Now that Living Gems’ 2011 babies are moving to their new homes, it’s time to profile our 2012 breeder lineup!
Our breeder pool this year consists of six of our nine eligible adults. All of them, as established in previous posts, come from a carefully focused, disease-tested facility.
Pair #1
Kiel
This male, who was one of our rare adult acquisitions, came to us in mid-2011 from a dealer who was getting out of Brazilians. He has a pleasing orange color and is estimated to be eight (closing on nine) years of age. A proven breeder, at his April weigh-in he clocked in at 1805 grams.
Agate
Born in April 2008, so now just over four years old, Agate was sold to Living Gems as one of the early marketed bullseye Brazilians. She has about 40-50% bullseye coverage; notably, this includes a feature I’ve yet to see elsewhere -- two or three *double bullseyes*, where two nearby bulleyes have merged to form one very special mark. As of her last weigh-in, she tipped the scales at a healthy 2145 grams.
Pair #2
Picasso
This male, the second of our rare adult acquisitions, also came to us in mid-2011 from a dealer who was getting out of Brazilians. He has an intriguing color palette from which we expect great things. He is estimated to be six (now closing on seven) years of age, but is quite a bit lighter in weight than our other males, reading only 1336 grams. Also a proven breeder, from the plugs we found in his home he seemed up to the task.
Malachite
Born in July 2008, so now almost four years old, Malachite has a nice orange highlight versus red background color scheme. She also has unusually bright and consistent crescents, a quality for which her breeder line is famous. As of her last weigh-in, she tipped the scales at 2322 grams, a good hundred grams heavier than the other females.
Pair #3
Scarface
Scarface is a Living Gems Reptile oldtimer, having been born in July 2008 and with us since October 2008. A nice, solid orange male with eerily perfect side crescents, he’s making his first foray into the breeding arena this year -- and seemed eager for the task, judging by the multiple plugs we found in his waterbowl before introductions. He weighs 1864 grams.
Almandine
Born in July 2008, so now almost four years old, Almandine is a highly colorful snake: she has a deep rich orange that at certain angles resonates with a touch of red. She has a very unusual head pattern, in which two of the five stripes are greatly shortened. She’s also an amazingly friendly snake, who always sticks her head out the door of her viv to say hi. As of her last weigh-in, she tipped the scales at 2199 grams.
Benchwarming
Alexandrite, mother of our sole 2011 litter, is sitting out this year, as she had not regained enough weight to breed again.
Drake, the fourth member of our adult male group, is also sitting this year out, as we did not have a fourth female to match him up with. He, however, has made a marvelous contribution as an indicator (see below).
Onyx, a May 2008 female, was running about 250 grams lighter than the other three breeder females due to being a fussy eater, so is also sitting this year out. A vibrant orange female, both her color and pattern are remarkably consistent examples of the classic Brazilian Rainbow, and we fully expect her to be ready for next year.
Activity
Due to the events of last year, we went into this year at a handicap: we were unable to introduce until early March, and had to do so without a preparatory cooling cycle. (Once we did introduce, we ran an abbreviated cycle.) To date, all three couples seem to be cheerfully ignoring each other, just like grade school kids afraid of cooties. However, we know love was in the air, because Drake was pacing his cage door in an unending attempt to slip out, and dropped at least three sets of plugs in his water…much of it after pair introductions. So we’re hoping the magic happened quietly and everyone is in their “cigarette smoking” phase now. For example, Malachite looks swollen and has lost only 75 grams this season (the other two females have lost 150)…but is still eating and not hugging the heat. Time will tell, and we will share more signs as we see them. In the meantime, please keep your fingers crossed for us!
Thank you for reading,
I guess I'll have to buy the wife a new batter bowl now
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