Finally arrived!!!

[caloy]

Babies... redsided garter babies born 7/15/10. My double het snow redsided female bred to a double het snow redsided male (thanks Scott F.) delivered 18 babies ,5 jellybeans. There's 2 anery redsideds, 1 albino, 14 regular looking ones and 1 regular colored 2-HEADED BABY. Got home late lastnite, found babies crawling inside mamas 20L gallon terrarium with 60 watt ceramic heat emitter overhead .They were probably born earlier in the day. Babies looked dehydrated ,transferred them to a 5-gallon bucket right away with wet paper towel hoping to rehydrate them,left them there for couple hours before moving them to 3 separate plastic critter containers . Unfortunately 5 of them died overnite including the only albino ,1 anery and 3 regulars. The 2-HEADED baby is still alive but looks weak,not moving much.I hope he/she makes it . I fed the mama 4 f/t fuzzy mice tonite,she seems really hungry and could possibly eat more,just don't want to overfeed her. I feel bad because the babies were sort of dehydrated when I found them probably from too much heat from the overhead ceramic heater. I'll try and feed the babies tomorrow, I'm debating between chopped f/t salmon or live guppies .This is my first time breeding snakes, got mixed feelings /emotions about it,happy and sad at the same time. Any info you can share would be greatly appreciated. I love this forum,learned a lot from it. Keep you guys updated.

[guidofatherof5]

Great news.
You're doing fine to get them rehydrated. That's about all you can do at this point.
I start offering food(worm chunks) everyday, a couple days after birth.

[caloy]

Thanks for the reply Steve. I'm going to try and feed them chopped f/t salmon this weekend. Wife bought some yesterday. Hopefully some will start to chow down on them salmon. By the way,the 2-headed baby garter died last night. So far the other babies are doing fine. Here's a pic of the dead 2-headed baby.bless her soul! I'll take some pics of the other babies after they have eaten too. I also added pic of mama the night she gave birth.

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry to hear about your losses.
Best of luck with the survivors,

[drache]

sorry about the losses
I hope the others will thrive

[i_heart_sneakie_snakes]

Oh, poor little two headed baby :( I can't wait to see photos of the healthy babies though :)

I wonder how often the 2 headed baby thing happens??

[caloy]

I try to feed them babies lastnite with chopped f/t salmon but they didn't eat. I notice most of them are starting to shed some skin. From anybody's experience how long does it usually take for these babies to eat their first meal. I wonder if I should wait until they have fully shed before I try feeding them again. Any suggestions guys?

[adamanteus]

From what you say, it sounds as though these babies are shedding their skin in pieces.... is that right?

[caloy]

Yes , there's pieces of skin hanging on their bodies and I don't know if I should pull them off or let them shed on their own.

[guidofatherof5]

Put them in a shed box. http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husbandry/5014-cheap-shed-box.html

[adamanteus]

As Steve says, they need putting in a 'shed box' or wet bag. The skin should come off in one piece, inside out, like peeling off a sock!
I think perhaps you are keeping them too dry.... at too low a humidity. Can you describe their enclosure? Or better still. post a picture?

[caloy]

Got them in a "shed box" now,hopefully everything will pull thru, no pun intended.Enclosure wise I got them in 3 separate plastic critter cages inside the house ,temp maintained at approx.75 F.I use a plastic doggy dish that serve as hide too,hollow space underneath the doggy dish.I'm not sure about humidity setting though.I'll take a pic soon of my set-up.

[mustang]

cool... nice snakes

[ConcinusMan]

As Steve says, they need putting in a 'shed box' or wet bag. The skin should come off in one piece, inside out, like peeling off a sock!

I've never had that happen with the birthing shed (1st shed). It always comes off in pieces, (just a few) even if the snakes are quite damp. The skin is thin and weak compared to subsequent sheds. No biggie though. Just make sure that it all comes off of each and every one of them.

I don't know about other species but my concinnus babies have always refused food for a week, sometimes two, before finally eating. Can't hurt to offer them food every couple of days, starting at day 3 though.

Some babies won't take water from a dish too. Something to keep in mind. A good misting with a spray bottle and plenty of damp hides isn't a bad idea in the first month. many of my babies that wouldn't drink from a dish, would drink the drops that collect from the misting. They get over that pretty quickly and start drinking from the dish.(A margarine container lid with a little water in it)

The fact that the babies were found dehydrated gives me an opportunity to give some advice. If you're expecting babies from your snake, it's a good idea to maintain a hide or section of the enclosure lined with damp paper towels. Make sure there is a moist place for babies when they finally meet the world. Once they are born, mist them once or twice a day. They seem to enjoy it and can be seen drinking drops off of each others' bodies. crumpled piles of damp newsprint or paper towels for the babies is highly recommended.

NEVER use dry newspaper or similar absorbent material in an enclosure for an expecting female. Babies tend to to stick to it. It sucks the moisture out of their membranes and they get stuck inside and die.