Suddenly- Babies!

[ThamGirl]

Some of you may have heard about my two sick garters- a fungal skin infection that I've been battling for a while now. The male finally passed away yesterday morning, but when I went to give the female her medicine today I had a surprise! Seven tiny pairs of eyes looked at me from the quarantine tank, and mama looked so proud of herself! I quickly transferred them into a temp baby tank, checked on mama and fed her (she was soooooo hungry), and then did a check on the babies. All healthy, no deformities, no jellies, all very active and happy looking! One of them is super high contrast (the picture doesn't really do it justice at all), and one of them is super super dark. I'm so excited! I was really caught off guard by this, but I should have listened to my gut when I started thinking she was gravid. I'll be checking the babies regularly to make sure they didn't contract the skin infection, but so far I have high hopes!
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I can't help but think- if my smallest female can have seven happy, healthy little babies this late in the year when she was sick- what will my big female have next year?
I'm gonna work on their actual tank now! Can't wait to get them settled in.
Question though- when do you all start feeding them? I offered them some fish and worm pieces today, but no one was interested. I figure I'll offer some every day or so, as well as get them some guppies to go after.

[guidofatherof5]

Congrats. Baby scrubs are awesome.

Every day or so would be good. I offer food on day 2 and every day after that, while other wait a week or two before they offer. I've had babies start eating on day two and others that waited a week or two.
It's just my opinion but I believe there is a short window of opportunity to get some babies to eat. I don't want to miss any windows, so I offer early.

[jwolfe152]

im sorry to hear about your male, but very excited for your new scrubs...i guess its the circle of life right in you house(thats just a good thought to have) if im not mistaken you can feed whenever if they have trouble people say to put some feeder fish in some shallow water and individually feed them. but now i see you already know that lol. but im glad there are no signs of infection. lets all just hope it stays that way. congratulation again

[jwolfe152]

also i would start asap as steve said, i mean even in the wild the babies leave the mother to fend for themself in just a few days so im sure they can and will eat day one occasionally

[ThamGirl]

Alright- thanks for the advice! I'll make some mixed food for them and freeze it into small servings to make my life easier. I'll have to pick up some pinkies and more silversides tomorrow to really make a good blend.

[jwolfe152]

ive never thought about blending the pinky i might even try that and worms for mine

[ThamGirl]

ive never thought about blending the pinky i might even try that and worms for mine I got the idea from some people here- tiny pinkie parts mixed with worm and fish parts. Nice, rounded diet that should encourage them to not be such picky eaters. ^_^

[Light of Dae]

That's what I do! I'll use an ice cube tray with just enough water to hold everything together. Nice bite size pieces of everything. Worms I add fresh... Hahaha never try to freeze worms unless you like goo... :)

I do frozen mixes of pinkies and fish, pinkies and chicken heart, chicken heart and fish. and sometimes I just feed worms :)

[guidofatherof5]

Worms + freezing = a pile of goo.;)

[ThamGirl]

I'll keep the worm problem in mind. XD
We did chicken hearts and livers for our sick babies when I was younger- it seemed to really give them a kick start and get them interested in eating actual food.

[ThamGirl]

Quick update:
Offered them some chopped food a few times- a little interest but no one ate. Bought some guppies today, and while they wouldn't hunt for it, when I dropped the fish in front of them and it flopped around- instant feed reaction! Every single one ate at least two guppies. Yay!

[guidofatherof5]

Guppy magic at work again. It's amazing what a little flopping fish will do to them. You can also add some worm chunks to the guppies, when they strike and miss they will get a chunk of worm instead. It's a great way to introduce another food item.
Glad to hear the little scrubs are eating.

[EasternGirl]

Congrats! Babies are so fun! So sorry to hear about your male passing...nice time for mama snake to give you some scrubby gifts to cheer you up. I don't want to be a downer here, but I would be somewhat concerned about the fungal infection spreading to the babies...does anyone else think this should be a concern?

[ThamGirl]

I too am concerned about the babies ending up with it as well, which is why I moved them to a different take immediately, even though I didn't have a good one ready for them (I do know, though). I'm keeping a very close eye on them, checking all of them every day for any sign of the infection- so far there hasn't been anything, and we're keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way.

[EasternGirl]

Well that sounds like the best you can do for now. Hopefully they will all be okay :)

[ThamGirl]

Another Update:
No sign of fungal infection- so hoping everything is going well. Got a nice tank set up for them, couple of large rocks, a 'wading pool,' some fake plants (that they constantly climb and sleep in- they seem to be confused about what kind of snake they are), good temperature gradient, and plenty of places to hide. They are all eating really well, and all of them have taken frozen from my hand at least once, if not more. Looks like I have a great batch of babies here!
Question, though: They are growing pretty rapidly, but when can I expect them to shed?

[guidofatherof5]

Could be any day now. Well fed scrubs can grow and shed quite often.
It's really important you inspect the sheds to be sure the eye caps and tails have completely shed.

[ThamGirl]

The scrubs that I've had before all shed after the third feeding- I'm not concerned yet, but these guys just don't seem inclined to shed anytime soon.
And yes- I will be checking each and every one of them post-shed. ^^

I do have one that I'm getting concerned about. He's my runt, and he seems to actually be afraid of water. He won't go near the water dish, won't make the attempt to hunt in the water, and is showing signs of dehydration. I can get him to drink some if I spray the side of the tank- and I change the water in the dish daily. Any suggestions? He's also my only 'problem' eater, in that he will only take a few pieces of food after much coaxing- we're down to ten minutes, but his first round took an hour to get him to eat. I think he's just going to end up my special needs baby.

[Foxrun402]

Quick update:
Offered them some chopped food a few times- a little interest but no one ate. Bought some guppies today, and while they wouldn't hunt for it, when I dropped the fish in front of them and it flopped around- instant feed reaction! Every single one ate at least two guppies. Yay!

Haha!! Nice! I tried this with Suzi... when I dropped a Zebra Danio on the ground... she picked it up and put it back in the water and saved the fish's life lol! :rolleyes: