We are happy to report solid progress for several of our eight breeding pairs this month.
Ramses & Pearl, our hypo to het hypo pairing, continue to move closer to producing a litter. After a solid run of breeding in May and June, the first few days of July saw additional courting, with Ramses following Pearl around and rubbing against her. By mid-month, Pearl was beginning to hang out on the heat, and for a god week was squarely on it behind her hide and under her newspaper…and entering shed. Late in the month, she moved into her hide (which is on the warm end), and the normally placid girl hissed at me when I tried to touch her. Hopefully this will be her POS. Ramses, sensibly, is hiding out on the other side of the enclosure.
Kilimanjaro and Sodalite, our deep red pairing, are looking more and more likely to be gravid. Sodalite was reluctant to eat her June/July meal, and as the month went on she moved more and more onto the heat (though she did take a several-day break late in the month). As of this writing she is squarely on it again.
DuVall and Spessartine, one of our two high orange pairings, continue to puzzle me. Following definite wraps in April and June, and a shed in late June, Spessartine has spent almost all her time either lying on the *cool* side of her enclosure, or madly exploring her viv.
Prometheus and Malachite, our high red pairing, also are unclear. There has not been a recorded wrap since February. Malachite has rarely budged from the warm end of her hide all month, but shed in mid-month. (She is still feeding, but ate throughout during her last litter, so food does not signal much.) I am beginning to wonder if this one took.
Scarface and Almandine, our orange-red pairing, are definitely parents-to-be. Almandine refused her June/July meal and has not budged off the heat all month. She is increasingly swollen, with massive scale separation. Going by her last shed, babies should be due in mid-August.
Caesarion and Onyx, our second high orange pairing, also continued to move closer to producing a litter. After finally starting to breed in June, they have kicked it into high gear in July, sharing the water bowl several times, with at least four locks and several plugs.
Picasso and Tigers Eye, our high contrast pairing, apparently need romance counseling. There was no (witnessed) activity all month.
Franklin and Citrine, our golden orange pairing, seemed uninterested most of the month. Early on, there was a possible urate trail, and the two of them shared the water bowl a few times. However, no actual courting or locks were witnessed. At the end of the month, however, I found a single plug in the water bowl, and later that night Citrine was seen lying on her side on the heat. The next evening, I found Franklin lying on top of her on the heat (though by the following morning he’d claimed the hot spot for himself alone). There is hope yet for this pairing!
That brings our seasonal total to one definite, two leaning, four uncertain, and one unlikely.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
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