Hi All - Long time no See - Quick guidance, please....

[jitami]

Hi! Let's skip the I told you so's from 4 years ago, k? Sigh. So... I've had an older male housed with an older female for four or five years now... based on the sub-forum this is in you can guess what happened. After all this time I just walked in to see blood spots in their tank... yep... right now I've got 8 little squiggles on damp paper towel with a shallow water dish... do they need heat? It's warm here, but I haven't temp checked their new tank (I'd guess 80). Had to do some serious scrambling to get them into my one spare tank, move daddy into a tank with two males he's never been housed with (they're doing the mating ball thing to him - I'd feel sorry for him, but he seems to have recently had a snack and he's dealing with the mating attempts fine so that's his new home). Then go through every ounce of carefresh & move mom onto paper towels. Really hope I didn't traumatize her too much, because I have a feeling she's not done. Thankfully the tanks are in a busy part of the house, so I noticed fairly quickly. I even helped one little guy out of his sack. I thought he was dead when I found him, but he seems fine now. I know there's no hurry to feed them... and I'll be reading this forum all night lol, but is there anything I need to worry about with them or mom (or dad for that matter) now?

Thanks thanks thanks <3 Whew... my adrenaline is still flowing!

[jitami]

Btw, Ella (mom) is a huge girl and every summer after their appetite picks up I look at her and think 'she better not be pregnant'... said it a couple of weeks ago... so yes, she did look gravid, but she's such a big girl that it wasn't anything too obvious.

[jitami]

Sorry, another quick Q - how long do I leave the paper towel damp? They do have a large, but shallow water dish.

[snake man]

Keep it damp for a week or more. Congratz on the babies pics?

[jitami]

Thanks snake man... so no worries about it being too cold because it's damp? I will try to get pics. I'm not sure my camera will focus on them being so tiny. I'll give it a try in full sunlight tomorrow. One of the little darlings just slithered out of the last bit of shed in front of me... cute cute cute.

[guidofatherof5]

I use damp paper towels until their birth shed is complete.
Then I make sure they have access to plenty of water to keep them hydrated.

[Invisible Snake]

Welcome back! I was wondering where the old school members went. What type of garters are they?

[jitami]

Any heat source, Steve? If I offer them damp & dry will they use them appropriately or is there still too much risk of dehydration. Most seem to have shed completely already.

[jitami]

Welcome back! I was wondering where the old school members went. What type of garters are they?

e. elegans... sorry I haven't been around... just got busy with dogs, kids, life, but I have missed everyone here!

[guidofatherof5]

e. elegans... sorry I haven't been around... just got busy with dogs, kids, life, but I have missed everyone here!

We have missed you also.

Sounds like your male has been hanging with his lady too long.