My First Baby Hatched Today!!

[LeapinLizards]

I got my first breeding pair not too long ago, a pair of tremper albinos. I was told the female may be gravid upon purchase, and sure enough, a few days after I got them she laid a clutch. The first egg failed within a week, but the second was very healthy, and hatched today after 55 days in the hovabator at 82 degrees. I have to say it is the CUTEST little "thing" I've ever seen, and I'm INSTANTLY in love :sweetheart: !!!

I have a couple questions...since this is my first EVER hatchling, please bear with me

1. When do they usually start eating? I've been told it's after their first shed. Now I have just their water in with them. I have no way of getting mini mealworms because every website is sold out, as well as every store in our area. What is a good first food for these little guys?

2. I have not touched it yet because I'm afraid to hurt it, but I also want it very handling friendly. I know they can hiss and bite if they want, and I'd rather it did that to me now when it's teeny tiny, than older and larger lol.

Here's a quick picture I snapped before she scuttled into the warm hide...I think she's lovely

 

[Kelentari]

I think she's lovely, too! Her pattern is really cool.

 

[fallen_angel]

She is very lovely, looks like a Snow baby... ??

1. When do they usually start eating? I've been told it's after their first shed. Now I have just their water in with them. I have no way of getting mini mealworms because every website is sold out, as well as every store in our area. What is a good first food for these little guys?

They do usually start eating after their first shed, which can be anywhere from 1-3 days, sometimes longer (but not usually). They do not really require mini mealworms, as regular mealworms are pretty small. They can either eat those, or small crickets. The general rule with feeders is that no food item should be wider than the space between their eyes.

2. I have not touched it yet because I'm afraid to hurt it, but I also want it very handling friendly. I know they can hiss and bite if they want, and I'd rather it did that to me now when it's teeny tiny, than older and larger lol.

That is very true, it is better to handle them now when they are young, than to wait until later, as handling them young will make them become more tame at a younger age as well. They do hiss and may snap at you, but this behavior eventually stops. The key thing to remember is slow movement and always pick them up by scooping from underneath their torso. This way, they shouldn't drop their tail. We usually handle after they have had their first shed.

It takes them awhile to get used to it, but most babies become (relatively) used to being handled at about 2-3 months of age. At first, we just handle them for a few moments, and then increase the handling time as they age. If the babies are really skiddish, we let them get used to just the presence of our hand at first. All babies are different, some scream and run more than others, some don't scream at all. Hope this helps

 

[Kristi23]

Congrats on the beautiful baby!

 

[EvoDave101]

now thats a cute baby

 

[LeapinLizards]

Thank you all for the responses

fallen_angel -
I WISH she was a snow baby (my dream is to find a snow breeding pair, they are my favorite of all morphs). AS FAR AS I KNOW, she is from the pairing of this female:

and this male:

...but that's not positive because I bought her gravid, and the man I bought them from had other males...if I remember correctly they were a giant blizzard and I believe one other patternless. So I can't be sure.

I'm having a really big problem finding ANY mealworms. To get the large ones I have now I had to camp out at our local pet store for 3 hours waiting for their tiny shipment to come in. Anyone have any ideas on where to find some regular sized, HEALTHY mealworms?

I picked her up for the first time this morning, I figured I'd let her get used to my hand last night. She did not hiss, run, or even nip. Funny thing is she played dead for about 10 seconds, curled up in a ball and did NOT move. Then she slowly uncurled and walked around my arm and hand. I love her to pieces!

 

[727geckokid]

She does look like a mack snow.... Maybe the dad wasnt the albino male?!?!?? Some one please correct me if i am wrong...

 

[LeapinLizards]

Well your guess is probably lots better than mine! Like I said...this is my first EVER hatchling, and I have no idea what the different morphs come out of the shell looking like :main_huh: !!

 

[727geckokid]

I am just about 100% Sure that your new baby is a mack snow. What does everyone else think???

 

[LeapinLizards]

I am just about 100% Sure that your new baby is a mack snow. What does everyone else think???

Well I think you just made my day! I've wanted a mack snow for as long as I can remember. If there is even a possibility she is that just made me even more excited!

 

[727geckokid]

well congrats on your new baby, You should probably find out what the dad was if at all possible. But until then she looks like a mack snow 100% het tremper

 

[LeapinLizards]

well congrats on your new baby, You should probably find out what the dad was if at all possible. But until then she looks like a mack snow 100% het tremper

Well I'd love to find out what the male is for sure, BUT unfortunately that cannot happen. The guy I bought them both from was moving a few states away, and the numbers he left me are both disconnected. Lovely how that works huh? I know for SURE one of his males was a giant blizzard, but there was a second male that I'm unsure of. He didn't think she was gravid at the time I bought her, so we didn't go over that much.

 

[Mel&Keith]

If those were the other possible fathers then it's either a Normal het Tremper and either Blizzard or Patternless or it could be a Giant Normal het Tremper and Blizzard. It is fairly lanky looking! Your male couldn't be the father because Tremper x Tremper would produce 100% Trempers.

 

[GroovyGeckos.com]

Yep, mom was allready gravid. Congrats on your first!

 

[LeapinLizards]

If those were the other possible fathers then it's either a Normal het Tremper and either Blizzard or Patternless or it could be a Giant Normal het Tremper and Blizzard. It is fairly lanky looking! Your male couldn't be the father because Tremper x Tremper would produce 100% Trempers.

That's what I thought. I am VERY new at breeding, but I pretty much knew once I saw "her" that it wasn't by my male. She IS pretty long, but still very tiny. I'll try and get another picture of her sitting in my hand.

 

[LeapinLizards]

 

[fallen_angel]

So there were no Mack Snows in the mix at all?? The baby really looks like a little Mack (the Snows are our favorite too :sweetheart Or is there a chance that your Tremper female is a Mack Snow Tremper? If the baby is a normal, it's a very white normal indeed!

 

[LeapinLizards]

So there were no Mack Snows in the mix at all?? The baby really looks like a little Mack (the Snows are our favorite too :sweetheart Or is there a chance that your Tremper female is a Mack Snow Tremper? If the baby is a normal, it's a very white normal indeed!

You know, that IS a possibility. I looked up the mack snow tremper morph, and they look exactly like my girl (I pictured her on the first page). See, and that's what makes me think she's not a normal...how white she is. Aren't they usually darker? Or more yellow if they are normal? Haha...this has kind of turned into "guess her morph" :main_rolleyes:

 

[fallen_angel]

Yeah, they are yellow and black when they are normal. Some normals can have small amounts of yellow, but usually never like that..

It's hard to tell if the female is a Mack Snow Tremper or not, the only way of truly knowing would be to see its hatchling pics. It is a possibility..

Another thought though, maybe the Blizzard that the guy had was a Mack Snow Blizzard? or maybe the Patternless was a Mack Snow Patternless? You could always prove out the genetics by breeding it when it gets older.

 

[LeapinLizards]

Well guys, it's day 4, and I haven't gotten her to eat a bit, nor have I noticed that she shed. She seems totally uninterested in the live food - I threw a few wax worms in with her because there are no regular sized mealies in my area, and I was told by a friend at the Pet Store that their crickets are not the best right now.

Is there anything I can do to help her along?