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Issue #7 Volume #2

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Coverpage


Observation During Captive Breeding of the Everglades Rat Snake


by Grady Calhoun of the Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society
For Christmas in 1992, my son received a female hatchling Everglades Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta rossalleni). As is typical, I felt the need to acquire a male so that we could attempt to breed them the following years. I obtained an unrelated male hatchling in the summer of 1993. Both snakes were great feeders, although the male quickly surpassed the female in length after his first year. During the fall of 1994 we determined that the animals were of sufficient size and healthy enough to attempt breeding the following spring. The male was approximately four feet in length and the femal was a little over 3 feet long. The pair's last meal was offered and accepted in the last week of November. On January 1st I moved the animals out of the reptile room, which is maintained at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and placed them in a bedroom closet, which ranges between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit depending on outside temperature. During this cooling down period I kept them separately in ten gallon aquariums with a hide box and water bowl and virtually no light. The water was changed frequently and the cages inspected so that any mess created cleaned up. On March 13th I removed the snakes from the cool down room and placed them in the reptile room. Both animals were offered and accepted frozen thawed mice on March 15th. After a second feeding on March 20th, I placed the snakes together. There were no signs of courtship and copulation was never observed. I kept the two together, except when feeding, until late May, when the female was obviously swollen with eggs. On June 15, she laid thirteen eggs in the nest site provided. She laid a fourteenth egg on June 16th in her water bowl. All of the eggs, except the last one, looked good and were treated as fertile. I removed the eggs and placed them in a plastic shoe box with approximately one inch of vermiculite in the bottom. The lid had air holes for ventilation and was opened several times each month to check egg progress. It should be mentioned at this point that California king snake (Lampropeltis getula Californiae) eggs, laid fourteen days earlier, were being incubated in the same container. Throughout the next eight weeks the rat snake eggs grew as would be expected but had noticeably deep "stretch marks". After approximately sixty days one of the eggs appeared to be leaking. I initially thought that the egg was hatching; however, the snake had not emerged for five days and the breaks followed the lines of the stretch marks and did not resemble the normal slits observed during hatching situations. During that time four more eggs ruptured. I manually opened the first egg which ruptured five days after the leak was noticed in an effort to "save" the hatchling snake. It later turned out that this action actually did more harm than good, as the young snake died one day later. The remaining four eggs were left alone. All of these eggs eventually hatched, with some having been ruptured for as long as twelve days prior to hatching. Of the fourteen eggs laid, ten hatchlings successfully escaped the confines of their shells. I consulted a couple of breeders about this "spontaneous rupture" occurrence. The common response was that the incubating chamber was too humid. This makes sense, except for the fact that the kingsnake eggs incubating alongside these eggs showed no similar rupturing or even extensive stretch marks. At approximately the same time that the ratsnakes were hatching the female that laid the eggs appeared to be ready to lay another clutch of eggs. She had not been in contact with the male at all since she was removed prior to laying the first clutch. I supplied an egg laying chamber, and she laid a second clutch of eleven eggs approximately twelve weeks after the first clutch. The eggs contained within this clutch were of varying sizes and shapes with only two looking like they might be fertile. I placed all of the eggs in an incubating chamber, but all of them became overcome with mold within two weeks. As each of the eggs went bad they were dissected to see if they were fertile. None of the eggs appeared to be fertile. I've documented these observations as they may be of interest to other breeders. During the upcoming breeding season I plan to accurately measure incubator humidity to determine if additional correlations can be made.

LINKS

  • Snake Care FAQ
  • Care Sheet for Snakes
  • Hamsters as Pets
    contributed by: The National Hamster Council

    There are three types of hamsters commonly kept as pets:

    THE SYRIAN HAMSTER

    This is the animal that most people associate with the word 'hamster', and was originally known as the 'Golden' hamster. This animal is solitary by nature and the golden rule is one Syrian hamster to one cage.

    The animals only meet to mate, after which the female drives the male away. After a pregnancy of only sixteen days the babies are born blind and naked. However, they grow very quickly, and by four weeks old are usually fully weaned. Many different colours and coat types of Syrian hamsters are now kept.

    THE RUSSIAN HAMSTER

    This animal is usually known as a dwarf hamster, growing up to 8 cms in length. These hamsters like to live together - either two of the same sex or as a pair.

    A pair can produce a litter of babies every eighteen days, so think carefully before deciding on a pair. The babies are looked after by both parents. Although they are also born blind and naked they develop faster than Syrian babies and are fully weaned by three weeks.

    There are two species of Russian hamsters commonly kept as pets. The more common and generally larger animal is the Campbell, and the other is the Winter White. Both species have several colour variations.

    THE CHINESE HAMSTER

    These animals also like to live in pairs or small groups. They are slightly longer and thinner than Russian hamsters, growing up to 9 cms in length. A pair may have babies every twenty one days but are not as prolific as Russians. The babies develop at about the same rate as Russian hamsters. There are already two or three colour variations available.

    GENERAL CARE

    All three types of hamsters make good pets. They are very easy to look after and everything you need can bought at any pet shop. A wide selection of cages are available, from the simple plastic tray and wire top to the totally enclosed plastic type complete with tubes.

    Syrian hamsters must be kept singly whereas the Russian and Chinese hamsters will live together with others of their own species. If you intend keeping the 'Dwarf' varieties in a wire top cage the bars must not be more than 6 mm apart as these animals can get through very small gaps. Glass or plastic aquariums can also be used.

    Sawdust (or wood shavings) should be spread on the base of the cage and a handful of bedding put in a corner. The bedding can be of the shredded paper variety or of the cellulose based fluffy type (look for NHC Approval logo). It is recommended that a water bottle be used, with the spout fitted to the cage at the right height for your hamster to reach. (A dish containing water is easily fouled). About an egg-cupful of dry 'Hamster Mix' per day should be given (this does vary from hamster to hamster) and 'greens' introduced very gradually and in small quantities.

    Most hamsters do not smell if they are cleaned regularly, say once a week. As they normally use one corner of the cage to wet in, the sawdust in this corner can be changed more often if you wish. When cleaning, the sawdust and old food should be thrown away and the cage base washed and dried. Place fresh sawdust in the cage, along with new bedding if necessary. Rinse the water bottle and fill with fresh water. Then give your hamster its daily helping of food plus a little extra for its store.

    When choosing a hamster check that it is bright eyed and holds its ears erect. It should be free from open or healing cuts and should not bite when picked up.

    Ideally, a hamster should be between four and eight weeks old when bought and you should be able to handle it. At this age they may be fast, like kittens or puppies, so care must be taken in the first few days. Always handle only a few inches above a secure surface in case the young animal should be scared and jump.

    Please visit the National Hamster Council Homepage at http://www.acmepet.com/non-profit/nhc.html for more information.

    Special Report:
    Changes in water treatment will affect your aquarium treatment procedures

    by: Hillary Sencer

    A change in the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's water treatment will affect your aquarium treatment procedures.

    Beginning this summer, the MWRA will increase the level of chloramines used to disinfect water. New water treatment procedures were implemented in June to stabilize pH levels in the distribution system. The pH will be gradually adjusted to an initial level of 7.5 to reach a final optimum level of 8.0-9.0 by January 1997. Alkalinity will also be adjusted to a level of 30 mg/l.

    These changes will occur in all areas serviced by MWRA water EXCEPT: Leominster, Clinton, Chicopee, Wilbraham, and South Hadley FD #1.

    The following towns will have changes in pH and Alkalinity ONLY: Marlborough, Northborough, Southborough, Framingham, and Weston.

    Chloramines are a combination of chlorine and ammonia. Chloraminated water is no different then chlorinated water for most normal uses. However, chloramines, like chlorine are toxic to fish and may have adverse effects on reptiles, turtles, and amphibians. Therefore, chloramines must be removed from the water before it is used for aquariums or fish ponds.

    Chloramines do not dissipate in the air (are not removed by aerators) and are not removed by boiling the water. There are two methods to remove chloramines from water: add a chemical or chemicals which can remove chloramine and ammonia or use a high grade granular activated-carbon filter.

    It is imperative you use a dechloraminating chemical and not just a dechlorinating chemical, which is for chlorine and will not neutralize the ammonia portion of the chloramine.

    A high grade activated-carbon filter will also remove chloramine. These filters require sufficient contact time to remove chloramine from water. Treatment of large volumes of water with activated-carbon filters is very involved and you should seek professional assistance.

    KEEP IN MIND

    Ammonia removal is particularly important in water with a high pH. As the pH increases, the percentage of unionized ammonia ( toxic form) also increases. Commercial products are available at pet supply stores to remove excess ammonia. Also, biological filters, natural zeolites and pH control methods may be effective in reducing the toxicity of ammonia.

    Regardless of the method used, it is essential that you test the water in your aquarium or fish pond regularly to ensure that the particular method being used is effective. Consult your local pet store for the test kit and treatment method which is best for you. REMEMBER, THERE ARE 2 METHODS TO REMOVE CHLORAMINES FROM WATER:

    1. Add specific agents to remove chloramines and ammonia

    2. Use a high grade granular activated-carbon filter.

    For additional information on chloramines, contact MWRA's Waterworks division at (617) 242-LEAD.

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