#so I'd like to help her sell a few snakes even though

[kedreeva]

My friend that's been taking me around to the reptile expos just posted up one of her high-white Solomon Island ground boa baby holdbacks from 2019 on morph market and it is killing me. The high white babies like this just keep getting prettier as they get older. Their scales are keeled so it feels like petting a dragon, and they only get like 2-3 feet long (the boys like this) and every time I see one it makes me wish I was still keeping snakes.

She actually posted a bunch of other snakes too, if anyone's interested in acquiring some really cool species! She does ship!

[corvins-colubrids]

Well, I think it's official that Coach has slugged out this year. Next year, I'll definitely be watching to make sure all pairs lock, because I assumed that she and Wilson did, and I saw "evidence" left in the enclosure after they were together overnight, but I didn't witness it. She sure did act gravid, though, and both she and Wilson were sold to me (by separate breeders) as proven breeders. Next year, I will have my pairs together for a lot longer, or for numerous sessions, because that also might have been the problem. She definitely doesn't seem egg bound, and she's no longer spending time in her lay box, and has been eating ravenously, so I'm calling it done for this year. I'm bummed, but this gives me more time to better prepare.

I've been meeting and learning from a lot of experienced breeders, and making plans for brumation for the adults this coming year, as well as enrichment and a playpen for the babies and subadults to help them become more accustomed to handling. I'm using the app Husbandry Pro to track everything with my reptiles, and it's incredible. I used my free trial period and upgraded to a paid account. I highly recommend it, if you keep a lot of reptiles. It can even keep track of your feeder inventory and automatically keep it updated as you record feedings.

Next year, I'll only have 3 females old enough to breed, Coach, Twenty-Two, and Caitlin Clark, and some exciting possibilities for babies. Twenty-Two aka TT is new. I really wanted some Strawberry genes to pair with a het Strawberry male who is still too young, and I'd been wanting to use the name Twenty-Two (Caitlin Clark's jersey number in college and the WNBA, so perfect for my themed group), and it was perfect for a snake hatched in 2022. She's a gorgeous snake; Amel, Caramel, Strawberry, het Sunkissed. She's the same size as Caitlin Clark (the snake, lol), and I think by next season, she'll definitely be the right age to breed. I'm not going to power feed by any means, but I'm hoping to feed a bit more often for the babies because even some of the yearlings are smaller than they should be, and I'm going to try feeding them Reptilinks, which are easier to digest, and can be great for safely putting on weight.

I'm also considering selling Wilson, but I'm not sure. I don't think he's actually a Hypo, which is the reason I got him. In person, he doesn't look anything like any photos I've seen of Hypos. He has no reduced melanin, which is what the Hypo morph does, but he's a tessera, so that makes it hard (for me at least) to figure out what his morph is, since the tessera stripe pattern disrupts other patterns, and it's dominant. My best guess is that he might be just an Okatee tessera (Okatee is a wildtype locality, not a morph exactly, though it is heritable). I need to get some better pictures of him, so I can can consult some experts, but he is very bitey (he keeps trying to eat my thighs, like wrap and try to munch down lol), and the last bite was right on a knuckle and took forever to heal, so, I admit, I haven't been able to get a good photo, since I always need two hands to keep him from this. He's a gorgeous snake, but I just don't know if he's right for my program, especially because I'm not sure if he's fertile, despite having been sold as a proven breeder.

I have no specific plans to acquire more snakes this year, but it's a possibility. There's a reptile expo next weekend a few hours away, and I'd like to go, even just to meet other people, get a sense of how others are pricing at expos, and keep an eye out for any of my wish list snakes. For the most part, though, I just need to grow up the snakes I already have, and be patient until then.

So far, all the corn snakes are doing amazing, and none have ever rejected a meal, not even Coach, when she was (I thought) gravid. Even Alaska, who is a 2024 hatchling, ate the next day after I got her, which is just awesome.

Most of this is just me thinking out loud because I don't really have anyone IRL I can talk to about this. I need more reptile friends. I've had such a tough few years, but especially this year, facing cancer, and it's really nice to go to my office/corn snake room and chill with my snakes. Trying to give them the best life possible, be gentle and patient with them, care for them, it helps me take better care of myself, too. It's almost meditative, honestly. I'll keep posting about my snabies (snake babies) and try not to be too bummed that there are no actual babies this year.