Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind!

Good news today,my Atropoides mexicanus female finally delivered after a very long gestation.
In fact, the last one is coming out as I'm writing.
Though Atropoides are not hard to take care for, I have to keep this as a succes, and be proud of it.
Hope everything goes well in the future...

Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 37918_1577936121980_1042927759_1605803_965452_n

Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 37918_1577936121980_1042927759_1605803_965452_n

Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 39611_1577936241983_1042927759_1605804_7411040_n

The mother:
Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 68361_1577933081904_1042927759_1605792_7446951_n

Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 68361_1577933081904_1042927759_1605792_7446951_n

Of course, it is a success!

Could you please give us data about the breeding process, cooling period, etc?

Congratulations Smile

The key seems to be room temperature.
I keep my couple at 22-24, and have air-conditioner in cases of summer heatwawes wich are not unheard off even up here in Finland.
The rest period is simple; the temperature in the room cools normally during winter months, and without spesific heating the terrarium also cools several degrees.
I simply let it drop around +20 for couple of months.
I introduced the male after the rest period, after I raised the heat and moisture.
I keep wetboxes in their terrariums, wich they occasionally use, however not as much as you would think. They almost allways sh%t outside the wetbox, in fact same goes with few species of lanceheads wich I keep.
The gestation period is very long, according to my calculations, it has to be like 10 months or so.

Thanks a lot, Janne. It seems that I am doing things OK, at least very similar to you. My herp room does not get more colder than 21ºC, so it seems similar to your case. The only different thing is that I do not use wet boxes, but have a couple of living potted plants that act like humid areas.

10 months of gestation??? Gods... affraid

I honestly do not know wether this specie is capable off storaging sperm.
The young snakes shed nearly same time as they were crawling out off the "sack" that surrounds them, so one could say immediately after birth.

Living plants are definetly more natural option, however I forgot to mention that I also keep the terrariums shady, propably too dark for plant growth. Light only reaches the front of the tank, leaving dark area on the back.
Atropoides are very similar to my bushmasters; light shy and sensitive to high temperatures.

Well done!!!I have a pair also but i think that my male is wearing condom Mad

I have witnessed many capulations but nothing!I am keeping them at the moment at 15 deegres and i hope that i see some beautifull babies as yours someday...

You may try as follows:

After rest period, raise temperature and humidity as you would.

Introduce the couple, and see what happens.
If copulation does occur, keep them together for 2-3 days.

Separate them, and feed them.
Male can be so in heat, that refuses food alltogether, but my female never did.

Put them back together again, and repeat this cycle -together,separate,feed,together- and hope for the best.

This is ment to (supposedly) convince the females body that the times are suitable for breeding; plenty of food and strenght it offers=better changes for offspring to survive.
I feed my Atropoides rarely and give chicks and frogs besides the mice every now and then.
I do believe that as with Bitis, people overfeed the animals, and the fat can disturb sexual activity.
When I feed, I make it count.
These are just opinions, wich are those of a young guy who's been working with hots for years, not decades, so do not crucify me, just telling what I did.

Congratulations Janne!

How many did you get?
please post us more photos of those tiny beasties!
hopefully we get to see them feeding soon

If you need good home for pair, you have my number Wink

Cheers, Joni Hottinen

Janne Penttinen wrote:: These are just opinions, wich are those of a young guy who's been working with hots for years, not decades, so do not crucify me, just telling what I did.

What you say has a lot of sense. Just take into account that this species has a very slow metabolism and is an ambush hunter that seldom moves. Overfeeding Atropoides is really very easy because they have strong feeding responses (they are 'programmed' to attack and ingest every appropiate item that moves in front of their head), and this could led to breeding problems for sure.

Guest

nice

goodluck with them

Thank you very much mr Janne for those info!!! I don't feed them too much either,i'm giving them only one adult mice every 40-50 days.Greetings Aris

I feed them once a month.

Here's the father...
Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 65984_1577932801897_1042927759_1605789_6961682_n

Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 65984_1577932801897_1042927759_1605789_6961682_n

I've understood that Atropoides take food very soon after birth, we are 'bout to find that out.
The female is not excactly a 50-60cm medium-sized pitviper, but quite a monster, easily comparable to large arietans.

What's also important during mating, is not to give food too big and hard to digest.
As I mentioned, my female eagerly ate between mating sessions, but I fed chick legs and young mice rather then rats.
Normally I give food once in one and a half months.

Big congrats and thanks for the gestation info. I have always liked them very much.

Congrats!
How many offsprings did you get?

3.6 minus one dead and few shells

congrats Janne, is my favorite species...

greetings

Congrats Pena ... nice to hear that your breeding goes well with these nice ones.

Got few species that have very long gestation, and it can be frustrating to wait, wait and wait.
The female quit eating at least two and a half months ago, however since they do not feed very often in general, I missed the sign.

Here lie the shells... I bathe the female just in case, sometimes shells can get stuck on the way...
Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 33637_1577936361986_1042927759_1605805_2969190_n

Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 33637_1577936361986_1042927759_1605805_2969190_n

Here's one more of the female, photo's taken by a friend, because I truly suck at photos.
At this point she had allready quit eating...
Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 69309_1577933521915_1042927759_1605796_1469595_n

Atropoides mexicanus - Look! A really small pitviper just fell off that big one's behind! 69309_1577933521915_1042927759_1605796_1469595_n

Janne:

do you have any problem in the atropoides copulation?, i listened about bite in them, and death for the bite.

very nice babies, more pics, please

greetings from Perú

Not with Atropoides, but with Bitis, wich uses same ambush-tactic...
I'm pretty neurotic when I introduce a couple of strike-on-movement vipers; I put the male in real easy and let the female smell him in time, never just toss the other animal in front of the other.

Janne:

Thx for your tip,

can you take a pic of atropoides bredding??

greetings from Perú

Yes, next time it happens I'll do my best.
It is not very entertaining; instead of one coiled snake you've got two in a same roll...
I'm also waiting results from my Porthidium ophryomegas pair....

Janne:

Oks..

mmm Porthidium ophryomegas..... very nice

best regards

exellent information, and congratulations on your suuccess, do you have more pics of the babies?? pleas

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