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03.05.02
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Till today I gave 004 a shot every morning. When I came back at 8:30p.m. from a fair I looked after her. 004 was laying totally cramped over a piece of cork, with the tail under it and looked at me. With a bad premonition I opened the terrarium and looked under the cork. There I found 7 baby-snakes dead - pitifully suffocated in their egg skins. I wanted rather to not have seen this! When I took out the tiny snakes of the terrarium I notcied that one of the was still moving slightly. Quickly I opened the skin and a little head came out! On the one hand I was happy that I could save at least one of the babies, but on the other hand I was mad at myself: If I had been home only one hour earlier I could have probably saved the other ones as well. I was sure that the 7 snakes that I found was the whole litter because I couldn't find any more empty eggs. It turned out I was wrong with this: During the next half hour I could fetch two more of them in the terrarium. 004 had given birth to 9 young ones that all seem healthy. They are all between 15 and 17 cm long. The last born that I could save from death is smaller, I would say about 13 cm at the most. I put the three babies in a small spider terrarium on the ground of which I put a wet paper towel and which I decorated with two cut in half toilet paper rolls. | |
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04.05.02
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I tried to give the new borns little pieces of smelt today but they were not interested in them. | |
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05.05.02
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I offered food again today. 005 ignored the smelt.
Unfortunately 004 didn't eat either. She seems really worn out from the
birth and still has to deal with the lack of vitamin B. I have not been giving
her the regular shots to give her a chance to relax. Tomorrow I'll go to
the vet again with her. The three semi adults each took three smelt with the vitamin B compound. I offered the babies tiny pieces of smelt and to my surprise they took them on their own. I didn't see if all three ate of the smelt but from the amount that was eaten it looks as if all three had had their first meal. |
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06.05.02
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The vet told me to do forced feeding with 004 every
other day for the next two weeks. The poor animal really had to suffer a
lot lately and I hope that what I do with her is right so that she is feeling
better soon! I detected today that 009 has cloudy eyes. |
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07.05.02
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I fed smelt again today and my baby-snakes had a
huge meal. It seemed to me though, as if the smallest one that I had rescued from the egg-skin didn't really get a chance to eat. I separated it from his two siblings so I can observe it better. |
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08.05.02
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I did the first forcible feeding on 004 today. She
hardly moved at all and as if she was dead. I'm really worried about her condition. |
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09.05.02
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009 shedded perfectly and looks very beautiful now. | |
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10.05.02
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Today the second meal from the tube for 004. It looks
as if she doesn't have the strength to digest the food. I'm slowly losing
hope for a recovery. I gave some small pieces of smelt and extremities of
baby-mice to 004's children. The smallest one didn't take anything, the other two couldn't get enough. |
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11.05.02
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When doing my usual morning control visit in front
of the terrarium I saw 004 dead next to the stone under the spotlight. I'm very upset because she was my secret favorite among my snakes. I'm left with the hope that her babies survive. As life goes on I fed the three juveniles and 005. 005 refused, the three one year olds had a rich meal consiting of a baby-mouse and 9 smelt that were covered with vitamin B. |
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12.05.02
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After I had cleaned the terrarium thoroughly, 005 could move in his territory. He did this in beautiful colors because he shedded during the night. | |
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13.05.02
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When I drove to the Tropenhaus today I had to take
a look into the terrarium with the thamophis. I saw a gorgeous female sirtalis
sirtalis that was laying decoratively on a branch. Well, what shall I say, I couldn't resist and took her with me, togehter with a few cork-roll and some anti-mite medicine. Originally I had gone to the Tropenhaus to buy some decoration for my empty terrarium because I'm awaiting new snakes that will arrive tomorrow. The newly bought wild-caught snake moved into my quarantine basin that I put on my window-ledge, far away from the other snakes and she has to put up with a stone, some paper on the ground and a toilet-paper-roll. In turn I either put a water dish or a plastic box with the anit-mite-strip in her basin. To go on with the name-code she gets the name 014. I called the babies 011, 012, 013. By the way, the three got something to eat today and all but the smallest one which I called 013 took quite a bit. 013 didn't take anything at all and slowly I'm beginning to worry about its will to live. But if it hadn't had any food so far it wouldn't be alive anymore. This thought makes me hope... |
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14.05.02
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Short past eleven this morning the doorbell rang.
A man gave me a package and left me alone with it. Somewhat excited I took
it to a quarantine basin I had prepared and opened the package. In it was a linen bag that was packed in Air Bubble Cushioning Wrap and this bag had quite a bit of weight when I lifted it. In it should be my newest snakes: 2,2 thamhophis sirtalis sirtalis bread in captivity 2001 that are heterozygot for melanism. I had thought that the animals would be about the size of my three males but when I opened the bag out came four very beautiful snakes that had about the size of 004. (At least the females.) That was a big surprise for me and I guess the research why compared to my three little male ones these four are already so big will cost quite a bit of time and nerves. They are about half a year older than my three snakes but I can't imagine that this alone explains the considerable differnece in size... When taking a closer look at the new snakes I could detect small flaws: At 1,2 of the animals I detected several bumps on their spinal column. The breeder could not tell me what that was and so I'm now planning on taking them to the vet. The one female with the biggest bumps is about to shed though so I will wait until I find the skin. I had to redecorate the quarantine basin because it was set up for smaller snakes. I took out the toilet-paper rolls that I had cut in halfs and replaced them with two egg-card-board that the four moved into right after having explored their new home. |
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15.05.02
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010 has shedded today and not left any piece of skin at his body at all. | |
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16.05.02
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The babies got smelt again today and after I offered
013 a small piece with a syringe (I had pinned the smelt on it and held in
in front of 013's mouth) he actually took it and had four more pieces after
that. I guess I don't have to say how happy I was when I saw that. 011 and
012 ate their ration without any problems. PS: Since I have so many snakes now I want to make a change regarding my entries in the diary: I will not as I used to list all the feedings with all dates but from now on only abnormalties in bahavior, like refusial of food, change to a different feed etc. |
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17.05.02
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Today I got the result of the examination of 014
excrements that I had sent to exomed. They detected a intermediate infestation
of coccidia. For treatment I now have to take her to a vet. |
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18.05.02
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Feeding time! I offered pinkies to all of my snakes today, the possible heads for melanism got jumper-mice. Besides 005 and the babies all of them seemed to have a big appetite. What surprised me was, that 014 took two mice. 005 finished his meal after only one smelt. | |
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20.05.02
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Cleaning day. I found a skin in the teen-males terrarium. 008 must have shedded unnoticed during the last few days. The first "mice" reappeared again today and I must say that they look and smell completely different than smelt. Not better - just different. | |
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21.05.02
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This morning the possible head female shedded perfectly and so I could take her and 014 to the vet today. She examined the possible head's excrements and said they were fine. The bumps on her spinal column are spinal column's deformations that will probably not affect their lifes. I might happen thought that at increased lenght the deformation becomes worse and that this causes problems to the snakes motorics. Reasons for the bumps might be: too warm keeping of the snake's mother short before the babies' birth. Another possibility could be a genetic damage as a result of insest. To find out the cause the siblings have to mate: if their offspring shows the same bumps it is a genetic damage if not wrong keeping conditions have caused them. 014 was treated against mites again, but only prophylactically. Against the coccidia I will have to inject her Baycox for five days. | |
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22.05.02
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I fed the baby-snakes today: No complications. After a little quirrel at the smelt-dish between 011 and 012 they seem to have understood that there's enough food for both of them. | |
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25.05.02
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Again food for the babies | |
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28.05.02
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Today I sent another sample of 014's excrements to exomed to have them find out if the treatment against the coccidia has been successful. The three babies had smelt again today | |
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30.05.02
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Exomed send back a positive report - the Baycox-injections
had done what they were supposed to. 014 moved in with 005 who was so attracted
to the female snake that he started mating-behavior only five minutes after
they first met. When I saw that I took him out and let him spend a night
on his own to cool down. |
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31.05.02
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012 has shedded perfectly for the first time after being born. Besides that I put 005 back together with 014 and he seems to have understood his lesson - he left 014 alone. |