Archive for December, 2007

The new rat rack

I know some of you are waiting on the new rat rack plans to get posted.
I wanted to give you an update. I’m still waiting on a few of the components for the watering system to arrive. I will post the plans as soon as they are completed.
There’s no need to email me asking about them, the plans will be published as soon as I get the page written. The rack is built, I’m only waiting on the last parts for the watering system.

I did intend to have the plans completed before Christmas, but I just wasn’t able to.

Clay :: Dec.30.2007 :: Reptile Related, The Collection :: No Comments »

The Wonders of Nature

I always find the unique behaviors of many animals to be fascinating. No matter how much we learn about nature, it seems there’s always something else ready to amaze us.

I saw this article today about how squirrels in California were found to be using snake skin to scent themselves with to aid in avoiding rattlesnake predators.
An excerpt from the article:

Rattlesnakes often chow down on unwary squirrels, but new research shows the rodents fight back by eating, rubbing and even bathing themselves with pieces of discarded snake skin.

The reptilian musk helps California ground and rock squirrels mask their natural scent and thereby avoid detection from their slithering nemeses.

See this page for the full article http://tinyurl.com/2g4qzr

Every time I see something interesting such as this I can’t help but wonder just how much is going to go completely unknown as a result of species being driven to extinction from mankind’s relentless pursuit of “progress”.

Clay :: Dec.28.2007 :: Herp News, Random Thoughts, Reptile Related :: No Comments »

Backstabbing LA Turtle Farmers……

I must say this action is the single most ignorant and intentionally damaging act to be perpetrated on our hobby to date. The turtle farmers of Louisiana in their blind attempt to get the sale of hatchling red eared sliders legalized in the US have simultaneously endangered the entire reptile hobby.
I cannot believe the combination of gall and stupidity displayed here.

What has happened is an amendment has been added to an agricultural bill after it was passed by the Senate. The amendment was introduced by Senator Mary Landrew (D La). I’ll copy the full text of the amendment at the end of this post, read the entire thing, and pay particular attention to the bold text.

This amendment puts the entire reptile industry in jeopardy. The turtle farmers who pushed for this amendment obviously care nothing for the rest of the industry, only themselves, for what they have done is basically attempt screw the rest of us over completely.

Here is the text of the amendment. This is quoted from Herp Digest

Continue Reading »

Clay :: Dec.27.2007 :: Herp News, Reptile Related :: 1 Comment »

Rat racks and warm weather

Well, a warm spell is interrupting my cycling schedule. I had the motorcycle out today and at the moment it’s 75 degrees in the brumation room. I’m sure it will pass though, but a bad season several years ago due to a warm winter always makes me nervous when it’s spring in December.

I got the new design rat rack assembled today. I think it’s going to be a very usable design, and the build was much easier too getting away from the hangers for the boxes.
I placed my order for the supplies to set up the auto watering system so hopefully I’ll be ready to get this rack into service by early next week. I’ll try to have the plans published within a couple of days after that.
I believe this will be a popular design for this size tub. It has 24 slots and is very easy to build. I ran into a snag or two working out the measurements, but once I got those details worked out, building another one will go very quickly.

Clay :: Dec.11.2007 :: The Collection :: No Comments »

Sex in the snake room

We’re picking up steam with the python breeding. The albino male has mated with two het girls, the spider has bred with three, and the lemon pastel has been with one as well.
The het clown male has been in shed, so that pair haven’t been put together just yet.

The bredli and the savu pythons have been together, but no breeding activity has been noticed. I’ll be tweaking their environmental conditions and see if I can get something started with them.

The womas have been copulating, but they do that at the drop of a hat, time will tell if I’ll have success with them this season.

The new style rat rack for preggo moms is ready for final assembly. I still need to order the supplies for the auto watering system, but I intend to have the plans published before Christmas.

I finally got the colubrids into brumation. It’s a month later than I normally cool them, but our local temperatures haven’t been consistently cool enough to keep the cool room at brumation temps.
I hope to have a brand new rack built and waiting on them by the time they are warmed up.

I’ll post some breeding pics along the way and keep you posted on how things are going as the season progresses.

Clay :: Dec.08.2007 :: The Collection :: No Comments »