T and Brooke went to a gymnastics meet this morning........that left me with a full day of "Gump"............and we had plenty to do..........we went to the snake room and checked for eggs first thing..........there were four clutches waiting for us.....;)

Clutch # 42, # 43 , # 44 and # 45.............clutch # 42 was 6 eggs from breeding "Platty Daddy" to one of his "sib" daughters that produced "Platties" in the past, from being bred to a "Lesser" male............so this should be a nice clutch to hatch........

Clutch # 43 was 5 eggs from breeding a Phantom male to a Lesser "sib" female..........this "sib" female is a daughter of "Platty Daddy"............I'm dinkin' hard core with these two bloodlines...;)

Clutch # 44 was 6 eggs the same way...........Phantom x "Lesser sib"...........clutch # 45 was 6 eggs from breeding a Lesser male to a normal female.........I'm going to do very well with the "Platty Project" this season..........

So Gump and I started working on setting up the eggs............he filled all the egg tubs with vermiculite for me while I got all the paper-work done for the clutches........we got the eggs set up...........of course he had to help "snug" the vermiculite up to the egg clusters........he loves doing that...;)

After that............we did some work in the KOI pond..........I have some Iris plants that were growing to big......they started choking up all the room in the pond.........so I put my waders on and chopped a bunch of them out.........we placed them in a container so we could transplant them up at Mr. John's pond later........his pond could use some plants.

We cleaned up and headed for the pond..........I planted all the plants around the edges of the pond while Gump fished for blue gill..........I taught him how to cast a "big boy's" fishing rod..........and he picked up on it pretty quick............he was casting pretty far out for his first time............he caught some nice blue gill.........once I was done planting.........I rigged up my rod with a rubber worm and sat next to him while he fished..........I would hook the bass and let him real them in............they were all 16" or bigger..........good fighters............he loved it!!

We decided to stop fishing and go check out some of my favorite "turtle spots"...........we went and walked around a couple local ponds looking for baby water turtles..........Eastern Painted Turtles.........we seen a few..........Gump has a good eye for spottin' them.......

We ended up going to Congolium.......that's the place where the kids like to catch tadpoles in the spring.........we found a nice cluster of them in a small ditch next to the train tracks...........so Gump "got to work"........he gathered up a couple dozen to take home and watch grow......

We got home and set the tadpoles up in his bedroom next to his bed.......I think T will like the tadpoles better than the pet rats........eeeekkkkk!!...........

The Contender Rocked!!..........Peter busted Joey up pretty damn good..........the fight ended early because of a nasty head but that Joey received.........his eye was gonna need major stiches..........Pete won.........I'm glad..........Joey was just "skating" thru the competition anyway............

No eggies today...........Gravy and Dougie are feeding the 04s and yearlings...........I fed the adults..........it's amazing how they start to "turn on" after a few weeks of constant heat.......it's so nice to have the snakes "hit" right away before the damn rat wrecks the cage........

I worked on the web site today,,,,,,,,updated the BR page and did some tweaks......we had to call the "pig vet" to come and take a look at my white pig "Razin"...........she has not been acting "herself" the past couple days.......I knew she had to be sick.....

So the vet and her assistant showed up around noon today..........took the pig's temperature and checked her out...........she thinks that Razin has some type of infection and possibly a cold too?...............so she gave me a huge vile of "cattle antibiotics"............and some HUGE needles to go with it............she wants me to give Razin two shots a day in the back of the neck.........

Razin is 300 plus pounds with a big fat neck..........so I'm sure she ain't gonna feel too much.........it's just not gonna be easy keeping her still enough to shoot 8 cc of meds into her neck......:(

The vet gave Razin the first shot.........she also gave me some pills to feed Razor in the mornings for his arthritis...........yep..........I think my piggies are starting to show their age.......14 years old...........8 cc is a ton of meds!!.........

I got 05 clutch # 46 this morning..........7 eggs from breeding my VPI Snow male to a female that is het VPI Axanthic and possible het for Albino ( Snow )..........I'd love to prove her out to be a DH and hatch a Snow this season....;)...I want it to snow again at RDR!!

I got the eggs set up and spent the rest of the day "on the road".........first stop was Pete Kahl's place to pick up some snakes I needed for an order.............Pete is in Florida for the week........he said he needed some R and R............lucky bastage that he is........

Then I worked my way back from Pete's place running errands along the way..........I needed supplies and all kinds of other stuff...........my list was long.......

I ended up at the Sea Doo shop to pick up all the supplies that Philly and I will need to get the boats ready for ridin'.........I'm ready too!!.........

Headed up to George's for my guitar lesson's.............then to pick up Brookie from gymnastics class............

America Idol wasn't bad.............Anthony or Scott have to be the two bottom contestants this week.............it would be a real treat to see Bo win...........but I just don't see how a "rocker" could pull it off..............Rock On Bo!!..........

Man did I get some shitty news today.........The Adam's Mark in Daytona ( Hilton now ) called me and said that the three rooms I booked in February of 05 will not be available to me anymore for the Daytona show in August?........they credited back my credit card for the charges on the three rooms and booked me over at the Mayan Inn..........which is a couple blocks down on the ocean side.....

I asked why?...........they said that the "second hurricane" that blew through after the Daytona show in 04 caused a lot of damage to the North Tower.........600 rooms were blocked off for the "herp people" this year at Daytona..............300 rooms are all that they can sell..............so the rest get "the boot"...........that being me!!..............they said that it was first come, first serve policy as to "who" got "the boot"............I was told that February wasn't "early" enough for my bookings..........and that's the month I always book rooms for the Daytona show........

I called Wayne Hill about it......he said that they shorted him rooms too...........so I didn't feel to "left out" after that..........it's just damn inconvenient.......I guess the "real party" will be at The Mayan Inn this year!!.............hehehe.......

Actually I really don't care to much..........it's just convenient to be right across the street from the convention center............it's not that far to walk...........and maybe I won't get into so much trouble this year?..........hehehe...........

I got 05 clutch # 47 today.........6 eggs from breeding a Phantom male to a Lesser Platty 'sib' female.........all three of the Phantom males that produced for me this season are sibs to Cuff, Link or Karma.........may the Ball Python Gods be watching over my progress along side 'Link"...............:)

I worked in the office like a mad man today..........got all the paper-work banged out.........and started the RDR Gear page..............FINALLY...........yepper.........THUD finally got the data base all set up and the shopping cart stuff done blah, blah, blah............so I worked on organizing all the "gear" and getting it set up in the check-out system..........I was kinda scared of the admin. section at first..........but after I made a few entries I was very comfortable with the way it worked.............so be looking for the RDR Gear page to be launched soon............it's very simple to use and will have ALL my stuff on it............I have lot's and lot's of cool merchandising ideas.............so keep your eye out for them........."Collectors" will love the ideas I have for the future.....:)

American Idol lost Scotty boy tonight..........wow!.......I figured Anthony would be next.......Anthony has more girl fans than Scott I'm sure...........but he has to be next!!............and then Bo??...........I can't take it!!!!...............and did anybody see the show on afterwards about Paul Abdul "supposedly" seducing one of the contestants from a previous season??...............man did they try to make her out to be the HOO..............I don't believe it!!.............Paula Rocks!!!.............

I got ball python clutch # 48, # 49 and # 50 this morning.............an "even fifty" on May 5th............clutch # 48 was 5 eggs from breeding a Black Head male to an Albino female...........I think an "Albino Black Head" would look swell....;)..........a "White Headed" Albino with a white back...........kick ass!!

Clutch # 49 was 4 eggs from breeding "Dirty Joe" back to one of his "het" daughters..........I got two clutches this way this season.........so if Dirty Joe is "genetic".........I should find out this season........

Clutch # 50 was 6 eggs from breeding a Paradox Albino male to a normal female.........if the Paradox Albino proves to be "genetic".........it will be The BOMB!!........I just love the way they look.......:)

I got the clutches set up and did some "data crunching" for the 05 ball python clutches.........as of today I have 103 clutches expected.........this includes the females that have already laid...........I have 21 females ( give or take ) that have not had their pre-lay sheds yet...............so I should end up in the neighborhood of 124 clutches this season total...........wow!!!...............AUTO-PILOT!!!!

I took Brooke out to do some shopping for Birthday and Mother's Day cards.......T's BD is Monday.........mine is the following Monday..........I should get eggs on both days...;)

No wally-ball tonight........I think that we are done for the season.......we will pick it back up again in the Fall........

Dougie and I will start framing up the walls in the basement of the addition this weekend.........I've been draggin' my ass on the addition................just a little more framing to do and then I can start the drywall..............I'm eager to get that done.......

Amy Kahl ( Pete's Wife ) is meeting me up at the rat barn tomorrow morning to pick up a bunch of rats for Pete........LOL.......Pete's in Florida.......but the show must go on!!...........Amy is a nice girl............perfect for putting up with Pete............like T is for me...........I'm out....zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...............

I met Amy and one of Pete's workers ( Chris ) at the rat barn this morning.........Amy drove Pete's new Ford dually........of course it's loaded to the max!!.........but it's a FORD,,,,,,,:(.........hi PHILLY!!!.......hehehe

I loaded them up with 600 plus rats both live and frozen..........I was happy to have the room back in my holder bins and my freezer..........

Then I came back and checked for eggs............I got one clutch so far today.........05 clutch # 51..........7 eggs from breeding Cuff and Link to a normal female...........this will be a very exciting clutch to hatch..........I'm very interested to see "what" mutations are in the clutch......"if any"........

I got the eggs set up and updated the BR page............got another pre-lay shed today......so that's 104 clutches............20 or so more to go....;)......how does he know this stuff???

Gravy and I are getting ready to leave and go clean the rat barn.....the rest of the gang will filter in around 4:30..........I'm out..........

Back.........we banged out the rat room.....then we all went to get some Mexican food........poor Dougie is gonna be sorry he has to work with me tomorrow ( gas )..........in the basement no less!!..........hehehe............I checked for eggs when I got home.........no more clutches tonight...........I did get one more pre-lay shed........so that's 19 more females to shed.......I'm gettin' real close!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!...........

Bates says to McCreedy, "Where did you get that nasty black eye?"......McCreedy says, "My Wife."......Bates says, "I though your wife was out of town.".......McCreedy says, "So did I."

Dougie and I started framing up the walls in the basement of the addition today..........we worked until it was time for me to pick up Brooke from a Birthday Party ( 3:00 ) at her friend's house.......then the family and I went out to get some dinner.......

I got ball python clutch # 52 and # 53 this morning.........clutch # 52 was 5 eggs from breeding a Jolliff Snow Ball male to a possible double het Jolliff Snow female..........I love working with possible het females...;)............clutch # 53 was 4 eggs from breeding a "Reduced / Banded" son back to his "Reduced / Banded" Mom...........I think if these reduced pattern animals are selectively bred, it may be possible to breed the "black" out of them...........or produce a very very reduced black patterned animal eventually........

I got the eggs set up before Dougie showed up to work this morning..........after dinner I worked on the basement some more.......we got three walls studded up ( 40', 40' and a 30' ).........I have to wait for the plumber and the HVAC guys to set the furnace and the hot water heater before I can frame up the walls and closet that will store them........the framing is almost complete....

I watched Survivor on TIVO............man was Greg totally blind-sided...........WOW!!...........he never saw that coming...........and Jennifer looked like she could have just died!!...........I love it!!.......

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom.........T and all you Mom's out there!!.......gotta be one of the toughest jobs in the world............"being a Mom".............:)

We all went down to Big Rock today and played volley ball..........we had great games......today was the "official" opening day..........the weather was perfect!

I got ball python clutch # 54 this morning.......6 eggs from breeding a "Goblin Marker" male to a kinda "speckled" female......this is my 7th clutch of the season from a Goblin Marker male.........this should be "The Year of The Goblin" here at RDR..........I'm very excited to see what hatches from my Goblin x Gob Marker clutches......;)

The Contender ROCKED tonight..........Jesse "roped the dope" on Anthony.........the best fight of the season so far.........with Anthony knocked out!!.........we are down to the "final four" now............I would love to see Alfonso win the Million Bucks!!......

Happy Birthday T!!!...........my honey turned 36 today...........hehehe........I'll be 38 next week........:P.........and what a busy day for eggs it was.........

I got four clutches this morning.............clutch # 55, # 56, # 57 and # 58.....clutch # 55 was 5 eggs from breeding my Goblin male back to one of his "Marker" daughters ..........clutch # 56 was 6 eggs from breeding a VPI Snow Ball male to a female that is 100% het Albino and possible het for VPI Axanthic ( snow )

Clutch # 57 was 8 eggs from breeding an 03 Lesser Platty male to a normal female..........and last was clutch # 58........7 eggs from breeding a Granite male to a normal female..........this particular sire "I believe" produced a very cool little baby Granite for me back in 03.........

I spent most of the morning setting up eggs and updating the BR page.............Gravy and Doug ( PUSH ) did all the feeding on the younger snakes............I fed all the adults.......I love feeding when the snakes are POUNDING rats..........it's so gratifying!!..........you'd have to be a "ball python person" to understand that...;)......and man are they chowin' down!!

I finished up the day and took T and the kiddies out for dinner..........then we came home.........T went to play volley ball and the kiddies and I watched Fear Factor.....

I have the "Pig Vet" stopping by tomorrow to take another look at Razin...........I've been giving her two shots a day of the antibiotics and I see no improvement.............she doesn't seem any worse........but she doesn't seem any better either.............she will drink...........but she will not eat.............and the past couple days she refuses to lay down to rest...........she keeps her front part of her body elevated .............I think she may have something wrong with her lungs??

I have a feeling that this is the end of the line for Razin............

05 Clutch # 59 this morning...........7 eggs from breeding a Piebald male to a het Piebald female...........Pied's just flat out ROCK!!...........I don't know a single "ball python nut" that doesn't want a Pied...........or to hatch a Pied............or to make combos with a Pied.........now that the Pied pricing is more "reachable"............they will become a great "foundation" snake for combo projects..........simple recessive traits are for the long term investment.........long term is the only way to fly!!.............and the most rewarding in my opninion.........it's nice to have to "wait"......;).............."old school" will out-last the co-dom race to the bottom.......

I set up the eggs and updated the BR page..........then I went around and "tripled" up feed on a bunch of my adult females that are CRAZY these days for small rats!!..........EEEKK!

George worked today instead of tomorrow..........he was called into work tomorrow.......so he decided to do some rack cleaning today..........and what a trooper............he did his racks with an aching abscessed tooth!!.............OUCH!!..........what a guy!!..........he made it clear that guitar lessons were off tonight........hehehe.............I could use a break anyway.........I still SUCK!!!......maybe I should practice??.........TIME!!!!.......got any?

The pig vet came buy today around 4:00 pm.........she comes with an assistant who helps her "control" the animal she is treating............she specializes in livestock types.......I told her that I did not see any improvement with the antibiotics treatment. So she took Razin's temperature and listened to her heart and lungs...........Razin was upset that they were bothering her "again" and she started to get herself out of breath.........

The vet said that Razin's body temp was very low.............and that she DID have a problem with her lungs............more than likely fluid in and around her lungs........I figured as much.........but Razin never coughed, hacked or sneezed ..........I could tell she was breathing shallow though......

So the vet went up to her truck to get me the new meds. I would need to treat Razin with..........I went inside and grabbed a pad of paper to take down some notes............in the time that I went in to get the paper and the vet went up to get the meds., Razin had fallen over on her side and couldn't get back up.............she was kicking frantically trying to get back on her feet...........the vet's assistant jumped in the pen and helped Razin back up onto her butt............Razin was now sitting on her butt like a dog would sit........

She was steady for a couple seconds..........then she laid back over on her side............this time she just thumped over and didn't move much............I thought she was finally going to rest a bit..............but she wasn't resting..........she died right in front of my eyes.........I watched her take a big breath......she exhaled..............and that was it..............she died right there..........250 pounds of pig........it was like watching a human die........

I was in shock.............I couldn't talk or look at her............I just couldn't believe that she was gone.......then she started to kick and twitch...........the vet said that this is normal when a large animal dies.............it was awful to watch........

The vet checked her vitals and said that she was gone.........all I could think about is the day I got her as a little white piglet ............I had Razor and Rozie first.............Razin was a "rescue".............some Red-Neck was gonna eat her if she wasn't rescued ...........I had her 12 plus years.........

The assistant and I picked her up and put her in the back of my truck............it felt horrible to pick up the lifeless flabby body........she wasn't that stout little "tank" anymore..........I followed the vet to her clininc.............we unloaded Razin there............I asked for an autopsy to be done...........and then to have her cremated............the vet seems to think that Razin developed tumors on and in her lungs..........I'll know more once the results come back from the autopsy............

So today sucked...........I kinda thought Razin was in trouble........but I didn't think it was going to end like this.........I guess anyway you look at it............she's gone .............whether she died a natural death or was put to sleep to end any suffering.........she had a full life with me and will be missed every morning that I go out to feed Razor and Rozie...........

I got clutch # 60 and # 61 this morning...........this puts me just about at the "half way" point for egg production this year..........I still can't believe at how well I did this season........I'm sure it's because my snakes have been set up in the same place for so many years that they are on a "schedule"............as long as I stay on schedule.........they will do what comes natural...........and that's BREED and produce eggs...;)

Clutch # 60 was 3 eggs and 2 slugs from breeding my Peach Ghost male to a het Anery female..........this het Anery female produces Ghosts..........and I proved that the Peach line was compatible with the "Anery" line in 2003............not many eggs here...........maybe I'll get lucky and produce a little Ghost........

Clutch # 61 was 3 eggs and 1 slug from breeding an 03 Lesser Platty male to a normal female............two small clutches with SLUGS today!!..........I guess a few slugs and a couple bad clutches out of 100 plus is to be expected........that's nature........but it's still disappointing......

I have been experimenting a bit with eggs that females do not coil .............sometimes a female will coil all but one egg.........in my experience the female just didn't "miss" the egg or forget to coil it............she discarded it for a reason??...............so I started putting an "X" on every egg that was not coiled.............and so far this season..........every egg that was not coiled has gone bad..............some I could see vessels in........and some I couldn't............some eggs go bad very fast.......and some "tease" you for a couple weeks and then they go bad............I think it's pretty amazing that a Mom can sense that an egg is doomed.........on the flip side........I have had females coil an entire clutch that has evetually gone bad........so maybe a female only knows when the egg is doomed from the very start?...........and why do they coil SLUGS???...........we don't know JACK!!!

I would think that in the wild a doomed egg rots and attracts flies and predators..........05 isn't the first time I have noticed this............it happenes every year.........but this year I'm following it more closely...........prior years I figured the females just missed the egg..........this year I have come to the conclusion that if it ain't coiled..........it more than likely will not survive.....that does not mean that if it IS coiled...........it will survive............I just don't put much faith in an un-coiled egg anymore.......

I got out of the office today to wash my truck.........I thought about Razin a lot while I was working..........Razor and Rozie know she is gone..........I could tell by the way they were acting at breakfast this morning.............Pigs are very smart.........and they are notorious for "pouting".............

Anthony finally got the boot tonight on American Idol..........I gotta say.......he lasted way longer than I expected him to...........I'm still thinking it will be Carrie.............but damn I'd like to see Bo win it!!...........

05 ball python clutch # 62 this morning..........5 eggs from breeding an 01 Lesser Platty male to a normal............I should do pretty well with the "Platty Stuff" this season....;)

I set up the eggs.......did the BR page updates and said F*^% IT!!.........it was too nice of a day to sit in the office..............so I fired up the pressure washer and washed my house........LOL..........my house is white...........and it hasn't had a good cleanin' in a couple years.........I've been thinking about cleaning it, or paying somebody to do it..........so today I decided to do it myself............and what a difference..............you forget what "white" really looks like until you clean off a spot and see that your house was grubby as all hell!

I worked on it most of the day..........I was soaked.........but it was just warm enough out that it felt good...;)............pressure washing is addictive too..........once you see how clean it get's things, you just want to clean everything.............I was blowing the paint off the posts on my front porch.........LOL..........it works swell on bird poop!!

T and the kiddies showed up as I was finishing up ( yeah I pressure washed her truck )........we all went out to the Japanese Steak House for some dinner..............came home and watched SURVIVOR........watched dummy Caryn spout her mouth off at tribal council...,,,,,,and then she got voted off...........she should have just shut her trap........

Ian should have been the one voted off this week........the girls could have owned Tom if they voted Ian off...........oh well..........I like Ian...........I'd like to see Tom get voted off.....and how about the Corvette that Ian won??............that is the best vehicle they have given away on any Survivor so far..........Rock On Ian!!..............sweet RIDE!!........

FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!............smile.....Jason loves you!!.........hehehehe

I got a bunch of eggs today............four clutches..........clutch # 63, # 64, # 65 and # 666..........HA!!.........clutch # 63 was ONE EGG and ONE SLUG..........from breeding a Red Axanthic male to an Albino female............damn, talk about a "bad luck"clutch on the 13th no less..........clutch # 64 was 6 eggs from breeding a Goblin Marker male to a Pastel female..........I would love to produce a Goblin Marker / Pastel cross from this clutch..;)

Clutch # 65 was 4 eggs from breeding a Jolliff Snow Ball male to a possible double het for Jolliff Snow female............and clutch # 66 was 6 eggs from breeding a Striped male to a Pastel female.........this is the beginning of my "Striped Pastel" project......so I got 4 "Friday The 13th" clutches.......ch,ch,ch,............may get one or two more tonight??.............YIKES!

The HVAC guys are here today setting the furnace in the basemnt.......the plumber will be by tomorrow to finish up the basement plumbing.........then I can get the framing completed and move on to insulation and drywall.

I got the clutches set up..........66 clutches in the incubator, minus two clutches that have went bad.........so that's 64 in the incubator.........I could use some more shelf space for sure for all the egg boxes...........and I'm down to two empty egg tubs.........I usually have eggs being hatched as eggs are going in.........so the 68 egg tubs that I have work out fine..........but this season I have too many eggs going in before eggs start to hatch..........so I'll be shoppin' for egg tubs tomorrow.........well prepared ain't I?........hehehe....the one and ONLY BONER KING!!!!!

The vet called today with the results on Razin's death...........it turns out that Razin was very bad off on the "inside"........she had two gallons of blood around her heart........this is why she would not lay down........if she did.........the two gallon pocket of blood would compress her lungs and she would sufficate..........the vet also found numerous tumors on many of Razin's organs..........she said that this is not uncommon at all in older pigs and is usually what kills them........

I feel sad for Razin, but I'm glad that she didn't linger on and suffer..........she will be cremated and then I'll put her canister of ashes out by the pig pen.........

I'm done writing for the week............it's almost time to go up to the rat barn and bust it out..........then I'm sure we will go get some grub afterwards......MEXICAN

Have a Great Weekend Eveyone........Raise your GOBLET to Jason...........and ROCK ON!!!.........

Two old guys are walking down the street. The first one says, "Windy, isn't it?"........the second guy says, "No, it's Thursday.".........the first guy says, "So am I. Let's go get a beer."

05 clutch # 67 and # 68 this morning........# 67 was 9 eggs from breeding one of my original "Jungle Stripe" females back to her son...........her son looks totally normal............so if this trait is "a trait"..........it must be recessive ..............I doubt t though.......

Clutch # 68 was 8 eggs from breeding an Albino male to a het Albino female.........two big clutches today..;)

I spent most of the day working with the snakes and doing some "tweaks" in the snake room..........it's nice to have the place to "myself" sometimes...........it's a mad-house here during the week!!

I ran some errands............one of my exhaust fans up at the rat barn crapped out on me, so I went a picked a new one up.........I'll get it installed the early part of next week......

After that a bunch of us met down at Big Rock and played volley-ball for the rest of the day.......we played until dark...........T's uncle Ricky has the same birthday as me.........so this was kinda a "dual celebration" for us...........the only bad thing about playing on Saturday is that it's a "given" that we won't be playin' on Sunday....;)

I think I'll take the kiddies fishing and turtling tomorrow if the weather is nice.........

Last night after we finished cleaning the rat barn, we all went and had some dinner..........and my mind was on one thing........."The Baby Birds"...........yep........the "short version" is this........Mr. John and his son Mike are giving the farm a "face lift"...........they are putting up new siding, facia and soffit on all the old buildings.........they were working on the one part of the rat barn where I store all the rat food and bedding..........

While we were cleaning last night I noticed a pair of adult Starlings flying around the barn franticly, trying to get into the soffit area ( where the roof over-hangs the wall ).........I figured that the "opening" that the Mother bird was using to feed her babies got covered with new siding........

Fatty and Philly said that they thought they heard baby birds chirping while we were there..........soooooo..........after dinner ( 11:00 pm ) Gravy and I rolled back up to the barn to see if there was any way to rescue the baby birdies.........I removed a couple pieces of siding first.........trying to find the hole that the Mother bird was using to feed the babies............I couldn't find it?..........so I remembered the the Mother was hanging around one of the windows in the barn directly under her babies........

I climbed up into the attic to see if the babies were there............and sure enough, they were...........and I couldn't reach them..........so I left the window open and the attic access open............hoping that the Mother would fly through the window and up into the attic to take care of her babies?..............we shall see...........

Yeah I know..........I'm ate up with it.......I just can't stand the thought of any baby animals starving...........I don't even let the rat pups and pinks that we feed the baby snakes go too long with-out a mother rat to nurse them..........I'm a softie!!..........

Three clutches this morning..........clutch # 69, # 70 and # 71......clutch # 69 was 3 eggs and 1 slug from breeding a Spider male to a normal female...........this female is really cool looking...........she may produce something strange if the eggs do well.

Clutch # 70 was 4 eggs from breeding "Platty Daddy" to a Piebald female........this is my favorite Pied girl...........she is almost perfectly patterned 50/50..........the perfect PIED......I'm hoping these eggs do well and I can produce just one Lesser het for Piebald MALE.........that will be a great start for my 'Platty Pied" project..:)

Clutch # 71 was 6 eggs and 1 slug from breeding Platty Daddy to one of his "sib" daughters......this 01 sib daughter produced 1.1 Platty in 2003 for me...........so hopefully this breeding should produce the same results or more?......

I got the clutches set up..............updated the web site.............the weather was awesome............so I took Brooke, Gump and Jamie ( Phil's daughter ) out fishing............we went to the pond and did some bass fishing..........Jamie and Brooke were both fishing with artificial worms...........and they each caught a nice bass................Gump was fishing for blue-gill........and he tore them up!!..........I didn't get to fish much..........to busy putting Gump's worm on the hook..........hehehe....he's hilarious to watch..;)

There were schools of baby blue-gill all over the pond.........so the kids caught a few small ones to put in Gump's fish tank...........he said he wanted to watch them grow up......so we took two home........

After fishing , we walked around a couple of my favorite turtle spots..........saw a few......but nothing tiny............little eastern painted turtles are so damn cute...;)

We came home......had some dinner..........then we set the blue-gill up in a fish tank in Gump's room.........they settled in nicely.

SURVIVOR was off the hook!!..........of course we all know that Tom won the million..........and he deserved every penny of it.........but what the hell was Ian thinking??.............Tom flat out said that if he ( Ian ) jumped..........that he ( Tom ) would take him to the final two............so Ian declines the offer .............tortures himself some more and then tells Tom that he doesn't want the million or the hundred grand for second place............?????............BONER!!..........that's about as gentle as I can say it............totally unreal........talk about something that will beat you up for the rest of your life...........it's a game IAN..........who cares about your damn "word"...........unbelievable??????????......that chick deserved NOTHING!!..grrrrrrrr

Then THE CONTENDER........my man Alfonso got robbed by Peter..........Alfonso beat Peter in the very first fight of the season..........this was the "re-match"...........and the judges scored Peter to be the winner..............sucked!!..........so now Jesse and the "Latin Snake" have to fight to see which two go to fight for the million?............it's gonna be Peter for sure and either Jesse or the "Latin Snake".........I'm going with the SNAKE..............Ian.........you suck!!!

Happy Birthday to me..;)...........38 years old today.........unbelievable???.........I always think back as to when I was a kid.........and you just can't imagine yourself getting older........or what you will become?, or do for a living?......will ya die young??........and here I'm 38 and I still feel that way...........like "I'm not there yet with my life"..........it's weird.......and of course I still feel like a kid.............being in biz for myself for so many years ( 1987 ) has made the years fly by...........add breeding snakes on top of that............and vaarroooommmmm.............I "squeeze" every valuable second out of a week to get my work done........

Working like this takes it's toll............on me........but my friends and family the most........having so much on my plate that only "I" can do sometimes makes everything else take a "back seat"...........and that would be my family and freinds.........I know they understand that "that's the way I am"..........but it sticks in the back of my mind that I'm stretched out so thin and preoccupied with WORK!!

I try to do "memorable things" with my kids..........taking them places and doing cool things........I can remember when I was a little kid.........my uncle Joey taught me how to fish and took me fishing when-ever he could, then he taught me how to wade in the rivers to catch trout...........my parents would let me have pretty much any "critter" I wanted to keep / fit in my bedroom.......they would drop me and a buddy off at the local park on a Sturday and we would hunt herps for hours,,,,,,,,,then we would be waiting to get picked up at a set time.........things like that you'll remember all your life............cool trips and experiences..........that's what I want for Brooke and Gump........my family and friends too!!.....I want them to remember that I was busy........but when we did things together.........they were special and fun......OK.......enough of the "sappy stuff".......wait till I hit forty!!...........whaaaaa!!!

I got two clutches for my BD.........clutch # 72 was 6 eggs from breeding an Albino male to a 50% poss het Albino female..............clutch # 73 was from breeding an 03 Lesser Platty male to a 02 "Platty Sib" female........I'm trying to see what happens when a Lesser that is not sired from Platty Daddy is bred to a normal sib female that is sired by Platty Daddy........when in doubt.......DINK!!

Philly took off work today.......so we hooked up in the afternoon to get some work done on my Sea Doos and the rat barn...........I had Gump all day.......so he hung out with us and asked a million questions ............I'm sure he could change the oil and spark plus in my Sea Doos now, and install an exhaust fan.......hehehe...:P

We grabbed some lunch and headed up to the barn........Phil worked on getting my four Sea Doos ready for the Summer............I worked on replacing an exhaust fan that went bad last week..........a rodent room MUST have plenty of fresh air coming in and and a good exhaust system going OUT.

We each got done around the same time.........hooked up the trailer and headed back to my place.......I'm going to leave the boats at my house so that the kiddies and I can wash and wax them this week when we have time.........yeah right......

I got ball python clutch # 74 today...........5 eggs from breeding a pair of het Lavender Albinos together.........:)

I set up the eggs, then I fed off a bunch of rats to my adult females who have laid eggs for me this season............they are eating like crazy BEASTS!!........I love it!!........a ball python breeder always is having a good day when their snakes are eating!!

Gump and I spent the rest of the day washing the covers to the Sea Doos..........I store the boats in the barn.......they each have a custom cover.........and they were dusty as all hell..........so we washed them off and will let them dry while they are still on the boats ..........tomorrow I will take them off and then the real work begins............washing and waxing the boats!!

We stopped by the store on the way to pick up Brooke to buy a new tank and some supplies for Gump's tadpole tank..........he just loves watching his tadpoles...........and he has lots of them..........so I decided it would be easier to have a tank with a bubble filter instead of having to dump the water every couple days.....tadpoles can get stinky........

We got to the gymnasium early, so we got to watch Brooke doing gymnastics for a half hour...........she is terrific ..........I'm blown away by what she can do......she goes for two hours on Saturday's and two hours on Tuesday's......she is very committed to it............I'm going to support her with it for as far as she wants to go with it..........:)

We came home and got Gump's tadpole tank set up...........he placed all the rocks and fake plants inside.........setting it up like a "pro".........he's like me......he likes things neat and done right............a chip off the old ( 38 years ) BLOCK!!.........

Three clutches this morning...........clutch # 75, # 76 and # 77..........clutch # 75 was 4 eggs from breeding a Jolliff Snow male to a female that is het Albino and "still" poss het for Axanthic ( Snow )......she used to be a "complete" poss het for snow.........I proved her to be het Albino in 2002......so maybe I'll see a Snow Ball hatch from this clutch with some luck?

Clutch # 76 was 2 eggs and 3 slugs from breeding a Piebald male to a het Piebald female.......more SLUGS.........I know slugs are part of breeding..........but damn they suck!!...........clutch # 77 was 10 eggs from breeding a Super Pastel male to a normal female..........this female is very pretty, so I'm hoping all the Pastels in the clutch are SCREAMERS!!

Was Bo on friggin' FIRE last night on American Idol or what??..........WOW..........I'm sure he earned his place in the top two for his performances last night..........actually all three of the contestants kicked ass............I think Vonzell will be voted off next......it's a shame........but I think Bo will get more votes....he's got his record deal anyway..........:)

Now for the cool news of the week...........and maybe the best thing to be produced in 2005.........Tracy finally proved out her Spotnose balls to be co-dom...........meaning.........there is a SUPER SPOTNOSE..........after all the years she has been shamelessly ( j/k ) promoting the Spotnose ball............she got the last laugh!!....or as she says......"It ain't over till the fat lady sings"..........

She produced the first Spotnose in 2002.......from breeding the original WC Spotnose male to a normal female...........she was able to reproduce "the look" so she figured she had a cool co-dom "type" mutation on her hands..........she barely promoted the mutation........BUT we all knew about it...........most, like me thought it was cool...........but not "that cool"......I loved the head pattern and though it was the best "head" of any of the ball mutations ..........I wasn't thinking far enough ahead to even think about a SUPER.........DUMB ASS ME!!

So she has been pluggin' along until now, producing a few Spotnose each year...........this season she was able to hatch a couple eggs from breeding the original Spotnose father back to a Spotnose daughter...........and the Ball Python Gods were watching!!..........she produced a Super Spotnose......I think it pipped on my BD...........May 16th.

I was talking to her on the phone earlier this week and she was describing to me what the baby looked like in the egg .........especially the head............she said it looked awesome and that it had to be the SUPER with tons of pattern.....then the pics filtered in...........and I was floored.........Dave sent me a few "teasers" and then the "money shot" of the baby out of the egg and ready to rain down some whopp ass on the ball python world!!

All I can say is that you just never know what the hell your gonna get when you discover that a "dinkin project" is co-dom type and you start to line breed back.........Ivories, Blue Eyed Lucys, Super Cinnys , Super Mojaves........and SUPER Spotnose..........the lesson I have learned is simple............don't "under-rate" anything in the ball python world that reproduces "itself" no matter how "vague"...........don't let your bull headed EGO get in the way of getting your hands on one............and no matter whether you like the BONER who produced it or not..........if you want it...........spend the damn dough and get it!!!.......none of the above has anything to do with Tracy or VPI..........she knows I'm a Boner with a huge EGO..........hehehe

BUT.........I wrote it because of the simple fact that Tracy has been trying to get me on the "spotnose wagon" since it started..........and I just didn't see it!!!...........I had my head in the clouds looking for the "obvious"...........I didn't think we could see another Super that wasn't black, white or just a more diluted version as the Super Pastel is........well HELL!!..........the Super Spotnose in my opinion is the best looking SUPER there is............it's the second "SUPER" that actually has pattern.......it's "to me" what Super means.............a more KICK ASS version of the "visible het" yet it resembles the "het form"..............unbelievable!!!!......I love it!!.......and my EGO has taken a serious blow!!!...........HA!!

So now let the "do I have a spotnose?" posts on the forums begin!!.......their ain't many out there folks............Tracy has them locked up..........there are very few in other breeder's hands............and if Tracy is smart...........she will hold the line for years to come!!..........enjoying every minute that a BONE HEAD breeder like me squirms at the thought of doubting the QUEEN of Ball Pythons!!!!...............let's not race this one to the bottom folks..........Big Boys have BIG TOYS!!..............Rock On VPI!!!!..........enjoy it!!!...........I ain't gonna say that there won't be another Super to "top it"............but I seriously doubt it......but it's all in what a person likes anyway............that's what makes ball pythons so special..........there is a "flavor" for EVERYBODY!!

Ok.........there is my shameless ass kissing for the week............it felt good to actually get my creative writing juices flowing again..........things have been rather "stale"........and for a "re-cap" you can read below............it's what Tracy posted in the RDR Message Boards.........yeah sometimes the big breeders "slum" at RDR..............ROCK ON!!!

Bristen,
Yes, you are right-anything is worth looking at-each snake has to be taken on a case by case basis-unless it is an obvious known thing-

Re why I thought there would be a super:

No two spot-nose look alike. Everyone has the same theme in it's pattern-head marking, very patterned belly, lots more markings than normal, tail marking that is distinct, but each one is totally different from any other. I felt that for some reason this variation would mean there was a super.

Re the "see you at the finish line" I have a personal view and a biz view on this and I'll write a bit about both:

On the biz side. Wow, this was a learning thing for me also. But when I showed them three years ago-lots of positive response-no takers.

Here is where I came up with my first motto:
"just because no one agrees with you doesn't mean you are wrong!"

I only had 3 babies so that was ok, I got to keep them.

Year two I had 4 spot-nose. Again no takers.

Here is where I came up with my second motto:
"never let someone determine your income."

This motto actually has several different meanings.
1)I learned a major thing in the snake biz, which up until this point I was really naive about-and actually it was unrelated to this project it was regarding the t+ boa project--people spend a lot of time "not selling your animals for you" which counteracts you trying to sell them. In the case with the boas-though essentially no one had seen them-people said "they are nothing."

2) Promotion is important-and here we are at Ralph's site--and he is absolutely #1 at promoting this biz. Dave and I on the other hand have focused our energy on the aspect of writing etc. Do not confuse promotion with pulling the wool over some one's eyes. It is merely information and then ultimately you make the decision. I absolutely failed at getting people to see some of these projects - logistics, kids, health issues, kind of got in the way, but more than anything, I did not transition as well from the hobby-educational end to the biz side. Wake up and smell the coffee Tracy!!

3) In terms of others influencing your income-each snake has a value to me, it is not the price for the customer-and if someone lowers the prices I do not lower mine necessarily-because that lets the other person determine what I do, make etc. I say this is what it is worth to me. Trust me there are lots of snakes I'd like to have-I don't say they aren't worth the price, I say I can't afford to get one! I try to get a great deal like everyone else!

4) I had a friend come and see some snakes (again not this project, a boa project). He was listening to everyone say "this snake is nothing" for three years. He saw the snakes and got very upset at himself because he had listened and not bought them-he felt he had wasted time and bought one on the spot. I learned a very valuable lesson,
and here is where I came up with my third motto:

"never influence someone to "not buy" something because you want to sell your own project. There could be some unhappy people today-because someone told them the sn was "nothing." And if they hadn't listen they would be one of the few people who had one. Since I have felt the hammer of what it is like to have people "not sell your snakes" I really take this to heart now-and have mended my ways that would seem inappropriate and try not to influence people-especially in terms of how something looks. I really think every project works on almost every level-you just have to be inspired and love it and do it. My guilt factor would outweigh the biz factor of just going for the sale-but I am not naive enough any more to think everyone sees it that way!! It is a personal choice on a variety of levels.

Year three I had 6 spot-nose. Again no takers.

Here is where I came up with my fourth motto:

"do the math"

Now this was fascinating to me, and I am learning every single day I do this hobby, which I love. Again, not necessarily related to this particular project, I kept thinking, if x amount of animals are kept by y amount of people, it would seem that if x and y were hundreds of times higher in one case than another you would at some point benefit from having something that was less x and less y. This seemed a good premise to me if you were not interested in producing large quantities of something at a lower price to be competitive. So I could live with the hope that at some point the uniqueness of the project would win out.

This year I attempted to not produce any thing except to see if there was a super. I thought that it might go one more year, but luckily the one of two eggs hatched and answered this question, so this year's production was one super female and a normal--think I should have made a few more!!

There have not been any crosses made-and I see this as day one of the project, lots to look forward to, as in all of the projects.

Now in terms of the personal view side here is what I posted on KS:

Re the comments above and feelings re people not "believing" in this particular look-I don't think that way in terms of feeling "vindicated" as some people have suggested-I think more it just reflects that there are always animals that do something for whatever reason for people-and that's why there are "turtle" people or "lizard" people or green tree python fans etc etc. There are many times that I'll pick a snake let's say out of a clutch of babies I really like-and if I ask someone "which one do you like?" and rarely does he/she pick the one I liked. I think that is a very fascinating thing-how each of us view animals, paintings, cars, etc etc. The cool thing about snakes is that the variation usually covers a ton of tastes-the amazing variability in a group of snakes then attracts a wide group of people-this is a good thing. I remember quite a few times when I have either shown people directly at a show or at our place or sent animals to people that when they saw them, they said "wow this is so much neater than I thought it would be from the pictures etc." The spot-nose project is a great example-quite a few people have written me about the spot-nose, (though in reality few people have ever actually seen one-which is my fault more than anything; because I have only taken two babies, one time, to a show I think!), but it looks like the super will elicit a lot more of that-"wow that looks cool" response, which will have people give the spot-nose itself a second look.

Tracy

Get a mammogram!!!

So that's the "take" so far on the Super Spotnose.........I wouldn't change the name at all if it where for me to decide.........."homo spotnose"........LOL...........well it is!!..........( Ralph shakes his head and says " The Ball Python Market will NEVER Die" )...........it may get a little "nick" every once in awhile............but it ain't going anywhere...........I think sometimes people expect "MORE" or too much too fast from the ball pythons.........since 1998 the ball market has progressively gotten better, stronger and most of all...........more exciting!!........what else do people talk about anyway??.......horror figures?.............hehehehe..........

Having a project like this...........sticking with it and continuing to believe in it's awesome potential ...........seeing it through to what you dreamt it would be............does it get any better than that?...........now it IS sellable...........that's how a PRO does it!!..........step back JACK!!!..............and Rock The F%$@ On!!..........

Wow........Vonzell did get voted off last night.........it really sucks to see any of them go at this point........they are all trying so hard and singing so well.........but there can only be ONE American Idol.........Go BO!!!!!....;)

I got two clutches this morning..........clutch # 78 was 5 eggs and 3 slugs from breeding a Clown male and a het Clown male to a het Clown female...........I got two clutches out of my het Clown females this year........the first clutch will probably go bad on me..........and this clutch had SLUGS..........but the other eggs look good...........we shall see......

Clutch # 79 was 8 eggs from breeding a Cinny Pastel male to a normal female...........it will be nice to produce some female Cinnys this year to raise up...........lots and lots of potential in the Cinny Project..;)

My walk -in incubator is the fullest it has ever been...........all my 05 clutches to date are in it.........nothing starts hatching until the 28th of this month.........and I still have 40 or so clutches to go!!...........I have egg tubs stacked to the ceiling!!.........if your in this biz for the long haul..........you can expect it to become AND BE your full time job...........seven days a week........the more successful you become at breeding ball pythons..........the more work you will have........and I ain't complainin'...........I always seem to manage my way through the stressful times...........but it ain't for everybody.......you gotta love it thru thick and thin......and know that you will always have to sacrifice time for your animals and any given moment.

Quentin Tarantino is directing the final season episode of CSI tonight..........from the previews, it looks awesome!!!..............I think Nick get's buried alive!!............T and I love to watch CSI......and Fatty told me that they will start filming the last segment of The Sopranos..........I can't wait to see how that season ends..........does Tony get whacked??....

A good buddy of mine is home on leave from the service...........his name is Tom Hickman.........he is a Colonel in the Air Force.........he is a war crimes trail lawyer..........he has been over in Kosovo for four years...........only coming home a couple days a year........I met him when I had my herp shop, The Green Iguana.............and we have been friends and "turtling buddies" ever since..........the last great "trip" we went on was a week of herpin' down South with Tom, Kev from NERD and I..........it was a blast...........good times. I'm anxious to set up another trip for this Summer...;).....you up for it NERDY BOYEEE???

So Tom and I will be going out for dinner tonight to " catch up" and talk about old times.....

No eggs today..........now that was a treat!.......79 clutches............I'm about two thirds into my total clutch production for the year.............some of my best combos are still on the way to be laid. I ran a bunch of errands today...........went and picked up more egg boxes and a shelving system for the walk-in incubator.........I'm anxious for the first clutches to start hatching........that will start at the end of this month and just keep going and going.........

Fatty, Tom Hickman and I went and watched Star Wars "Revenge of the Sith" last night...it was awesome..........the best of the three new ones ( parts 1,2 and 3 )..........Lucas did a great job tying part three into part four........which is the original Star Wars............I remember as a kid collecting everything and anything that was Star Wars ( still do ).......Empire Strikes Back is still my favorite......it was great to actually see what happened to Anikin in this episode that turns him into Darth Vader..........Obi Wan kicked some ass!!............left Anikin for DEAD!!......if your a SW buff like me...........you'll love this episode....;)

We all cleaned the rat barn today, then we went and had some dinner...........I just got home...........checked for eggs...........so it's official..........no eggs today...........I swear I'm takin' it easy this coming season..........hehehe........:P

I got the "carpet dude" coming tomorrow to clean and disinfect all my carpet in the herp rooms..........I try to do that every three months or so.......I'll set up what ever clutches I get in the morning, then I'll stud up some more walls in the basement......almsot done the framing.....

We are all going out to The Colonial tomorrow night for some fun.......I'm ready too!............so Have KICK ASS Weekend Everyone..........don't let your meat loaf..........save up your pennies for a Spotnose...........and ROCK ON!!!!..........

A boy working a checkout counter says to a customer, "Gosh, you're about the ugliest lady I've ever seen."......the woman says, "Young man, I didn't come here to be insulted."......he says, "Really? Where do you usually go?"

Duddy ( my carpet dude ) was here this morning to steam clean all the floors in the snake rooms......he said the floors were not as dirty as they usually are.......I can guess why?

I got three clutches this morning........clutch # 80, # 81 and # 82.......clutch # 80 was 4 eggs and 3 slugs from breeding an 03 "wannabe burg" male back to his Burg mom.......mom looks as "genetic" as any other aberrant that has been proved out.........I got my fingers crossed!

Clutch # 81 was 4 eggs from breeding a pair of Double Het for "Lavender Albino Pied" together, I should get three clutches this season from DH x DH..........we need another double simple recessive to drool over...;)......and I'm due damn it!!!

Clutch # 82 was 5 eggs from breeding a Striped male to a Lesser Platty female..........this hopefully will be a nice start for my "Striped Platty" project.

The 2005 BR page is updated...........I will almost have as many clutches "in the incubator" as I produced in 2004 "before" the first clutch hatches.........I should have at least 88 clutches in before the first clutch hatches............I produced 94 clutches last season.

I set up a new shelving unit in the "walk-in" incubator room today..........I just went to Lowes and got one of this cheapo plastic ventilated shelving units.........28 bucks........it "just fit" where I needed it to go............and I filled it to the max..........the shelves were droopin......LOL.....yeah I'm well prepared over here........hehe............I've yet to place my order for more baby racks!!.....I got a little room left........:P

Colonial tonight...........I'm out........

Big Rock all day...........what a great day.....the weather was perfect.....I was the "first" Boner to take the "plunge" this season and dive into the stream.............it was heart stopping!!!.........but it felt great!!

The Latin Snake kicked Jesse's ass tonight on The Contender......so the final bout will be Peter vs. Sergio " The Latin Snake".............Peter ain't got a prayer.........

Two clutches this morning.........clutch # 83 ( 7 eggs - 1 slug ) and # 84 ( 4 eggs - 1 slug ) were both from breeding a Striped male to a het Striped female..........the Stripe mutation is in my "top five" ball morphs.........and always will be...........we just need to see some "striped out" morphs to get the juices pumpin'....yeah Jared.........your's totally ROCKS!!..........ya bastage!!.....hehehe

We fed all the snakes today..........I boxed up two shippments....one to Vegas and one to Canada..........T didn't have volley ball today, so we all went down to the airport together and then to Red Lobster..........I usually do not ship later in the day, it just worked out that way.......so I went to meet with US Fish and Wildlife.........and then shipped out thru Delta.

Three clutches this morning....clutch # 85 was 5 eggs from breeding my most favorite hypo........the "Peach Ghost' male to a het Anery female.........this should / could produce Orange Ghosts and Peach Ghosts.

Clutch # 86 was 6 eggs from breeding a Black Head male to a Spider female...........I'm very excited to hatch this clutch...........I'm just dying to put my "mark" on a spider cross............I thought about the "Platty / Spider" combo.........and I'm sure it will be pretty..........but a Black Head / Spider cross makes me think of something "wicked"...........I want to snag the name "Black Widow" in a bad way!!!......I should be able to get two clutches this season from BH x Spider........whoooowhooooooo.....;)

Clutch # 87 was 5 eggs and 1 slug from breeding a Piebald male to a 50% poss het Pied female............you just gotta try and prove out a couple poss hets each season........it keeps ya sharp!!........LMAO!!

The Contender was awesome!!.........they let Alfonso and Jesse fight a five round bout for $200,000.00...........and Alfonso won!!..........I was stoked............he deserved it........Peter "Robbed" him from the million dollar bout.

Then the main even.......Sergio "The Latin Snake" vs. Peter ......Peter ran out of steam.........Sergio out punched him for seven rounds..........Peter could barely pick up his fists in the last two rounds!!................Peter could never fight a twelve rounder..........Congrats to The Latin Snake!!! and Alfonso!!.......Rock On!!......

One clutch this morning........clutch # 88 from breeding a Ghost male to a het Anery female.......this is this female's first clutch, so far all the Het Anery females eventually produce a Hypo..........from being bred to my original Anery male or a Hypo male.

I'm sure you all have seen the "Derma Ball" by now........it was posted on VPI's Breeder's Bragging Post and on Kingsnake's Ball Python Forum..........it's semi-scale-less.......the skin on the head reminds me of a baby "velvety" leopard gecko.......

What I find most interesting about the snake is that you can kind of understand the "layers" of a ball python's "paint job" better......The Derma Ball is black where it should be black and a very pretty cream color where the ball python would usually be some shade of brown.

The cream color is the "base" for what ever shade of brown ends up being in the "alien head" areas of a normal ball python's pattern...........with this being said..........it makes me wonder more about how an IMG ball looks..........notice on the Derma Ball, it does have normal black scales and normal brown colored scales where they "should be"...........but the "scale-less" areas look like classic IMG.......Black and cream colored.........I have noticed that preemies and dead baby ball pythons ( under-developed ) have the same coloration...........the black comes in to some point...........the brown seems to be the last to come in........dead babies and preemies usually look black and cream colored.............like a little "zebra"

Very unique little snake ...........although it was brought public anonymously........I like the header for the debut posting of the snake......." heres the dermaball and if you say its ugly your just jealous cause you can't afford one no photo shop"..........now that will get people's attention for sure ( and it did )................followed up by the post below,,,,,,

"here he is he's a male and is doing awsome and those pits he don't have obviously don't mean a thing cause he's on his 6th pup and won't stop and the scales you see are beaded its like holding a heloderma it incredible and the lucy witht the deaed end gene not no more now you can make a scaleless lucy think of that this is a true key animal and hate all you want you just won't get one ...lol...

enjoy the pics i will reveil myself soon
ps its not the only new morph i brought in from africa wait to you see the other stuff WOW."

The Derma Ball.........very interesting little conversation snake...........I would not be interested in breeding it for the masses...........or to "morph it out"............but I would try to further the breeding to the point of knowing if I can reproduce it......from the sound of it........the snake must be thriving........if it were mine..........I would want to know MORE about it........and that would mean trying to make more........it is a ball python, not a wacky hybrid.....hybrids and people spending a fortune on bloodlines don't "mix" in this market..........but that's my opinion........we have way to many flavors of ball pythons to start mixing regius with other species.........

It will be interesting to see where it goes.......regardless of who owns it, promotes it or supports it...........it is something cool to see.............and hopefully the project will be done responsibly ...........I'd love to feel it's skin.......maybe it does not shed??.........I hear it only sheds it's eye-caps......and where the heck are it's pits?..........some people call it "pathetic"........how about unique for starters..........let's see where it goes?..........I think what bothers most people is the "way" it was brought public...............a first class BONER move.

Carrie won last night on American Idol.............500 million votes.............a half a billion votes were cast.............that totally boggles my mind.........this show is HUGE!!!.....I'm happy as can be for her...........Bo took the news like a PRO..........he's "set" and he knows it...........I think that now is the perfect time for Kevin from NERD to try out...........they want ROCKERS and HAIR!!............I don't think Simon and Kev would get along very well though.......hehehe.........

T, my Mom, her Mom and I went today to Kyle's school for his "graduation" from pre-school " four year old program"........it was a riot........he had his little graduation cap on and they handed him a diploma......then he and his class stood up front on the stage and sang songs for the parents.........he was not that enthusiastic about the songs.........he says he's glad to be done with school.........LOL.....he goes to "Pre-K" next year........then kindergarten.....the poor little guy is getting four years of pre-school before the first grade.........that's gotta suck!!!.......it's because he has a late BD.........and we started him in school when he was two.

We got some cool news about Brooke........her teacher suggested that we have Brooke tested to be in a "gifted / talented" class in school..........so we said "OK".........she could take the tests..........if she didn't do well, no biggie...........no pressure...........well she aced the tests and will be in a few "special" classes next year.........Math and English for sure.......we are very proud of her!!!.........all I did in class when I was her age was write sentences......" I will not talk"...........a bizzilion times!!!...........I think I was rotten!!.......hehehe

Mom brought me a signed pictured by "Big Tom" from Survivor Africa and Survivor Allstars........she met him at a car show that her and my dad were attending.........she said he is really a nice guy........and HUGE.......she said he was seven feet tall.........LOL.........he's probably more like 6' 8"......he says he is making a "good living" off of being a "Survivor".............Rock On TOM!!.......

No clutches this morning.......88 clutches in the bator...........I have 05 clutch # 1 marked to pip on 5/28/05..........and then from there they will start to hatch just as fast as they were laid........a "snow ball" of baby ball pythons to come.......and hopefully a real "snow ball" will be in there somewhere?.........:)

Clutch # 1 should produce a "gob marker" or two.........and then we have clutch # 2.......9 eggs from breeding "Cuff" and Link" back to their Phantom Mom.........followed up with 6 eggs from breeding Caramel Albino x Lavender Albino...........I was talking to Tracy and she said that she wouldn't be surprised "if" something "odd" was produced from this clutch on the first breeding.

She said she has heard of two different "types" of Albino ( traits ) being crossed in another snake species and producing an entirely "new look" to the Albino trait............which is what I started this project for in the first place.........maybe she is right?.............that would be amazing and a real TREAT!!

I got word today that NBC is not picking up the next season of The Contender.......says that the ratings sucked!!...........so if any of you are fans ....I suggest contacting NBC and letting them know how disappointed you are about this............I knew it wouldn't last for too many seasons.........but I figured there would be at least one more show.........damn??........

Two clutches this morning.........clutch # 89 was 5 eggs from breeding a pair of het Lavender Albinos together...........and clutch # 90 was ALL SLUGS........my first "all slugger" this season.........I have one more "slugger clutch" that I know of...........it's gonna be from a Pied female,,,,,,,and she was bred to Platty Daddy......grrrrr........

Slugs.........part of breeding snakes.......it's out of my hands.......

I continue to palpate females after pre-lay shed so that I can count their eggs........I just like to stay "sharp" so I do it a couple times on each female and mark the tub..........I'm usually 100% right every time.........yeah I can count to 5......LOL........it's when I palpate these females that I can tell if they have good eggs ( shelled )............good eggs and SLUGS..........or ALL SLUGS.........slugs are small and hard, very easy to feel..........it's kinda cool to feel a gravid female that has three good eggs......then a slug..........then an egg...........and then a slug..........that type of situation is the easiest way to "learn" how a slug feels..........when there are also good eggs in the "line up".......

Anyway.........that's about it for the week........we all will be heading up to the rat barn to clean soon...........Bob Throne is out in my back yard with the Bobcat moving a bunch of dirt around for the flower beads around the addition ..........things are lookin' good!

A big congrats to Herp Quest aka Big Bro over in England......he and his "team" finally proved out that breeding a Black Eyed Lucy to normal females produces ALL FIRE BALLS........this could only be determined "positively" by breeding a homo Black Eyed Lucy to a normal female.......they have two clutches so far.......17 eggs total.........and 17 Fires were hatched..........so it is safe to say that the Black Eyed Lucy IS the "Super Form" of the Fire Ball.

Great job Big Bro........you completed the project like a professional and now you can guarantee a customer what they are gonna get with the genetics..........your integrity will get you much further then the "guess work" tried by others who have yet to produce or even breed a Black Eyed Lucy male...........I love this biz!!.......Rock On!!

And to Justin.......yeah my "sappy side" says " oh the poor wittle Derma Ball"........but then my "dinkin' side" says " Damn..........this IS a ball python mutation.......that's what I do..........mutate"........I think if I hatched it, I would be very proud...........not sure if I would buy it?.......not sure if it "belongs" in the morph world?.....well worth the dinkin'........so get'er done.........you hostile bastage!!!

And Neil..........I will see your ass in Daytona............bring your 20" gunns...........PANSIE ASS RDR Wannabeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!...............( yawn )

Have a KICK ASS of a Weekend everyone!!............let your meat loaf all you like............and ROCK ON!!!!...........

A guy says, "Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home.' ".....the doctor says, "That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome."......the guy says, "Is it common?".........the doctor says, "It's not unusual."

Ball python clutches # 92 and # 93 this morning.............clutch # 92 was 4 eggs and 1 slug from breeding an 03 Lesser Platty male to an 02 Lesser Platty female........I should be able to learn some more info on the "Platty Riddle" if these eggs do well.

Clutch # 93 was 3 eggs and 2 slugs from breeding a pair of DH for Lavender Albino Pieds together........not many eggs...........I should produce three small clutches total from DH x DH this season...........all the Lav x Pied DHs are very small snakes??.......males and females?

I got the eggs set up and decided to work on studding up the last few walls in the basement of the addition........the framing is 99% done............

Clutch # 94 this morning......10 eggs from breeding an Albino male to a het Albino female.............this is the largest clutch I have produced from Albino x Het.......I got the clutch set up.......while I was in the incubator room I checked to see how clutch # 1 and clutch # 2 were doing............I can't wait to see what pops out of clutch # 2............I'm thinking it's possible to produce something "un-expected" ( lots of traits battling it out in this clutch ).........if not..........a few more white ones will do just fine...;)

We went and played volley ball at Big Rock for the rest of the day..........

We all took today off from work for Memorial day ........tomorrow we will feed like we usually do on Mondays..........it will make for a busy week........starting one day behind.

I got three clutches this morning..........clutch # 95 was 7 eggs from breeding a VPI Snow male to a possible double het VPI Snow female.............clutch # 96 was 4 SLUGS!!...........I knew it was coming......4 slugs from breeding Platty Daddy to a Piebald female............this "was" to be my second clutch of Platty x Pied........I'm just praying to the Ball Python Gods for ONE Lesser het Pied ( male ) this season.............4 eggs is all I got to work with..........:)

Clutch # 97 was 6 eggs from breeding a Ghost male to a het Anery female..........this Anery project ended up working well after all..........Hypos are on everybody's "wish list" now...........and they should be............a "hypo anything" looks awesome!!........let the premature price dropping of the hypo be a lesson learned..........now the price is back up and stable............the hypo is a very useful trait for designers...........as all are "in their own way"......

Most breeders right now are on the same page...........and that's to KEEP their hypo females to work into other designer projects.

Clutch # 1 started to pip this morning.............I can't tell how many "Gob Markers" are in the clutch...........but from the looks of their little faces...........I see at least three ( burnt orange color ).............all 7 eggs went full term.............I passed last year's total clutch count today........I should finish out the 05 season with 124 - 125 clutches.............this season I know I will be loosing more eggs during incubation then I did last season.......blood vessels in an egg doesn't mean it's gonna hatch.......I have been marking eggs in clutches with grease pencil that I expected to go bad ( Mom's don't coil a certain egg, or the eggs look "weak" or there were a lot of slugs in the clutch )..........and so far I've been 100% right on single eggs or entire clutches............it sux......but it's a fact.........some eggs are doomed no matter how much fungal powder or "egg patch" you use..........and I pray too!!!~~~....hehehe

I think most of the eggs I have "saved" using powder or patch were not gonna go bad anyway ( some eggs will sweat or get a few spots on them and then it just stops ).........I have "missed" so many nasty eggs that looked like total crud by the time the hatch date was due..........and most of these horrible looking moldy eggs hatch just like the rest ( babies are a little smaller )..........so I've given up on using the A-33 and weak bleach solution to wipe off mold and the fungal powder to help control it...........I just let the egg do what it's supposed to do.........and that's live!!..........it's nice to have the "numbers" to experiment and learn..........

The "sweats" are usually a 50/50 shot.........sweat "spots" usually start small ( a dew drop ) and grow larger........most ( for me ) get to a certain size and stop ( does the egg need to release some moisture? ).........the egg looks kinda wet and translucent in the "wet area", usually dime sized or less.........bigger patches ( more than a third of the top surface and obvious shell softening ) usually is a bad egg that is just gonna keep going bad.........small patches, even multiple small patches do fine ( usually dry up on their own ).......a little fungal powder will actually soak up the moisture and make the egg white again if you just can't stand the site of it.....flour mixed with fungal powder is awesome for soaking up "sweat" and it hardens over the bad area.

"Patch"............yeah, the egg is loosing fluid.......so you want to try and patch it........I've used clear finger-nail polish, liquid silicone and liquid band-aid.........along with the white flour and fungal powder.........that white powder makes ya feel good because it makes the egg look "good" again ( white ).............LOL

If an egg is doomed............guess what...........it's gonna go bad ( turn blue/orange/green and STINK ).........I think a lot of us "think" we are saving eggs........but what we are really doing is making ourselves' feel better ..........nurturing the poor wittle eggies feels good!!..........at 500 plus eggs.........that gets OLD fast......so you let nature takes it's course and hope all your eggies do well..........bad eggs are part of breeding in captivity ( there has to be some percentage of bad eggs and slugs according to total egg count )..........it's gonna happen..........and the more money you invest and the nicer your collection gets the worse it's gonna hurt when you loose eggs..........your doing it to yourself.........so let it be part of the game and expect it.

I was at Pete's place several years ago..........he had Pied clutches incubating and some of them were BLACK...........sunk in, molded..........I thought they were TOAST...........and they hatched..........that's when I realized I was probably being PARANOID when I would see a little spot on an egg......still my personality makes me CRAZY to save that damn egg!!........

So I guess I can say this.............yeah I've put everything and anything on eggs that looked bad.........some made it ( yep, even with toxic clear finger-nail polish and silicone...eggs are tough!! )..........some didn't.............it did make me feel good to try to save the egg...............did I save any of the eggs?..............doubt it.........the egg probably kicked into over-drive and did what it was supposed to do...........it feels great to "save and egg"...........what sux is when you put all the time into "saving" the egg and the clutch drops one by one no matter what you try..........and the eggs have vessels?..........now that sux!!.........how many of us have watched an egg turn every color in the rainbow,,,,,,,,,,,rot, mold and stink smack dab in the middle of an adhered clutch?...........9 times out of 10 the other eggs do fine and hatch.........Mother ball python doesn't have the luxury of taking the clutch to the sink and cutting out the bad egg.......yeah I do that sometimes when I just can't stand it anymore...........I just cut the bad egg open............remove all the crud and place the clutch back in the egg box..........leaving the "shell" of the bad egg in place.............or trimming off most of the shell that won't disturb the others.........I do this at the sink under slow warm running water..........healthy eggs are TANKS I tell ya!!

I have been told by a man who hatches ball python eggs in Africa .......he told me that some of the eggs collapse a few days into incubation, some grow mold and fungus.......some sweat.......and they just let the eggs incubate and let nature take it's course........some are even attacked by beetles, flies and maggots ............a "healthy" egg can withstand the normal forces of nature expected to try to harm it..........bad eggs "start" wayyyyy before the egg in my opinion............how about conception?

Blah, blah, blah...........enough of the depressing "bad eggs"........how do you think the boa people feel when they wait 100 plus days to get a litter of 40 slugs.........it all BAD!!.......blah!!

Soooooooo......after I got all the eggs set up and updates made.............Jimbo, his son Joey, my buddy Tom Hickman and I went out to Peach Bottom ( it's close ) to run the Sea Doos.......I've been wanting to get them in the water to make sure they are ready for the Summer.......

We had a great time...........the water temp wasn't bad.........three out of the four skis I have, ran great...........my newest one ( The 3-D ) ran like crap........I'll be taking "the funky monkey" to the shop soon.........

No eggies today..........we fed the place and then fed some more...........clutch # 1 should all be out of their eggs by tomorrow ..............looks like four Gob Markers and three "sibs".........

That's it for May 2005............97 clutches in two months time...........28 more to go.......