Leaping Leos!

20150215 -- A baby leopard gecko hatched today, that makes 3 this season and our dam is going to lay again soon. Check out the wicked noise that the babies make when you first take them out of their egg chamber, see below. Sire: Tremper sunglow x Dam: Super hypo, the candled egg is a dud.

Hatch date 20150212 Sire: Tremper sunglow x Dam: Super hypo

This is what a dud egg looks like when it's candled, yellow and lack of veins.

I'm leopard and I know it

20150121 baby leopard geckos hatched in my incubator for the first time!

Hera (Rainbow Beardies) x Cronos (Where Dragons Dwell) Hatchling

Here is a beautiful little hatchling produced by my 2 favorite breeders of 2014, dam: Hera trans het hypo (Rainbow Beardies) x sire: Cronos trans hypo (WDD import).

May 2015 bring you everything you've worked so hard for!

We Have Eggs Houston

My normal ball python, Cleo, was the first to break the ice this season by laying eggs on March 03, 2014. She laid 10 eggs with 1 slug. 9 eggs are baking in the incubator and the slug is fertilizing my rose bushes. My least favorite part of the incubation process was removing the protective mother from brooding her eggs. I watched a YouTube video by SafariPetsFL and read a care sheet which recommended using a towel over the head of the snake and then uncoiling her from around her egg pile. This method worked out fine and I didn't even need to break out the old snake hook but Cleo does have a great temperament. World of Ball Pythons has a great article that explains the substrateless incubation method using perlite, a sterilite container, water and some egg crate (light diffuser, you can buy it at Lowes) cut to fit the egg box. Thanks Bill Buchman and World of Ball Pythons for the excellent article listed below. I in no way take credit for this article but it's so good I wanted to make sure you guys read it just in case you didn't click on the link above. I've also included some pics below Bill Buchman's article, check them out.

-- Bill Buchman

"I must preface this explanation by saying that this is my second breeding season. I have ONLY used substrateless method and EVERYTHING I have ever hatched has been with that method, traditional method scares me.

This is what I did last season and am doing this season. It works WELL for ME - there are other ways that work WELL for OTHERS.
Last year my season consisted of 62 clutches -- 302 incubated eggs -- 67 slugs -- 10 infertile (candled bad - did not incubate). I don't cook anything that candles bad. I will cook small eggs, boob eggs, spotted eggs, ugly eggs -- just NOT eggs that candle yellow with no veins.

Of the 302 candled eggs that went into the incubator, 4 went bad (during first 3 weeks) and I had 3 kinked -- each from a different clutch. (2 severe) -- the other was a "tweaked egg stressed" KILLER BEE!!! That one hurt.

1.
I set set my Herpstat thermostat at 88.4 in the incubator -- NOT the egg box.

1 a.
SET-UP: I use 6 qrt. Sterlite shoe boxes. I have fit as many as nine eggs in a box. If I have a big clutch I can't fit in one box -- I use 2. I like to use the same containers within my incubators.

2.
Place 1-2 inches of dry mix in box. I have used 60/40 combination of perlite and vermiculite. I prefer 100% perlite. I have the better half of a big bag of vermiculite yet to use. When that is gone PERLITE will be the ticket. It does not conduct water to top/surface of mixture like vermiculite tends too. Therefore, it is better for substrateless method.

3.
Pour in 4-8 oz. of water. (I use tap water. Some people use distilled or put a smidge of chlorhexidine in water. Fresh tap water has worked fine for me). You should be able to see it gather on the bottom, but not sloshing around -- don't need much because almost NONE will escape during the 60 days of incubation.

4.
Place cut to size egg crate on top of level mixture. Remember that the idea is for the eggs NOT to touch the mix. But rather lay on TOP of the crate. I gently set it on and give a little wiggle side to side.

5.
Place eggs in. Center them so they don't touch the sides or top of box when closed. I have no set rule on whether I separate eggs before cooking. If the "pile" is to high to fit in container, I will take of a few off pile so as to fit in box. I don't use dental floss. I gently and slowly pull them apart -- never ripped one -- YET!!!

6.
Put piece of Press N Seal over the top and pull tight over the sides. Place lid on and snap tight. Be careful when putting box in bator. Eggs will roll if separated, and piles will slide to touch the side of the container -- don't want that. After 2-3 weeks, the eggs will flatten a bit and shifting boxes around will be no big deal. I am always shifting mine. During the second 30 days of incubation you will likely get some condensation on the top inside of box -- gathered on inside of Press N Seal. It usually will not drip on the eggs. If it does -- no worries. Eggs After day 40 or so won't be bothered by a drip or two on TOP of them.

I don't usually open the box AT ALL until last 2 weeks/day 45-48. At this time I will take OFF the plastic and put lid back on. This allows for respiration and heat transfer as interior egg temps will rise a bit over the last 2 weeks. If you are the one to check on eggs every week -- go for it. But I don't "breathe" my boxes as a rule, and every time you open the box it will release humidity and lower temps.

There you have it!!! I am sure I forgot something. When you all figure it out let me know and I will clarify.

P. S. One of the many reasons I love this method is I can get a clutch in the incubator from pulling the female to closing the incubator door in no more than 15 min. -- often less. Makes it nice on the work days when you have more than one clutch to deal with. I think last season the girls would conspire to lay in 3's and 4's just to mess with me!!!

The best part is that I don't worry about whether my mix is too wet -- there is no moisture touching the egg!!!

I am sure you all have your own cutting/not cutting and when procedures. Mine always always fluctuate dependent upon mood and whether the clutch is one of those SPECIAL ones. I know -- they are ALL special!!!

These days, if I do cut early, I wait until day 54. I have cut at day 46 and got away with it. Would not tempt fate again. I just tell myself, "Hey Bonehead! Cutting them does not change what they are within each egg!!!" I always reply..."IT MIGHT"

HAPPY HATCHING!!!
Will do!!!"

Rodents for SALE

Live rodents for sale, please email me with any questions. $20 minimum order required, thank you for looking!

Rats $3 any size
Mice $2 any size

Ball Python Breeding 2013-2014

I began my inaugural ball python breeding season by dropping cage temperatures in late October of 2013 then I introduced males to females beginning in November. I decided to try the Markus Jayne method for my first attempt at breeding balls. Below are some pictures of successful locks between my male and female balls. I'm currently setting up a new incubator and just recently turned my cage temperatures back up to 92 degrees. I've done some research and several breeders don't change temperatures year round. I might try that next time depending on the turn out from this season. One thing that I have learned from keeping reptiles is that you do what works best for you. Good luck and I'll hopefully be back with pictures of eggs and snakes hatching in the near future.

Orange Ghost het Car X Double het Glow



Bumble Bee X Lemon Blast het Car



Bumble Bee X Normal



Mystic X BEL (Lesser Mojave)

Tokay Gecko: My Neighbor Totoro

My buddy Dan, the manager at Clawpaws in Pittsburg, KS, ordered a small Tokay Gecko for me. I happened to show up at the store one day when Jason, their supplier, was dropping off an order. Guess what, I got lucky and my Tokay showed up the same day. His name is Totoro and I've included some pictures of him below. This is the first gecko I've ever owned so I don't have many pointers for Tokay care but here's a link. Totoro makes an awesome ornamental pet but I don't recommend handling Tokays unless you can raise one from a hatchling. Then your chances of taming this savage beast may be higher but good luck none the less!

Golden Rule #3 Do NOT house Tokay Males together.

Mice Breeding Basics

I've started a new colony of mice to help feed my growing ball python collection. I've decided to direct my attention towards breeding ball pythons although I will still breed Bearded Dragons and Uromastyx yearly. Buying mice weekly started to accumulate to roughly $100 a month so I weighed my options. I was able to pick up a few used mouse racks, $20 a piece, from a friend locally. You could easily build your own rack system, just check YouTube for instructional videos or try the Google on the internet device and I'm sure it wouldn't cost much more than what I paid. Now I spend $16 a month on a 24lb bag of Special Kitty cat food, $10 on 8lb bag of Hartz: Large Bird Diet,  a 50lb bag of Kent Cubes Rodent Diet (you can usually find this at your local feed store) for $20 that lasts forever, the water is free as we're on a well and I buy a huge $20 bag of shredded aspen to avoid mites, roughly every 3 months. That brings my monthly grand total to approximately $35. The only drawback is having hundreds of mice in my garage, make sure they can't escape, that could be seen as a "problem". I guess hundreds of mice colonizing in the walls of your home might be a bad thing. If you're not scared of mice and you might actually kind of think they're cute like I do then I recommend breeding your own mice if you own more than 3 ball pythons. The advantages out weigh the cons in my situation. I'm ensuring that I'm feeding top quality healthy mice to my snakes, I'm saving close to $65 a month on the mouse bill and I love animals so the more the merrier! As of now I have 2 racks with 6 tubs each but I'm thinking about upgrading to a new rack after purchasing a breeding pair of rats. My larger ball pythons prefer rats and I realize they have a higher nutritional value than mice but I'm always worried for the safety of my snakes. Mice will cower in the corner once they realize a predator is in the 10 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck with them while rats will take a defensive position and fight back. If you own ball pythons then you know exactly what I'm talking about. My bumblebee, Loki, can't stand rats, not even rat pups but mice are like candy to him and I'm pretty sure 99% of all other ball pythons on this Earth. Loki had a bad experience with a rat when he was younger and I just can't get him back on rats for some reason. If anyone has any pointers for me it would be great to hear your educated opinion. I also prefer live over frozen thawed feeders and I don't own a deep freeze. I've included some pictures of my mouse racks below along with some mouse pups and the aspen bedding I use, check it out.

Golden Rule #2 Remove your male mice as soon as your females look pregnant!

Dubia Roaches: For Sale Joplin, MO

I have been breeding dubia roaches for a little over a year. My colony is large enough to support my primary use of feeding bearded dragons and to sell excess. I'm willing to match any online dubia roach dealer's price and the great thing about this opportunity is that I'm located here in Joplin, MO. If you are interested in placing an order for dubia roaches or have any questions, please feel free to contact me personally at  RadioactiveReptiles@gmail.com

I recommend starting your own colony if you take care of more than 3 animals who will eat them as a feeder insect. This option is much more cost effective than purchasing dozens of crickets or containers of feeder worms from other local dealers. It's simple to start your own colony. Here is a list of things that you'll need; 1) Large Tote opaque with smooth sides (the kind Wal-Mart sells) 2) glue gun 3) wire screen (approximately cut 9" x 4" 4) duct tape 5) 50 mixed roaches including 3 adult females to 1 adult male at the least 6) egg cartons 7) a dark dry place in your house that maintains a 70 degree minimum temperature (mine are in my closet). I add enough corn meal (yellow or white) to cover 3/4 of the bottom of my container. Then I build a structure out of egg cartons on top of that for them to colonize. I also provide water crystals made from mixing water and Soil Moist which you can buy on Amazon for much less than others sell it for. Depending on the size of your colony add a potato cut 4 ways into the container about twice a week. Make sure you remove any remains of vegetables or fruit as quickly as possible. Mold will kill your roaches! Below I've posted some pictures depicting my colony and lit set up.

There are several advantages to feeding dubia roaches; 1) they're more nutritious than other feeder insects 2) they don't stink 3) they're easy to care for 4) they breed easily 6) they're very cost effective The downside to dubia roaches is that they are roaches and the idea of having thousands of roaches colonizing in your closet tends to freak some people out. I'd say that most normal people are a little creeped out by this idea but who am I kidding. If you're reading this then you're probably a reptile keeper and you know that neither you or I are normal. I love exotic reptiles and wouldn't trade them for the world, maybe a winning Powerball ticket for $600 million?

My Dubia Colony

Lid Example

Golden Rule #1 Do not feed your bearded dragon anything larger than the diameter between it's eyes!

Female Desert Ball Python: Unproven Breeding

Desert Ball Pythons are beautiful visual morphs. Unfortunately as far as I've read there have been no confirmed successful clutches laid by female Desert Ball Pythons. Some breeders have speculation that if you're able to get the snakes weight over 3,000g that she will produce a successful clutch but there is no confirmed data to back this up. As far as I know, trusting the opinion of two guys I seek advice from quite frequently, Joe and Clark from Powerhouse Reptiles, the female Desert Ball Python's egg ducts are too small. This causes them to throw slugs and unfertilized eggs. I've seen beautiful 4 gene Desert's selling for under $500, once again this is just a beautiful pet and can't be put into a breeding program. I wouldn't mind having a pet like that but part of the fun is breeding them! If you do try to breed your female Desert you put her at risk of becoming egg bound which could lead to her demise. Now for the dirt and grime of the reptile industry. Several breeders have invested large amounts of money into their Desert breeding projects. How do you think they plan on making their money back? Well of course, selling their inventory. Now don't get me wrong you can make some beautiful morphs with the Desert gene but at what cost? Desert females are being sold without the disclaimer that they cannot be bred. Now who knows one day, someone might unlock the genetic secret to successfully breeding these wonderful morphs but until then we're at a stand still. Unfortunately, I've seen several Desert Ball females being sold at outlandish prices. Some breeders even describe their Desert Balls as dinkers, Ball Pythons with "unknown" genes. This will help them avoid being pinned as a con artist when they know what they're dealing with but this description is used as a disclaimer for unsuspecting customers. Then when the snake reaches breeding size, if she is bred without knowing what her genes are, she could die or be faced with a serious health risk. Ok, so what if she does lay a clutch, you've just produced 8 solid slugs. Who are you going to come looking for if you do your research after you all ready make the purchase, the breeder and guess what, "He didn't know what her gene's were." Be careful and don't make the mistake of buying into the Desert gene without knowing the consequences. Below I've listed some pictures and articles that will go in depth more than I have, probably from breeders with much more experience than I, check it out.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1458949

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?170524-Has-desert-female-breeding-got-anywhere

http://thereptilereport.com/breeding-desert-females/

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/python-regius/89914-question-about-desert-morph.html

Desert Ball

Desert Ball

Desert Spider

Desert Mojave

New Addition to the Family

I found my new female ball python, Cleopatra, on faunaclassifieds.com from Casey Dunham, his listing is amazing and he has some awesome prices if you're interested in buying any ball pythons. My wife and I drove roughly 7 hours from Joplin to Oklahoma City round trip. The new addition to our collection is roughly a 6ft long 7lb 10 year old female ball python. Check out the pictures I've listed below, she's a beauty and she's as big as a dinosaur but as timid as a cat! She has the possibility of being gravid after 5 confirmed locks with a male pastel champagne. It would be awesome if she was gravid because I'd love to own a pastel champagne but if she's not we plan on breeding her with one of our males this season. Our male bumblebee, Loki, has been restless and hasn't eaten much since the beginning of October. Also our male pastave, Perseus, has shown similar breeding characteristics. The only question now is, "Do we want to make bumblebees or pastaves?" We love getting out of town and this isn't the first trip we've made for our reptiles. Last year we drove roughly 8 hours one way to the Dallas/Fort Worth area to pick up a 4 stack of Boaphiles. Our next trip will be the OK Reptile Expo on December 9th in Broken Arrow, which just happens to be the Sunday before finals week, ahhhhhhhhh! If you get a chance, check out the OK Reptile Expo and maybe I'll see you there.

Cleopatra

I'm 6'2" to add a size ratio comparison

Do you think she looks gravid?

Bearded Dragon babies for sale, PRICES REDUCED!

1) Hypo Trans super citrus male 1.0, WICKED orange coloration, black eyes, 7". Breeder quality, no nips. $150

2) Trans citrus male 50% het hypo, 1.0 great coloration, black eyes, 8". Collector quality, no nips. $100

3) Hypo super citrus female poss. het trans 0.1, blue barring, 8". Collector quality, no nips. $75

4) Hypo super citrus female poss. het trans 0.1, blue barring, 8". Collector quality, no nips. $75

Hatch date: 08/19/12
Parents: 1.0 Xerxes hypo super citrus (southernBeardies) x
0.1 Nada super citrus het trans (sunshineDragons)
Diet: Dubia roaches, crickets, fresh greens.

Methods of Payment: Paypal preferred. Prices do not include shipping.

Trade list: Ball python morphs 

1) Hypo Trans Super Citrus Male

2) Trans Citrus Male

3) Hypo Super Citrus Female

4) Hypo Super Citrus Female

Egg Size Correlating to Genetics: Bearded Dragons

Is there a correlation to egg size and genetics in bearded dragon hatchlings? The 3 largest eggs I hatched out of my Nada x Xerxes clutch were translucent.





Nada

Xerxes

Halloween Costume Contest: Pet Warehouse Joplin, MO

Happy Halloween my friends! Here are some details about the upcoming Halloween Costume Contest: All entries must be turned in by October 29, 2012. Winner receives a $25.00 gift card to be used on any merchandise in the store! I found out about this contest last week when I was buying my feeder mice and rats for my ball pythons. Pet Warehouse has been great to me over the years and I plan on maintaining my regular status for years to come. A lightbulb went on and I decided to enter my male hypo super citrus bearded dragon, Xerxes, into the Halloween costume contest. Xerxes is sire to Nada in my available clutch located on Faunaclassifieds, Google+, Craigslist and eBay Classifieds. If Xerxes wins this contest you could own a bearded dragon from a prize winning blood line!

Pet Warehouse
2207 West 7th Street
Joplin, MO
(417)781-8100
Mon-Sat 10am-8pm
Sun 12pm-6pm



Xerxes (yes, he's dressed up as a pretty ballerina)

Dubia Roach separation anxiety, how do they sort the nymphs out?

Ok, this week I ran into a new obstacle. I have 13 bearded dragon hatchlings that eat like hummingbirds. Last week I dropped $50.00 on crickets from Armstrongs, wonderful crickets but they were gone in a week so now I need a new feeder. Luckily I happen to have about 6,000+ blaptica dubia aka: dubia roaches in my closet stashed away for safe keeping. I typically sort out about 100 of the baby dubia, nymphs, at a time but this is very time consuming. I could order 1,000 dubia nymphs from buydubiaroaches and drop another $50.00 or thanks to my loving wife, I chose to sort through my colony of 6,000+ dubia. Now, the question at hand is how to sort the nymphs out without eating away at ten years of my life? Well, there's a wonderful little invention, you might have heard about it, Microsoft offered 44.6 billion dollars for it, Google, which was known as Yahoo! for the old crusty people like myself who remember it that way. Apparently this "Google" on the "internet device" will help answer questions. My wife came up with this wonderful little site, ironically is also on blogger.com, here's the link: Dubia Roach Guide. I ended up spending $7.50 on 3 Walmart brand painters buckets, you know the kind you use to wash your car with, drilled about 3 million holes and voilà, 1,000 sorted dubia nymphs. Now my ravenous dragon hatchlings have about $50.00 worth of nymphs give or take a hundred and I only had to spend $7.50. I actually dropped a twenty but I netted Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and some antibacterial hand soap, the trilogy is complete! Below are some pics of our friend blaptica dubia, oh yeah check out this care sheet for optimal care, insert link here.



Top: Male (distuingishable by it's longer wings) Bottom: Female





Size ratio for dubia nymph




Solid Example of a Dubia Colony

Help Impaction?!?!?!?

I have been dealing with a 0.1 beardie (bearded dragon), named Ruby, that has lost her appetite gradually over the past few months. Her weight has dropped considerably, enough to the point where her tail is showing bones through her skin. After using the Google on the internet device I came up with some tactics. First I tried feeding her pedialyte through a syringe, then I skipped a day. She immediately starting looking more lively and her colors got brighter. Day 2 of feeding I mixed baby food and Pedialyte then administered it to Ruby and she loved the baby food. I skipped another day and mixed baby food with water, then later administered Pedialyte. Now I've run into another problem. Her symptoms are as follows; Ruby has lost skin pigment and looks almost completely white, she looks bloated and I have unfortunately found a hard mass on her right side if you're looking at her belly. I'm starting to think she is impacted as I have not seen signs of parasites in her feces. If she doesn't show any signs of improvement after giving her 2 warm baths, fiber mixed with water and olive oil administered through a syringe, daily stomach massages to try and break up the impaction and warmer cage temps I'm going to have to pay a visit to the local exotic animal veterinarian. Unfortunately I don't think he will perform surgery on Ruby, I'll keep my fingers crossed and hopefully it won't come down to that.

Here is a helpful link if you're experiencing similar problems with your bearded dragon.




Larthagy is a symptom of impaction



X-ray of bearded dragon with sand impaction