# Childrens Python breeding, 1st egg pipped today....



## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

As my first Childrens Python egg pipped today, I thought I'd post some pics:

1st lock seen 03/11/09:









2nd lock seen 04/11/09:









Eggs laid 28/03/10:









16 Eggs incubating:









1st egg pipped 13/05/10:









Now all I've got to do is sort out their little tubs and get the worms feeding!!

:blush:


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Good luck with these Chris :2thumb:. Any sign of the female double clutching or did she just need a dump?


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

corny girl said:


> Good luck with these Chris :2thumb:. Any sign of the female double clutching or did she just need a dump?


Funny you should ask as I took a couple of pics her today:



















As you can see, she's crapping OK (although it seems quite dry and solid) but she still looks very plump with noticeable "tail suck" that can be seen in the top picture. After laying on 28/03/10, she shed on 18/04/10 and as of today, she looks like she is going into shed again (her skin is very dull although it doesn't show up in the above pics). She appeared to ovulate on 29/04/10 so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she's brewing another clutch at the moment. 

Please excuse the small piece of retained shed on her head, I would normally remove it but she's grumpy as hell, she nailed me a few weeks ago and given her possible condition, I'm not keen to upset her again!!

So, do you reckon she's gravid? If she is, this could be a UK first. Apparently Childrens double clutching has been recorded once in Germany and a couple of times in Australia but I'm not aware that it's ever happened anywhere else.

:whistling2:


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

She does look like she has a definate tail suck in those pics. Oh i do hope she is gravid, keep us informed Chris please :2thumb:. I always thought Pythons didn't double clutch so would be nice if this girl proves that wrong :whistling2:.


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

corny girl said:


> She does look like she has a definate tail suck in those pics. Oh i do hope she is gravid, keep us informed Chris please :2thumb:. I always thought Pythons didn't double clutch so would be nice if this girl proves that wrong :whistling2:.


Will do. 

Having had this happen to my Childrens, I've done quite a lot of research and it seems double clutching has been recorded a couple of times with Childrens and Macklots but it is a VERY rare occurance.

I have a thread running on an Australian forum on the subject to see if I can find out who has done it and when:

Childrens Python double clutching???? - Aussie Pythons & Snakes

If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't it doesn't, I'm still chuffed to have produced 16 eggs which is a huge clutch for a Childrens and the little one who popped his head out today is my first hatchling of 2010!

:blush:


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

nice one Chris :2thumb: dont forget to keep a girl for me


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

garlicpickle said:


> nice one Chris :2thumb: dont forget to keep a girl for me


No worries, I'm keeping a list of who wants one but let me get them hatched and feeding first!

:gasp:


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

RubbleUK said:


> No worries, I'm keeping a list of who wants one but let me get them hatched and feeding first!
> 
> :gasp:


just crack em open :lol2: (only joking)


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

Day 47 and 4 have pipped now, 1 dead egg (red one at the top), 1 embryo dead in shell (bottom right) and the yellow one in the middle doesn't look too healthy now but there's some good news - I've only just noticed that there's another egg under all the others that you can't see in the pic but the head poking out furthest in the middle is actually coming from the hidden 17th egg so I'm still on course for 14 babies!










I can't believe I didn't count them right in March!

:blush:


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## kenobi (Sep 15, 2008)

well done Chris im really pleased for you, last time we spoke you said you were really looking forward to these.
thrilled for you
Ryan


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

kenobi said:


> well done Chris im really pleased for you, last time we spoke you said you were really looking forward to these.
> thrilled for you
> Ryan


Cheers bud, latest count is 2 out, 7 pipped:



















They are 9 grams of bitey baby python but they are so, so cute....!

Sorry about that, but I haven't bred Childrens for over 15 years so I'm chuffed to bits about this clutch and maybe another one from the same female which would be the icing on the cake if she drops more eggs in June!

:blush:


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

They are very cute  nice one Chris


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

garlicpickle said:


> They are very cute  nice one Chris


Thanks, I'll post another pic in the morning when hopefully a few more will have ventured out!

:whistling2:


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## SWMorelia (May 15, 2007)

Nice one mate...... Look foreward to some more pics.


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

SW-morelia said:


> Nice one mate...... Look foreward to some more pics.


Thanks!

It's now 48 hours since the first egg pipped and I'm up to 3 hatched out and 7 pipped. I think there's still 4 good eggs left to pip so I'll give it another 12 hours and if they've not pipped by then, I'll cut the last few.

In the meantime, here's a close up nice pic I've just taken:










The body you can see at the bottom of the pic is the baby emerging from the hidden 17th egg.

:2thumb:


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## Gemstone Dragons (Jul 29, 2009)

WOW don't have snakes but thats cool - congrats :2thumb:


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

Gemstone Dragons said:


> WOW don't have snakes but thats cool - congrats :2thumb:


Cheers! 

The latest count is 5 hatched out, 7 pipped and I've cut 2, both babies are alive and moving plus there are 3 dead in shell. 1 died early on, just a tiny embryo in the red egg, the yellow egg is half grown and the final egg is nearly fully formed which is a shame but hey, I'm not complaining with 14 live babies!

More pics later once they've poked their heads out again.


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

The latest is 9 have hatched out, 3 more have pipped and are still in their shells, I've cut 2 eggs, 1 is still alive but the other died plus there were 3 already dead in shell.

Here are the hatchlings plus the remaining 4 pipped/cut eggs:



















The middle 2 are pretty small with lots of unabsorbed yolk and they look very weak so I'm not counting on them making it.

A pic of the dead in shell ones is in my album if anyone's interested but beware, dead baby snakes aren't pretty:

Reptile Forums - RubbleUK's Album: Childrens Python Breeding 2010 - Picture

So it's been a challenging day, good news tinged with bad but it's still looking like I'll end up with between 11 and 13 baby Childrens which is pretty good going anyway, it's just a shame that I had 17 fertile eggs and lost some.

:-(


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

They are adorable, congrats


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## kevtore999 (Dec 24, 2008)

Looking Good " I Heard someone say are Children Pythons ok for kids with them being called Childrens pythons " I had to have a giggle to myself lol

Keep this thread updated


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

kevtore999 said:


> Looking Good " I Heard someone say are Children Pythons ok for kids with them being called Childrens pythons " I had to have a giggle to myself lol
> 
> Keep this thread updated


They are often kept as pets by children in Australia but they are actually named after John George Children who also had a stick insect named after him! Children was amongst other things the keeper of the department of zoology at the British Museum in the 1830s.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics I took today. First, the runt of the clutch, it hatched yesterday at a weight of 3g and is the smallest python I have ever seen:










There was still 4g of unabsorbed yolk in it's egg:










And here it is next to the first one to hatch at 9g:










They're probably a bit small for children at the moment but once they get to around 18" and 30g plus, they are ideal for kids in my opinion.


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

bad luck on the dead ones Chris. but that weeny one is just gorgeous :flrt: I hope he/she makes it.


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

Thanks, the runt looks fine, it's just a third of the size of the largest ones! The first one shed today, once they've all shed, I'll start feeding.


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## Akua_Ko_Nalu (Feb 15, 2007)

Congrats on the cute little noodles, Chris.
I love side projects and all the different Python species that aren't seen as often as Balls and Morelia for example.
Always a kick in the nuts when you lose one in the egg. I know that feeling.


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## Cockys Royals (Jun 28, 2008)

RubbleUK said:


> They are 9 grams of bitey baby python but they are so, so cute....!


Heh heh like that quote, id like a childrens python. But at the moment I think I have enough to contend with, good luck & happy pipping :2thumb:


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

Cheers Dave, I've got 13 little spotty worms that all seem to be doing really well, even the tiny 3g one! 

Looking forward to a load of little shed python skins next and then the fun starts with the feeding!!


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## Brett (Jul 21, 2009)

awsome m8 well done :2thumb:


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## RubbleUK (Apr 12, 2007)

Thanks, they are such amazing little snakes, bitey python babies the size of corn hatchlings!!


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## Brett (Jul 21, 2009)

RubbleUK said:


> They are often kept as pets by children in Australia but they are actually named after John George Children who also had a stick insect named after him! Children was amongst other things the keeper of the department of zoology at the British Museum in the 1830s.
> 
> Anyway, here are a couple of pics I took today. First, the runt of the clutch, it hatched yesterday at a weight of 3g and is the smallest python I have ever seen:
> 
> ...


 wow stunners :no1: how cute :gasp:


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

Awesome news on all those little bitey bits of string! I can't believe how tiny the runt is, uber dinky! 

Congrats


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## Spencer95 (Feb 20, 2010)

aahh wow what amazing snakes do they make good pets? (are they better than spotted pythons?)
how big do they get?
are they hard to breed?

once again congrats on babies, all look amazing. (sorry if this is a really late post)


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## Death by Diamonds (May 16, 2010)

well done!
just wondered, as im quite a newbie i suppose.. will you go on to sell the babies?
and how much would you expect the buyer to pay for one? just outta interest lol.

theyre awesome though!


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