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breeding atrox
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by jay71284 on July 11, 2004
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hello everyone,
ive just got a big female to go with my male westerndiamondback, the male is in shed. This will be my first time at ever trying to get a pair of hots to produce and breed for me. i have already put them together just wating now. Can anyone give me some pointers and info on breeding my atrox and producing babys. thanks jason
scrub71284@yahoo.com
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RE: breeding atrox
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by taipan_nuts on July 11, 2004
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Have you ever bred North American Colubrids? If so, duplicate the exact husbandry and your specimens should produce for you every time.
You want to start with two healthy (male/female) animals. It is probably too late this year for you. What I would do if I were you is I would start feeding your snakes heavily for the upcoming brumation/hibernation period. Here's what I do:
-Feed them heavily up until October.
-In the 1st week feed a small meal. This will be their last meal until spring. They will live off the excess fat stores during the dormancy period that they have accumulated from your heavy feeding regimine. If you don't feed heavily now...it could negatively affect your outcome in the spring, or worse....they could die in brumation. It is important that your snakes have passed all of their stomach contents. As they cool, their metabolism slows, and any food contents left behind may putrify in the intestine building up toxin levels in your snakes. This can be fatal. Just make sure all stomach contents are past.
-On Nov 1st, place your atrox in a dark area and gradually lower the temperature. I recommend temps between 50-55F. YOUR SNAKES MUST HAVE ACCESS TO WATER AT ALL TIMES. Use a basement, a cool closet, a garage suplemented with heat....or whatever. Just make sure it stays dark and cold.
*A few cautious pointers: Be mindful that you shouldn't disturb your snakes, but look in on them every 4 or 5 days...just to make sure they still have water. You will notice that they are slower moving, but they can and will still bite. If you notice any specimen becoming too thin, go ahead and bring them up. Many snakes can successfully breed with as little as 6 weeks of brumation. They can be under as long as 4 months. In the past I have kept my snakes brumated for periods of 90 days/3 months, and this is what I would recommend.
-On Feb 1st gradually raise your temps for a minimum 7days. Be mindful not to raise temps too fast. It needs to be a gradual transition. When temps are normal and your snakes are moving about begin to feed your females heavily. It is unnecessary to feed the males heavily unless they are dangerously thin. In all my breeders, I keep my males "slightly thin" as the porkers aren't as interested in porking. It is extremely important that your females are almost obese. These built up nutrients will assist your specimens in providing nutrients to her developing embryos. As you are feeding your females heavily she will eventually go into shed. When she has completely sloughed her first skin, wait for 3-4 days and introduce her to the male (or vice versa-it doesn't really matter). It might be helpful to your cause if you keep an additional male present. Have an enclosure large enough for the 3 snakes, but if both males feel there is a little competition between another, they often become more oportunistic breeders. This competitive scenario can be manipulated by adding the fresh slough skin of another male, perhaps old newspaper from another male's cage, or his SCAT.
-Whenever I breed my snakes, I introduce the males and I continue to introduce them for several month until I am certain the female is gravid. This procedure also maximizes one's chances of fertility. The more times he tags that cloaca, the better your chances are for fertile offspring (less slugs). Too many times breedings go south because the snake swells and ovulates creating the false impression of gravidity. If she starts to swell....keep introducing the pair to each other.
-Keep a basking spot present at all times for the female, and feed the hell out of her. Give her as much as she wants. I would recommend seperating the male from the female from time to time. This helps to insure that the snakes don't lose interest in each other. If you follow these instructions to the "T", it is almost certain that you will reproduce this species.
You could have young as early as June or as late as Sept. Some keepers prefer to feed up until Nov 1st, brumating Dec 1st-March 1st. I put them under Nov 1st, but that's just what I like to do.
C. atrox are incredibly prolific. I have even bred them by accident.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Dr. Edward J. Freyaldenhoven
University of Texas/Biological Sciences
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