PUGET BABIES #2 _ Stubby Tail

[mikm]

Roy, Your Puget babies were blue from the start and small ?? How many times had they fed before you got them or how old were they ??? Do you recall ??? Any info is most appreciated .

James, that is very interesting ... I would expect smaller litters but the size (large) I find curious ???

[GarterGuy]

Roy, Your Puget babies were blue from the start and small ?? How many times had they fed before you got them or how old were they ??? Do you recall ??? Any info is most appreciated .

James, that is very interesting ... I would expect smaller litters but the size (large) I find curious ???

Yeh, mine were blue from the get go (check out my entry in this month's contest). I have no idea how often they had been fed before I got them and as far as age, I was told they were several months old. Don't know if I believe that though....due to the size of them and the source of the info. I'm really thinking that you've got actual Pugets there (T.s.pickeringi), cause they don't look like my T.ordiniodes babies at all.

[mikm]

Hey Roy ... The blue baby you entered in the pic contest sure looks sweet, so sorry for your loss ... So that baby was suppoesed to be several months old ??? Approx how long was he ??? I have to say the little guy in that pic does not look like any of the babies I have.

marian

[GarterGuy]

Hey Roy ... The blue baby you entered in the pic contest sure looks sweet, so sorry for your loss ... So that baby was suppoesed to be several months old ??? Approx how long was he ??? I have to say the little guy in that pic does not look like any of the babies I have.

marian

He was only about 4-5in. long. He actually did very well for the first week, even shed, but then went downhill VERY quickly...the other one soon followed. Yeh, it was a real shame.....he was going to be a gorgeous snake.
Roy

[Cazador]

You know how "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." I wouldn't trade my collection, but I sure admire a lot of the different snakes on this forum. Don't know where I'd put them all, but one can dream .

There are probably just as many exceptions to the size of adult:size of offspring observation that James made, but I think we notice quirks like that more often because they're so remarkable. I lot of the research on these issues (fecundity rates) deals with the amount of energy reserves that the mother has before becoming gravid and of course their capacity to ovulate.

Also ecologists talk about whether a species is an "r-select species" or a "k-select species." The r-select species maximize their fecundity "rate" but provide minimal parental care while k-select species produce fewer offspring but invest more parental care into them. As a result fewer k-select species die as neonates. The r-select species are normally good at colonizing new areas, but they suffer high mortality rates among the young.

Rick

[Cazador]

Let's see how things develop, Marian, but if some don't gain the blue color, it would confirm that they mated with a "wild-type" male, which pretty much guarantees they were wild-caught adults (as if there were still any doubt).

Rick

[Ameivaboy]

are you implying they arent captive bred?? how could you !! lol jk