Schedules & Transcripts PetHobbyist.com Main Chat Week Schedule Reptile & Amphibian Chats Dog Chats Cat Chats Bird Chats Small Mammal/Exotic Pet Chats Subscribe to our free email newsletters about pets and animal issues Email Address:

Kingsnake.com
Kathy Love
Cornsnakes
March 1, 2006

PHFaust: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at kingsnake.com, I'm very pleased to welcome Kathy Love to our Eighth Annual Chat Week

Adam105_nr: ?

PHFaust: With husband Bill Love, Kathy began breeding many colubrid snake species, and drifted towards specializing in selective breeding for attractive color and pattern morphs in her favorites, the corn snakes, Elaphe guttata. She co-authored The Corn Snake Manual, which was published in February 2000. One of the leading females in our industry, Kathy is best know as the Corn Snake Queen.

snakeboy434: ?

snakeman19_nr: ?

HerpZillA: ?? KL

pac-man: ?

PHFaust: Thank you so much for joining us, Kathy, and welcome!

PHFaust: Adam you have first question

Adam105_nr: Kathy, I bought a male corn back in '04 that was an ugly overall brown. Here was a pic of him: http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/8319/snakesandvinceday10107mx.jpg . Now this is him: http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/6482/62050038ie.jpg . Basically I am wondering what morph you think he is? He is also HUGE (eating 3 jumbo mice per week) and a great breeder for me! Thanks and welcome!

bps4ever: ?

KathyLove: I don't think I will have time to go to links here, but you can email it to me for later. GA

Rivets55: Thanks Bill!

TexasReptiles: ?

PHFaust: Kathy, please type GA when done. :)

PHFaust: Snakeboy

snakeboy434: My corns have bene otu off brumation aobut 3 weeks feeidng heavily, when can I expect the famles to start cycling?

Adam105_nr: Ok, well he was an ugly over all brown (which I've never seen a baby look like) and is now bright red and orange and huge. Any idea on morph?

Aukabas: ?

KathyLove: Mine take a little longer than usual because I cycle off season. They usually take a couple of months of feeding. But I would start putting them together for a few minutes after a month or so and watch reactions. Some males (and females) take longer than others. GA

PHAlex: Thank you for coming to our special chat. PLEASE DO NOT OPENLY TALK IN THE ROOM. If you have a question for Kathy Love on Corn Snakes, type a "?" to the room & you will be added to the waiting list. WAIT for a moderator to call your name to ask your question. Names will be called in order of ?'s received. Do not whisper / private msg the guest speakers or moderators as it will disrupt the chat.

PHFaust: snakeman

snakeman19_nr: what was the 1st corn snake you had? i have met you and u and ur husband are awsome! Do u have a web page? how do i get ur e mail address?

snakeboy434: ?

KathyLove: Ha - when I first started, there were only normals. I can still remember gettimg my first, rare amel! Sure was exciting!. Just look at the top of the KS corn forum for a link to my website. Thanks. GA

PHFaust: Herpzilla

Adam105_nr: ?

HerpZillA: Hi Kathy, Corns are one of the cornerstone herps in the "hobby". I'm in Ohio. If it lives in Ohio, you need permits, and up to 3, that counts MORPHS TOO. If corns make a hold in Ohio, like the RES's did, then corns will be added to Ohio's list. Corns being a native "US" herp, & in the top 5 or better for newbies, if we lose out on owning corns, (many states have similar laws or they are trying), exotics will be even easier to stop. I personally see the corn as one the hobbies last hopes. I do not want my grandkids to have to go to the

HerpZillA: Cleveland Zoo herp petting section to touch a corn snake! Granted we need a system to protect our fauna and also provide freedom to our youth, so their minds can expand and be tomorrows biologist, zoologist etc. How does such a large group/(and we are)lobby position so "OUR" politicians have to write complex eco-minded/and fair to the hobbist laws?

PHLdyPayne: snakeman; this is kathy's website http://www.corn-utopia.com/

HerpZillA: And stop the blanket laws lumping bog turles ex. in with dekay snakes ex. Todays news, no joke, what timing. Massachusetts just passed a Law. Section 51. The Boston Cream Donut shall be the official donut of the commonwealth Laugh, that's what we are paying for. 28% of my disablity goes to pay these morons. I'm going to buy your book for corn questions lol Sorry so long, this was the very short version too. TY Kathy

snakeman19_nr: thanks

KathyLove: We have to be more proactive and hit our representatives with LOTS of letters. It has actually worked in Florida, and even in the Fed. Gov't. GA

PHFaust: Pacman

pac-man: hey kathy!thanx for coming!!what is you r personal favorite corn snake?and will my black (anery) corn snake look the same all its life??and s there any way to tell sex with out poping or probing?

KathyLove: I agree with you about the ban, ban, ban, mentalitiy. I hate it GA

phiber_optikx: ?

KathyLove: They change quite a bit. They often pick up quite a lot of yellow, which can brown them out. You can look at the tails visually, but it is kind of difficult if you don't have lots of similar size animals to compare. GA

pac-man: ok thanx

PHFaust: BPs4

bps4ever: Where do you see the corn snake market going?

KathyLove: Well, I hope you don't have to pay your mortgage with baby corns, lol! They are great beginner snakes, easy to keep and breed, so lots of people keep and breed them. I think they will become ever more popular, and cheaper. But there are always new fun morphs and combos to play with GA

bps4ever: thank you

PHFaust: Texas

Longshanks_nr: ?

PHFaust: TexasReptiles whispers to you Kathy, hiya, Randal here, you and Bill have come up with some great names for Corn Snake morphs over the years, and they are entrenched in herpetoculture. How did you guys come up with these names?

KathyLove: Sorry, I don't know how to whisper.

Longshanks_nr: I just caught a corn last week, it was somebody's pet until it got out, and I came in here to ask what the normal range of colors are, and what the normal temperment for them is. Also, how long do they usualy get and what is the most common breed sold? Sorry if those are a lot of questions. Oh, and the snake in the water boul in Adam's pic looked like mine. What species is it. thanks

TexasReptiles: I have no idea how that happened

PHFaust: He whispered to me... I posted it

KathyLove: Normals are most common, but many, many colors are pretty common now. They usually get around 4' or 5' long and make great pets. Take a look at my site and my care sheet there for more info and sample photos of colors. GA

PHFaust: Aukabas

KathyLove: Coming up with fun names is one of the more fun aspects, lol

KathyLove: GA

PHFaust: Aubakas going twice

Aukabas: hi kathy i have an anrey corn and i was wondering what morphes could be bred with it to come up with some very interesting morphs?

snakeman19_nr: ?

MyPettingZoo: ?

KathyLove: If it is not "het" (carrying hidden genes) for anything, then it can only produce anery or normal, depending on what it is bred to. It has to come from BOTH parents. (at least for recessive genes) GA

Aukabas: and when is the earliest age that i could breed it?

PHFaust: Snakeboy

snakeboy434: What do you think of a chicken peeps nutriton compared to a mouse or rats even thought the peeps still have a yolk in their stomach? Also, I put in one of my female okeetees with a trans pecos atsnke to see just what would happen, he was intrested, she wasnt, would this combo work at all? THanks Alot

KathyLove: I alternate between rodents (all types) and chicks. I think they will each supply items missing in the other. Rodentpro.com has a great itemized list of nutrition of various prey items. I never heard of a corn x trans pecos, but who knows? GA

PHFaust: adam

Adam105_nr: Out of curiosity...how many pinkies will you go through in one week at the peak of the season roughly? I ask because I had a small clutch of 8 last season and went through 50 pinkies on those babies within no time at all! Now I have a clutch of 16 incubating and I think I will get 200 pinkies to be safe. By the way, will I have one of the first '06 clutches to hatch?

KathyLove: Earliest age is probably a year or year and a half - depends partly on size. GA

Aukabas: thanks for the info kathy

KathyLove: I usually feed one pink per week per baby. I hatch out around 1,000 - 1,500 per year, although of course I try to thin them out quickly. I breed some rodents, but usually buy 5,000 - 10,000 f/t at a time - I get a pretty good deal on those quantities. GA

munchkins: ?

PHFaust: phiber

herphandler1_nr: ?

phiber_optikx: Hi Kathy, this will be a long one. First off, thanks so much for helping me with Butters several months ago when he refused to eat. You were a great help even though he passed away. Also, do you ever have any normal emoryi? Or will there be a price drop for hets from you anytime soon? I am also looking for a normal male het for anery and het for amel. Will you have one for me this season? And last but not least, Last night I "candle" sexed 3 of my snakes. Hope, my corn and Peaches my orange albino black rat are 100% female. I am not 100% sure on Chunk who I think is male I saw a bit of "shadow" in there. But my question is, I didn't see ANYTHING in my females... do snakes backbones go past there vents or is it all controlled by muscle?

PHLdyPayne: ?

KathyLove: The only thing I can see on babies when candled is a purple spot if they are male - or maybe not! Much easier to pop, so that is what I do. I only have a few amel and het amel emoryi, which I plan to thin out this year as I am no longer very interested in them. Not sure what all of the hets will be yet on my normals. Just got my very first eggs last week, but there are still a few left to breed yet. GA

snakeman19_nr: ?

PHFaust: longshanks

phiber_optikx: my male is 24"

snakeboy434: ?

Longshanks_nr: sorry I thought it was my turn. I just caught a corn last week, it was somebody's pet until it got out, and I came in here to ask what the normal range of colors are, and what the normal temperment for them is. Also, how long do they usualy get and what is the most common breed sold? Sorry if those are a lot of questions. Oh, and the snake in the water boul in Adam's pic looked like mine. What species is it. thanks

KathyLove: I answered that one a ways up, except about the photo. I didn't see the photo. GA

Longshanks_nr: nevermind the picture

Longshanks_nr: thanx

KathyLove: I just tried to cut and paste the answer, but it won't let me. Just scroll up. GA

PHFaust: Ill Grab it real quick... Snake Man

snakeman19_nr: hi kathy who was the 1st to get into snakes you or ur husband? and what is bills web page ? and what are chicks? thank you

CJBianco: ?

PHFaust: KathyLove: Normals are most common, but many, many colors are pretty common now. They usually get around 4' or 5' long and make great pets. Take a look at my site and my care sheet there for more info and sample photos of colors. GA

KathyLove: Chicks are baby chickens. Bil and I both were into reptiles as children and we met when we were in our 20's. I had a touring reptile exhibit and my partner and I hired Bill. But I liked Bill better than my partner! The rest is history. His site is bluechameleon.org

KathyLove: GA

PHFaust: Mypettingzoo

MyPettingZoo: Hello Kathy i wanted say you are the reason i got in to Corns but i have a ? about breeding corns is there a right or wrong Morph to brred together and if you breed a high morph back to a normal will it mess with the females genes or hets like say i brred my Ultramel female to a awesome miami phase male will that mess up future batches from my Ultramel

TSUSnakeGuy: Hi kathy, can you explain on how bloodred diffused works in pewter and would is it trully incomplete dominant or what?

phiber_optikx: ?

KathyLove: Although a female possibly COULD retain sperm for another season, I highly doubt it. What you breed to what depends on your goals. It can't mess up the parent's genes. GA

PHFaust: herphandler

TSUSnakeGuy: ?

MyPettingZoo: ty

herphandler1_nr: kathy when did your intrest in them begin? how old were you and what did your parents think of it?

TSUSnakeGuy: ?

KathyLove: Bloodred is one of the more complicated traits. More than one gene, I am afraid. There have been lots of intersting and LONG debates about it.

KathyLove: I begged for a snake and my dad kept saying "What until you are 14 and like boys!" When I was 14 and liked snakes better than boys, he finally gave in - and look what happend! GA

PHFaust: Munch

munchkins: What is the most humane cage for keeping cornsnakes in? Tubs, tanks, acrylic cages?

TSUSnakeGuy: ?

KathyLove: If I had just a few pets, I would have LOTS of fun with a planted terrarium, climbining area, different microclimates, etc. But alas, mine are in 28 qt Rubbermaids, which seem to work ok. Be sure to read The Art of Keeping Snakes by Philippe deVosjoli, by Bowtie Press. It might open your eyes to some intersesting ideas. GA

PHFaust: Snakeman

snakeman19_nr: what shows will you be at

MyPettingZoo: ?

KathyLove: Oh - had me puzzled for a minute! I will be in Tampa, Chicago, Anaheim. Not sure of others - might go to some. GA

PHFaust: CJBianco

CJBianco: Who would win in a fight to the death -- you or Bill?

KathyLove: Ha Ha - we don't ever fight! We are very compatible! GA

CJBianco: Thanks.

PHFaust: Phiber

phiber_optikx: How many snakes do you own on average? And also, what is a brand new morph we can expect to see for sale this year?

snakeman19_nr: ?

HerpZillA: ??

PHFaust: The queue is now closed

KathyLove: I usually have about 200 adults and 60 yearlings, but I plan to cut back this year. Getting too old to do this alone and want to travel more! Don't know about a BRAND new morph - sure hope Don S. has some of those "pied side" bloods! They are great! I really like the lava combos and ultra combos. All are fairly new and the combos should all look different than old combos with other hypos. GA

phiber_optikx: thanks, have a great night!

PHFaust: TSU

TSUSnakeGuy: ko someone asked my how many snakes question haha but what are your different types of setups or do you have one standard one, I am trying to see what is best for a collection on the grow

KathyLove: I use all 28 qt Rubbermaid racks for my adults. Good for most, but some big males are a little crowded. If you are just starting out and can go a little bigger, it would be a good idea. GA

PHFaust: Mypettingzoo

MyPettingZoo: kathy If you had to pick One corn - morph or normal which one is your all time favorite corn

KathyLove: Okeete, with bloods a close second. GA

PHFaust: Snakeman

snakeman19_nr: where do you keep all ur animals? and will u ever come to nj or pa

KathyLove: I have 2 buildings, one for babies, rodents, and ball pythons (and Bill's workshop and photo studio) and the other for the adults. I certainly would avoid NJ because you can only keep amels there, but I have been to the show in Phila several times before it was canceled a year or two ago. GA

PHFaust: LdyPayne

PHLdyPayne: thank you for coming kathy. i currently have 4 corn snakes, two normals and two snow corns. what i am curious about is what sort of morph would give me the most interesting results, if bred to my snow corns?

Steve_Craig: ?

TSUSnakeGuy: ?

KathyLove: Without knowing if they are het for anything, can't say. But at least if you breed the normals to the snows and get big litters of only normals, you will have a good idea that your normals are not het for amel or anery. GA

PHLdyPayne: thanks

PHFaust: Herpzilla

HerpZillA: I have a MIA bloodred (free roaming, but shes not suppose to be), I'm using 2 litre bottles on their sides with a bit of water trying to find her. Any other ideas? ty

KathyLove: Best way - roam around with a flashlight every hour from dusk until you go to sleep. Also, you can set toothpicks around the perimeter of the room to see if they are disturbed. Use dirty mouse shavings in a bucket too tall for the snake to escape from, and set it partly under a shelf on the perimiter. Mostly, you need luck! GA

Rroadrash: ?

PHFaust: Steve

Steve_Craig: My question for you Kathy is, do you produce snow corns that are white on white. In other words, with no yellow or pink? I think an all white snow corn is a stunning animal. Thanks

HerpZillA: lol I used flour ty Kathy

KathyLove: No. Blizzards are the whitest corn so far. But even most of those have a little yellow or "shadow" patttern. GA

PHFaust: TSU

MyPettingZoo: ?

TSUSnakeGuy: Kathy do you have any pictures up on the web anywhere that shows your setups and your buildings, and also do you know anyone working with butter morphs

KathyLove: Practically everyone is working with at least a few butters. I have some, but not a lot. I don't think we have a lot of photos of the buildings. They are just very utilitarian and not really that much to look at. We don't have a retail outlet that is really pretty. GA

PHFaust: Steve Craig

PHFaust: Okey Dokey Last question goes to My Petting zoo

MyPettingZoo: me again kathy my last one i swear is anyone or has anyone ever tryed to make a Leucistic Corn

KathyLove: The only way you could "make" one is to breed a corn to a leucistic Tx rat. It could be done, but wouldn't be a pure corn. And there are a lot of people that would HATE that! Otherwise, you just have to wait until one appears unexpectedly. You can't hurry it along. Just happens when it happens. GA

PHFaust: On behalf of Kingsnake.com, Jeff B, and myself, I want to take a moment to thank Kathy for being part of our chat week. Kathy, thanks for taking the time out to chat with us on corns.

KathyLove: THANKS!

PHFaust: Join us tomorrow night for Ed and Liddy Kammer talking Chams and Robyn from PE Talking Monitors

PHLdyPayne: thanks kathy, it was great having you with us

KathyLove: Good night! See you all on the forums!