This month Living Gems gives a mid-season update on its breeding progress. We have four pairs and one trio this season, for a total of six possible litters. We are covering two females each week over three weeks; this is the last post in the series.
Prometheus-Spessartine
Fifth up is the Prometheus-Spessartine pair. Both parents were born in 2009, and neither has had a litter before. The female weighed 1875 grams at the start of the season.
Notably, the introduction for this pairing was rocky. Spessartine treated Prometheus and his interest more like a hostile invasion than a potential mate: there was massive pushing and shoving of each other and furnishings at first, which slowly calmed down over the course of an hour. I came very close to separating them, only to see it calm down and keep a wary eye on the situation for the next few days.
Destroyed Viv (December)
(but)
Shared Hide (January)
Progress so far is as follows:
1218 Introductions (late, to give them more time to bulk up)
1218 Hostile reception: he followed her around, but she had none of it
1221 Entire viv littered with rumpled paper and urate trails (even water bowl edge and viv door)
0111 Some courting/chasing after evening cleaning
0114 First shared hide, contact unclear
0119 Scattered urates, shoved furniture
0121 Both snakes very actively exploring enclosure
0212 Courting – following, head rubbing, etc
0214 More courting
0220 More courting
0310 More courting
0310 Shared hide, clear tail wrap
0311 Shared hide, clear tail wrap
0314 More courting
0405 More courting
0427 Spessartine begins lying on heat
0430 Spessartine stops lying on heat
0505 Spessartine lying on heat again
0509 Spessartine off heat again
0511 Spessartine in hide, which is on hot end of viv
0520 Spessartine lying on side on heat
0523 Spessartine off heat again
0525 Spessartine in hide again (79F)
0528 Spessartine in hide
0605 Spessartine in hide
Hugging the Heat (May)
For an affair that began so dubiously, this one seems to have turned possible. As of now, Spessartine has been bred and shown *some* signs of seeking heat. Her weight has hit 1976, an increase of over 100 grams. She is, however, not seeking heat consistently, and is still feeding. Status: leaning gravid.
Hades-Carnelian
Sixth and last up is the Hades-Carnelian pair. Both parents were born in 2009, and neither has had a litter before. The female weighed 1890 grams at the start of the season.
As with the pairing above, the introduction for this pair was rocky. There was massive pushing and shoving of each other and furnishings, which slowly calmed down over the course of an hour. Again, I came very close to separating them.
Destroyed Viv (December)
(but)
Cute Moment (January)
Progress so far is as follows:
1218 Introductions (late, to give them more time to bulk up)
1218 Hostile reception, after which she hid in a corner behind her hide
1221 Entire viv littered with rumpled paper and urate trails (even water bowl edge and viv door)
0111 First shared hide, he on top of her but contact unclear
0119 Scattered urates
0517 Carnelian looks swollen during weekly cleaning?
0523 Carnelian on cool side of viv (73-74F)
0528 Carnelian on cool side of viv
0605 Carnelian in hide
There was additional hide and water sharing several times, but no confirmed locks that I witnessed.
However….
Recent Hope? (May)
Until mid May, this one was not looking good, with few if any signs of courtship, breeding, or pregnancy. However, there was a recent hopeful sign, as captured in the final photo. That said, Carnelian’s female’s weight has dropped to 1855, which is a very slight loss (about two percent), she is still feeding, and she has not been hugging heat. Status: uncertain.
Thank you for reading,
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