The babies are nearly ready to go and four, in fact, have been sold. I will be bringing the babies to Daytona next week for the National Reptile Breeders Expo. All will have had two meals, some three, and they will be pre-registered with The American Cornsnake Registry. I couldn’t be more pleased with the quality of this clutch. After their sheds, they are even more beautiful!! And they are ravenous feeders, every last one! It’s hard to decide which are prettier- the lovely grey-toned Granites or the bright Bloodreds. All have excellent diffusion! A Bloodred + Bloodred Pair, or a Bloodred + Granite Pair will produce a rainbow of hatchlings: Bloodreds, Fires, Granites and Avalanches in Saddles and Stripes. These babies result from a total outcross and are _very_ vigorous!

The second Miami hatchling (below left) is a nice Milksnake Miami. I _really_ like this one! Third out was Minina, (below right)so-called because he or she is a sweet little thing compared to El Tigre! The babies will be meeting “Grandma Carol” of Low Belly Reptiles in Daytona next week, so they can be sexed.

Fourth out is Gatito, (below left) a pretty Miami with rich chestnut saddles. And last but certainly not least is Candy Cane! Candy Cane (below right) was a huge surprise, since neither I nor Carol knew that El Wray or Cherry were het for Amel. And Candy Cane took her sweet time in coming out after poking her cute pink nose out of the egg! Candy Cane weighed in at a petite 4.5 grams, but had no trouble eating a whole small pink. I’m not sure what the future holds for these babies! There are certainly a couple that I may not be able to part with. It’s possible one or more may journey back to Low Belly Reptiles in California where their parents came from. It’s likely that one or two may be offered for sale. I’ll let you know!

I am a sucker for Miamis of all types, and especially those produced by Carol Huddleston, Low Belly Reptiles. The mother of this clutch, Cherry, was my first Miami ever. Cherry is a Milksnake Phase Miami, bred for banded saddles and a light ground color. I bought Cherry as an adult from Carol, and a sweeter snake there never was. Cherry is my ambassador snake who showers her affections on both snake lovers and first time snake handlers alike! The sire, El Wray, was my second Miami, bred by Carol. I fell in love with him, seeing him for sale, and just had to have him. He has matured into a gorgeous Miami Motley- in fact, you can see El Wray up in my logo! I’m hoping the offspring of El Wray and Cherry will combine the best characteristics of each parent. We’ll see! Momma Cherry on the left, Daddy El Wray on the right.

A flurry of First-Hatchie-Ever activity ensued, with a mini-photoshoot, posters being displayed at work and wallet-sized pictures being printed to show off. Number One was joined by Hatchlings B, C, D, E, F and G on Wednesday, and Hatchlings G, H, I and J on Thursday. And more eggs are still pipping today! So far there is an even mix of rich, red Bloodreds and gorgeous Granites in shades of gray, all with excellent diffusion. Of course they will not be sexed until after they have shed, and probably have been fed at least one meal. Things are definitely hopping at the Hatchling Hotel! PS- Cherry’s dented eggs are pipping now!

You can view the New Arrivals on the Available page. Be aware that I am still in the process of getting the Available section set up, and it needs to have a “widget” installed to be complete, but you can still see each individual hatchling there, up close, as they hatch. Sexes will be noted as soon as I sex them, most likely after the first meal.

Pictured above is Jacinto, the male. He’s a bit fiesty! That’s okay- he makes a good photo subject that way. The females are Iris, the speedy one, on the left, and Violet, the sweet one, on the right. One thing these kids have in common is excellent banding! So the non-stripe F2’s in the project should be gorgeous in their own right. The babies are testing out the hatchling rack for me, since it is still a couple weeks till my own eggs hatch. It’s quite a change from the usual 10 gallon set-ups I like for babies, but seems to be comfortable and safe for them.

Both are gorgeous Rich Hume stock. I’m hoping for some amazing hatchlings, including Bloodreds, Fires, Granites and Avalanches, in saddles and stripes. Annabelle is blue right now, but you can be sure I will do a nice photoshoot with her after she sheds. She is just an outstanding example of Bloodred.

These Rosy Ratsnakes are very different from mainland cornsnakes. They are thin, strong and wirey; obviously a snake that spends much of its time in trees. Another difference is the belly which is a translucent orange with no checkers. The Boot Keys are nearly twice the length of cornsnakes of the same weight. They appear to mature at a small size, too; Scarlett is ovulating now. Of course they are too young to breed! We’ll see how much they grow by 2011, at the earliest. (More Scarlett, below)

I had prepared bins for them in the isolation rack, but after seeing them weigh in at 67 and 77 grams, I feared that they would be small enough to escape. Luckily, placing a piece of cardboard under each bin tightened things up enough to keep the new kids where they belonged. Phoenix (below) is the male, and he is nearly identical to Scarlett. Luckily, they have slightly different head markings, and I am sure that after spending more time with them after the settling in period they will become easier to tell apart. Needless to say, I am very excited to welcome these rare beauties into the SnickerSnakes collection. Thank you, Byron!

In other news, I have set up two more adult racks. These racks are Animal Plastics Economy Plastic Racks, 66 quart. Although you won’t find this rack on the AP website, you can contact Alie and she will be happy to give you the details. The bins are available from Target. (Given Sterilite’s history of discontinuing bins, I always order my bins before I order a rack, to make sure I will still get the correct bins). I love the extra space of 66 quart bins, and the openness of the Economy Plastic racks. My Wall of Snakes runs from my kitchen all the way through the living room! I love it! Three “teenager” snakes have moved up to the adult rack; 2008’s The Dingo and Mango, and 2009 Zora. The Dingo, especially, is enjoying his new living area and is out all the time now! And when Zora moved, she took her hammock with her. Mango was blue during the move and never came out of his cardboard tube. I can only imagine his surprise when he emerged to shed and found himself in an entirely different place! The kids all took many of their old possessions with them when they moved so they should have some sense of familiarity in their new homes.

I’ve also managed to get every last cornsnake registered with the American Cornsnake Registry while on vacation last week. You can look me up there under my breeder number, #513, my name, Nanci LeVake, or my house initials, SNICKERSNAKES. It’s so fun to look at the snakes that have extensive pedigrees such as Cherry, El Wray, Zora, Jasper, Cali and Jasmine. I’ve always had cage cards attached to the vivs so the occupant could be identified, but I thought it would be nice to place each snake’s ACR registration in a plastic airbill envelope and attach that to the side of the viv. I’m really happy with how they look!

The cool thing about registering the snakes is I was forced to take photos of all of them! Here are some of the best! First, Lava Bloodred Yggdrasil and a blue Hypo Lavender Stripe Razzle.

Opal Stripe Mango and Amel het Opal Bloodred Azaria. (Isn’t she a little fatty? She’s ovulating and filled with ova, although she’s a 2008. She’d better reabsorb them!!)

Lavender Stripe Calli (who will be ready to breed next year, with Mango!) and Lavender Bloodred Draco. Draco just keeps getting lighter and prettier with every shed!

Meanwhile, amphibians still rule at the Water Garden. I pulled a lily pad out from under the ledge and discovered Baby Toad Hideout! There must have been 20 or more to start with, seeking protection from the heat of the day in the cool darkness. A week later, they have little by little dispersed out of the Water Garden and off into the grass and plants in the big wide world. Whenever I find one, I move it to the safety of Terra Pen. Every evening I am treated to frog song, all night long. There are at least five different species I can hear. I love trying to trick them into calling by making frog croaks myself.

Back at The Fort, I’ve been trying without success to establish _anything_ growing on top of the burrows. Whatever I plant is consumed as soon as the torts find it. However, we have a new inhabitant living in the vicinity of Koko’s home! This big skink is always out basking on top of the barren wasteland that is Koko’s burrow. He’s quite tolerant of me photographing him. There are lots of lizards out there this year. I’ve noticed that there are more green anoles than brown anoles so far. I wonder if many of the brown anoles were weeded out by the very, very cold winter. Here’s a picture of Koko, deciding if he should follow his blackberry treat with mulberry leaves or a hibiscus flower. I hope everyone is having as nice a summer as we are, here at Fort Tort!