Great idea.... a moderator encouraging people to breed under weight, sub-adult corn snakes.

This place never ceases to amaze me.

__________________
http://www.herpcare.org.uk - Herpetocultural Care Guides

http://www.happinet.co.uk

I don't think that is Nigel's intent at all. In my opinion, he is just saying that sometimes you do everything that is supposed to be right and still things go wrong.

He is more than capable of speaking up for himself I know but that is my opinion on it!

__________________
Kathryn....... 1.0.0 tiger retic...2.5. bci... 0.0.1 gtp...1.1. jcp...1.0.0 fwc... 10.15.13 corns...0.0.1 BRB... 1.0.0 hoggie...1.0beardie... 1.1 Crested geckos... 0.1 grammostola rosea... 0.1.0 avicularia avicularia...0.0.1 Grammostola Aureostriata...2.1horses...7.2cats...0.1dog...10chickens

Regardless of the particular snake, the post states that the 'Rule of 3' is total rubbish, it's OK for it to be ignored and there are unlikely to be any consequences.

__________________
http://www.herpcare.org.uk - Herpetocultural Care Guides

http://www.happinet.co.uk

I will leave it up to Nige to answer your thoughts. I just feel, having lost one this year too, I can understand his frustration that's all.

__________________
Kathryn....... 1.0.0 tiger retic...2.5. bci... 0.0.1 gtp...1.1. jcp...1.0.0 fwc... 10.15.13 corns...0.0.1 BRB... 1.0.0 hoggie...1.0beardie... 1.1 Crested geckos... 0.1 grammostola rosea... 0.1.0 avicularia avicularia...0.0.1 Grammostola Aureostriata...2.1horses...7.2cats...0.1dog...10chickens

i'm presuming you're winding me up with the accidental closing thing??
i am not saying what you're saying steve at all, just incase you do mean those comments coz thy read as though you do,
it is clearing showing that the 3 rule isnt necessarily right, but just a guide.
i have known many many people that dont use it, YES its a good guide for new starters for sure, but thats all it is, a guide.
i know many of the UKs biggest and longest breeders, and a lot of them will tell you what i have said sounds about right, people on THIS forum.. maybe for their names sake they dont say anything, but thats no problem.
i certainly dont make a habit of it, if you go thru everything i have wrote you will see that, i'm quite open about what i do and how i do it.
there are many ways to do corns, but i always say, there are many wrong ways to do it, and not so many right ways. lots of people might not like the way i do things, thats fine.. its usually a case of what works for people where the snakes always end up fine... like ME for instance, paulc, ant, twodogs, lex,snakebreeder etc.. all do it very different.. i go to peoples houses and often get people that say my way they like, i get some that say it dont work for them..
as long as the snakes are fine at the end of the day, and i do my best for them then i am happy with that..

__________________
corns for sale
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/snake...rthampton.html

and for what its worth, what gives ANYONE the right to say that an adult corn has to be 3 years old, 300grams and then 3 foot long?
maybe you should be having a pop a lot of these top breeders that power feed and breed too young, i dont ever have any of my own snakes big enough to breed at 2 years, they are always ones i have bought in.

__________________
corns for sale
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/snake...rthampton.html

I like to encourage the 3,3,3 rule mainly because there are new people breeding every year asking the same questions, ie what size ect. Unless i can see a snake up close its hard to tell if it has enough muscle tone and size, when the question has been posted up on a thread. This one reason why i encourage the 3,3,3 rule. But personally i do breed some corns at 2 years providing it is as above, large enough and enough muscle tone. BUT one thing i have found thoughs that do get mated at 2 years never make into a large female like one that is mated at 3. Oh i have not had any difference in abilaty to lay in a younger cor than an older one, but then as said the 2 year olds are of a large size.

__________________

thanks dude.. and i have only been keeping and breeding corns for 17 years, paul here will have been doing it a lot longer than me.

__________________
corns for sale
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/snake...rthampton.html

No... I am totally serious.

I know as many long term breeders as you do dude and I also know just as many rescues and shops who have to deal with the consequences of people heeding opinions like you have given. Have you ever considered that there may be a reason that other breeders do not come on and state this stuff ?

As a long time breeder, you must be fully aware of the toll producing and laying eggs takes on a female rat snake with regard to condition and weight after she has laid her eggs. My radiated rat snake for example, double clutched this year... thankfully, I had 6 weeks or so to feed her up between clutches... but by the time she had finished, she looked like she had starved for 3 months or so and barely had the energy to eat. Just imagine what state she would have been in if she did not have the weight and bulk before she started. I could have lost her.

The fact is Nigel, this forum is frequented by complete snake keeping novices and especially snake breeding novices. You only have to look at the number of threads asking what snake to buy and my snake is gravid.. what do I do now ?

For a moderator to be stating that weight, size and maturity is not important when it comes to breeding snakes is not on, no matter what the circumstances... unless of course you are volunteering to pick up the pieces when people follow this advice and things go wrong.

__________________
http://www.herpcare.org.uk - Herpetocultural Care Guides

http://www.happinet.co.uk

didnt see this one.. maybe i could change the title if its decieving? its more of a coincidental comment seeing as she was 600g, like kinda ironic.. that kinda thing

__________________
corns for sale
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/snake...rthampton.html