Heating up

I realize I fell off the map on Friday, and I apologize.

My mother came into town, and that kinda took my mind off of snakes, to the point where I also forgot about the blog.

BUT I AM BACK!

And yesterday, with some help from some good friends, the snake room is clean, the snakes are accounted for, racks are somewhat rearranged, and I am back to a point of peace in the snake room (for the time being... Oh wait, look, something to clean...).

And while we were cleaning and talking and having a good ole' time, I am pleased to announce that we have had some build-ups to ovulations already!

Here they are...

 This is very similar to last years attempts to take photos of the ovulations, and this is the same difficulty that I was having last year.

Take a look at her mid-area, more towards the vent. 

Can you see the lumpy area? Her stomach is distended. 

These photos portray it a bit better. You can see where the belly area is lifted and fatter than the rest of the body...

That my friends, is an build to an ovulation. A small one, and I either missed the big blow or will see it in a few hours/days, but there it is. 

And of course, this was unexpected, as I hadn't started as early as I usually do... This gal was bred to the Pastel Lesser, and it feels like a good four or five eggs. 

This gal has the same paunch, and she is getting ready to blow. This gal is a possible het TSK Axanthic, and she was bred to the Axanthic het Albino. Come on, baby! Prove out!

And you've heard of the phrase "Glow before they go?" Well, this gal is surely glowing with her boyfriend, the Mystic. Let's hope that she has had enough Mystic to get some babies. I never caught them locked, so I am really just hoping for the best at this point... PLEASE!!!

So yeah, I am off to do a few more things in the snake room, and hopefully get a few more photos of critters to share this week. 

Happy President's Day!!!

Have a great day, my friends.

Still breeding

There are still locks going on, and still glowing and still developing and so forth. It's still early yet, so I am seeing the span of the gamut in terms of breeding.

The locks, of course...

Those that are again, just getting the hang of it, but getting pretty cocky... Look how angry he is that I'm bothering him!!!

(Please ignore the bad shed on that girl... They were locked up, so I couldn't remedy the situation)

And of course, the Glow. Looks like a completely different snake, doesn't it??

And various stages of gravid development.

This gal is in the earlier stages, but what I'd like to call the flat tire. She is flat and fat, but a pointed spine towards the end of her body. She has at least another couple of weeks before I anticipate anything, if not more

And of course, the last span of time before eggs... Look how miserable she looks.

Again with the flat tire, but much more pronounced from the sides. She is wiggling around to get comfortable, but with six eggs in her, I can't imagine how she can be!

Hopefully she will lay this week or next. But also hopefully before we leave for Washington DC.

We shall see.

So there you go. Still breeding, still waiting, still taking random pictures.

Have a fantastic day, my friends!

Easter Eggs?

Not quite. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get any Snakey Easter Eggs. I did catch some ovulations and buildings however, including this peachy gal who was ready to eat my face.

I have to say, this is looking more and more like a late year for me. I may need to get used to it. I'm not ready to do so, but I may have to.

BOOOOOOOOOOO

Anyway, we did get to see some eggs in other places.

We went over to Joel's Grandmothers house for Easter Sunday, and got to enjoy the joy of little ones hunting eggs.

I, being the responsible adult that I am, got to hide them.

Did I eat a few?

Yes... Yes I did.

I didn't hide them there, someone else did. But the kids found them none the less.

Hey look!!! I found an egg!!!

Candy abounded, and as I type this, I am eating jellybeans.

Oh Easter, why must you be so much fun?

And we are back to the grind this morning, back to reality. I'm alright with that. Maybe that means more eggs of the snakey variety soon.

We can only hope.

Have a fantastic day, my friends.

Things are still happening

So breedings are still going on, and I expect my first clutch to be laid in the middle of April.

This seems to me to be a late year, but we shall see how that ends up working out.

I am kinda excited for eggs now, cause it is a long time coming since last year, and the babies in 09' are all getting to be fatties anyway.

The Albino is handling his Het female, and doing an excellent job of it.

The Pastel het Pied is with his Het Female, and also doing an excellent job. I am looking forward to seeing some Pastel Pieds...

 This is one of my more exciting pairings (not that all of them aren't exciting), but I can't wait to see what comes out of this gal. Sterling male with my only Pewter female. He better get it done. Super Pewters are a must this season. Really.

And of course, some of my gals are not actually breeding anymore.

We have the fatties that are chilling in water bowls, as well as the gals that are glowing like lightning bugs.

The season is getting just a little more exciting, as time is coming near, my friends!!

HOORAY!


Lets hope for some good stuff this season, please...

Gotta do the ball python breeding dance to the BP gods.

Have a fantastic day, my friends. Don't forget to dance for me!

Girls getting ready

So as much as I may complain about not having much action, now is the time of season where we actually see some females developing and getting ready to lay their eggs.

How does one tell if a female is getting ready, or if they are even gravid?

Lets try and touch on a few points.

A female that is getting ready to ovulate has a glow. This is called the "Glow before they go" so to speak, and a normal ball python will become lighter in coloration. This is when the female is ready to move the follicles down the oviduct into an area in the tract (similar to the uterus) that allows the follicles to develop into eggs.

Follicles are pre-eggs, like in human women and the ovaries.

Yes, we are going to get technical, cause I am a Biologist.

Boys, close your eyes if you don't wanna learn about girly stuff.

Human women have follicles as well, but they only release one at a time (usually).

The follicle travels down the fallopian tube and ripens in the uterus.

Now in snakes, its similar, but the follicles are released many at a time, and develop at the same speed. When fertilized, the female ovulates, and the follicles travel down into oviduct and ripen there.  Then the follicles are eggs, and are laid in two months for incubation and hatching in two months.

These two females are getting ready for ovulation, aka "building."

They are getting fatter and wider, and the ridge of the spine is becoming more pronounced. They should ovulate in the next few weeks.

And then we have the female that is bathing itself. She is also glowing. This is an indicator that she is also building, but tends to be in the earlier stages of it.

Problem is, bathing is also an indicator of dehydration or illness, to name a few, so make sure that you are on top of your husbandry before beginning breeding, as this is a huge strain on a female that is not 100% healthy.

So what, if anything, should you be taking from all of this?

ONE: Heather is plugging in her incubator today.
TWO: Pay close attention to any females you may be breeding, as they do exhibit signs of being gravid if you know what you are looking for.
THREE: Girly parts are fascinating!!!
FOUR: Have a great weekend, my friends. I will be touching on some of the requests that have been asked in the comment section next week, including Chipo and some egg information.