Solstice Reptiles

15/11/2021

So far this year our angulate tortoises, Chersina angulata, have been very busy. 5 eggs so far and can only think there will be more to follow.

Very common species in certain areas and they are undemanding as long as their basic requirements are met.

It is highly illegal to collect them or any tortoise from the wild, take it home and try keep it as a pet. If caught you will be liable for a healthy fine or possible jail time. The local authorities do not mess around when it comes to protecting tortoise species in South Africa.

Tge females lay normally one egg but on the rare occasion sometimes 2. We artificially incubate the eggs which we remove once the female has covered up the hole she has dig.

They truly are a fascinating species that develops such character. Looking forward to keeping them for many more years to come.

08/11/2021

Our one lone, surviving egg out of 55 finally said hello world on the 20/10/21. Last week it shed and to us looks simply amazing.

Out 8 possible different morphs that this egg could have been I am almost certain it is a platinum tiger but some have said suntiger and others just a nice tiger. Either way we will be keeping our little it back until we know forsure.

Next year we super keen to do the same pairing as we would really like to produce the all gene snake which would be a platinum suntiger.

25/10/2021

So this morning after waiting and waiting in great anticipation our female black pastel ball python started laying her eggs around 05h30. The male is a lesser yellow ball python. All genetics here are co dominant and we hoping some or one of the hatchlings has both parents genetics.

I was fortunate enough to return home around 10h40 today and she was coiled up nice around her clutch. I removed her to find 4 eggs which 2 look beautifully healthy, a b**b egg and an infertile.

The eggs are now in the incubator and should hatch around the 24 of December.

Super start to the day.

13/10/2021

This weekend was very exciting. Our friends from George came down to visit and shoot a You Tube video about reticulated pythons. Was a total blast.

I take my hat off to people that do these You Tube videos as it takes alot of takes and time to produce.

Gavin, Simone, Cam it was fantastic to see you all again and a pleasure meeting you Anchen. Was a super day and we were glad we could help the Falckies out with a video.

A HUGE thanks to Anton and Nikki for sharing their snakes with us and helping out with this amazing video!Check out their Solstice Reptiles Facebook and Inst...

28/09/2021

Some of the kids shed their skins and one was stretched out nicely in the sun.

The purple albino golden child reticulated python is just getting better and better with each shed. The boy was produced by John Chinn of Diatalo Reptiles in Kwa Zulu Natal. Quality of this snake is unbelievable. This lad is defensive in his enclosure but once he is out he is super chilled.

Our male and female platinum sunfire reticulated pythons both shed a day a part. The platinum gene just gets better and better with age and the sufire tidies up the animals beautifully. These 2 are also 100% het albino.

Then old Chompie the leopard tortoise was just chilling in the sun.

Next year we have some plans for our purple albino golden child boy and hopefully we can have a more successful clutch with our platinum sunfire boy than this year.

19/09/2021

Yesterday was a real summers day here in Cape Town so we used the opportunity to do a few things with the tortoises.

Firstly we had made, varnished and sunk in the ground a fence made from pallet wood in a suitable area for our baby tortoises to grow a bit before they can be moved in with adults.

The ground by us has alot of clay in it so few big bags of potting soil and fine coco husk was used as a layer and mix together. My neighbor Tinus had given us a large pile of rocks which we used to scape and make numerous hides for the little guys. We planted a particular grass and 2 other succulent species. The grass we choose grows long but rather flat providing more areas for them to use as hides and places where the can bask without feeling to exposed. A piece of slate was set level with the ground and this is where they will be fed on. A few bags of bark was then spread over the soil mix. My buddy Nic was kind enough to provide some really nice cork bark pieces which the baby tortoises can also utilize as hides.

Once everything was ready a water bowl was placed in a shaded part of the enclosure and the baby tortoises were put in. They immediately started exploring, one even ate, and they soon found suitable areas to sit and settle in. Super stoked with the out come of this project. All that needs to be added now is an irrigation system which will go in this week coming.

After the we finished up with the nursery the sun was still baking down so we decided to give the other residents a soak and scrub. We managed to get most of them except one angulated tortoise female who was busy digging a nest and preparing to lay an egg.

Tortoises are by far one of my favourite animals. They so innocent, slow and totally harmless. Some develop amazing personalities like Randy our angulated tortoise male and Chompie the leopard tortoise male. These if they see you will come charging towards you.

We are truly grateful and blessed to be able to look after and care for these amazing creatures that have become a big part of our lives and has a special place in our hearts.

23/08/2021

Well yesterday morning we had to remove and clean our 2 big tiger reticulated python females because they both shed. Karma shed beautifully but the other girl needed a soak.

We soak them when they have stuck shed on them to loosen the shedded skin which we just rub to remove it.

We presume these 2 are sisters as they are the smae age and around the same length. Karma's "sister" at the moment is totally off food and has been spending a lot of time on the cooler end of her enclosure. Hopefully she is producing folicles and we can put a male to her soon.

09/08/2021

Firstly HAPPY WOMAN'S DAY. Hope your partners, family and friends spoil you a bit on this day.

Almost all the albino hatchling retics have shed and their colours is unbelievable. The contrast between the white, puple and lavender albinos is amazing.

Next step is to get them fed and then to determine what is male and female. Once we know what s*x each one is we will then choose our hold backs.

Looking forward to producing more albinos next year.

02/08/2021

Sometimes when it comes to breeding animals things don't always go as planned. On the 25 of June our big girl pushed 1 infertile egg. On the 26 of june she pushed 2 eggs, 1 fertile and 1 infertile. The afternoon of the 27 of June she we in to her lay box and started laying. Out of a total of 55 eggs only 6 look fertile but in my opinion still suspect and 49 infertile eggs.

After removing the eggs we soaked and washed her to removed the egg smell. At the same time we felt if she had maybe retained a egg or two in her but she hadn't.

Things like this happens. We take the good with the bad and move on. So far we have had a really good run with our animals and this one didn't pan out. Better luck next time as we continue to try produce some stunning combos.

19/07/2021

At day 84 at around 20h45 in the evening we found the first hatchling retic cutting their egg. We got super excited because when one has cut it is a great sign that all the snakes in their eggs are developed and we can start cutting open the eggs.

As to be expected we got white albinos, purple albinos, lavender albinos, white albino tigers, lavender albino tigers and purple albino tigers. Some are still in their eggs currently but most have come out. As they have come out the shells we have removed them, soaked them and placed them in their tubs. The next step once they are all out is for them to shed and eat.

As with removing the eggs from the mother and artificially incubating eggs increases the chances of a higher more successful hatch rate so does cutting the eggs increase the survival of the hatchlings. Some don't cut through and end up drowning in the egg. To prevent this we cut the eggs ourselves.

Our second clutch will be due soon towards the end of this month. Once the little albinos has shed we will post some updated pictures.

Stay safe all.

12/07/2021

Well we wait for our clutch of 100% albino clutch to hatch, which should be this week, we are excited to see Karma showing some positive signs that eggs are on the way soon.

I can't speak for other people but we have noticed that when our females are close to laying eggs they put their tails over their body almost in the middle.

Females lay their eggs in the middle of their coils to keep the clutch as compact as possible so when they finished laying they can just curl around the eggs to protect them and incubate.

Any time from the 26th of this month she will lay. Was a really nice pairing. Platinum sunfire 100% het albino x tiger. Some exciting combinations to look forward to.

05/07/2021

Day 74. We are 10 days away from when they are expected to hatch. We super excited. Eggs are denting in as they should.

Once the first egg pips or cuts through the shell we shall cut small windows in each egg to ensure a higher rate of survival. Some babies to cut in time and end up drowning in the egg. By cutting we reduce that chance of that happening.

The hatchlings don't come out of the eggs immediately once they are cut. They stay in the eggs until they have absorbed all the egg yolk. Once this has happened they build up a confidence and will emerge.

Hopefully next weekend we will have some pictures up of the baby retics in their eggs. We over the moon. Our first 100% albino clutch.