First F.T.T

[PINJOHN]

just had my first failure to thrive a little one from the dozen born to the albino checkered, from which char's binky will get her future mate.
this is the first year for some time that i have let my snakes breed and i had completely forgotten the feeling that hits you first "what have i not done that i could have done" ,we all know that these things happen, but i bet there are more than a few reading this that will recognize that first feeling of responsibility,
it did however remind me of a thing i used to do when i had a brood with a number of reluctant eaters so i will be employing it from now on.
after placing the food [fresh salmon] in the viv i have given the viv a misting making sure that the salmon is well soaked, the rise in humidity lasts only for a few hours so there is no negative effects on the little ones.
i have no idea if the rise in humidity prompts the baby's to eat so i am making no claims in that direction what i do know is that it prolongs the time that the salmon stays attractive to the baby's by keeping it hydrated longer, this allows me to leave it in overnight whereby those little ones that are intimidated by their more robust siblings can eat later when their sib's have had their fill, and those very shy ones who might only eat under a cloak of darkness will still have something to tempt them after lights out.
this is no claim to be anew method as i am sure that many keeper will have something similar in their routines but i thought it might help by giving some of the newer keepers an added string to their bow

[Char361979]

Sorry to hear this John :(

Good idea about the mist. From a scientific view point I am also told by my resident geek, aka Chris, that the misting would also carry the fish smell and make it more attractive.

We must sort out getting Binky's boyfriend from you soon.

[chris-uk]

I don't warrant the validity of my claim that misting will carry the scent, but I think it would. It certainly extends the time that the fish is edible.

Sorry to hear about this little one. I hope it's the only one you loose this year.

[PINJOHN]

thanks Chris i have to say that none of this litter are what you would call good eaters but i will be satisfied if i can keep them headed in the right direction even if it's only slowly

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry to hear about the little scrub passing.
Good idea on the misting and your observations.

[katach]

So sorry you lost a little one. :(

[d_virginiana]

Sorry to hear that :(

[dieselbaby]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your baby. R.I.P little one.

[Mommy2many]

John, I am so sorry to hear of your little one's passing. All of their passings are hard and the little ones are the ones we have the most hope for.

[snakehill]

So sorry about your baby. :( But if this is your first and only FTT you must be doing something right! ;)

[RedSidedSPR]

No kidding.

[PINJOHN]

So sorry about your baby. :( But if this is your first and only FTT you must be doing something right! ;)
sorry did not mean to mislead, this is the first baby death since i have allowed my snakes to breed for the first time in a number of years, it has reminded me of the challengers that breeding presents and i look forward to next year with all the excitement that breeding brings

[chris-uk]

If this one is your only FTT then you're still only looking at 2 from your two litters this year (if you counted our Angua as an FTT from your litter), that's not bad odds.
It's like you say, breeding has it's challenges. I'm sure I'll experience them in the next year or so. Some I look forward to, others I don't. As with many things in life, you take the rough with the smooth and get on with it.

[PINJOHN]

A second baby from the albino female found dead this morning, this one more upsetting because of its unexpectedness, it was feeding well putting on weight and was generally active and otherwise healthy i cant really consider this one as a f.t.t more as sudden death syndrome, some of the others who don't eat near so well are still hanging in there,
its most perplexing.
edit
i just wonder if the great amount of inbreeding that has gone on in the UK with albino checkererds has weakened the overall
stock, the [normal] farther of these baby's is over ten years old and while i know that this is old for a breeding garter, my thoughts were that knowing that his father was wild caught, then in spit of his age he was bringing fresh genes to the table [so to speak] if this was someone else s post i would be advising that these things happen but even so i cant help trying to rationalize it.

[chris-uk]

Sorry to hear you've lost another. Sad day. :-(

[chris-uk]

Caught me out with the edit there John. :-)

I'd tend to agree that inbreeding of albinos has weakened their physiology, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that there is some genetic factor here. Is it nature or nurture? We know damn well that the care you provide is first class and won't have varied from one litter to another, so that gives us faulty genes.

[d_virginiana]

I've never heard of someone with an albino checkered that you could describe as a really strong eater, no shedding problems, ect.
Sorry for your loss :( It seems like you give your snakes really good care, there was probably nothing you could've done to prevent it.

[Char361979]

I've never heard of someone with an albino checkered that you could describe as a really strong eater, no shedding problems, ect.


You have to meet Binky. She bucks the trend. Good eater, never a shedding issue, loves to be handled. A dream of a snake, and a beatiful albino to boot!!:D
Binky was an American import so she's probably not to bad in the inbreeding stakes. I agree with Chris, I think it's genes here.