Unusual Intergrade Hatchling

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Vixen

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As requested I decided to make a thread for this little hatchie to get some thoughts / opinions. Some of you might have seen some updates on my Facebook page, but for those who haven't please read the below.


Background story :

From Port Macquarie Intergrade parents ( Greg Hollis lineage )

He/she hatched out from a very small egg, about half the size of a regular carpet egg. I was expecting it to die through incubation, but the little tike made it through and even hatched out by itself. Was then expecting it to pass away with the first few days, but it's now a few weeks old and seemingly doing ok. It has a quite unusual appearance since it's so small, the head was tiny and a bit odd looking compared to a normal hatchling but assuming this will correct itself with growth? It also has a very unusual colouration, all in red/orange tones with only some darker spots around the face area. In these clutches there's always a variation of lighter and darker hatchlings, but in four clutches and 100+ hatchlings i've bred from these there has never been any with this specific colour.

For the first week or two it never flicked it's tongue either and was quite lethargic, but this has now improved in both regards and it moves around like a normal hatchling. It never absorbed any yolk unfortunately so was getting quite skinny the past week, and since it's not eating by itself yet I decided to start force feeding which I don't like doing, but I also don't want to lose this little one to starvation. Force feeding is going well, in the past few days it's taken a partial rat tail and a pinky mouse - as long as I get it part way down the neck it will do the rest of the work itself if left in peace which I was happy about. I'm not sure if I should continue to force feed, as ideally I want it to start eating by itself but this probably won't occur so long as i'm forcing it due to the stress? It's VERY placid which also makes it hard as there is no striking or defence when I try to entice with food.

I'm assuming the colour is something linked to the very small size / some deformity - but who knows if this is genetic or not, or even if the snake will hold this colour or develop into a more normal looking animal in a few sheds ( so far has had two sheds, but no colour change yet )



Pre Shed - one day old :

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After First Shed :

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What a little cutie. After its tennacity to make it as far as it did, it's great that you are going the hard yards to give it a chance. Keep up the good work.
 
I think this will be a really nice looking snake. I am no help for you with any other stuff that you are unsure of but want to wish you luck with it.
 
What a little cutie. After its tennacity to make it as far as it did, it's great that you are going the hard yards to give it a chance. Keep up the good work.
Yes well that was a hard decision, I was inclining to euthanise but felt bad after it had done so well after all this time. I'll continue to force feed for a while until it puts some weight back on. If nature intended it to pass away then so be it, but until then i'll try my best for him/her to give it a fighting chance. :)
 
I think it would be well worth persisting to see how it turns out but if you can`t be bothered...well...I`m sure I would find the time;)
 
you know vixen thats all we ask in the world is for every little creature have a fighting chance
 
Interesting indeed. Is that a typical eye colour for intergrade hatchies?
 
Some have yellowish hue eyes, but this one definitely has brighter red eyes than any others.
 
Nice T+ maybe ????? very nice. Will be great to see it in a years time.
 
Hey Vixen, as you well know, the reason that snakes lay so many eggs is to increase there species survival rate in the wild. The multitude of genetic variables seems to be magnified in a species that hes so many offspring.
Also, deformities and poor doers are a common part of breeding snakes. In the wild it probably would perish, yet in your hands it may survive. It may always be small, that will depend on the extent of its ability to take up and properly use nutrients.
I have had slow feeders become aggressive feeders and catch up on weight etc...once they start feeding. And strangely enough its the ones with the pattern that is different to the rest.
Because we are now breeding so many, we are seeing a wider spectrum of phenotype within subspecies.

Good luck with it, this is the luck of the hobby. If you put in the time and have good intentions, you may be well rewarded.
 
Just thought i'd post an update for those interested in the little critter. He still shows no interest in food, and had started losing a dramatic amount of weight and condition. He wasn't looking very good at all, and I was expecting to find him belly up any day.

He would only keep down one out of every two partial rat tails i'd force, and I figured regurgitating all the time can't be good for him so I stopped with that. I made the decision to start syringe feeding him instead on a supplement called Herpa Boost via a crop needle. (basically mutton bird oil)

Since starting that he is looking much much better, has filled out again and not looking so sickly / dehydrated - so i'm very happy for him. :) He also passes this fine, so I know there's nothing major wrong with his digestive tract now. Just a matter of keeping him at a good weight ( and growing!) and hopefully he will start feeding on his own in the future.


what are the parents?

The parents are both natural intergrades / Port Macquarie carpets. The father is a standard looking darker animal, the mum has more yellow - but they've never produced a hatchling like this one in the 4 clutches i've produced from her.
 
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See the last post by me (that was from nearly 2 weeks ago) - but still the same, going well so far! :)
 
Yeah just wanted to see if there were any changes. Glad hes getting more weight on him

Sent from my LG-P690f using Tapatalk 2
 
Still hanging on, but no progress in regards to feeding yet - still being syringe fed for now. Hoping just to get a bit of size on him/her first. :)
 
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