Babies

So yeah, I have had some time to look at these babies, and I have come to the conclusion of a few things.

Yes, this guy is a Pewterbee. He's pretty sweet looking, and he is a Pewterbee.

Am I sad about it?

Kinda.. It would have been sweet to have a Mojave Pewterbee.

Next year, my friends. Next year.

And you know what else? This is a Firefly Crystal.

And this guy is a Fire Crystal to the left of her.

It took a few weeks, but I feel like it's pretty clear now. Especially with this photo.

And finally....

I hate assist feeding. But it is a necessary evil when animals are not interested in eating on their own from the beginning. 

Like this guy...

He was tiny. He is still tiny, and he didn't get any yolk when he hatched out. So Tuesday night, with much coaching from friends (cause I dislike doing it), he was given a mouse pink to eat.

By given, I mean shoved down his throat and into his stomach. 

These pictures are of him the day after.

He's still tiny, but at least he has something to grow on.

I have high hopes for this guy, seeing as how he is my first Clown ever.

(And by He, I am basing it on a very slight view of the genital region. I may be wrong...I didn't really want to push the issue. -SNAKE BREEDING PUN-)

HAH! I still got it... Kinda.

Anyway, I'm off to prepare some more for the Reptile Show. Also planning to do a few more this season, depending on what sells this weekend.

Any good shows you guys know of?

Have a great day, my friends!

Big girls, baby boys

As you know, I've been introducing new males into the harem.

A few of these boys actually showed some kinds of promise, so I snapped some pictures.

Above is my Pewterbee with a Pastel, and he was actually locked as I checked. He likes the larger girls, and I can't say I'm upset about it at all.

I am upset about the mess they made before I took the picture, but... it's hard to clean without not messing with them.

This guy below I've actually mentioned before, my beloved Spinnerblast.

He keeps trying to make things happen.

Problem is, you notice where his vent is? You can see per the picture what the issue is, but the thing is, he is trying! He is managing to lift the female's tail, and that again is a great sign, but no hemipene work at all so far.

Oh well... More to see soon.

Have a great day, my friends!

The Yet to be Proven Breeder Club

As I mentioned before, I have several males in the "Yet to be Proven Breeder Male club" (which we will shorten to the YPBMC) , as we all do after breeding for so long. All of these males I have produced over the years, and I have to say that I am glad to have them, albeit a bit apprehensive of their functionality in this seasons go-rounds.

Below, we have my Lemonblast Het Albino male that I produced last year from my Lemonblast to my Albino. My goal was not to make Lemonblast het Albino males, but that is what the outcome ended up being. I produced 2.0, and kept back this male to play around with to create some Albino Pins and Albino Spinners.

You notice how I didn't say Albino Lemonblasts and Albino Spinnerblasts? Yes, I don't really care all that much for the fact that Pastel is a factor with this male. It's a plus, of course, but in Albino form, Pastels have a bit left to be desired. Be that as it may, I love him and he's fun to look at. He is a shy one, and has been residing with my Spider het Albino female... under her water dish.

Fingers crossed with this guy.

And here we have another male I produced last year...

This is my Pewterbee male, one of the nicest ones I've seen around, if I do say so myself. I love his colors, and although I don't find the Cinnamon Spider to be appealing in the least (although may change my mind when I hatch out a few), I want to put him in with a few other females to see what luck may have with this guy.

He is currently in with one of my proven breeder Pastel females, and although I've seen cuddling, I have not seen ACTION.

Come on, little man. You can do it!

And this isn't it, my friends. There are SEVERAL other males in the YPBMC, one of which we already are familiar with, since I complained about him last year. 

My friend, Homey.. But we shall discuss him and a few others tomorrow.

Have a great breedingful day, my friends. And send some good breeding mojo my way too. Maybe I will have spoken too soon on some of these guys...

Clutches 23, 24 and the WORST MOTHER EVER

YAY FOR MORE EGGS!

This gal is a Het Hypo I picked up last year from a friend, and had a hard time getting her to eat. Luckily for me, she is a older female, and didn't have too bad of a time breeding.

Het Hypo of course was bred to my Pee-Oh-Gee, so this clutch should be a bunch more fantastic POGs. 

Seven eggs! Not too shabby!

But then I went thru and checked a few other females, and look what I saw when I opened up the tub?

Worst mother EVER.

Wasn't even coiled around them. She was a first time breeder, so I can't give her too much grief, but at least keep them SAFE! Oh well...

Three good eggs and two slugs to help prove her out. I hope she is a Het Caramel, but we will see.

So after that shock, I went thru the babies. You know how much I love silly sheddings, so I caught the Pewterbee looking ridiculously cute with his shed, and I had to take a picture. 

Awwwwwww....

How cute is he?

Anyway, we are at almost full capacity in the main incubators again, so I may have to go set up the extra one soon. We will see. 

Have a great day, my friends!

Phew!!

Test is done, I feel like a weight is lifted, and I can get back to work with my snakey friends.

Granted, I am still a bit miffed at the dirtiness, maybe because I have been overly cleanly since I had been watching Hoarders.

I did a huge clean of the house, people. I went top to bottom. Now just to get rid of the junk in the garage... and in my closet.

Maybe a garage sale?

Anyway, I am reorganizing the snake room a bit too, since I have not so much space left, and too many things I want to shove in there. I need a smaller work table, but I can't find one as of yet.. Or maybe one on wheels? Hmmm...

So I took a few pictures of some of the animals that I have been moving for various reasons.

Here is someone that I am annoyed with. You remember the rant about animals that are not snakey for whatever reason?

Well, this guy is that kind of snake. I moved him into a smaller tub, and so far no change, but it takes a few weeks sometimes for them to adjust.

He's so SMALL still.

Grrrrrr...

And this guy too.

This guy decided he was going to eat well for a few months, then stop for a few months.

So he has been moved, and is now eating very well again.

YAY, but BOOO for the problems before.

Yeah, he knows he's awesome...

So in terms of what is breeding, things are being paired, but nothing super exciting right now. Boys are in the corners, so I moved them around, which is why there are no pictures.

I hope to get some type of action shots soon, my friends.

Until then, have a great day!

Photography and the Industry

It is extremely important to take good photos in this hobby/industry. 

Why???

Well, I don't know about you, but if you live in New Jersey, you will not be able to see my snakes in person unless you took a long trip to a show (which I think is a fantastic idea, you should totally come out here...) 

So how do I, Heather Wong, show you, Miss or Mister New Jersey, my snakes and the quality in which I produce?

Photography.

Clear cut, no blurry pictures photography. 

Pictures of your snakes can make or break a sale. 

I admit that there are some crappy photos of some of my snakes online, and I really believe that that is part of the reason why they are not sold.

Now there is no reason for you all to go out and buy the top of the line camera out on the market today. I almost guarantee it is more than you would ever need, and if you just took your decent point and shoot and learned how to focus it correctly, there would be fantastic photos oozing out of the memory card you are using in a heart beat. 

Someone asked me back in the day what kind of camera I use. 

I use a Panasonic DMC-FZ7. 

I've used it for YEARS.

Why haven't I upgraded?

Cause I really don't know how to use anything fancier. 

Now if you do, feel free to get your rocks off on a top of the line camera. 

I would LOVE to have one, but how I see it is that it just doesn't make sense to buy a new one if I have no clue. This is not to say that I don't want a nicer one, I'm just content for now with what I have. 

Yes, I just point and shoot. Sometimes I use the flash. 

Ooooooh! Fancy.

I do not do anything other than that. Sometimes I crop, but I don't have the software to do anything cool. 

Now this brings me to photographs of other more technologically inclined people.

People will edit photographs to make things look better. This happens more often than not in lizards (Bearded Dragons and Cresteds is where I see it most often), but can happen with any animal photo. 

You are out there looking for the brightest orange Pied you can find... Well, hey! I can show you one with a few tweaks of photoshop.

Doesn't mean that it is legitimate when you get the box to your house.

So be aware. 

I hate to be so doom and gloom about people, but I have seen it happen, and it is worth it to be cautious rather than ignorant. 

And yes, this pied is really that brown/orange... AND WHITE!

So what do you need to take from this blog today other than the fact that I took photos?

Brush up on your snake photo taking, my friends. 

Click away, share on the forums, get some feedback. 

And do it again. 

And again. 

And AGAIN. 

It's a never ending skill you will need.

Perfect it with whatever camera you have.

Have a fantastic day, my friends!

Creepy Crawlies

I have arachnophobia. I do. I think I've mentioned it several times over the years. 

I don't like Spiders. When I see them in person, I tend to get squeamish. 

But yes, we have a Tarantula, and yes, I see spiders around the house and in life often enough. 

But these guys? I can handle these Spiders...

This is my Spinner girl that I hatched out, a Spider Pinstripe. I really really really love this combination. I'm not sure exactly why, but I just love the way they look!

And of course, we can't ignore a bit of Pastel added to it.. This picture doesn't do this guy justice, but they are awesome!!! Pastel Pinstripe Spider for the win!

I have to say, I wasn't really expecting this combination to look so good, but it really does. This is a Pewter Bee, or a Pastel Cinnamon Spider. You can't really see the Spider in this combination as much as the others, but it is there. 

I don't, however, really like the Cinnamon Spiders. I don't have one to show off, persay, but I don't think they are that stunning. Kind of a interesting combination, but nothing WOW!

And of course, the Bumblebee, which in real terms has nothing to do with Spiders at all.. 

Spider Pastel combination, one of the cornerstone morphs that most people LOVE! I love them too!

This gal is one of my favorites, and I am really glad to have her here. I'm not sure what I plan on doing with her, but then again, that's why I get to wait a few years.

Spiders are a great morph to be working with, and they are creepy crawly and awesome!

So enjoy the pictures, make your plans, and have a fantastic day, my friends!

Naked boys and new terminology

Well, not really naked...

Shed out and ready to take on the world!

I've been waiting on this guy, the Pewterbee, to shed out just to see his colors more. They are an interesting dusty pinky bronze....

And of course, as he is "ready to take on the world", he decides to be shy...

But he and I had a talk, and he complied with the photo with him spread out.

This photo shows more of his yellows. I am very curious as to how this guy will color up as he matures. Should end up being a very nice high yellow dusky gold.

We will keep up with his aging in photos as the year progresses.

Same thing seems to go for the Super Pastel Lesser boy as well. They must have been collaborating with each other about how to look cute and shy..

He was less willing to unravel, so I just shot his sides, which are an amazing array of colors.. Yellows, peaches, purples, browns...

I love this guy.

His pattern still trips me out a bit, since he is so busy, but still so Lesser-y.

Yes, apparently there is a term Lesser-y. Lets just chalk this up to Heatherisms...

Definition: Lack of pattern, but lack of overall alienheads. Floaty bubbles (patterns that do not attach to the sides and belly) and stripes over the spine.

Thus sayeth the Heather.

HAH!

Anyway, this is going to be a long weekend, and I'm going to be honest. I NEED IT BAD.

So, I will be unavailable for most of the weekend. I need to unplug, and Joel and I are going to do it together.

But yes, there will be a blog on Monday, albeit maybe a bit later than the typical 6AM.

So, have a fantastic weekend, my friends, a glorious Labor Day for those of us who labor, and remember that Anahiem is only a week away now! ACK!

Introducing the Pewterbee

Here he is, the Pewterbee, up close and personal.

He is VERY interesting, and I would have never thought that the combination would give me such a spotty wierd looking animal, but that is the way it worked out. I like him!

As we well know, I do not like spiders with spots too much. But this guy can be an exception. He has to be... See how many spots he has???

Here is a picture with him and a few of his siblings...

Bumblebee, Pewterbee, Pewter.

Interesting how they play out, isn't it?

I look forward to seeing the true colors of these critters when the time comes for them to shed out.


The entire clutch ended up like this:

1.0 Pewterbee
0.2 Pewters
0.1 Bumblebee
2.1 Pastels

Not too shabby. I especially like the Pewter females and the Bumblebee.

His colors are very interesting.. A burnished silver yellow green. The photos do not do it justice much, but it is what he will look like when he sheds that is the more important point.

I took pictures of what has shed and put what I could up on the available page. I am working on revamping that system, as I find it antiquated and not very user friendly. The photos all look like boo-boo as well, which doesn't help the situation.

I got bit so many times last night, I was getting frustrated. But it is done as of now, so I am pleased.

Check that off the list of to do, thank you very much.

I will be taking pictures of the newest stuff as it sheds out as well, so look forward to that this week.

I think I am almost up to date as to where I want to be. WOW! Now to make things BETTER.

Looking forward to more things soon, and will get things happening.

Hope you all out there do too.

Have a fantastic day, my friends.

Things are looking up

So this weekend, Smoj was in town. It is always refreshing to have a family member in town, a change of pace, so to speak, a reflection of what is happening in ones life.

"How are you doing?"

Well, I'm doing alright. Things have been kinda hectic lately, the snakes this season have been a rollercoaster, but hey, I'm doing alright.

"Have you been getting enough rest?"

No.

"Maybe you should take a break"

Yes, maybe. Will I? More than likely not.

But a break I did take on Saturday, and we went to the Arboretum and enjoyed the day.

Here is what I got to enjoy.

The Arboretum is a haven for Peacocks. Tons of them. This one was just hanging out...

And at the pond, this Canadian Goose didn't give a hoot about my being around watching it relax.

And relaxed it was, for good reason. Look at the scenery!

Yes, this is Southern California, people.

It was gorgeous, and a lovely day spent with some of my absolute favorite people.

So relax I got to, for a little bit. Serene indeed.

I need to go back there more often. Just for peace of mind.

And after the day was over, things were hatching.

These guys came out Saturday night.

Apparently Spotty McGillicutty got the job done with at least one female. Proven breeder? Yes indeed.

Count was:

2.1 Pastels
1.0 Bumblebee
1.0 Spider

So on we went with the weekend. Sunday was a trip to the Aquarium, and here are a few pics that I liked.

He is the epitome of serene, eh? Heck, I should be like the Dumpy Frog.

And one of my favorite birds, the Rainbow Lorikeet. Those suckers are beautiful, but temperamental for sure... I got bit and crapped on that day. But it was worth it.

Look! It's Nemo!

I was hungry for Seafood...

So anyway, after a fun fishy day, with lots of crappy photos that I took that I don't want to share, I came home to this.

Sterling to Spider clutch hatched on Sunday.

3 Pastels, 2 Pewters, 1 Bumblebee, 1 Pewterbee.

Sex odds unsure, but I did get my Pewterbee.

And yes, I did check him.

He is a male.

Alright!!!

I can handle that.

So that is all for today. I will get a chance to post up Daytona pictures tonight or tomorrow.


Have a fantastic day, my friends!