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2007 General
Breeding Season Notes |
March 2007 - Overview
This season is off to a great start. Although I don't
expect as many clutches as I got last season, things are looking
good and it may happen. Some females are getting the year off,
some just didn't seem ready, so I'm just concentrating on the key
projects this year...although I'm sure there will be a number of
unexpected clutches too.
I got my
first clutch on March 18 and I have a handful of gravid females.
As always, there are a few more pairings that I haven't listed
because they're either not looking very promising or I might just be
keeping them quiet for whatever reason. ;0)
April 2007
Things are moving along at a brisk pace right now. I
think the new reptile room has helped a lot.
Forget what I said last month about
this year being lower key...as it stands, I think I have more gravid
adult females than not. At this point, I should easily
end up producing more carpets than I did last season...especially if
some of my bigger female coastals go.
There are still a few females that
I'm unsure about, but those are the ones I was counting out
anyway...and I still think a couple may have a chance.
May
2007
It looks like things are
starting to wind down a bit in terms of breeding activity.
Aside from that crappy 2 egg clutch (clutch 6), I think I'm looking
at getting a clutch from every female on this page....and of course,
I have a couple of other things going on as well. :)
This should be a big
month for egg production, so be sure to keep up with each clutch (below) as they
progress.
June 2007
So far,
it's turning out to be a great season here for carpet pythons.
As of now, the total is 240 carpet python eggs (the first of which
have already begun to hatch). There's always the chance of a
late clutch or two, but I'd say the egg laying season is pretty
much a wrap.
Now it's time for
the fun part...hatching! This month
will be plenty exciting, but next month will be crazy...there will
literally be a clutch hatching every few days in July.
July 2007
The BIG
month is finally here. Today is July 5th and we have snakes
from four females hatching right now! I will essentially
have carpets hatching non-stop throughout the month of July.
I don't think I need to say
how much fun (and work) this month will be. :)
October 2007
Good grief...literally.
If you've ever wondered what it's like to get a couple hundred
hatchling carpets started, let me say this: It's just as much work
as you would imagine. Finally, several of the clutches are
getting to their 5th and 6th meals, so it's finally time to start
making them available. Look for several clutches to become
available in the coming weeks.

Hannibal
Sire to 2006 Motleys
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Bullwinkle
Breeder Male 50% Irian Jaya Jaguar
Produced Here in 2005 -
Pictured in July 2007

Motley Irian Jaya - 6
months old
Produced Here - August 21, 2006

GQ Line Irian Jaya - Yearling
Female
Produced in my first GQxGQ pairing (2005).
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Clutch 1 |
75%
Irian Jaya Jaguars |
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Sire:
Bullwinkle
2005 - 50% Irian Jaya Jaguar
From my 2005 Stripe Jaguar x WC Irian Jaya Pairing |
Dam:
"Fertile Myrtle"
CB 2001 Female Irian Jaya - Unknown Breeder |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Irian Jaya Jaguar Page
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Irian Jaya page. |
Overview
Bullwinkle is a really nice IJ
Jag and I think breeding him to a trophy female Irian makes this
clutch really exciting. He was only 19 months old when I started
cooling, so I didn't expect a lot from him coming into the season.
However, he started breeding within an hour of being given an
opportunity and he's been an outstanding breeder ever since.
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Update
This small (just a hair over 5' in length) 2001 female tends to become gravid regardless of if
she's put with a male or not. She's blind-sided me with
slugs early in the season twice before, but Bullwinkle got 'er
done this year. :-)
Pre-ovulation swelling started about 10 days after I started
cooling! Fortunately, I didn't miss it and I was able to
introduce Bullwinkle just in time. He got in several
copulations just a few days before ovulation and now I have
eggs. I'm still floored at the number of eggs in this
clutch...17/19 from a 5 foot female carpet ain't bad in my
book.This should be an awesome
pairing considering how nice both parents are. As far as I
know, these will be the first 75% Irian Jaya Jaguars produced
in the United States.
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Status:
Hatched 5/16/07
Pre-Lay Shed:
2/18/07
Lay Date: 3/18/07
Hatch Date:
5/16/07
Fertile/Total Eggs:
17/19
Wow!
Hatch Date:
5/13/07 (Manually Pipped)
Hatch Rate:
100%
Ratios:
3.5 Irian Jaya Jaguars/5.4 Normal Siblings
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Clutch
Photos
Wow! What a clutch this
is. The jags all have their own unique look to them...some
have striping, some have extremely faded patterns, some have a ton
of red pigment "bleeding" through the tan color, some just look
weird. Picking out a few holdbacks is going to be tough!
Even the sibs are really variable, from banded to near black to
blood red. Also, note the
mid-dorsal striping on several of the Jaguars.
The thin black
outline around the mother's orange pattern also appears to have
played a big role with these guys, as even the siblings are
exhibiting that look. From what I've seen so far, these
should be super clean Jaguars and siblings as they reach
adulthood.
The majority have
shed, but not all, so please excuse the extra crispy look on a few
of them.
75% Irian Jaya Jaguar Males

75% Irian Jaya
Jaguar Females
Sibling Males
Sibling Females

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Clutch 2 |
Hannibal x GQ
Irian Jaya |
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Sire: Hannibal
(Hypo/Platinum?)
Sire to 2006 Motleys
Unknown Origin |
Dam: 2001 "GQ"
Female
Produced by Gary Quirk |
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This is the male that started
the Motley project.
Click
HERE to visit the
Motley page.
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Click
HERE
to visit the Irian Jaya page. |
Overview
Hannibal is a very unique snake in
that he has no black anywhere on his body, which we believe may be
a genetically inheritable form of extreme hypomelanism. As
such, all the hatchlings from this clutch are potentially
heterozygous carriers of this hypo coloration. That's not to
mention that he also sired last year's Motleys!
I don't even have
words for the potential here. Both snakes are extremely
special animals and I think it's one of my most exciting
carpet pairings this year.
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Update
This pairing happened fast.
I started cooling in early January. I put Hannibal in
and they copulated immediately. The GQ female had her
pre-lay shed on March 5, so the job was apparently done
immediately. I should have eggs around the end of
March.
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Status: Hatched
5/31/07
Pre-Lay Shed:
3/5/07
Lay Date: 4/2/07
Hatch Date: 5/31/07
(Manually Pipped)
Fertile/Total Eggs: 18/19
Hatch Rate:
100%
Ratios: 9.9 Potential Het for Hypo/"Platinum"
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Clutch
Photos
Well, they're out and the hatchlings
look exactly what I expected...that is, before the Motleys came
along last year. lol
They all pretty much have Hannibal's
head pattern and saddles along the body. Great looking
snakes...just not quite what I was hoping for after the Motleys
hatched last season.
:)

As far as the Motleys go, their
appearance is not due to temperature fluctuation during
incubation, so there are only two explanations left.
Either they're just a fluke or they're basically a new combo or
"designer" morph that I hit on accident. Either way, it
doesn't make sense and there's no point speculating any further
until I can repeat the pairing from last year (which I tried to do
this year, but it didn't happen).
So now there are two parts to this project...the original game
plan of proving out Hannibal's hypo or "platinum" coloration and
trying to produce more Motleys. Nerve racking, but fun. :)
Update - 6/12/2007
The first ones have shed
and I have to say that this is the best looking clutch of Irian
Jayas I've ever produced. So far, most of the snakes in this
clutch look as nice or NICER than any of my GQxGQ holdbacks looked
as babies.
Second Shed Photos

The below photos were taken at 5
months old (November 2007).
These are surplus males that I'm making available.

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Clutch 3 |
75% Irian Jaya Jaguars
- GQ Line |
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Sire:
Bullwinkle
2005 - 50% Irian Jaya Jaguar
From my 2005 Stripe Jaguar x WC Irian Jaya Pairing |
Dam:
Tripod
2004 Pure Irian Jaya
From my 2004 GQxWC Clutch |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Irian Jaya Jaguar Page |

Pictured after laying this year's clutch. She's much
lighter/better looking than this photo shows and I will be taking
another one soon. This female was my #1 holdback
female Irian of 2004.
Click
HERE
to visit the Irian Jaya page.
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Overview
This is another exciting
75% IJ Jaguar pairing. Both snakes were produced here
and both of them were top holdbacks from their respective
clutches.
The female,
Tripod was actually held back specifically for this type of
pairing. She was produced in my 2004 GQxWC pairing.
Although she does have thin black borders on her pattern, she was
mainly
held back because of her yellow ground color, which I thought
would be
perfect for making 75% Irian Jaya Jaguars. She's a
smaller female, at just over 5 feet in length.
Bullwinkle is a really nice
IJ Jag and I think breeding him to a trophy female Irian makes
this clutch really exciting. He was only 19 months old when I
started cooling, so I didn't expect a lot from him coming into
the season. However, he started breeding within an hour
of being given an opportunity and he's been an outstanding
breeder ever since.
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Update
This pairing happened
fast and without any guessing at all. This is the first year breeding
for the female and she dropped 13
really big, fertile eggs. This is a good example of why
I like to wait until they're at least going into their third
year. I know people who breed Irian Jayas a year
younger, but they get half the eggs and the females never seem
to throw decent sized clutches after that. Not worth it,
in my opinion.

In case you were
wondering about Bullwinkle's name...
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Status:
Hatched
Pre-Lay Shed:
3/16/07
Lay Date: 4/11/07
Expected Hatch Date: 6/12/07
(Manually Pipped)
Fertile/Total Eggs:
13/13
Hatch Rate:
100%
Ratios: 5.2 Irian Jaya Jaguars, 3.3 Siblings
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Clutch
Photos
Here are photos of the
Jaguars after their first sheds. Having a little GQ blood worked into the equation did exactly what
I thought it would...nice thin, black borders around the pattern
(just like clutch #1) and great color.
75% Irian Jaya Jaguar
Males

75%
Irian Jaya Jaguar
Females

Sibling Males

Sibling Females

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Clutch 4 |
Hannibal x Light
Phase Irian Jaya |
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Sire: Hannibal
(Hypo/Platinum?)
Sire to 2006 Motleys
Unknown Origin |
Dam: Light Phase
Irian Jaya
Adult Female - Unknown Origin |
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This is the male that
started the Motley project.
Click
HERE
to visit the Motley page. |

Pictured Gravid
(Much darker than normal)
Click
HERE
to visit the Irian Jaya page. |
Overview
Hannibal is a very unique snake in
that he has no black anywhere on his body, which we believe may be
a genetically inheritable form of extreme hypomelanism. As
such, all the hatchlings from this clutch are potentially
heterozygous carriers of this hypo coloration.
That's not to mention that he also sired last year's Motleys!
Although the photo of her gravid
doesn't show it, the female is an
exceptionally attractive, older Irian Jaya. She has very
pale and faded black markings. If she produces Motleys,
they should be very pale as adults.
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Update
I'll be looking for an ovulation
within the next week or two and pre-lay shed should occur
about 3-4 weeks later.
This pairing was making me wonder at
first, since this is the female's first year here at my facility.
I've seen several copulations and the female has been lying
semi-inverted, so I'm being cautiously optimistic about getting a
good clutch from her.
Update
This female is definitely gravid and just had her pre-lay shed.
This is her first year here and she had a bit of a respiratory
infection right after I got her, so who knows what will happen.
Hopefully she drops fertile eggs.
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Status:
Hatched
Pre-Lay Shed: 4/7/07
Lay Date: 5/5/07
Hatch Date: 7/1/07
(Manually Pipped)
Total/Fertile Eggs: 12/14
Hatch Rate:
100%
Ratios: 6.6 Potential Het for Hypo/"Platinum"
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Clutch
Photos
Here's one. Most of the clutch went into shed almost
immediately and this is the only one that isn't in full blue.
The female's head pattern seemed to be more prominent in this
clutch, as very few have the typical Hannibal head pattern.
The below photos were taken at 4
months old (November 2007).
These are surplus males that I'm making available.

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Clutch 5 |
Reptilicus Jungle x Heavily Banded Jungle |
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Sire:
Reptilicus Jungle
Produced by Reptilicus Reptiles
2004 "Covergirl" (CVR) clutch |
Dam: Heavily Banded
Jungle
Adult Female - Unknown Origin |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Jungle Carpet page. |
 |
Overview
Normally, I won't touch a Jungle
if it's not lemon yellow, but this female is just a good looking
snake all the way around. The color isn't flashy or bright,
but it's clean and still very attractive to me. There is some
black tipping in the gold, but if you look at it, it's consistent
and deliberate...coinciding perfectly with the banding.
Between the color and the super high band count, I just had to have
her.
The idea here is to see if the banding is "genetic" or inheritable
in some way...and if it is, to see if there is an even more extreme
form or a "super" banded. Also, if it's inheritable in a
consistent manner, I would like to bring some lemon/neon yellow into
the project as well. I'm not looking for the next big thing in
carpet morphs with this one...just hoping to develop a nice,
consistent line of heavily banded Jungles.
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Update
Just riding this one out...I haven't
seen a lot of copulations, but they copulated for a long time
when I did catch them. They're no longer copulating when
I introduce the male and the female is starting to swell up
like a balloon, so I'm thinking the job may be done.
Update
After the swelling
set in, the female started getting a little bit of an RI,
which is weird as she's the first/only healthy adult I've had
get sick since breeding season started. I've had a
gravid female get sick before, so I'm not too shaken.
I'll just have to watch her closely and start treatment if it
doesn't clear up soon.
Update
Well, a couple shots of Baytril and the RI seems to have
cleared up. Normally I would push the antibiotics for
10+ doses, but not with a female that's prego.
The further this pairing moves
along, the more excited I'm getting. Her banding is so
extreme that I think it would almost have to be genetic. I
guess (hope) we'll see soon enough.
Update - October 25, 2007
This clutch will probably be posted
for sale later than some of the other clutches, as a couple have
still not taken their first meal. Most are great eaters, but I
like to have everyone feeding before putting them up for sale.
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Status:
Hatched
Pre-Lay Shed: 4/14/07
Lay Date: 5/7/07
Hatch Date: 7/4/07
(Manually Pipped)
Fertile/Total Eggs: 16/16
Hatch Rate:
100%
Ratios: 8.8
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Clutch
Photos
BINGO! I'm having a busy week if you hadn't noticed, but
I'll go into more detail as I have time.

The below photos
were taken at 4 months old (November 2007).

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Clutch 6 |
Striped Coastals |
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Sire:
"Liger" Male
Wide Striped Male
Coastal - Similar to a Tiger |
Dam: Classic Coastal
2002 Adult - Raised Here |
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Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page.
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Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page. |
Overview
I got this female as a hatchling in
2002 and now she's nearly 9 feet long. She's a very
attractive classic coastal and I hope to produce some nice
striped babies with her this season.
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Update
I tried breeding her last year, but
got nothing. She looked slightly swollen and is now
opaque. I would assume this means she's gravid and going
into her pre-lay shed...but to be honest, it's pretty hard to
tell on a 7,000+/-gram snake. Hopefully this will be her
first season.
Update
Sorry I sound clueless on this
one, but I am...completely clueless. I thought this girl
was gravid last year and she made me look stupid, so I'm just
keeping my mouth shut. I'll say she's gravid when she
starts laying in a coil and trying to bite me. She did burry
herself under some newspaper after she shed, so maybe that's a
good sign?
Update - Slugs!
Well, now I know why
I couldn't tell if she was gravid...she never really swelled
up because the eggs were mostly duds. There are a couple
that look to be good, so I threw them in the incubator, but
definitely not a successful clutch!
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Status:
Hatched (1)
Pre-Lay Shed: 4/9/07
Lay Date:
5/5/07
Hatch Date: 7/1/07
(Manually Pipped)
Fertile/Total Eggs: 2/25 (didn't really count the slugs)
Hatch Rate:
50% 1 for 2 (one died in the egg)
Ratios: 1 female
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Clutch
Photos
For only ending up with one hatchling, I'm a happy camper.
Looks like the Liger might be a Tiger after all. The one
that died in the egg was very similar. This hatchling and
the ones from clutch 7 really demonstrate how the non-Tiger or
non-striped parent plays a big role in the appearance of the
offspring.
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Clutch 7 |
Liger x "Axanthic" Coastal |
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Sire:
"Liger" Male
Wide Striped Male
Coastal - Similar to a Tiger |
Dam: Possible
Axanthic Coastal
Adult Female - Unknown Origin |
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Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page.
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Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page.
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Overview
Since most axanthic reptile mutations
are inherited in a simple recessive manner, this pairing is
being done to produce striped offspring that are potentially
heterozygous for the axanthic appearance.
This is just a dinking project for me,
but should be a fun one. Even if the axanthic thing
doesn't work out, this pairing should produce some very cool
Coastals. The female's pattern is super aberrant (busy), so it'll
be interesting to see how that affects the striping of the
offspring. My guess is that the striping will be minimal at
best.
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Update
I've only witnessed a few copulations,
but it looks like the female took. She appears to be
showing some pre-ovulation swelling, so this pairing is
looking good.
Update
She's definitely
gravid and due to lay any day now. I'm pretty excited to
see this female produce!
Update - October 25, 2007
This clutch absorbed a ton of yolk and
as such, they just now starting to feel like they need to eat.
There are still a few stragglers, but they should all be eating
within the next few weeks.
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Status:
Hatched
Pre-Lay Shed: 4/14/07
Lay Date:
5/10/07
Hatch Date: 7/4/07
(First one pipped on its own)
Fertile/Total Eggs: 17/19
Hatch Rate:
100%
Ratios: 8.9
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Clutch
Photos
Pattern wise, this is
pretty much what I expected...lots of wacky patterns, some lateral
striping, incomplete dorsal striping and cool head patterns.
A good number of them also have a black stripe running right down
the middle of the belly (photo below). I believe the reason
we're not seeing any fully striped offspring here is because the
female's aberrant or "busy" pattern is essentially "fighting" the
striping.
As far as color
goes, it's hard to say what's going on this early. Even the
brightest yellow jungles can hatch out silver, so we'll have to
watch and see. Some of them appear almost white, so I do
think something is being passed on by the mother. Axanthic
mutations are typically simple recessive, so we may be looking at
something a different here...possibly either dominant/co-dom or
plain old simple inheritance. Regardless, they're
really neat looking little carpets and I look forward to having
another fun project to work on.

The below photos are of a
female taken at 4 months old (November 2007).
The "axanthic" look definitely seems to be coming through in
the offspring.

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Clutch 8 |
Tiger
x High Contrast Queensland |
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Sire:
Tiger Male
From Jason Baylin's 2002 Tiger x Tiger
Pairing
This guy is a possible homozygous carrier of the Tiger gene. |
Dam: High Contrast
Queensland
Dave Prada's Adult Female |
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Click
HERE
to visit the Tiger page. |

Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page. |
Overview
This pairing produced some outrageous
bright yellow Tigers last year (pictured at left). At
just a year old, they're already brighter than any Tiger I've ever
seen.
Last year's clutch was horribly male
heavy, so I'm hoping to produce more females this time around.
This is a joint project with Dave Prada of Komodo Reptiles.
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Update
It looks like this pairing moving
along at the same pace as last year, although it may happen a
little sooner since my adults are all housed in the new room,
which is a little warmer during the day.
Update
I've seen a total of one, maybe two, copulations...but
she's going through the motions...starting to feel firm and
lay in a coil. I expect an ovulation soon.
Update - EGGS!!!
I just checked the
record card and I only recorded one copulation, but we got 17
good eggs. I'll take it!
Update - October 25, 2007
This clutch absorbed a ton of yolk
too, and have generally eaten well, with the exception of a couple
of whoppers. They're all eating now and should start to become
available very soon.
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Status:
Hatched
Pre-Lay Shed: 4/22/07
Lay Date: 5/16/07
Hatch Date: 7/12/07 (First Pip)
Fertile/Total Eggs: 17/18
Hatch Rate: 14/17 (1 egg went bad, 2 were deformed)
Ratios: 6.8
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Clutch
Photos
This
clutch is female heavy...finally! For those of you who
remember last year's clutch (mostly males), this is a breath of
fresh air. More pics coming soon.
The below photos were taken at 4
months old (November 2007).

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Clutch 9 |
Jungle
x Mabel (DxJ) |
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Sire:
Reptilicus Jungle
Produced by Reptilicus Reptiles
2004 "Covergirl" (CVR)
clutch |
Dam: Mabel - DxJ
Adult Female - Unknown Origin |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Jungle Carpet page. |

Click
HERE
to visit the Diamond x Jungle page. |
Overview
This pairing should produce some
super bright, clean yellow offspring. I borrowed the
male, a very nice Reptilicus Jungle, from my friend Jake
Milbradt. The female, which I assume to be a Diamond x
Jungle cross, produced a nice clutch for me last year and I
expect the same this season.
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Update
These two have been seen copulating a
few times for long periods, but nothing else yet.
Update
She's rock hard and lying in a coil, so it looks like she's well
on her way to throwing another clutch for me. I'm keeping my
fingers crossed, as these two should make some sweet looking
carpets.
Update - October 25, 2007
These guys have taken off very well
and are doing great. This clutch will be available very soon.
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Status:
Hatched
Pre-Lay Shed:
4/24/07
Lay Date: 5/16/07
Hatch Date: 7/9/07
Fertile/Total Eggs: 19/19
Hatch Rate:
95%
Ratios: 12.6 (Ouch!)
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Clutch
Photos
These came out just exactly as I had hoped...lots of really deep
black (which I'm sure will have lots of yellow tipping) and nice
clean ground color.
The below photos
were taken at 4 months old (November 2007).

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Clutch 10 |
Liger x Red Phase Coastal |
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Sire:
"Liger" Male
Wide Striped Male
Coastal - Similar to a Tiger |
Dam: Red
Phase Coastal
Adult Female - Unknown Origin |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page.
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page.
|
Overview
The overall idea of this pairing is to
make some nicely colored striped coastals. The female is
rare in that she's kept some of the red hues into adulthood
and has developed very little black. She's darker than a lot
of red phase coastals, but the overall color and lack of
black make her very attractive. The sire looks
very similar to a Tiger. I started jokingly
calling him a "Liger" (like a Tiger) and the name eventually
stuck.
This particular female's pattern seems like it will lend
itself well to striping. If I had to make a
prediction, I'd say the striping will be very strong in this
clutch, with a good number of the offspring also being red.
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Update
It looks like this girl might be my
first female coastal to ovulate for the year. She's a
darker colored red phase adult and the dad is similar to a
Tiger.
Update 5/5/07
This girl has swelled
up like a balloon and is due to lay any time now.
Hopefully we'll get some nice red stripes out of her.
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Status:
Hatched
Pre-Lay
Shed: 4/21/07
Lay Date: 5/20/07
Expected Hatch Date: ~7/15/07
Fertile/Total Eggs: 18/19
Hatch Rate:
Not good...ended up with 11.
Ratios: 8.3 (sausage fest anyone?)
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Clutch
Photos
Awesome, Awesome clutch.
The only problem...all but two are male!

The below photos
were taken at 3-4 months old (October/November 2007).

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Clutch 11 |
Designer
Jaguars (IJ Jag x New Guinea Type) |
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Sire:
Bullwinkle
2005 - 50% Irian Jaya Jaguar
From my 2005 Stripe Jaguar x WC Irian Jaya Pairing |
Dam:
New Guinea
New Guinea Locale Type (Irian Jaya) |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Irian Jaya Jaguar Page |

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Overview
If all goes well, this is going
to be another very exciting clutch and I
would anticipate some very clean yellow hatchlings.
The offspring will essentially be 75% Irian Jaya Jaguars, but
the female is actually a New Guinea type (explained below).
Note
New Guinea type carpets are considered the same subspecies
as Irian Jayas, but descended from a population of carpets on
the eastern side of the island (New Guinea). When I look
at them, they often remind me of what I'd expect to get by
breeding a reduced pattern jungle carpet to an Irian
Jaya...and if they do come from New Guinea, that does make
sense. I haven't found any solid evidence to support
this, but they do share a lot of characteristics with Irian
Jayas.
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Update
The pairing started off a
little slow, but they started copulating a lot toward the end
of March and it seems to be going well now.
Update
I'd say this pairing is a
done deal. The female is hard as a rock and Bullwinkle
has been breeding her a lot lately, which tells me she's just
about ready to ovulate. I think this one will be a
killer clutch.
Update
17 eggs, all fertile. Now
we just have to wait a couple months!
Update - October 25, 2007
This clutch started eating fairly fast
and are now all eating. Expect to see these for sale very
soon.
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Status:
Hatched!
Pre-Lay Shed:
5/3/07
Expected Lay Date: 5/24/07
Expected Hatch Date: ~7/19/07
Fertile/Total Eggs: 17/17
Hatch Rate:
100%
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Clutch
Photos
Great looking snakes...very nice
colors and patterns. These should be some of the brightest
colored IJ Jags out there.

The below photos
were taken at 3-4 months old (October/November 2007).



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Clutch 12 |
Tiger x "Caramel" Coastal |
|
Sire:
Tiger Male
From Jason Baylin's 2002 Tiger x Tiger
Pairing
This guy is a possible homozygous carrier of the Tiger gene. |
Dam: "Caramel"
Coastal
Unknown Origin |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Tiger page. |

Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page. |
Overview
The Caramel appearance was first
discovered in France and has since been reported to be a
co-dominant mutation. I picked this female up at an expo
last year. When I bought her, I thought she looked like
the pictures of Caramels I had seen, but wasn't really sure. As
luck would have it, I happened to bump into a friend from
France (who owns a number of Caramels) just minutes after I
purchased her. Without saying what I thought she might
be, I pulled her out of the bag and let him look at her in
person. Without any hesitation, he immediately said that
she looks like a Caramel and proceeded to get his photo album
and show me photographs
of his adults. Needless to say, I'm anticipating
that I'll
produce some nice red hatchlings this season.
The Caramels look similar to red
phase coastals as hatchlings, but they look very different as
adults. On a red phase adult, the ground color is
typically tan with faded grey markings bordered in black.
Caramels, however, tend to be more yellow with orange markings
bordered in black.
As far as the Tiger appearance
goes, I don't think we'll see many, if any babies with full
dorsal striping in this clutch. I say that because the
female's pattern is so aberrant. She does have some
remnants of lateral striping, so I do expect to see some
strong lateral striping and possibly some broken dorsal
striping. The main objective with this pairing is to
nail down the Caramel coloration. The reason I chose the Tiger male is
mainly due to his color. However, this clutch will be a
step in the right direction to eventually make Caramel Tigers.
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Update
Since I just got her
in August 2006, I'm not expecting anything, but I did feed her
heavily and have been putting the Tiger with her. I
won't be too disappointed if she doesn't go, but I have to say
that things do look good. She was given a small meal
(mouse) about ten days ago, but she looks to be going "through
the motions" now...we'll see soon enough!
Update
This girl looks to be gravid. She has that nice,
firm feeling and is getting more aggressive than usual.
The male Tiger only bred her a few times, so I backed him up
with a really nice male Tri-Stripe that I picked up earlier in
the year (pictured HERE). I
think the Tigers and Tri-Stripes should be pretty easy to
distinguish, so hopefully we'll see some of each.
Update - October 25, 2007
Well, I'm now eating my words...I said
there were no reds, but after they all shed, it looks like almost
all of them have some red color in their patterns. Pattern
wise, they're exactly what I expected...wacky. These hatched
out huge (the biggest baby carpets I've ever heard of) and many
still have no interest in eating...and they all have great body
weight. I expect this clutch to do really well, but they
probably will be one of the later clutches to be offered for sale.
|
Status:
Incubating
Pre-Lay Shed:
5/1/07
Lay Date: 5/26/07
Expected Hatch Date: ~7/21/07
Fertile/Total Eggs: 22/23
Hatch Rate:
Ratios:
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Clutch
Photos
This clutch is a bit different than I expected...not a single red
baby in the clutch, but some very light colored animals. I
assume the dark pattern of the Tiger being black is what's causing
these not to be really red. The striping isn't great on
most, but a lot
stronger than I expected. These are the biggest baby carpets
I've ever seen...almost all of them weighed 40+ grams, including
the twins below.
Oh yeah, the "twins"
are sharing the same body. :) Pete and Re-Pete are
apparently healthy and active. They both flick their tongues
and the one up front has tried to bite me a few times.
I'll post some pics of the one headed babies soon. :)

The below photos
were taken at 4 months old (November 2007).
I'm keeping all of these back for another few months before
deciding what to do with them. I personally think they're
going to be some of the prettiest coastals around.

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Failed Pairings |
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Tiger x
Semi-Striped Coastal |
|
|
Sire:
Tiger Male
From Jason Baylin's 2002 Tiger x Tiger
Pairing
This guy is a possible homozygous carrier of the Tiger gene. |
Dam: Coastal -
Heterozygous Tiger?
Adult Female - Incomplete Striping -
Unknown Origin |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Tiger page. |
(Photo coming after she lays and
sheds)
Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page. |
Overview
The female from this
pairing looks like a lot of the "lesser" Tigers we've seen
produced in Tiger x Normal pairings. She's got a lot of
striping, but isn't completely striped like a "good" Tiger.
I'm guessing this pairing would produce a few classic Tigers
or even extremely striped ones like the sire.
|
Update
I don't know what's going on
with this pairing. I've seen one or two copulations, but
not much else. I just fed the female a whopper of a rat to see
if that helps move things along.
Looks like I might be in
luck...she was laying sideways on the morning of 4/15.
Update - 5/5/2007
I'm pretty sure she
took. She's fairly swollen and she's about to shed.
Hopefully we'll get some nice Tigers out of this girl. I
have a feeling we will (if eggs are good).
Update - 6/1/2007
I pretty much "knew"
this clutch was going to be infertile when the female never
really started to "yolk-up" or swell a couple weeks prior to
laying.
|
Status: Infertile Eggs - Slugged Out!
Pre-Lay Shed:
5/12/07
Lay Date: 6/1/07
Expected Hatch Date: N/A
Fertile/Total Eggs: All
slugs!
Hatch Rate:
N/A
Ratios:
N/A
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Tri-Stripe
Coastal x Classic Coastal - INFERTILE |
|
Sire: Tri-Stripe Coastal |
Dam: Classic Coastal |
|

Click
HERE
to visit the Coastal Carpet page. |
Photo Unavailable
|
Overview
This female is about
to lay eggs and I just realized that I didn't have this
pairing on the page!
The male is an outstanding Tri-Stripe...nice, uniform striping
and classic Coastal coloration.
The female, is a large, very
elegant classic Coastal. Her color is rich and
attractive...almost identical to the male's. Her pattern
is very cryptic...uniform, but busy. I will get photos
of her as soon as she lays eggs and sheds.
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Update
Slugs! The female didn't really
swell up and that should have been a sign, but she's big and
in great condition, so I didn't really think much of it.
Oh well...just goes to show you that it's not always roses. :)
|
Status:
Infertile Eggs - Slugged Out!
Pre-Lay Shed:
4/27/07
Expected Lay Date: 5/20/07
Expected Hatch Date: N/A
Fertile/Total Eggs: All slugs!
Hatch Rate:
N/A
Ratios:
N/A
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