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Shazam, Solstice & Eclipse - Black Milksnake Progression Thread

The_Thunderer

The_Thunderer

New member
I know I've taken LOTS of photos of Shazam, but since Solstice and Eclipse have come aboard, I thought I'd combine their threads so we can compare them to each other as they grow.

Hope you enjoy this with me!
Shazam and some flowers on the coffee table...
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I tried to take them "a la Eddie and Nanci" but they didn't work out quite the same... In this case imitation is NOT the finest form of flattery. LOL.

HOLD ON! I'm gonna do Solstice and Eclipse as well!
 
SOLSTICE!

Here's Solstice. She's blue, but I figured why not??? LOL.

Solstice outside for a tad... :)
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She's a real sweetheart... even while blue. Can't wait until I can take some decent pics of here in her new "clothes"!

HOLD ON one more time... Eclipse is up next!
 
ECLIPSE!

Here's Eclipse. He's Mr. Spaz. LOL. He eats like he's a crocodile... shaking the rat from side to side and then doing the "death roll". Amazing guy. He wouldn't hold still, so I had to do a couple of different shots. LOL.

Eclipse!
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On the floor, he's scoot across... and then freeze... (REPEAT!). LOL
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Sorry these ones are kinda blurry. I tried to get some closeups, but with him not holding still, it was tough.

Well, I hope you enjoyed these pics. I'll have to try to remember to put pics of them up together so we can see them progress. Thanks for looking!

Thanks to Catherine (Jynx) for allowing me to have Solstice and Eclipse for awhile!
 
They are all gorgeous! I love how dark Solstice is. She's going to turn completely black really soon. It looks like Eclipse is in blue, too! Synchronized shedding! LOL
I can't wait until all of our Black Milks are actually black. It's going to be awesome! :D
 
salvadorian said:
Ah! King Snakes are so awesome! Wonderful snakes!
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Close, Mariah, but they're Milk Snakes. These guys are black milks. They start out as tri-colored snakes and get more and more black as they grow. Do a search for black milks and you'll see some HUGE beauties out there. These guys are just "wormlets" thus far. LOL.

Thanks for the kind words!

Rich in KY said:
They are gorgeous, Fred!!!
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Thanks, Rich! I'm very fortunate to be able to work with them.
 
Blue Apple Herps said:
Wow! I can't believe how melanistic they look during shed. I'd really like to see some post shed pics for the difference!
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Solstice and Eclipse are MUCH darker than Shazam... even when NOT in shed. I'll post pics of them here as soon as they shed. Just for YOU! LOL.

Suzy said:
They are all gorgeous! I love how dark Solstice is. She's going to turn completely black really soon. It looks like Eclipse is in blue, too! Synchronized shedding! LOL
I can't wait until all of our Black Milks are actually black. It's going to be awesome! :D
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Yeah. I think Solstice, hands down, is in the lead towards being completely black. I'm wondering how much she'll lose during shed and then gain as she grows towards the next shed.

It'll be a great day when we've grown ours to big, gorgeous black snakes! I look forward to Joakim's photos!
 
The_Thunderer said:
Solstice and Eclipse are MUCH darker than Shazam... even when NOT in shed. I'll post pics of them here as soon as they shed. Just for YOU! LOL.

Yeah. I think Solstice, hands down, is in the lead towards being completely black. I'm wondering how much she'll lose during shed and then gain as she grows towards the next shed.

It'll be a great day when we've grown ours to big, gorgeous black snakes! I look forward to Joakim's photos!
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That is really interesting how dark she is - even if she's smaller than Shazam. I've heard before that if Black Milks are kept at cooler temperatures, they change faster, but I don't know if it's scientifically documented or not. I wonder if that plays a part at all.
I agree. :) And I'm about to start sending out "hurry up and shed" vibes. LOL - he's taking forever! He went into blue on 9/26. He should shed within the next couple of days.
 
I'd like to say that this "cooler=darker faster" information is good, but I just got them recently and don't know what temps they were kept at in the snake room.

SHAZAM has been kept really cool (except for early on when I mistook the proper temps), but he's the lightest of all three! :D

We'll see!
 
The_Thunderer said:
I'd like to say that this "cooler=darker faster" information is good, but I just got them recently and don't know what temps they were kept at in the snake room.

SHAZAM has been kept really cool (except for early on when I mistook the proper temps), but he's the lightest of all three! :D

We'll see!
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That's true. And since Eclipse and Solstice stayed in the same place, I don't imagine the temperature difference was that great to influence it.

I wonder if it's just because they're different bloodlines or something? I've heard the Florida Zoo Stock (the second of 3 that I know of) changes slower. There was a person who recently imported new Gaigeae from Costa Rica, I believe, but it's unknown how fast they change because of how soon it's been. I guess we'll know in about 5 years. :)
 
They are simply gorgeous, I am uber jealous too. The transformation is so magnificent, and every stage in between. They are definitely a snake that I would love to own, and I am at least glad I can live through you, great pictures.

BTW. This might be a silly question, but I wonder what an Albino one would do? Would it never change, seeing the color is really only masked by black? Or would it turn white over time?
I'm sure it's not the latter, but it seems like a good question, at least to me :)!
 
ZoologyGirl said:
Both mine are San Antonio zoo line, which I hear takes longer too. Wrath is an 07 and still has color.
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From what i've heard, San Antonio Zoo stock changes quicker than the Florida Zoo stock.

Joakim (who is San Antonio Zoo stock as well) seems to be changing very quickly as an '08. I know Noir (Elle's Black Milk) changed fairly quickly, too, and I believe he was San Antonio Zoo stock as well.

I don't hear of many that are Florida Zoo stock, to be honest. LOL - I almost wonder if it even exists. :grin01:
 
Hey Fred! You have some gorgeous little snakeys there! I am so impressed! I would love to see Solstice when she is not blue any more!

Nice beauties!!

Wayne
 
Michael823 said:
They are simply gorgeous, I am uber jealous too. The transformation is so magnificent, and every stage in between. They are definitely a snake that I would love to own, and I am at least glad I can live through you, great pictures.

BTW. This might be a silly question, but I wonder what an Albino one would do? Would it never change, seeing the color is really only masked by black? Or would it turn white over time?
I'm sure it's not the latter, but it seems like a good question, at least to me :)!
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Interesting question... probably won't be answered for a LONG time as I haven't heard of any "albinos" in captivity (not that THAT means anything... I'm pretty out of the loop! :p ). Thanks for the nice comments, Mike!

medusacoils said:
Hey Fred! You have some gorgeous little snakeys there! I am so impressed! I would love to see Solstice when she is not blue any more!

Nice beauties!!

Wayne
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Matt wants to see pics of her too... I'll post them as soon as her and Eclipse finish their sheds. THANKS for looking and letting me share also!
 
ZoologyGirl said:
Both mine are San Antonio zoo line, which I hear takes longer too. Wrath is an 07 and still has color.
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I know nothing about lines. But since Solstice and Shazam are siblings, I DO know that there is hope that Shazam gets dark one day. LOL.

What I do know is that I owe LOTS to one wonderful person!

The way I came across Shazam was this... I attended last year's Tucson Reptile Show. Catherine and I shared information about what we'd seen and I pointed her towards where I had seen some Black Milks. SHE bought Eclipse (I think it was from Shores Enuff Snakes - but I could be wrong). Later, she bought Solstice and Shazam and since she wanted unrelated bloodlines, she offered Shazam to me since I had made some loving remarks regarding Elle's Noir - who is needing an update (hint, hint). Of course, I jumped at the chance. Now, for the meantime, I've got all three. Until Catherine asks for Solstice and Eclipse back, I'll take care of them as if they were my very own. :D
 
They are beauties and it's nice that you put them all on the same thread, it will be good to see them all progress together!

Thank you for sharing :)
 
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