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For the leachie curious, Mike Siavrakas of NERD wrote me back about some plants for them. "Sansevieria plants once established will hold a leachianus, but growing them to that point is time consuming, unless you buy them large. Hoya carnosa can stand up to some abuse too, but it needs to be well mounted and again well established before adding the geckos. Another would be Monstera, but those grow to massive proportions. Well established would be about 1 month give or take a week depending on the plant species. Some mosses take 2-3 months to acclimate! Sansevieria would grow roots and steady itself in about a month, though."
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Jan 31, 2012 23:48
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Y'all are gonna love it when I start posting pictures of baby hoggies (hopefully) in June or July.
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Feb 1, 2012 02:58
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I think my little leopard is shedding for the first time since I've had her  I need something for a moist hide box but I don't really have any special materials this morning. I read that a rubbermaid container with a hole cut in the top filled with moist paper towels would do the trick. Is this true or just internet bullshit?
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Feb 1, 2012 15:12
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Caught Cubs Posting
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Devo posted:I think my little leopard is shedding for the first time since I've had her Your idea of a humid hide is perfect. I haven't had leopards for almost 5 years, but if one was having a bad shed I'd use a dark tupperware container filled with soaked sphagnum moss. I'm pretty sure they were mad at me when I took the box away after their shed. If it's a normal shed, you may not even need a humid box, if your humidity levels and hydration are alright. In other news, I'm getting a free Juvenile Red Phase Amazing Tree Boa this week! He is soo red, but I really need to make an enclosure with high humidity, but low mold levels as he's only semi-arboreal. Do anyone have experience with this? My green tree pythons just sit on sticks all day so I don't care if they have soggy substrait, but this guy likes to chill on the floor. Ohh well, off to read more about snakes instead of doing work. big dig fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Feb 1, 2012 |
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Feb 1, 2012 16:47
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the yeti posted:Y'all are gonna love it when I start posting pictures of baby hoggies (hopefully) in June or July. Probably, they're the cutest things.
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Feb 1, 2012 18:52
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http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/pet/2801970311.html http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/pet/2801971417.html Thoughts and opinions? I am completely smitten with not having to grow my own moss, but I'm worried these may be inappropriate habitats. Which (if any) would you buy? (also posted in the dart frog thread, but this one seems to get more mileage)
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Feb 1, 2012 19:43
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If you just want to keep dart frogs I think either of those are fine. If you want a really nice looking vivarium I think you would be better either building your own or tearing those down and redoing them. Whoever built those only went half way.
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Feb 1, 2012 20:37
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 I got chewed up by the angriest little corn snake baby I've ever met. She ferociously charged my hand while I was popping her, twisted around and bit me. And then tried to swallow the side of my hand, because gonna eat that hand. When she realized she couldn't eat my hand she spit it out, eyeballed me then rattled her tail and s'd up. Then she bit me again. I offered her back to the other guy and as soon as he took her? She bit him too.They're just so cute and mad when they're little.
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Feb 1, 2012 20:50
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I used to have the absolute cutest picture of a baby corn snake viciously trying to crush and swallow a grown man's thumb. It was not very effective.
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Feb 1, 2012 22:00
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My friend has a pic somewhere of a macklott's python swallowing most of his hand.
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Feb 2, 2012 00:09
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Feb 2, 2012 02:59
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the yeti posted:I had that happen once. made my index and middle finger go pins-and-needles for about an hour, and the actual wound itched for days.
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Feb 2, 2012 06:17
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Wow. It takes a hardcore herp lover to go for the camera before pulling off the snake
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Feb 2, 2012 06:43
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Cute hoggie nibble! Those can be "fun." I keep lyres and they can make the arm swell apparently, but I've had no such experience yet. Has anybody here kept false water cobras? I've been charmed by a few juveniles and can see their appeal. Size isn't so much the question. I was curious what their digestive input/output was like, whether it was on par with other large colubrids like indigos that have pretty swift digestive tracts. With indigos it's always recommended to have a spare shirt on hand, as human warmth helps to keep things moving during handling. I know French Post kept them, but he's been AWOL from the herp thread for awhile.
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Feb 2, 2012 09:00
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Big Centipede posted:I had that happen once. made my index and middle finger go pins-and-needles for about an hour, and the actual wound itched for days. I don't think she broke the skin enough as I didn't notice anything unusual. hyperhazard posted:Wow. It takes a hardcore herp lover to go for the camera before pulling off the snake To be fair they absolutely aren't strong biters, that was about as threatening as getting mouthed by a kitten. the yeti fucked around with this message at 18:51 on Feb 2, 2012 |
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Feb 2, 2012 18:49
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I think Spot finished her first shed with me and now she's bright and beautiful again   I didn't notice any extra skin near her toes or eyes so I'm going to assume the shed went fine. I think I'm going to leave the moist hide in there for one more night in case she needs to get a little more off.
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Feb 2, 2012 20:42
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Devo posted:I think Spot finished her first shed with me and now she's bright and beautiful again That's one pretty girl! Looks like she's giving a big ole smile in that last picture, love it.
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Feb 2, 2012 21:06
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Here's some pics of the new tree boa.    No matter what I did, he kept moving his head out of focus and was trying to track my fingers around my camera. This guy has an awesome sense of thermal direction, and is MEAN! I took a strike, and even at his size hes got wicked long and stupidly sharp teeth. He's a display snake it seems. He also had a bad shed, so I'm keeping him in a tub at almost 100% humidity, with a dry ledge and some fake leaves for him to hide under.
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Feb 3, 2012 13:51
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My corn was a bitey rear end in a top hat when I got him and I couldn't even hold him at all barehanded. I started handling him with rubber kitchen gloves until he tamed down. It would probably help with the thermal sensing thing as well.
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Feb 3, 2012 14:04
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My geckos have taken to staring at me while I am in their space working on building their new home. Its kind of creepy having 10-15 pairs of eyes on you while you do something, following you as you move around. One of them in particular likes to get in these weird sitting positions and just enjoy the show.  
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Feb 3, 2012 14:15
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...more Leachies please. I'm planning on getting a pair in a few years once things have settled down, hopefully some big ol' dark Mt Koghis morph. I want a full planted vivarium, too, and quite enjoyed the build thread you had.
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Feb 3, 2012 16:52
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lwoodio posted:My corn was a bitey rear end in a top hat when I got him and I couldn't even hold him at all barehanded. I started handling him with rubber kitchen gloves until he tamed down. It would probably help with the thermal sensing thing as well. I have nice thick leather work gloves I use, and it works when their juvenile, but not when they're adults and have massive bird catching pincers of death. I don't mind getting bites though, it goes with the whole arboreal snake thing. They have dick written in their genetic code, but with enough handling become semi-manageable.
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Feb 3, 2012 17:37
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Apologies if this is a dumb question, but it's normal for cresties to eat less during the winter, right? I've had my female since May and up until the end of December she was eating really well and gaining about 3 grams a month on average with just CGD (I don't feed insects). The entire month of January she seemed less interested in food and has actually lost a gram, which I realize isn't anything to be worried about by itself, but she barely touches her food now. I feed her every other day and normally when I put new food in she scarfs it down - she's picky and doesn't eat leftover CGD. She weighs about 44 grams which seems healthy for her size, so maybe she's just done growing? I do have another gecko who's going through the same thing except he's not an adult. Hasn't lost weight but hasn't gained or grown any either in the last month when he was previously gaining half a gram a month (he weighs a little over 5 grams now). It has been unseasonably warm this winter, but in January there were some colder days so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. It has gotten warm again though. Basically I just want to make sure this seems normal so I can stop worrying about it and just let them do their thing if they're fine! Here are some photos:  
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Feb 3, 2012 19:19
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Yep my crested dorks all slow down in winter; even in the room I keep the babies in, with the temps up a bit, the fewer hours in sunlight/daylight that winter brings also seems to keep them from eating like they do in the summer. I drop my feedings during winter back to every 3 nights instead of every 2 because food goes to waste.
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Feb 3, 2012 21:38
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Yeah my guys have been slowing down too. Still gaining weight though, just...not cleaning out like half of their bowls like normal. Mango's finally hit 10 grams, now maybe sexing the bugger will be a little easier! I feel like I asked this in the end of the last thread but can't remember, but any goons heading to the Hamburg PA show on the 25th of this month? Hopefully I'll be making it. Tough decisions though, I can't decide what I most want to pick up! I'll either come home with a chewie, a phelsuma grandis or MAYBE a female crestie if I find one that's particularly stunning. But I also reaaaaally want to grab up one of those babies from Mrs. and Mr. Gatorbelly come shipping weather.  (at least I hope!)
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Feb 3, 2012 21:50
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Hype posted:I'd been following the last thread for months but never posted, so I figured what better way to break the ice than with photos of my new lesser siren juvie. This little guy was given to me by OneTwentySix, who has been a wealth of information on the subject of salamanders. I've had him for a little over two weeks now and have been slowly introducing a variety of different foods- so far blood worms seem to be a favorite. Awesome, glad he's doing well for you! That's a much better picture than I've been able to take; you can really see the gold flecks there. They generally lose those when they get bigger, unfortunately, though greater sirens tend to keep theirs. Awesome other herps, too! Hognoses are the best. I thought I'd share one of my friend's animals, a Necturus beyeri. Really amazing looking salamanders; I'm really jealous because Necturus is my favorite genus.   Here is one as a juvenile, and here's one as an adult.  Awesome yellow spots all over; never really expected that coloration in a salamander before. Now I wish I could get down to New Orleans so bad right now. . .
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Feb 4, 2012 05:40
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OneTwentySix posted:Awesome, glad he's doing well for you! That's a much better picture than I've been able to take; you can really see the gold flecks there. They generally lose those when they get bigger, unfortunately, though greater sirens tend to keep theirs. You know man, I'm really gonna have to make some room for a siren or some other salamander. For your lesser sirens, how finicky are they about water quality, temps, etc... I'm not terribly experienced with aquariums.
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Feb 4, 2012 06:47
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Aparantly there is supposed to be a big reptile expo in or around Denver over the weekend, but we just got a foot of snow and everthing is all borked. I really wanted to go look at these critters in person 
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Feb 4, 2012 08:19
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Big Centipede posted:You know man, I'm really gonna have to make some room for a siren or some other salamander. For your lesser sirens, how finicky are they about water quality, temps, etc... I'm not terribly experienced with aquariums. The post got a bit long; basically, the only aquarium skill involved would be to change 10% of the water if it starts to stink or film over. With common sense, they're pretty hard to kill. They can basically tolerate anything sane; they're built for survival under some really harsh conditions. You can find them as far north as Michigan and Illinois (though the Michigan population hasn't been seen for a while, even if no one's really been looking), and they thrive in southern Florida and Texas. When ponds dry up, they can form a cocoon and aestivate until the water returns; one study found that a greater siren survived like this for 5.2 years. They have lungs and can survive in areas with low dissolved oxygen, and they're tolerant of some really awful water conditions. As far as captivity, they can take anything from freezing to the mid 80s, or even low 90s. They tolerate water quality really well; you don't even need a filter, just make periodic partial water changes every week or two instead. I've kept three small Florida lesser sirens (smaller, undescribed species) in a 10 gallon tank in my kitchen for almost a year now. The only substrate is the decaying remains of some water hyacinth plants I put in there that didn't survive indoors. It's decayed into tiny brown particles that they hide in. I take out a liter or two of water once in a while and replace it with aged tap water, and they're fine and growing really well. They need a larger tank soon, though. The only way you're going to kill a siren would be if it escaped, didn't feed it for several months, you literally cooked it (100+ degree water temperature, and keep in mind that water is going to be cooler than air temps), or a large animal rotted in the tank. Western lesser sirens are trickier; they get bigger to the point that they can kill each other, but eastern lessers don't seem to have this problem. I recommend a 20 or 30 gallon tank with a screen lid, but you don't need the lid if you leave 4 or so inches between the top of the tank and the water level. Rinse out some sand or gravel from a garden store, or buy it at a pet store and use an inch or so of this as substrate. Add some small PVC pipes that are just a bit larger in diameter than the sirens for tunnels, and add some easy to keep plants like java moss, Elodea, or any floating plant with roots for them to hide in (water hyacinth, water lettuce, frog's bit, Salvinia, etc., though hyacinth doesn't survive indoors) and you're pretty well set. An airstone would help keep the water looking clean, or a small filter like this or this, though any low powered filter would work, provided it's not big or strong enough to suck smaller animals into it. You don't need all of that, but it helps. Plants and sand/gravel provide biological filtration (just don't make the gravel too deep; over 2 inches creates good conditions for anaerobic bacteria, so you'd need a filter for sure then), and a larger tank provides more space for the animal as it gets larger, and protects it from spikes in temperature/water quality, and the PVC pipes give them somewhere to hide where you can still see them, but my indoor tank doesn't have any of that, though I'm going to make a nice 20 for them soon. Feeding is easy; they're so much easier to feed than other salamanders. Dry dog food (careful that uneaten pieces don't foul the water), pieces of fake crab, shrimp, or fish, tubifex worms from a pet store, or live inverts such as Daphnia, blackworms, mosquito larvae, amphipods (scuds), or earthworms as they get bigger, they all work really well. I used to hand feed my westerns and that was neat, but they were different from easterns in a lot of ways; I haven't seen that kind of foraging in easterns, though I haven't kept any large ones indoors. Axolotls are generally recommended as a beginner salamander, and they are really easy to take care of. But they have all sorts of potential health problems (gill fungus, nipping, infections), they need live food or pellets (and some won't take pellets), they excrete a lot of ammonia and aren't very tolerant of it, and need low 70s for temperatures. Sirens really don't have any of those problems or any others, except for the larger species that need a lot of room and can kill each other and the fact that they're extremely hard to breed indoors. Basically, this was a really long post, but the only real skill involved would be to change the water if it starts to smell or film over and that only happens if you don't have anything circulating the water (which you can get from a $6 aquarium pump.) You don't need a heater, don't need a light (unless you have plants), don't even need substrate or plants (though they help and look a lot better; look at the sand in the beyeri pictures above), and you don't need any special food since any pet or grocery store will carry something they'll eat. Sirens are really neat, and pretty simple to care for. Edit: And I just found out that one of my Florida lessers is actually a greater; I went to look at my animals outside and shined in their tank beforehand. Without the flashlight, I couldn't see the difference, but he clearly has the spots and flecks of a greater siren. Makes sense why he was growing so much faster than the others, too; he's bigger than the other two despite being caught as a larva, and the other two were caught as small adults. Kinda cool, I guess; I caught him at the same site when I caught the greater, so I could possibly have a pair, though he's still snack sized compared to the other. Now I just need to get down to Florida and bring back one or two other greaters, and another lesser to round out that group, and I might be able to breed four species of siren at some point. Tried to take a picture, but I can't seem to get good photos of aquatics unless they're in a brand new aquarium with great lighting. Great sirens are better looking than lesser; they tend to have big spots and bright gold flecking. They also get pretty big (not my photos):    This guy has the coolest setup ever. He's got some fences in the water with a bunch of traps as part of a survey, and found all these in one array:  Can I have your job, please? I need to get back to Florida, or out to the Francis Marion National Forest some time. There are so many aquatic salamanders I want to find, and none of them live nearby! OneTwentySix fucked around with this message at 10:50 on Feb 4, 2012 |
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Feb 4, 2012 09:54
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OneTwentySix posted:The post got a bit long; basically, the only aquarium skill involved would be to change 10% of the water if it starts to stink or film over. With common sense, they're pretty hard to kill. Well, you have me sold on sirens over axolotls. Dogfood, worms, and roaches are in abundance here, and temps should always remain reasonable... got any left? I may have to just make room.
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Feb 4, 2012 10:53
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Pardalis would absolutely flip her poo poo for a siren, she's been talking about it for a while and the care level is way too easy to say no.... So I have a snake feeding question. My snake-loving- but- underinformed- roommate came to visit while I was helping vend geckos at the Portland Metro expo last month and literally the only time I turned my back to her, she bought an adult male BP from one of the shittiest vendors there, with no hatch date, cb/wc info, weight or feeding specs. They didn't even have a box or bag to put him in, and would've let her walk off with the snake on her arm if I hadn't raised a stink about legality and proper transport(!). All the guy said to us was that the snake was a male (since probed and is for sure) about four years old and only eating live. Guess what came home with us instead of the CBB f/t started baby from a good vendor that I had my eye on for her.  I don't want to feed live, and neither does the roomie, so we bought a pack of frozen large rat pups (he should be on adults, probably but I figured smaller meals will help transition better, am I right on this?) and plan to scent it using my pet rats, do a dance with tongs and feed in a dark container. How else can I encourage this fucker to eat f/t? Any tips and tricks from you fabulous BP owners? We've let him fast since the expo on the 21st, is this enough time to work up a ravenous appetite? We're planning to try him tonight, I hope he takes it with no issue.  Here's a picture of the snake in question futilely trying to hide his head from an iPhone:  And his temporary basic setup in a 20L (I have a 40g for him in the works):  Temps are 70-80 cool side with uth, 80-90 under basking light. I have a moist hide for shedding, but need to actually fit it in there. For something totally different, here's my current main gecko rack:  The 55 has two adult ladies in it, the exos have one juvie each, except for the one on the end with three tiny female hatchlings, soon to be separated. I've also got a sterilite and another exo in bedroom; this hobby is all-consuming and ever-expanding. The females in the 55 are being heavily monitored for signs of nipping/stress, and so far so good; they ignore each other and stay to their own areas and feeding stations. Each are downing dubias and CGD with regularity, and their temps/humidity are consistent. I'm hoping they can stay as they are, but I'm under no illusions. If they begin to stress, I have a tank waiting and am always watching closely to be sure I don't need it. They seem to enjoy the plants and space and are out being inquisitive whenever I come by to mist, so I want to believe they're happy for now.
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Feb 4, 2012 20:05
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Yikes, 4 years old? I have a horrible feeling he's one of those vendors who picks up surrenders and sells them for a profit. So...consider the snake a rescue! He's definitely in a better situation now than he was before. How are you thawing the rats? My guy's usually such a pig that he gobbles them up even if they're still wet, but not all balls are cool with that. One thing that works if he's really picky is to cut open the rat and smear some of the brain on the outside; they love that. Minor point, but I'd move the basking light so it doesn't sit directly on the mesh top. The metal can get heated, and if he's a climber, he can get burned. He's such a cute guy, all curled up there. I've always been a little for balls.
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Feb 4, 2012 22:24
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Thanks for the tip on the basking light, I'll prop it up so it's not directly on there. He doesn't climb much (since we've had him, he's either been in one hide or the other, lazy lump) but it's good to be safe, snakes are derp. I thaw stuff by popping it in a dish of warm water for a few minutes until it feels warm all the way through. My sand boas would take them wet, but I'll probably dry it with a paper towel for him, and do the wiggle dance with some tongs. Dead rat mamba! I'm wondering if I should just try to feed him in the tank rather than removing him; he's on paper towels and if he's going to be a problem eater he may not take it if I move him....hmmm. Also need name suggestions. So far we favor something ridiculous with the word 'snake' somewhere in it. He's currently being called The Snake Who Shall Not Be Named or Mayor McSnakely, sooo....we need something worse than that.
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Feb 4, 2012 22:36
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Lord Knight Impulse Buy the Six Thousandth. Call him Impulse for short.
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Feb 4, 2012 23:37
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Captain Foxy posted:Thanks for the tip on the basking light, I'll prop it up so it's not directly on there. He doesn't climb much (since we've had him, he's either been in one hide or the other, lazy lump) but it's good to be safe, snakes are derp. For my GTP, I use to have to 'brain' the F/T mouse I fed her. Basically you split their forehead open and something about a nice mouse brain exposed makes snakes go crazy. Also try feeding at night, in a dark room, as BP's normally feed at night. As far as names go, Balzac.
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Feb 5, 2012 00:05
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Braining was not something I was looking forward to, but...yeah we'll do that. Stupid roommate and her stupid non-planned snake. She also bought an '11 hatchling Mexican Black Kingsnake at the expo, but that was her planned purchase. It's eating well on pinkies like a garbage disposal, which is typical. That snake is called Captain Snakerton. So you see what I'm dealing with here.
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Feb 5, 2012 00:34
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My kids named my male lacerta Sonic the Hedgehog. I also have a Mr. Crowley (new red phase boa), and my two boas are Fry and Leela. They're too young to do it, but I think he awkwardly hits on her but never gets it right.
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Feb 5, 2012 00:44
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Captain Foxy posted:She also bought an '11 hatchling Mexican Black Kingsnake at the expo, but that was her planned purchase. It's eating well on pinkies like a garbage disposal, which is typical. That snake is called Captain Snakerton. I'm leaning toward Gilligan, but Bally Bones has a nice ring to it. (Confession: My BP's named Eric after Eric Idle...of Monty Python  )Braining's not that bad. I thought it would be a mess, but it was pretty clean, all told. Rat skulls are surprisingly strong and take some effort to crack, but it won't be gushing blood or anything.
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Feb 5, 2012 00:47
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Big Centipede posted:Well, you have me sold on sirens over axolotls. Dogfood, worms, and roaches are in abundance here, and temps should always remain reasonable... got any left? I may have to just make room. I don't mean to discourage against axies; they're still great animals and are really easy to take care of, for the most part. I'd be glad to walk you through what you need to keep one; it's not too much different from sirens or other aquatic salamanders. Sirens are just kinda crazy with their hardiness, though. I still have a few left. When I first offered them, I thought I had 4-5 left, but then found there were 14; not sure how I lost count that badly. Some of them were fairly decent sized, too, so I ended up relisting them in a few places and don't have as many left. I've got a small one that isn't really growing like I'd like it to that I could still give away, but other than that I don't have any more free animals, unfortunately. I still have some for sale, though; feel free to PM me if anyone is interested in the little guy or whatever. Tomorrow I think I'm going to clean out my dwarf siren pool. It's a huge mess; there's dead water hyacinth floating on top of everything, and all sorts of piles of algae at the surface and it's really just ugly as hell, and I almost never see the animals. I'll never find eggs in the mess as it is right now if they're old enough for breeding, and I miss the nice, clean and orderly setup I had the old pool in. So hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures tomorrow or Monday; dwarf sirens are my second favorite salamanders. I'm also in the process of setting up a Necturus punctatus (dwarf waterdog) pool, but first I'm setting it up as a Daphnia tank so there will be plenty to eat before adding any animals. Who knows, maybe a large enough population of Daphnia will be able to sustain itself against predation. It'd be really great to have punctatus breeding like the sirens, though. Dwarf waterdogs are really cute; I can only imagine how awesome a larva would be.
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Feb 5, 2012 01:05
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OneTwentySix posted:This guy has the coolest setup ever. He's got some fences in the water with a bunch of traps as part of a survey, and found all these in one array: Holy god that looks like so much fun. Want dig around in those traps so bad
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Feb 5, 2012 03:58
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