Pyxie Project Update

[XSpringer]

Hey Xavier, Yes Ella and I recently ventured in to the world of vending at expos. We are enjoying it immensely and probably will continue vending. As attached as we are growing to these guys (and gals), it is a lot of work daily and a lot of $$$ in food. It is unrealistic to think that we could keep them all forever, so to answer your question, Yes, we will be selling them in the future. We will begin with the females first and this will occur probably as soon as springtime arrives. By our estimation, we have about (10) females at the moment. We know that this could change as they grow over the next couple of months but feel like we have a pretty decent handle on the sexing of them this young. By spring, it will be defenite who is male and who is female. We will be hanging on to a couple of the lady's for another project and then donating a handful back to The Frog Ranch, so that Kim can insert them in to his group of breeding ladies. What is left after that will then be offered up for sale. As far as the males, we are doing this study to try and see if we can influence and produce some 10" monsters. We will be hanging on to them much longer and continue to experiment with their diet and monitor their growth. Once we are confident that they are done growing, then these too will be offered up for sale. When it is all said and done, we will be waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy upside down on our investment but we are doing it for the experience. We are still throwing money in to the project as this week, we just purchased a large, established hisser colony so that we can insert it into the study to see what effects different roach species might have in regards to the Pyxie's growth. This was suggested by Kevin on this board and we thought it was worth checking in to. This is as much a part of your guys life as it is ours. Although we are the ones investing the money and resources, we are open to ideas and suggestions. We are doing this for all the Pyxie lovers out their so give us your input when you have some!!!

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Good stuff Jeff. I can't imagine your food bill yet I can't speak for much (my 33 ball pythons cost $150+ each month to feed). Thanks so much for what your doing. So many people will appreciate it. I think its awesome that you'll send some back to Kim.

Xavier

[Jeff Kennedy]

It is the least we can do. Working with Kim has been absolutely amazing and he is soooooo generous. We are thrilled to call him a friend and keep in contact weekly. He has provided info, insight, expertise and most of all, our specimens for had it not been for The Frog Ranch, we never could have done this. Unfortuneately, we have dealt with our fair share of bad apples (no pun intended) in this hobby and dealing with Kim has been a breath of fresh air.

[Jace]

I've had my hissers (started out with 3...now have more! ) and I love watching them just for them. My daughter has claimed two of the males and has them in her bedroom even. Gherkin, because of his size, is not overly impressed with crickets anymore, but he loved the hissers! My only problem with them is that unless you have a large, established colony, it takes a long time to get the necessary sizes. Of course, now that I have more females, I am going to try and breed them at specific intervals so that I have a variety of sizes for not only my Bullfrogs, but also my toads and geckos.

The one female sounds like mine. Obi is about 4" but can puff herself up to twice her size almost. And she hisses louder than the roaches. I just love the personality though. Gherkin is so laid back and likes to be touched; Kadesh is a hider and grumpy; Obi is like a teenager girl and wants everything her way. Between my 13 year old and my frog, I've got my hands full!

[Jeff Kennedy]

Jo-Anna, LOL on the girl comment. We actually purchased a colony of 8-10 thousand hissers. I know right?!?!? Was lucky enough to find a guy that had his colony for several years and was looking to part with it. It wasn't cheap though

[Jace]

WOW! I had to beg for the original 3...and they were 99 cents a piece. I think I got my $3 back with the two batches of young that were birthed. I have to admit, that must be the sight to see-10, 000 hissers. What a rush! Of course, I love insects almost as much as frogs. With that colony and a steady supply of all sized young, you are going to have some monster frogs on your hands. I think I might send my guys down to you just to fatten up some!

[Jeff Kennedy]

HaHaHa!!!!! We'd surely do it if you had a way to get them down here!! As far as the hissers, I am thinking (hoping) that with that amount on hands, I will not only have the endless supply of food but will also be able to make my money back on the original purchase. I am finding that you just can't go wrong with roaches. Each time a momma gives birth it's money (or food) in your pocket!

[Kevin1]

I used to love playing with my dubia roach colony. The way the function as a colony is so intriguing to me. I've been searching for a good replacement dubia species that won't cause me allergies. I miss all the food lol and the entertainment.