at her posing.. Really.





So this week until the weekend, we are expecting 100+ degree temps. I have to say, I am not the biggest fan of Summer heat. I am all for kids having free time and such, and good stuff like that, but I HATE HOT!! As I say all the time:

"You can put more clothes on if you are cold, but you can't get more naked than naked in the heat"

Although, I guess being naked isn't too bad, but when you have sweat beads dripping off of you.. not so sexy. Really...

I was actually tempted to take a pic of myself dripping (with clothes ON) for the effect, but then again, I don't want anyone to loose their lunch or anything..

PROPS TO MY FRIEND TOM BAKER for possibly hatching out the Super Crystal last night!!!

I will see if I can post pics soon of the animal in question. Until then, keep cool people...

"You can't go wrong with Wong!!"

It is Tuesday!

Yeah..

Nothing really new happening, other than cleaning again in ridiculously hot weather again last night. It's getting to be summer, which means that it is also getting HOT. 100+ degrees is the forcast for today... Bleh.

So my friend Dale came up with a little slogan on the fly for me on a forum, and I was told by another friend that it may be worth using.

"You can't go wrong with Wong"

What do you all think?

It is catchy for sure...

I'll have to think about it a bit more.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm......................


Side note: Here is Happy's Happy face closer up!





Anyway, I have just more waiting ahead of me. Two eggs to hatch on the 29th. That's it until July. Maybe more eggs to be laid, but.. that is not going as scheduled, so... yeah.

Keep watching the skies, people :)

Its Monday again...

So yesterday was a pretty mellow day.

I called my father for Fathers day, since we are too far away from each other...

We went to take Joel's Father out for Dinner for Fathers day, had a nice ice cream cake for Fathers day/Joel's birthday with the family, and basically chilled out and watched the Lakers eek out an embarrasingly close win last night against the Celtics.

Let us keep in mind that I am not a native Southern Californian, so I don't really care.

I actually spent some time online, and heard that I was mentioned on Reptile Radio for hatching out my Pieds with Cheryl!!! Rock on, Larry and BT!! Thanks for the props!!!

Got home a bit late last night, a bit tired, and went into the snake room to check in with things.

Suprisingly, I had eggs!!

I wasn't quite expecting them, but I am not complaining!

6 eggs from a normal female to a Mystery male. Could be many things, but I am leaning towards the Enchi... YAY MYSTERY!!!



And I got a quick shot from a female I've been waiting to lay FOREVER...

She looks pretty uncomfortable, doesn't she??



I'm kinda glad Humans only have one child at a time.. I sympathize with these snakes. It cannot be easy...

Snake Party #2!!!

So on Saturday, we had the good fortune of having Joel's birthday and a visit to Rauls!!

Joel and I went to Sushi and had a great night eating as much raw fish as possible, and then took the time to travel out to our friend Raul of West Coast Jungles house. We met up with a group of local snake friends, and had a great time!!!

Here is Cassandra and I playing with African House Snakes!!



Here is a crappy close up of an Albino House Snake.



Rauls ohh so cute baby Bearded Dragons!!!



More of Raul's ROCKING stuff!!! (Awesome specimens)




HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (Awesome cake for Joel's Birthday)



Here we all are, chilling on the back patio. Too much fun!!



Had a lot of fun, met a lot of cool people (Nice to finally meet you, Pattycakes), and enjoyed the evening alot! This was a bunch of fun, and I hope you enjoyed the quick overview!!

Here comes Monday!!

THEY ARE OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!

So finally, after much poking and prodding and constant opening of the tub...

THEY ARE OUT!!!

They already have the attitude of "Hey Lady, quit messing with me..."

FINAL COUNT:

0.2 Pied
2.2 Hets



They are safe and snug in their tubs, and hopefully will be happy with their new digs.

I've already named this one "Happy", as she has a happy face on her back that is PERFECT. (Can you see it? Its a bit shiny right now..)



Now that they are out, I can sigh a huge sigh of relief. The first clutch of the season is out and alive and healthy and we can go on and have more fun fun neurotic fun time with opening eggs and poking and waiting impatiently!!! Are you ready????

Thursday and nothing is really happening...

So I went last night to check on the eggs... Everyone in the egg was still where they were comfortable. No one wants to make the jump!! I understand it is a big bad world out there, but.. I am here to protect them. They will see.



So, other than that, nothing is really going on. Got a couple Vision racks to try and jam into the already full snake room, so a remodel will be underway soon, most likely.

Time is ticking away for more eggs to hatch. I've noticed that once you have some eggs hatch, the other eggs seem to take their sweet time hatching.. Time goes two times slower now. Thats what I get for being impatient.

And on top of that, I need to decide what is going to help complete the projects I have laying around.. That's always a pain, cause how can you not have X, Y and Z without A, B, and C?? And then again, why not get D, E, and F while you're at it??

Why not just get the whole alphabet???

EXACTLY!!!!!

Now if I can convince my wallet of that, we would be golden.

Picture time!!!

So here we go... Joe finally sent me these...

Cornsnake pictures!!! Don't ask me what they are.. I don't remember.

Orange Corns..



Pink Corns...



Pink grey Corn..



Caramel Corn??? HAAHAHAHAHAHAH (Seriously, I think that is what it is)



This one I remember, cause I actually like it.. Pied Sided Blood Red.



This is me, getting consistantly being bit by a worm. Some type of special worm.. Cube something?? It was HILARIOUS how this thing kept trying to hurt me. Disregard the huge railroad track face...




Thats it for the Corns..



As for clutches..I cut the rest of the clutch open.

Not the best odds, but it turned out to be two pieds, and four hets from a Pied to Het Pairing. I can deal with that.