HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! and some updates...

Well, things are getting more fast paced.

I'm having lots of follicle growth, but not enough pairings for me to be comfortable with..

And with my males getting either really randy or not at all, it's kinda going to be one of those crap shoots that I may or may not be happy with when all is said and done.

Here is the Enchi doing work.



And the Mojave



And of course, the dissapointment of the season....



You thought I was kidding when I told you he was doing nothing? Not at all.. Proof in the photo, right there. Its like that very often too, which is a huge heart breaker for me. I really was hoping for some nice G-stripes this season. Lets just cross our fingers that maybe I'm just missing them every time I check???

Overall, I am still not horribly dissapointed in him that badly. He is still a sexy beast... Just a little confused right now.



Anyway, its Friday, and I am glad for the weekend.

SUNDAY (Superbowl Sunday) IS Joel and My 5th year Anniversary!!!

5 years of our being together, since college and beyond... Monday will be Anniversary recap day with some snake stuff thrown in. Be sure to tune in!

And have fun watching the Super Bowl!!!

Have a great weekend!

Axanthic comparison shots and story

I think Axanthics are a very underappreciated morph.

People can see them in photos, and even in person, it may be difficult to tell them apart from a normal if you see one without a normal being next to it.

Now, these aren't the super hottest A+ animals if you can't, but Axanthics are great combo morphs, and in person, they just POP if not in shed.

In the TSK line, which is the only line I work with at the moment, there are two color variations.

There is the Charcoal phase, which is a darker shade of animal, just over all more deep in the greys and blacks.



And there is the other phase, which name escapes me at the moment... Smoke? I don't think so, but basically the animal is a much lighter animal, highly lightened greys and whites, less black.



And here they are next to each other to give you an idea as to the differences (It's not just the lighting!)



Hopefully that will give you a better idea of Axanthics and how they look. They come in different shades, but they are all the same thing.

My long term project: Killer Bee Axanthics

Since they are finally out of Q, I took some pics of a pair of my new favorite Pastels that I got from my friend Kelly out in Florida.



The girls are sisters (maybe half sisters, I'd have to go back and check), and they are so cool!!! Why, do you ask, are they so cool???




They are a part of my Killer Bee Axanthic project that will take me forever, but that I am excited about doing!!!

They are Pastels poss het Axanthic. So in the spirit of being poss het, I put them next to an Axanthic in these photos to maybe get more Het into them???





Give me two more years and I will be all over proving them out... I can't WAIT!


Anyway, Males are in with females again.

This weeks pairings are:

Axanthic to Albino
Pied to poss het
Albino to het
G Stripe to poss het
Enchi to normal
Mojave to normal
Pinstripe to normal
Pastel to normal
Sable to normal
Black Pastel to normal
Pewter to normal

I didn't get too creative this week. Gotta get those girls going!

Anyway, have a great day!!!

The New Year is here...

Whether you follow the Lunar Calendar or not, isn't it CRAZY how fast the new year is going by????

I recall when Jan 1st was a point on the calendar, and now... it's almost February!

Goodness.

Where does the time go?

Seems like I have been missing a chunk of my time that has just gone into the black hole of nothing...

Geez.

Anyway, we had a great dinner last night, full of Chinese food. I got some people who don't eat "exotic" food to have some seafood and tofu and rice pudding! YEAH!!! It was great fun, and maybe next time we will have some whole fish with heads and tails on or something..



And of course, I had my camera ready to go, but forgot it on the computer table, so imagine it like this, kinda... not really...

Oh well.

Anyway, the boys have their last day off today, and tonight I go home and pair up again to actually have more snakey reports soon.

Soon eggs should be dropping.. in a month or so. I'm not ready...

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Lunar New Year!

It is the year of the OX, my friends.

I hope you cleaned your house well, are wearing new clothes, and had something sweet the first thing this morning.

Let this be a prosperous and joyous Lunar year!

Why, do you ask, am I posting this up? Well, as you may well know, I have some Chinese ancestry, and it is always very enjoyable for me to celebrate these types of holidays.



Want to learn more? Here you go! Chinese New Years is a great holiday to celebrate, and a great excuse to have some rocking Chinese food!!!



Anyway, this weekend was cleaning up for today, and I have to say I am pleased with the cleanliness of my house and snake room. I'm sure, however, that when I get home tonight, it will be completely a mess, but such is life.

The males are on their breaks, and in the next couple of days, pairings will happen again!! Let us hope for some good ones again! Have a great day, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sorry I'm so late

I took the day off to handle my LICENCE PLATES that finally came in!!



I am now officially representing the P Regius here in California!!!!

WOOOOT!


Its also raining cats and dogs out there, and I am very pleased! I get to spend time with the snakes watching the rains get them all riled up.

This weekend should be a busy one, as there are plenty of things that are going to be happening (Chores for one, running around for another).

In addition to running around at the DMV, I was waiting for a package that came in early! (Wow, Fedex!!!)

These girls are a group that came from Kentucky, and I have to say I am pleased with them very much!





This was a deal that happened two years ago that didn't quite work out as planned, so I had to wait for things to hatch and so forth. I'm happy its done, and happy that these girls are so pretty!!!

YAY SPIDERS!

Anyway, I am actually on my way out now, and I wanted to make sure to get a blog up for Friday, so have a GREAT WEEKEND everyone, and I will talk to you on Monday!

It's Spinklin!

It's not raining, it's not pouring. It's not even sprinkling. It's Spinklin.

It's so light and almost non-existent that its missing a couple of letters.

What does that mean for me?

It means that there is a chance that some of the boys will start getting more excited for the season!

My one hope is that the Genetic Stripe decides to take it upon himself to use his penes in a way that is beneficial for the reproduction of his species.

Will it happen for sure? I'm not sure. Last night I saw him, and he was getting closer, but no visible locks.

Anyway, in the breedings, there are less opportunities to take photos, so here are more 08's.

This is a Pastel. Basic pastel, no bells or whistles, possibly het for something, but no combo morph. She's still very pretty, but she is the basic pastel morph. YAY PASTELS!



And here is a Pastel Yellowbelly. Can you see the difference??? Its kinda suprising that another basic morph changes the colors so drastically. Much more vibrant yellow, darker blacks, overall better tone... Yeah boyyee.



I love this stuff... How can you not???

A New Day

It's a brand new day!

Granted there is very little that is different here, males are still being paired, females are building, babies are eating, and I am pulling my hair out, but it is a brand new day!!!

Hoooray!

Anyway, this photo is of my friend and bitey companion Missy Yellowbelly. That's not her real name, but she was so pissed off that I had to give her some type of acknowledgement. I love this photo. She is mad, and she is showing off her assets as being a yellowbelly.

The real question is, what makes a yellowbelly?



In this photo, you can see the basics.

She has flames and yellow coming from up her sides, mottled black lines at the base sides of her stomach, a generally clear belly (I have one that doesn't have a clear belly, but it is a good indicator), and a good general dark blushed out tone.

Need more? Here's the Hunters Guide to Yellowbellies.

Anyway, here is another photo I didn't get to share of another pairing. My Albino is FINALLY deciding he is not gay, and is turning on the charm this year. I am hoping for lots of Albinos, as you can really not have too many... They are just sexy animals.



Have a great hump day!!!

Handle yah Bidnezz

Happy Inauguration Day!

I was tempted to not go into work today so that I could watch the Inauguration on television, but I was convinced otherwise. I will be able to watch it on YouTube. (What can't you watch on there...)

Anyway, in the spirit of handling ones bidnezz (Translation: Business), I have posted up a couple of heart warming shots of snake sex that I saw last night.

These two pairings excite me very much, as I will be set for a couple years with these projects if they come to fruition.

First is my Axanthic het Albino male in with my Spider female.

What will this give me?? Spiders and normals both het for Axanthic and poss het for Albino.

People like Albino Spiders, and people love Axanthic Spiders.. I am going to get BOTH! WOOOOOOOT!

This is actually a project Joel told me he liked, as he really liked the Killer Bee Axanthic, so this is the first step towards that goal for him.



And MY project that excites me a lot, the Albino Pied..

Now, this pairing will only produce double hets for Albino and Pied, but in a few years down the road, I will be making ALBINO PIEDS! Those things are SICK! (Super stoked on this one... Really)



So that is the best stuff so far. Hopefully things will start kicking more into gear and more of my more exiting pairings will be able to be photographed.

More to come!

Have a great day!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Its Monday, and it is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day.

I try and observe the specific days for most holidays, so if it is a holiday celebrated in the US, I will try and acknowledge it!

I like the fact that it was CAKE to get to work this morning, with barely any traffic, and even extra time to get Starbucks! WOOOT!

Last night I put the pairs back together, and this week the Enchi was in the rotation (he was in shed last week), so here he is in action just a few hours after being put in with a lady!




And my Pewter boy, as small as he is, is raring to go too.. No time wasted for this guy...




So this week the pairings are:

Pewter to Normal
Enchi to Normal
Axanthic het Albino to Spider
G-Stripe to poss het
Albino to het
Pied to Albino
Mojave to Normal
Poss Het Lavendar to Normal
Black Pastel to Normal
Sable to Normal

Pinstripe is in shed. Of course...

POG is out of the running still. Little guy has no swimmers. Oh well.

I have been toying with the idea of running a Pastel thru some of the Normals too, but I don't personally need any, so is there a good reason to make any more? I dunno...

Anyway, in last weeks photo session, my precious Enchi female, the only one from last year, was in shed, so I finally got a good picture of her to post up. She is HAWT!!!



I can't wait for more of them this year... I'm keeping back like... 10!!! (Not really)

Anyway, enjoy your vacation day if you get it, and get ready for TOMMOROW!!!

Heather's Herps Mascots of 08'

I've managed to go thru all my photos and pick out the mascots of 08'.

These are the animals that in this past season were produced and have an amazing story behind them.

Let us recap these beauties for those who don't remember.




This is Spotty McGillicutty. He is my first Bumblebee and the only one I have produced so far.. Out of 7 eggs, he was the ONLY bee, and he was not as I had pictured in my mind.

He had far too many spots for my taste, and to be quite honest, I was a little dissapointed with him when he hatched out. But, slowly but surely, I named him jokingly and he is now one of my favorite animals. He was selectively bred to be a stunning yellow with no spots, but at least he got the yellow thing going for him!




And this is Frog... She seems to be a fan favorite, and I know exactly why. This girl hatched out at around 20 some odd grams, and was the runtiest runt I have ever produced. She hatched out with bug eyes as well, which is why I called her Frog. She is a possible het clown, and when she hatched, I didn't think she was going to make it...

But she is now 4-5 months old, and she is going strong! She is still very small, but she is going to be fine. I love this little girl, and she'll be with me forever!



And the pièce de résistance, here is Chipo. Her name means Gift in Swahili, and there is a good reason for it!

Chipo hatched out of a clutch that went horribly wrong. She was one out of three eggs that were good, and her egg was the only one which hatched out anything viable. Her brother was so badly deformed that he died in the egg. The other egg went bad in incubation. So, I pulled this little girl out of her egg, and she was also tiny. I was very concerned for her well-being, and although she looked different, I didn't put two and two together until she got older.

Little did I know that I had hatched out the first of this morph ever, and it was on ACCIDENT!!!

The Normal Mom was not so normal, and gave me my treasure. Chipo is doing amazing now, and will hopefully have some more like her in the spring, if all goes well.

So there are our Mascots of 08'. Let us hope for some other fighters and amazing animals in 09'!

Oh... leftovers...

Last night was feeding night, and I am kinda happy but kinda annoyed at the same time... Some animals are FAMISHED and are eating much more than usual, and some are not eating at all, and I thought I bought less food than I needed.

I was WRONG.

I have a bunch of leftovers, and I really dislike having leftovers, cause I have to put them somewhere until the next meal. What a pain!

Oh well.. Now I know I can cut the feed bill in half and be alright...



I'm removing the boys tonight to be able to rest up for next week. Hopefully I can figure out a good way to make the G Stripe interested.

This is my current breeding struggle, as I am really dissapointed at this point... He was a highlight this season, and he isn't COOPERATING! How hard is it to give in to temptation??? For me, not too hard... Oh well.

Anyway, the photos in order at the Pastel Yellowbelly, my weird CH Dinker that I got a long time ago (she's not the best eater, but she is HAWT), and my Pied.

I'm trying to come up with something clever for the next week to highlight breedings.. Any suggestions??

Breeeeedings...

Some success last night, some not so much.

Here are a couple of photos I managed to snap of the "goings on" in the marital tubs.

This would be my Albino to my het. She is not proven yet, but when those little white and yellow heads pop out... YEAH BABY!

Albinos are awesome. I really really like them. One of my favorite base morphs. They just scream awesomeness.



If you could ignore the green bowl, this is my Axanthic het Albino in with my Albino poss het Axanthic... Let us pray to the Ball Python gods that she is a het and that I will get my Snows this year. I've been working on this project for four years now.. I think I'm due.



And of course, my studly Pied buddy who never has let me down for breeding his girls...

He is currently breeding a female that didn't prove out to be a het last year. Hopefully she will hit it this year. Let us cross all fingers and toes and arms and legs that she is a het... PLEASE.



And of course, these are the only lock ups I saw after almost 24 hours of being in the tubs, which doesn't mean that other action isn't going on... It just means I may have missed it!

So... We keep on trucking, and hope that there are more breedings happening, and that we will have copious amounts of great clutches this year!!

When the next rotation begins, more different breedings will happen, and some may be exciting!!!

Cross all your crossables, pray every day, and let us hope that this season will be a great one!

Movin' on up... to the East Side...

Last night I moved the boys into their respective girlfriends rooms.

So far the pairings have been:

Pied to poss het (Proving her out for the second year)
Albino to het
Pewter to normal
Sable to normal
Poss het Lavendar Albino to normal (going to loooong route)
Black Pastel to normal
Mojave to normal
Axanthic het Albino to Albino
Pinstripe to normal
G-stripe (who is still not interested) to poss het

I tried the sperm plug on the back of the female with the G-stripe, but so far, I haven't seen any action even with that.. I'm getting worried he may be...a little...confused about his sexuality. Oh well. We'll still keep tryin.



A few good women and men in this photo op.

Above is two 08' animals, a TSK Axanthic and an Albino... SNOWS BABAYY!

This is a female Pinstripe here on loan. She's a hottie for sure!



And here is OG. Pronounced Awguh. She is an Orange Ghost. Get it?? OG? Og?? Orange Ghost??

Sometimes I am just so clever.... (yeah, right)



And here is her future boyfriend who hasn't reached puberty.

My friend, Pee-Oh-Gee. POG. Cause he is a Pastel Orange Ghost.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! I slay me!



Thanks Tim, you are a great friend.. Without you, I'd be totally behind on this project. Much love!!!

Have a great day!!!

Once upon a time...

It's been a week since we've been back, and I forgot to share with you one of the last stories of Hawai'i.



This is a rock crab, and I'm going to try and segway my way into the story, cause I have no photos of the incident.

It was the last day in Hawai'i and we were on our way home. We flew into Honolulu to fly back to the mainland, and we had a three hour layover. I HATE layovers, but I was tired, so it was alright.

Like tide pooling, I like watching people... So like this crab, trying to hide from everyone in camouflage, I found someone who was trying to hide in the crowd, waiting to board the plane.

Who, you ask???

Why none other than Captain Kirk himself.



I was watching the general public, and I saw an older man in a hat and sunglasses come in the terminal. It was NOT that bright in the terminal, so my interest was peeked. He was accompanied by a blonde woman who appeared to be younger than he. My interest peeked more.

He looked very familiar, so I had to turn and ask Joel. "Hey, is that William Shatner?" He takes a look at me after rolling his eyes, and then looks at the man in question. "He looks somewhat like him" and then turns away to read something.

I'm absolutely 100% positively sure this is him by this point, so I ask a family of people who are sitting across from me. "Excuse me, I'm sorry for interupting anything, but I HAVE TO KNOW... Is that William Shatner over there?"

The man looks over, then looks over at me again... "Yeah, I think you're right"

SUCCESS!!!!

So I smugly watch as William Shatner gets on First Class with his blonde friend, and I wait it out.



5 and a half hours later, we touch down in LAX.

My friends come and pick us up, and one of the first questions out of their mouths were "Was there anyone on your flight? The Paparrazi are swarming!"

SUCCESS X2!!!

So even though I didn't gather enough cajones or feel rude enough to bother the man, I am 100% sure William Shatner was on my plane from Oahu to LAX.

IN YOUR FACE, JOEL!

I think that will be the last Hawai'i story, since it was the last day story anyway...



So yeah, SNAKES!!!

Cleaning is done, moving around is done... Photos were taken!

Last night I moved a lot of things around for growing up, and I feel like things are almost complete!

Here are some of the 08 babies I had moved around.

Yellowbelly (Can't have too many of these...)



Mojave belonging to Rashad!!! (What a hot snake, eh?)



And my elusive Spider, shy silly little girl...



Snake stories to come this week, since I'm sure you are fed up with Hawai'i.

Have a GREAT WEEK!

Thank God It's FRIDAYYY!!!

Last night I finally finished overhaul cleaning!!! Did it all by my self too. Took another 3 hours, and my lungs are full of sani-chips, but I did it!!!



Isn't it pretty??? Did it all by myself. I'm not really done, but I'm done enough for last night. Just need to sanitize some tubs and move some people around, and then I'll be golden!!!


Thank god it's Friday too! Means I have the weekend to putter around, which I haven't had a chance to do in a LONGGG time. First time this year, in fact.

Anyway... Let me introduce you to a guest here at Heather's Herps. This is my friend Kat Calderala's Caramel Albino Ball from Central Valley Pythons.

She has graciously allowed me to borrow her studly male to put to my two poss het females this season. I AM STOKED. This is one of the first recessive morphs I fell in love with back in the day. He is PERFECT. No flaws whatsoever. I'm hoping that is the case in his progeny too!



Sexy sexy sexy beast... Really.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, I saved this Hawai'i story for the end of the week, cause to be quite honest, it's HILARIOUS. Some of you may have known when I got back (or when you saw me at the show), that I had a bruise and some scrapes on my forehead. Let me explain.

Once upon a time, I was coming back to the condo from a beautiful day of Hawai'ian adventure. It was dark, and it was also time to go home... We were driving up the freeway (which is only two lanes, by the way, one way each...) when all of a sudden a red car passes us on the opposing lane, driving very slowly, flashing his emergency lights.

I look and wonder if the man needs help, or if he is a mass murderer setting a trap, but as we were both driving on, he continues slowly on his way.

So, with that, we turn the bend in the road. What is this???



It appears that a tree has fallen over both lanes of the freeway, and is unpassable. THAT is what the red car was trying to tell us.. Ohhhhhhhhh. (Phew!)



So we call Emergency Services and let them know, and they tell me to get out and warn other cars behind us. I get out, and some people on the other side of the freeway gets out as well. We evaluate the situation..

It is KILLER AVOCADOS!! (You can see them on the road) The tree is an Avocado Tree with another tree that fell. Two trees, fallen on the road, very impressive and heavy and in the way.

So some people decide to take matters into their own hands and try and clear the road. I'm all gung-ho and get involved after taking a couple of photos..



Joel decides to help with his flashlight and a gentleman using a blunt rusted machete someone had in their truck. Guy was hacking a branch to no avail, but there needed to be light to try, right??





Anyway, in my fit of Gung-ho-ness, I decide to help three men push a branch out from the base of the tree. Mind you, this is a BIG branch, not even the four of us could bend it much. I was closest to the axis where the branch meets the trunk, and for some reason, no one told me that the other three guys were going to STOP TRYING after a bit. I was the only one pushing, and it comes FLYING back at my head.

BAM!!!!!!!

And thus, the damage to my head. It hurt like a Mo-fo for a couple of days. I still have residuals today.

Anyway, an hour goes by and the tree is finally cleared on one lane of the freeway, so we go on our merry way. Getting home and taking pictures of Heather's injury. (Thanks, Joel)

That's my story. How can you NOT share something as wierd as that??




With that weird story done, here are some more pretty normally associated with Hawai'i photos. Enjoy.





I did manage to smuggle a Ball Python into Hawai'i. AND, I took it back with me.. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.



Have a great weekend, my friends. Enjoy it, cherish it, love it. See you next week!