Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch...

...is how I think the saying goes. I wonder if that also applies to snakes? The fact is I keep a variety of herps (reptiles and amphibians) and I breed some them. This year I bred Baird's Rat Snakes and Western Hognose Snakes. Last year I had eggs from both of these species only to have them all get cooked in my incubator when the heat element over heated. This year though it looks as if success is here at least in part so far. The Western Hognose Snake laid 9 eggs, so far 4 of them have hatched out completely, three others are partially hatched out (takes a baby snake a while to get out of the egg), and two not yet slit open (they slit rather than crack because they are more leathery and not fragile). The Baird's Rat Snake laid 8 eggs, all due to hatch in about 2 weeks. While I have not counted my snakes before they have hatched, I do anticipate a good year this year. If lucky I can trade or sell the babies to keep my hobby going. Now you may ask why do I keep such critters. Well when I was a kid I was not allowed to keep a dog or cat or bird in our apartment. My uncle went out and bought me a turtle and he also got one for my brother. I have bee hooked ever since. Five years at summer camp catching garter Snakes, Water Snakes, frogs and turtles just kept it all going. These creatures fascinate me. Of course, we now have three dogs and a cat too, and we have kept other small mammals and birds too; but we also have: several snakes of various species, three lizards, two tortoises, one turtle, and two frogs. Oh yeah, I forgot the mice, we have them too. My son likes them all too. Keeps him out of trouble somewhat, and teaches him some responsibility about caring for things. He now works his first job at a veterinarians office as a kennel worker. An okay job for a HS kid. He is dreaming of becoming a vet someday, and you know he maybe on the right track for it. Not a bad hobby, something to interest both children and adult alike, something in which a parent must help a child until the child is old enough and learns enough to do it alone, and it helps them in biology class.

If you have an interest in herps, or want to see if they are for you or your kids, you can visit these sites: www.lihs.org, or www.kingsnake.com.

If I get some pics of the babies, I'll post em here later.