PUGET Babies *update_ all eating well :))

[mikm]

Gosh they sure are a bunch of eating little monsters, lol. All babies from both litters have fed at least twice, most 3 times. It's been awhile since I looked for feeder guppies. Not too popular these days I guess as I had a tough time finding them. Good thing I got rosies & guppies as when I returned home and looked at the babies I realized that all could take down small rosies. Up until this time all had fed on earthworms and/or trout pieces. I set them up by putting each baby in an individual deli cup tilting the cup slightly to allow for a little water containing both guppies & rosies. Funny to watch them poke their heads about under the water, at first not knowing to open their mouths to snatch a fish. Once they got a 'taste' however they went wild !!! Fun to watch them teach themselves how to 'position' their meal using their jaws. Within their first few attempts some would give up & spit it out just as it seemed they had the fish positioned just right, but immediately snatched another and performed the motions quicker the 2nd time, usually eating the fish. Seems as if eating a fish is a step by step process to be mastered as such. After the 'how to position' step, they moved on to learn how to manipulate their jaws in order to swallow their prey. Once they got the hang of it I was adding fish to each deli cup quite often !!! In the end, they were all quite the little sausages. :D Amazing to witness all of this actually as you cannot help but wonder how they survive in the wild. Surely speaks to the overall condition of WC versus CB. After being alive a mere 9 & 10 days respectively the little buggers no longer flee from me in union. :)

enjoy your day !!
marian

[Gijs & Sabine]

It's good to hear that they're all doing so well:)
And I'm sure that there's no movie that can beat to see your little babies try to catch a fish;)

[garterking]

Great to hear Marian. Hope we get to see some updated pics of the little ones soon.

[Thamnophis]

That is fantastic! Always nice to see everything goes well.

[garterking]

I just have to throw this out there. In my opinion.................."bob" has competition that he can't match:D Awesome

[adamanteus]

Marian, great news that all your babies are eating so well. More pictures please!

[mikm]

MIKE ... thanks for your too kind words ;) These sweet babies are so co-operative (so far) making life alot easier. Though I admit that they are being totally pampered, :p ...

James, Yeah, I know ... pics, PICS, .. I mean that sincerely as those are always my first thoughts upon opening a post !!! I tried to snap a few pics this morning but there was not enough sun light yet. I thought tonight might be good as I had a free evening however my dig is MIA, well ... better said 'borrowed' for the evening as my niece wanted to show some classmates snake pics. Just as well as all babies (both litters) appear dull at the moment.

Litter #1 (Proud MaMa's 7 babies on 4/29/7) have all gotten much brighter and richer colorwise !!! Since they are so stuffed at the moment, you can see frequent sky/bright blue, 'speckling' throughout their bodies. The blue 'flecks' on these babies compare very well to the bright blue on this guy ===>;) . Their lower side body color at the moment is a very rich(bright), medium depth green. I am looking forward to posting pics of each Mom along with their respective babies and a blurb in regards any 'history' I have on the parents.

Anyway, Litter # 2 (Stubbs 4 babies on 4/30/7) are all little monster looking snakes, lol ... I have been looking at them and I suspect Litter #2 is THREE males and only ONE female. (Litter #1 definitely has both sexes just not sure of the ratio yet). This Litter (#2) also looks really dull at the moment. You can see blue & green on their sides (bottom) but it would probably take a newborn pink size meal to cause their skin to stretch enough to expose any 'speckling', lol.

Hoping for quick sheds .... I will take pics for record keeping. I would be more inclined to accumulate data on lineage, & age progressive pics and such ... Very anxious to see another litter of these 'on the ground' from someone else. They are very cool !!!

Will keep all ya'll posted ...
marian

[GarterGuy]

Hey Marian,
Glad to hear the little ones are feeding and doing so well. It is funny watching a neonate garter trying to figure out exactly what to do with a fish for the first time.:D Can't wait to see the updated pics of them.
Roy

[drache]

it's so cool they're eating and thriving
no pressure, but I'm looking forward to the pics as well

[Snaky]

Always nice to hear good news about the little one's :)

[Cazador]

Hey Marian,

Nice technique with the deli cups, water, and fish ;). Sometimes you just want to coach them through their first meals... Now! Go for it. No, turn it toward the head... not the tail, Ohhh dangit. Glad to hear they're all doing well, though.

Rick

[mikm]

I introduced chopped up f/t pinks to Litter #2 (Stubb's 4) yesterday, setting them up (as I do, lol) by placing a small amount of fish water in an individual deli cup, tilting the cup slightly to allow for the water to pool at one end. I then add a few 'live' rosies, some small chunks of pinky meat, and one baby PUGET. They all feasted and some ate more of the pinky meat leaving behind a now dead fish or two. I left Litter #1 (Proud MaMa's 7) with the same buffet offering this morning. A few were already chowing down on Pink chunks before I left for work this morning:) .

I hesitate to take/post pic of the babies at the moment as they are really, really dull looking at the moment. I expect sheds to commence any day now. The largest baby out of Litter #2 is ('surprise') what I suspect to be my lone female out of Litter #2. The size difference between them (within their respective litters) is actually not too apparent. I did end up taking this pic though to show all ya'll how well the little sausages are eating ... :p ... marian

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/BB_crop.jpg

[Ameivaboy]

looks like the blue is starting to come through, I'm still jealous and waiting impatiently for mine, did you notice any behavioral changes in yours before she dropped?

[adamanteus]

They're lovely looking babies, Marian. I wish they were available in the UK.

[drache]

Marian
not really dull
no
that's very lovely colouring for a baby
they'll grow into total knock-outs

[Cazador]

That IS a chubby little dude, and it looks like they're getting a great start on life. Good on yeh, Marian :).

Rick

[GarterGuy]

Very cool to hear that they're taking pinky bits already. From that pic, looks like they're really liking them....LOL. Very happy to hear that they're all doing so well. Can't wait to see the post shed pics.:D
Roy

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Marian.
Dang I want one :(

[mikm]

Thank you all for the encouraging comments :) ...

Odie, hey back at you from New Jersey ... I will be parting with most of the babies and there are a few folks on this forum with some gravid gals so you should be able to get a nice, healthy baby ;) ...

Kevin ... Dude I was so SPENT from watching these girls waiting and W_A_I_T_I_N_G that just when I thought there were no babies coming, there they were ... like three years later, LOL. They did stop feeding about 10 days before giving birth. Before that they were ravenous and I was offering food every few days. I think the thing to look for (what Rick had mentioned) is when you notice that their bulk has shifted downward towards their tail. In hindsight I do recall that 'tailward' shift. Actually, to me after the 'shift' they did not appear all that gravid, lol. Lastly they stayed curled up in their hides. Normally I find this sub species to be 'out & about' 98% of the time ...

[Odie]

Something that good looking/healthy, I'll pay good for :D

[Ameivaboy]

I agree, my female is always out and about and now she is just kinda sluggish and hiding, it does appear the bulge is moving southbound so sounds like it should be soon : D

[adamanteus]

We're all waiting for the outcome Kevin. Good luck, keep that camera close at hand!

[garterchick]

hi marian
congrats on the babies, they're looking great. do the pugets have smaller clutches than most other garters? just wondering because mine had 1 big, strapping, healthy baby, and i have to say i was a little disappointed.
tina

[mikm]

Hey there Tina ... First CONGRATS on the baby !! Is the baby a PUGET ?? When has he/she born ?? How long was the baby when it was born ?? How is feeding going ??

Two of my female PUGETS had litters. The first had 7 'live' babies & 1 still born. The second female had a litter of 4 all alive. I find them (the adults) to be small snakes in general and I found the babies to be large in regards to the respective size of their parents. I am not sure of the average size of their litters however I expect to see more babies from others within this forum shortly :)

[garterchick]

hi marian
the baby was born saturday night and is on the large side, but when i came home tonight i realized that it was 1 of a litter of 8. unfortunately the other 7 were still-born, three days after the first one. the female was acting as if she was contracting but i had no experience with the birth process and didn't know that that wasn't normal. in the meantime, the surviver is alrady eating rosies and i think all is well. i'd sure like to know what caused the large number of retained full-term babies. any suggestions?
tina

[Cazador]

Hey Tina,

I wonder if the mother is a small/young snake? Sometimes first-time mothers have difficulty with their first litter. Just a hunch, but it could have been caused by a lot of different things. Did they look full term?

Rick

[garterchick]

mama looks full-grown and the dead babies appeared to be full-term
tina

[mikm]

Hey Tina, I would have to agree with Rick in regards to the Mom being young and this might be her first litter. In regards to warm blooded animals (especially rodents) it has been my experience that this happens frequently. I would just luv to see pics of your snakes, Mom & baby :) .

Curious ... are you the same 'Tina' that I sold Flames & e.Black Necks to ??

[garterchick]

boy, it is a small world. yes, i got your flames and blacknecks and they're all doing very well. no offspring yet but i think the flames are going to very soon.
tina

[mikm]

Well hello again Tina ... Wow that is just awesome :D . So very glad to 'see' you here and hear that the garters are well !! ... The 'small world' gets even smaller. Tom, 'snakeman' on this forum is your female Flames 'baby daddy', lol. So whatcha' got in total (garters) over there ???

enjoy your day !!

[garterchick]

1.1 normal checkereds
0.1 albino checkerds
1.1 eastern flames
1.1 eastern blacknecks
1.1 plains
0.1 red-sided
1.2.1 puget sounds

gosh, that does seem like a lot, i'd never written it all down like this. oh well.
tina

[GarterGuy]

Very nice collection of garters there. :D
Roy

[mikm]

Yes, that is a very nice collection you have there Tina :) :) ...

[garterchick]

thanks, i like it too. unfortunately i lost the male albino checkered and the male red-sided this winter, so i'm in the market for replacements, or maybe
i'll trade one of the girls for one of the boys i need. i'm also willing to part with the plains garters, we'll see what happens.
tina

[mikm]

Hey Tina ... I have just the PUGETS and O_Red_Spots at the moment. I would suspect you will have your pick of babies and such shortly though :) ...