Rainbowsrus Breeding season update - loooooong

[Rainbowsrus]

I decided yesterday it was time to stick a fork in it and call My BRB mating season over. That means separating all the breeding groups and arranging all my females in due date sequence for the long wait for babies. This year the "long wait" is not looking so long since I have due dates starting Early July. I'm already actively checking for babies. My earliest previous litter was July 23 and the next was August.


As in the past, I have a group with clear(er) breeding activities with tail wraps, Ovulations (rare) and POS's noted. Those typically appear gravid and more often then not result in typical litters of babies. I also typically have a second group that I think are gravid and a third I think are not. Those sometimes result in babies, only time will tell



First up are the obviously gravid females:



Gertrude - High Red Bullseye/Tommy holdback, bred by Yang - High Orange/Red Savannah/Porky holdback sibling to Phoenix.
POS on 03/13, looks nice and plump and is due 07/08.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Gertrude/Gertrude_20120626a.jpg



Wilma - High Orange, bred by Fred - High Orange (Howard Leong's original breeders and the same pairing that produced Bam Bam).
POS on 03/17, looks quite stuffed, is due 07/12.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Wilma/Wilma_20120626a.jpg



Tawney - Anery, bred by Billy - Hypo.
Ovulated 03/30, had her POS 04/19 and is due 08/14. Fingers crossed for DH Ghost babies and she's been textbook perfect so far.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Tawney%20anery/Tawney_20120626a.jpg



Velvet - High Red holdback from Wilma/Fred, bred by BAM BAM - also a high red holdback from Wilma/Fred, these two are F1 siblings, will be very interesting to see how their F2 babies look.
POS on 04/20 and babies due 08/15.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Velvet/Velvet_20120626a.jpg



Tiffany - High Color Het Hypo from Hummel Stock, Bred by Chuck - Holdback High Color Het Hypo from Lockwood breeding loan,
POS on 05/01, babies due 08/26. Hoping for some stunning, very outcrossed Hypos in the pile.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Tiffany%20het%20hypo/Tiffany_20120630a.jpg



Dot - nice High color Red/Orange, bred by Ozzy - Super Bold Pattern, patriarch of the ABY line.
POS on 05/21, babies due 09/15.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Dot/Dot_20120626a.jpg



Wendy - High Red holdback from Savannah/Porky, bred by Rosco - High Red holdback from Bullseye/Lefty. Same pairing that produced insane red holdbacks Arwen, Gwen, Owen and Wendel.
POS on 05/30, babies due 09/24.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Wendy/Wendy_20120626a.jpg



Henrietta - Bold Crescent Orange, bred by Ozzy - Super Bold Pattern, patriarch of the ABY line.
POS on 05/31, babies due 09/25.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Henrietta/Henrietta_20120626a.jpg


Limited to 8 pics per post so, more to follow......

[Rainbowsrus]

Part two:


Lola - Bold Crescent, High Red holdback from Betty/Fred, bred by Carl - High Red holdback from Molly/Hook.
POS on 06/06, babies due 10/01.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Lola/Lola_20120626a.jpg



Zoe - Original Candy Stripe, bred by Ziggy - Original Candy Stripe. What more can I say - fingers crossed and my sweet tooth is aching for more candy.
POS on 06/23, babies due 10/18
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Zoe/Zoe_20120626a.jpg



Amber - Holdback Eclipse Phase, High orange from Savannah/Porky, bred by Moon - Holdback High Red from Savannah/Nathan. Last female with a due date and should be killer babies!!
POS on 06/30, babies due 10/25
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Amber/Amber_20120630a.jpg



These three look like they may be gravid:


Abby - Bold Crescent Red, bred by Carl - High Red holdback from Molly/Hook.
POS on 04/14 and is Due 08/09.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Abby/Abby_20120626a.jpg



Sally - Holdback Calico offspring, bred by Spike - Holdback Calico offspring. Looking forward to watching all these babies grow up and see what happens.
POS on 05/24, Babies due 09/18
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Sally/Sally_20120626a.jpg



Oyster - Pearl, bred by Pistachio - Pearl.
POS on 05/25, babies due 09/19
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Oyster%20pearl%203/Oyster_20120626a.jpg







The rest don't have clear activity/due dates. Maybe there will be some babies in the group but not a lot.



Akoya - Pearl, bred by Baroque - Pearl. Looked like breeding was going well with tail wraps followed by shed but she does not even look gravid
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Akoya%20pearl%206/Akoya_20120626a.jpg



Molly - Nice higher color Orange, bred by Rosco - High Red holdback from Bullseye/Lefty. This pairing has produced stunners in the past but this year she does not look gravid.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Molly/Molly_20120626a.jpg

[Rainbowsrus]

Part three:




Melanie - Holdback High Orange from Betty/Fred, bred by Fred - original Leong breeder male.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Melanie/Melanie_20120626a.jpg



Ann - Nice Red, bred by Phoenix - Holdback High Red from Savannah/Porky.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Ann/Ann_20120626a.jpg



Daisey - High Orange Leong line, bred by Phoenix - Holdback High Red from Savannah/Porky.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Daisey/Daisey_20120626a.jpg



Olive Oyl - Het Anery, bred by Popeye - Anery
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Olive%20Oyl%20het%20anery/Olive_Oyl_20120630a.jpg



Aubergine - Pearl, bred by Biwa - Pearl.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Aubergine%20pearl%205/Aubergine_20120626a.jpg



Pearl - Pearl, bred by Biwa - Pearl.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Pearl%20pearl%202/Pearl_20120626a.jpg



Ginger - Bold Crescent Orange, bred by Wacko, Super Bold Crescent.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Ginger/Ginger_20120626a.jpg



Jamie - High Color Het Hypo Hummel line, bred by Shaft - High Color Het Hypo Hummel line (unrelated).
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b237/rainbows-r-us/BRB/Female/Jamie%20het%20hypo/Jamie_20120626a.jpg





Should be lots of various babies this year and MANY stunners in the individual piles.

Thanks for looking

[Strutter769]

Why does my wallet feel lighter after reading this post?

[snake man12]

Those are simply put amazing :shocked::shocked::shocked:

[brooksy]

They are mind blowing-ly gorgeous!

[Rainbowsrus]

Thanks everyone, they are a result of years of selective breeding and acquisition.

[varanus1]

How many adult males and females you working with ? Those are some nice pic by the way

[rmfsnakes32]

They are beautiful!

[Rainbowsrus]

How many adult males and females you working with ? Those are some nice pic by the way


LOL, that's a very hard question. My total BRB collection numbers 125 (49.76) (not including holdbacks from this years babies). ~ 2/3 are breeders and ~1/3 are younger individuals being raised up to be breeders. Many of which are specific project animals like the Candy stripes, Hypo, Anery, Pearl etc.

I currently breed around 24 females in any given year. Those 24 females can be bred individually or in trios. I typically use somewhere around 18 males to 24 females and ALL are specifically paired with only one male with each pairing or trio.

The rest are given the year off to rest.

[varanus1]

dam thats a lot of BRBS but awesome ones. What size cages are your adults in i saw a few pic of 24x24x18

[Rainbowsrus]

dam thats a lot of BRBS but awesome ones. What size cages are your adults in i saw a few pic of 24x24x18

Yes, my adult cages are 24 x 24 x 18. I also rotate some of my adults into Iris CB 110 tub racks ~ 18" x 38" x 6.5" and I have various smaller tubs for smaller individuals and growing up subadults.

[rmfsnakes32]

Thats alot of one species to keep track of and not mess them up! Kudos to you ;)

[Rainbowsrus]

Well, having a lot of one species is easier IMO then a few each of many. Every individual has it's own record card and all meals/sheds are recorded. Plus during breeding season, I have another card for each pairing/trio to record observed breeding activity.

Sad thing is I see animals thrive in my care which honestly is minimal per individual. Not a lot of taking them out and handling. All my enclosures are relatively spartan. Then when sold, not all thrive so well under the "more attentive" care of the new owner.

[millertime89]

Awesome Dave! How many of the possibles or not likely's were gravid?

[Snakesitter]

The season is still going, so I bet the jury is still out on at least a few of them.....

[Rainbowsrus]

Yeah, still ongoing and hopefully not done.

But looks like a very slim season this year. The weather here was very odd and I think it adversely affected the breeding season :-(

[Snakeman8]

lots.of.rainbows.:)

[varanus1]

Yeah, still ongoing and hopefully not done.

But looks like a very slim season this year. The weather here was very odd and I think it adversely affected the breeding season :-(


Why do you feel that affected breeding ? What temps do you offer them and when cooling them ?

[Rainbowsrus]

Being in California sometimes it's just hot. No matter how much you lower the thermostats if the ambient temps are higher the cage will not cool enough. I already rely on cooler winter temps to allow me to cool the cage and last year it stayed warm much later delaying my cooling cycle.

[Snakesitter]

You're telling me, Dave. I have a bunch of males acting like breeding season is just *starting*....trying to get out of their cages and leaving plugs. I also have a female refusing food. But the (hopefully) gravids are still eating? Maybe the Mayans were right.... ;-)