Escapee, recaught with baggage

[Tim C.]

Around Halloween of last year my very tame cb albino checkered got away from my cousins daughter and decided she was going to explore the world. While mowing the back field in early June I saw a yellow wiggly tail go up under a log. I lifted the log and to my surprise it was my long lost friend. I gave her a couple minutes to relax as we stared at each other and when I put my hand out I was even more surprised when she came right to my hand. She reminded me of an excited dog and after a few minutes of vigorous rubbing, she likes it rough for some reason, she settled right into her overlapped figure eight holding position around my fingers and went to sleep, It was as if she had never been gone.
If you think that part of the story is sweet, I was even more surprised on August 3rd when I looked over into her viv and saw her giving birth. She is now the proud mother of ten babies. No deaths, no beans!
Being born in Kentucky Im assuming they are checkered/eastern mixed. They mostly look like normal checkered except with brighter yellow, slightly different cheek/lip-scale pattern and they have those bluish green reflective stretch mark stripes between the checkers that are common on easterns. They are already as tame as their mother, love attention and are very curious about my movements around the room. They are eating well and about half have had their second shed.
Now comes the questions. I don't really want that many so what do I do with them? If I keep them and breed them should I breed them with checkered or eastern? Albino or regular? Will their offspring be normal or albino? If I sell them how much should I expect for them from a local pet shop?
I would appreciate any advice or answers from anyone with experience and constructive intentions. Thanks

[joeyjoe9876]

well if you are positive that it's the same snake and that it's had eastern/checkered hybrid babies than you probably shouldn't breed or sell them. There is a good amount of people in the community who don't exactly find it tasteful to dirty up gene pools from different subspecies than sell them, seeing as someone could buy them hoping to breed them and sell the babies.

[Tim C.]

well if you are positive that it's the same snake and that it's had eastern/checkered hybrid babies than you probably shouldn't breed or sell them. There is a good amount of people in the community who don't exactly find it tasteful to dirty up gene pools from different subspecies than sell them, seeing as someone could buy them hoping to breed them and sell the babies.

Im positive Its the same because of her incomplete scale on the top of her head. Not to mention checkereds are from the west, not Kentucky

[Invisible Snake]

Daaamn she must've had an awesome adventure. Could you please post pictures of the mother and of the babies?

[mikem]

Do you have photos of the babies? I would be very interested in seeing them

No more breeding. These will either need to stay with you for the entirety of their lives or go to a home where you are 1000% sure they will be kept only as a pet. Do not release them.

I'm sure there will be a few members here that would gladly give them loving homes.

[Tim C.]

DSC02984.jpgDSC02987.jpgDSC02974.jpg Sorry for the poor quality. I do not house them together but they interact fine

[Tim C.]

DSC02966.jpgDSC02969.jpgDSC02971.jpgThey were 1 day old in the pics dated Aug 4

[Invisible Snake]

Hey when you first acquired her as a pet, around how old was she?

My reason for asking is because she might have retained sperm from a mating while under the previous owners care.

[Tim C.]

Hey when you first acquired her as a pet, around how old was she?

My reason for asking is because she might have retained sperm from a mating while under the previous owners care.

She was 10 inches long, bought online and mailed to me. Im guessing she was about 7 months old and 25 inches when she wandered.

[Invisible Snake]

Then I think it is highly unlikely that it was retained sperm. Please do not release them into the wild or breed them as that would contaminate the bloodlines of both sirtalis and marcianus garters.

If you decide to sell or give them away, only do so to experienced garter snake keepers with an edict that they must never be bred or released into the wild. Good Luck!