Well, its time to let the cat out of the bag I guess. 
As you may remember from last year, I hatched out my first clutch (well, Mikka actually did all of the work, I just sat back, watched, worried, watched, and then worried smore), and this year, shes back at it. And then for the next 1.5 years, she can sit back and be a queen, and just enjoy food and no boys for a while.
This is the beginning of another one of those threads. I hope to make this a play by play of what Im going through, the good, the bad, and the ugly. If someone can learn from my mistakes, great, and if you are a first timer to breeding, well, this will either be a great resource of what to do, or a great resource of what not to do.
Lets start at the beginning.
Mikka incubated her eggs last year. On hatch day, I found that there were 8 eggs, all of them full term, all of them came out on their own. Mikkas hatch rate is 100%. Cant beat that.
So after her clutch, I took her to the vet, she checked for any retained eggs, gave her the once over, and all systems were go. I started Mikka back on food about a week after she was all done, and she took to it immediately. So over the past year, all shes done is eat, and get pampered by me.
But what to do with a boy? I knew Id had a proven male, but I didnt want to repeat the same pairing, I wanted to find a boy that was well . Pretty smokin hot. I wanted to kind of throw a bigger question mark into what the babies would end up like. Around February / March of this year, fortune (by the name of Sean Stewart) smiled upon me.
Daddy-O
An absolutely stunning (IMHO) boko type with LOTS and lots of black flecking, a faint blue stripe, and yellow in his triangles (and kind of spattered around)... ahhhhhhhhh. Thanks for hooking me up Sean!
So, the end of March rolls around, and I put the pair together. This boy was ALL over Mikka. No dinner. No flowers. No strolls along the beach on a moonlit night. It was simply down to business.
Chicka-Chicka-Bown-Bown-wikkiwikkiwikka
After I had put him in, a few days later I heard a little wheezing from the animal. Subsequently freaking out, I took him out of the cage and inspected is mouth using my hemos to open him up. He let out a large blob of watery substance, and I immediately called the vet. This is great. I have a wonderful, healthy girl, and Ive just put her together with a snake with RI.
I wasnt able to get to the vet for a couple days, so I kept the pair separate and a close eye over him. Fed him, and he greedily took. Good sign. Opened his mouth again, and he was clean. When vet day came around, I took him in and the vet said, basically, theres nothing wrong with this animal, mouth looks clean, but I asked her to do a swab and send it in just in case, because I had to know. So we swabbed its mouth and sent it in.
The weekend was upon me and the silly snake shed. Well, I guess that explains the bad breathing, and all I can figure is that when I opened the snakes mouth, it just spit out some water. The culture came back negative, so it was Game On again. I waited about a week for Mikka to finish her shed, and put them back together. This time, it spawned a fantastic Aaron-Porn, Voyeur Video Photo (DVD release date September 20th).
Huh. So THAT'S what it looks like
After that night, he seemed uninterested. I took him out, and put him in after a number of days. As far as observed copulations go, I only saw three, (3/28, 4/17, and 4/28 ) and this cage is right in front of my computer, so I have a good vantage on them. I put him back in on 5/6 for another go, but he wasnt interested. I took him out after a few days, and fed him. He readily took.
On 5/13, Mikka refused a meal. Now, this animal will refuse when a shed is coming up, so I thought little of it. And if Im honest with myself, I thought a LOT of it. This is one of those times when breeding chondros is sheer hell, because when you have a food refusal, it could mean nothing, or it could mean everything. Theres very little inbetween.
I got another refusal on 5/16. This is a good sign. No shed, but she was not interested in food. Her last feeding had been on 5/5. And now we play the waiting game.
During the waiting game, I am constantly watching this animal like a raptor. Her first go-around, she either had a very minimal ovulation, or I simply missed it because I wasnt paying attention. Vegas is putting the odds that I completely missed it. And I was petrified that I would miss it again.
Greg mentions in his book that theres no mistaking an ovulation. Like, once you see it, you KNOW that was an ovulation you just saw. This could not be any more accurate. Now, understand, that I have not seen an ovulation, so to me, EVERYTHING looks like an ovulation at this point. Is that it? Is that it? Is that it?
On the night of 5/30, Mikka was starting to appear different. Her perching was a little off, she seemed to be a little. swollen. I had a feeling that she was on the cusp of ovulating. Im not sure if its the relationship between her and I, or if all chondros are like this (having only had one female become gravid so far), but I could just feel that something was going on. I got a vibe. Based upon just subtle things, different movements, perching, behavior. And then again, maybe Im just a crackhead.
The Real Deal?????
When I woke up (early) on 5/31, I nearly threw up from excitement.
There was NO question that this was the real deal. None whatsoever. Most of the shots that I got dont really really show that classic ovulation pose. But she was HUGE, and CONSTANTLY moving around the cage. Not fast, not curious. Just slowly moving, as if she were uncomfortable, or just rolling her body around to mix all the junk inside her together. I was absolutely captivated, and as I recall, my billable hours that day were zero. I could not stop watching.
The Real Deal!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was scheduled to give a talk at the local high school that day, which I was looking forward to immensely, however really didnt want to leave because there was such an incredible show going on. I went to the school, and brought Minnie (my first Chondro, who is HUGE) and a couple of Mikkas babies for the class to see.
Although I'm talking to kids about Chondros, my mind is elsewhere...
And then when I got home, I was able to snap the CLASSIC ovulation pose!!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!
It went pretty much all day, and the next morning, it was over. I was hoping this would be a two day ovulation, because it was simply amazing to watch, but its all good.
The next waiting game had begun. There were really no noticeable events with her over that period of time, just keeping her heat steady, and a couple of times offering her water while she was perching. She seemed to drink a lot. On 6/24, she had her prelay shed.
We were getting along so well, and then the cruising started. Then she started getting into dont you DARE mess with me mode. Lots and lots of cruising. So I put the next box in on 7/3, and she took right too it.
Now THAT'S what I've been looking all around for!
So well as a matter of fact, that she kinda freaked me out when she started practicing her beehive coil. So incredibly cute, but I thought she was going to lay, and I wasnt quite ready with the incubator. Eep.
I'm going to be a mommy! I just need to practice my beehive
At any rate, here we are on 7/9, and shes starting to look VERY swollen, and is in the nest box now, poking out, waiting
The amazing Mikka! The Chondro with no body!
UP NEXT: The Incubator, Design, Questions, and Panic!
As you may remember from last year, I hatched out my first clutch (well, Mikka actually did all of the work, I just sat back, watched, worried, watched, and then worried smore), and this year, shes back at it. And then for the next 1.5 years, she can sit back and be a queen, and just enjoy food and no boys for a while.
This is the beginning of another one of those threads. I hope to make this a play by play of what Im going through, the good, the bad, and the ugly. If someone can learn from my mistakes, great, and if you are a first timer to breeding, well, this will either be a great resource of what to do, or a great resource of what not to do.
Lets start at the beginning.
Mikka incubated her eggs last year. On hatch day, I found that there were 8 eggs, all of them full term, all of them came out on their own. Mikkas hatch rate is 100%. Cant beat that.
So after her clutch, I took her to the vet, she checked for any retained eggs, gave her the once over, and all systems were go. I started Mikka back on food about a week after she was all done, and she took to it immediately. So over the past year, all shes done is eat, and get pampered by me.
But what to do with a boy? I knew Id had a proven male, but I didnt want to repeat the same pairing, I wanted to find a boy that was well . Pretty smokin hot. I wanted to kind of throw a bigger question mark into what the babies would end up like. Around February / March of this year, fortune (by the name of Sean Stewart) smiled upon me.
Daddy-O
An absolutely stunning (IMHO) boko type with LOTS and lots of black flecking, a faint blue stripe, and yellow in his triangles (and kind of spattered around)... ahhhhhhhhh. Thanks for hooking me up Sean!
So, the end of March rolls around, and I put the pair together. This boy was ALL over Mikka. No dinner. No flowers. No strolls along the beach on a moonlit night. It was simply down to business.
Chicka-Chicka-Bown-Bown-wikkiwikkiwikka
After I had put him in, a few days later I heard a little wheezing from the animal. Subsequently freaking out, I took him out of the cage and inspected is mouth using my hemos to open him up. He let out a large blob of watery substance, and I immediately called the vet. This is great. I have a wonderful, healthy girl, and Ive just put her together with a snake with RI.
I wasnt able to get to the vet for a couple days, so I kept the pair separate and a close eye over him. Fed him, and he greedily took. Good sign. Opened his mouth again, and he was clean. When vet day came around, I took him in and the vet said, basically, theres nothing wrong with this animal, mouth looks clean, but I asked her to do a swab and send it in just in case, because I had to know. So we swabbed its mouth and sent it in.
The weekend was upon me and the silly snake shed. Well, I guess that explains the bad breathing, and all I can figure is that when I opened the snakes mouth, it just spit out some water. The culture came back negative, so it was Game On again. I waited about a week for Mikka to finish her shed, and put them back together. This time, it spawned a fantastic Aaron-Porn, Voyeur Video Photo (DVD release date September 20th).
Huh. So THAT'S what it looks like
After that night, he seemed uninterested. I took him out, and put him in after a number of days. As far as observed copulations go, I only saw three, (3/28, 4/17, and 4/28 ) and this cage is right in front of my computer, so I have a good vantage on them. I put him back in on 5/6 for another go, but he wasnt interested. I took him out after a few days, and fed him. He readily took.
On 5/13, Mikka refused a meal. Now, this animal will refuse when a shed is coming up, so I thought little of it. And if Im honest with myself, I thought a LOT of it. This is one of those times when breeding chondros is sheer hell, because when you have a food refusal, it could mean nothing, or it could mean everything. Theres very little inbetween.
I got another refusal on 5/16. This is a good sign. No shed, but she was not interested in food. Her last feeding had been on 5/5. And now we play the waiting game.
During the waiting game, I am constantly watching this animal like a raptor. Her first go-around, she either had a very minimal ovulation, or I simply missed it because I wasnt paying attention. Vegas is putting the odds that I completely missed it. And I was petrified that I would miss it again.
Greg mentions in his book that theres no mistaking an ovulation. Like, once you see it, you KNOW that was an ovulation you just saw. This could not be any more accurate. Now, understand, that I have not seen an ovulation, so to me, EVERYTHING looks like an ovulation at this point. Is that it? Is that it? Is that it?
On the night of 5/30, Mikka was starting to appear different. Her perching was a little off, she seemed to be a little. swollen. I had a feeling that she was on the cusp of ovulating. Im not sure if its the relationship between her and I, or if all chondros are like this (having only had one female become gravid so far), but I could just feel that something was going on. I got a vibe. Based upon just subtle things, different movements, perching, behavior. And then again, maybe Im just a crackhead.
The Real Deal?????
When I woke up (early) on 5/31, I nearly threw up from excitement.
There was NO question that this was the real deal. None whatsoever. Most of the shots that I got dont really really show that classic ovulation pose. But she was HUGE, and CONSTANTLY moving around the cage. Not fast, not curious. Just slowly moving, as if she were uncomfortable, or just rolling her body around to mix all the junk inside her together. I was absolutely captivated, and as I recall, my billable hours that day were zero. I could not stop watching.
The Real Deal!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was scheduled to give a talk at the local high school that day, which I was looking forward to immensely, however really didnt want to leave because there was such an incredible show going on. I went to the school, and brought Minnie (my first Chondro, who is HUGE) and a couple of Mikkas babies for the class to see.
Although I'm talking to kids about Chondros, my mind is elsewhere...
And then when I got home, I was able to snap the CLASSIC ovulation pose!!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!
It went pretty much all day, and the next morning, it was over. I was hoping this would be a two day ovulation, because it was simply amazing to watch, but its all good.
The next waiting game had begun. There were really no noticeable events with her over that period of time, just keeping her heat steady, and a couple of times offering her water while she was perching. She seemed to drink a lot. On 6/24, she had her prelay shed.
We were getting along so well, and then the cruising started. Then she started getting into dont you DARE mess with me mode. Lots and lots of cruising. So I put the next box in on 7/3, and she took right too it.
Now THAT'S what I've been looking all around for!
So well as a matter of fact, that she kinda freaked me out when she started practicing her beehive coil. So incredibly cute, but I thought she was going to lay, and I wasnt quite ready with the incubator. Eep.
I'm going to be a mommy! I just need to practice my beehive
At any rate, here we are on 7/9, and shes starting to look VERY swollen, and is in the nest box now, poking out, waiting
The amazing Mikka! The Chondro with no body!
UP NEXT: The Incubator, Design, Questions, and Panic!
