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Rita's really pretty! Is she a granite morph? Speaking of ball pythons, I have 6 eggs in the incubator right now from a pinstripe x yellowbelly pairing. They're on day 34, looking good so far. Edit: Sorry for table breaking, the post looked fine on the Awful app. 
snake and bake fucked around with this message at 13:03 on Jun 22, 2014 |
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Jun 5, 2014 12:45
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My little hoggy is finally eating regularly now that it's warmed up, and he's grown a little but he's still a shrimp. He loves to sit on my desk and watch me paint. He's such a polar opposite from my corn snake, who's into everything the moment I take him out. Ouro here can sit in the same spot for literal hours and just hang like it's nothing. He was a little scared of is.. erm... 'girlfriend' there at first, flaring out his hood and even hissing at 'her' until he realized she was a bracelet. 
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Jun 6, 2014 01:54
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I've had my hatchling RES turtles for about 5 months now and I think one of them might have developed metabolic bone disease. He basks all the time and is generally unresponsive if I come near. It's been getting worse the past week or so - so much so that I picked him up to check out if he would respond. It took a minute or so for him to wake up and I noticed the bottom of his shell was really soft - like I could press it in. There was also some slight bluish discoloration and it looks a little bit 'wrinkled.' I've been supplementing calcium through cuttlebone since I got them, but I have never actually seen Walter eat any. I tried breaking it up into smaller pieces yesterday and he did eat a few pieces. Is there anything I can do to try to help him beyond trying to encourage him to eat the broken up bits? He's too small to force feed, and now today he is refusing the little bits of soft cuttlebone I put in the tank. This isn't a problem with my other RES Jesse, who ate it happily and always takes a dive for the water as soon as I come near. His shell also isn't soft like Walter, so I know they can consume the calcium, but for whatever reason, Walter just won't. We do have a UVB light that is coming up on being replaced but it should be good for a month or so. Water temp is 78-81 depending on air temp, basking temp is low to mid 90's.
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Jun 8, 2014 19:21
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Is the calcium block your only calcium source or are you supplementing any food too? Because if the calcium block is all you have, I could see MBD possibly being a problem, but it would affect the other turtle too. Sounds like a different issue to me. If you can get the little guy into a vet just for a checkup, I would, but keep in mind: young turtles sometimes do not thrive, for whatever reason, and some will die, no matter what you do. This is part of the reason why most reputable retailers refuse to sell turtles/tortoises until they're at least two-three years old. RES have massive, massive egg deposits, and it is expected that 25-50% will die before reaching maturity, even in captive care. It's a real bummer, and I hope that's not the case. But hey, fwiw, sometimes turtles just get used to you, man. Sometimes they're just lazy or dumb and don't care if you see them because, hey, you might have food. You appear to be doing just about everything right in terms of care, so I honestly would be surprised if there was something wrong. Check with a vet, but you're probably fine. Captain Foxy fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Jun 12, 2014 |
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Jun 12, 2014 03:38
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Thanks for the reply. As far as calcium goes, I have pellets that have some in them too. Not sure what % - they are ReptoMin hatchling pellets. I also had a few dissolvable things I'd put in too that would slowly dissolve over a few weeks, and fresh dark greens. I haven't taken him to a vet and I am not sure I want to spend the money at this point. He hasn't really moved in two days. I think he is on his last throes. Since he's so small I feel like it'd be hard to accurately diagnose/treat anything he might have. I can tell Jesse has gotten used to me, yeah - he'll jump off when I approach if he is basking (as he should) but then pretty much immediately swim towards me and beg for food. He doesn't really seem too bothered if I pick him up to clean the tank, either. When we first got them they'd hide after any handling for hours - now he just comes back up and asks for food soon as I put him back in the tank. It's terrifically endearing. Walter never adapted to being captive in the same way. He always seemed stressed out and he'd always hide. Maybe that had something to do with it? In any case, I am keeping him isolated for now in a separate container within the tank (slightly off from the basking lamp, keeping the water/air temp beneath it low-mid 80's). I will see how it goes the next few days but I feel like he is just slowly dying. Sucks, but I just don't see how a vet would help with how bad off he already seems to be.
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Jun 13, 2014 04:01
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As a side note, I've started an SA Mart thread in case anyone is interested in buying some of my crested gecko hatchlings holdbacks from last year.
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Jun 13, 2014 07:26
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Captain Foxy posted:As a side note, I've started an SA Mart thread in case anyone is interested in buying some of my crested gecko hatchlings holdbacks from last year. Man I wish I could justify buying one.  They're so freaking cute. Definitely when I move out.
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Jun 13, 2014 13:13
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Dracneir posted:In any case, I am keeping him isolated for now in a separate container within the tank (slightly off from the basking lamp, keeping the water/air temp beneath it low-mid 80's). I will see how it goes the next few days but I feel like he is just slowly dying. Sucks, but I just don't see how a vet would help with how bad off he already seems to be. Some hatchlings up until a year of age have softer plastrons, so that may not be indicative of anything. For now (and probably forever, if we are being honest), reptomin should be fine as a primary diet, but it is considered to be too high in protein. Not as much of an issue for hatchlings, but you should consider switching to hikari or mazuri pellets in the future. I believe Omega One is well regarded too.
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Jun 13, 2014 15:07
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Got a ball python today. Named it Thulsa Doom.
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Jun 15, 2014 01:23
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Ramsus posted:Got a ball python today. Named it Thulsa Doom. You should post a picture! In fact, you should all should post more pictures. I love looking at everyone's awesome herps.  Edit: To contribute, here's my newest ball python. She's a butter and possibly a specter too. 
snake and bake fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Jun 22, 2014 |
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Jun 22, 2014 13:13
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My wife and I live in El Salvador and the other day we came across this guy in the middle of the road:  (when he's out of his shell he has a spotted head. I think he's nocturnal as well) From some googling around I think he's a scorpion mud turtle Anyone want to correct me? Anyhow we're thinking about digging out a pen in our yard for the little guy. Does anyone here have any advice about how we should design the pen or special precautions we should know about caring for this guy?
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Jun 23, 2014 02:53
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Put him back on the other side of the road where you found him and leave him alone, dude.
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Jun 26, 2014 06:10
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It doesn't appear to be listed on CITES, but that does not mean the turtle isn't locally threatened. Generally it's a bad idea to try to keep a wild-caught animal when you have no idea about its health, the status of the local population, or the specifics of its needs. A brief googling suggests this is a carniverous turtle, so it would want live prey. Do you have access to an exotic animal veterenarian? Put all that together and I agree with FB. If you want a pet turtle, look into captive-bred species from reputable vendors, and maybe focus on those that can be easily fed fruits and vegetables.
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Jun 26, 2014 08:41
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Check red cheeked mud turtles and see if his head looks like that. His plastron (bottom) looks wrong for a scorpion mud turtle. They can't hinge like that according to what I'm reading.
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Jun 26, 2014 15:03
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CHARLES posted:Anyhow we're thinking about digging out a pen in our yard for the little guy. Does anyone here have any advice about how we should design the pen or special precautions we should know about caring for this guy?
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Jun 26, 2014 15:30
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Leperflesh posted:It doesn't appear to be listed on CITES, but that does not mean the turtle isn't locally threatened. Generally it's a bad idea to try to keep a wild-caught animal when you have no idea about its health, the status of the local population, or the specifics of its needs. A brief googling suggests this is a carniverous turtle, so it would want live prey. Do you have access to an exotic animal veterenarian? Yeah after asking around some other places this is what I settled on. I released him back near a bog by the house. Hopefully a local doesn't come across him though because here in El Salvador any animal big enough to put in a soup gets snatched up and eaten or sold.
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Jun 26, 2014 16:43
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If you were going to build a turtle-suitable enclosure, why not try building a turtle-suitable habitat and see if you can attract some turtles to your backyard on their own?
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Jun 26, 2014 17:58
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Hi. I recently got a juvenile California king snake (some kind of striped amelanistic morph). I've been feeding her once a week on a thawed pinky mouse but it seems like she gets hungry a lot earlier than that, just judging by her behavior. Can I give her a second pinkie during feeding time if she takes the first one? Would it be better to feed her every four days or so? I don't want to over feed her.
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Jun 26, 2014 18:32
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Bullseye the ball python, happy snake. Not a happy rat. And with his very proud owner.  So, a question on this, how often should he shed? We've had two now and only about a month apart which seems a bit excessive. He is getting a rat a week but should we be reducing that to every two weeks now? He is around a year old and has never ignored food.
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Jun 26, 2014 22:07
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Ryoshi posted:Hi. I recently got a juvenile California king snake (some kind of striped amelanistic morph). I've been feeding her once a week on a thawed pinky mouse but it seems like she gets hungry a lot earlier than that, just judging by her behavior. Can I give her a second pinkie during feeding time if she takes the first one? Would it be better to feed her every four days or so? I don't want to over feed her. Nothing wrong with two a week. Babies tend to eat more than adults overall.
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Jun 26, 2014 22:33
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Photo Dump! Cleaning day meant picture day. Ball Pythons (all named after Archer characters)  Pam (unsure of genetics, probably just a normal but she seems to have a cool pattern so who knows, maybe she will give me some pretty babies)  Archer (mojave)  Lana, showing us what a 'ball' python should look like. (pastel)  Mallory. Wouldn't sit still for a good pic. (normal)  Cheryl (mojave)  Katya (pastel)  Ana (mojave)  Woodhouse (bumblebee) Other Snakes  Alice. She is a total bitch and rarely tolerates handling. Hence the crappy photo. She is a Nicaraguan boa.  Lucy, aka SPAZZ. She is super flighty still. I was always told they are super mellow but perhaps she is just going to need some time. Anery kenyan sand boa.  Seven. Dumerils boa. My pride and joy, Ditty. She's still growing a lot. I have recently been able to get my hands on rabbits so I think she will start gaining girth as well as length. The sweetest snake I have ever owned. Lets my dog lick her (don't know why my dog does that). She goes with me to the reptile place or petco a lot and has no problems being handled. I love showing people that snakes don't have to be scary. She's my little educational snake. 
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Jun 27, 2014 00:39
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I went to the MN Reptile Expo and there was the cutest little Texas bull snake there, so I had to bring it home. The guy said this one is 7 months old. The scales are just so pretty. :3
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Jun 28, 2014 18:48
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We adopted a 4-year-old Beardie a few weeks ago, some people were moving out West and didn't want to stress him out by taking him along so we gladly took up the challenge. Since we've had him, he tends to glass surf a lot. A little more this weekend since I just finished building him a bigger enclosure as he's probably getting used to it. He's about 13-14 inches too long and he was in a 55 gallon enclosure when we got him, so we assumed that he might be a little stressed and cramped but he's still surfing. His new enclosure is a big 120 gallon melamine thing I made. When we take him out and let him run around the apartment - assuming his surfing meant he wanted to get out - typically he'll find some out of the way spot, flatten himself out with his nose in a corner and go to sleep. He has a little cave to hide in in his enclosure, the temps are 105 on the basking spot and 89 on the other side - I'm hoping that's an adequate gradient. He has stuff to climb on although he typically just goes from a short basking after eating to dashing back and forth at the front. Is there anything I could be overlooking as a cause of his stress? Should I give him more hides in his enclosure, somewhere else for him to hunker down and sleep? I don't like the idea that the little guy isn't happy.
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Jul 2, 2014 22:32
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What sort of cage enrichment do you have? He could also be confused by the large size. My blue tongue skink also has a 150 gallon tank (I had to throw that into a calculator, my tank's 6' long, 30" wide and 16" tall for anyone else wondering how big a 150 gallon tank is) and sometimes the open tank walls (The glass facing the walls/the rest of the room) seem to confuse/freak him out. For a while he was burrowing into the corners and into the edges of the tank. I haven't been able to do this yet (And he's stopped for the most part) but people on other herp forums recommended getting a background for the tank back and sides, like those cork tiles or something and it should reduce stress. Our quick fix was draping scarves around the edges he seems to nosedive for first, and he stopped. Ymmv though of course. edit: Another thing you mentioned were the hides... If you have one on the hot side and one on the cold side it should be sufficient, but I think beardies like things to jump off too. (Correct me if I'm wrong on this, experts!) A good thing to do is to have a hide placed directly under his heat lamp so he's got a warm place to hide, and a warm place closer to the lamp. (If your wattage allows) You can make DIY hides decent for this purpose out of PVC and ceramic/natural stone tiles. Here's my buddy right after shedding I've been meaning to post: 
Clavietika fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Jul 3, 2014 |
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Jul 3, 2014 00:28
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Cthulhuite posted:We adopted a 4-year-old Beardie a few weeks ago, some people were moving out West and didn't want to stress him out by taking him along so we gladly took up the challenge. Since we've had him, he tends to glass surf a lot. A little more this weekend since I just finished building him a bigger enclosure as he's probably getting used to it. He's about 13-14 inches too long and he was in a 55 gallon enclosure when we got him, so we assumed that he might be a little stressed and cramped but he's still surfing. His new enclosure is a big 120 gallon melamine thing I made. 89 on the cool side is far, far too hot. You want 70-75 tops. That dashing back and forth is classic lizard 'poo poo poo poo I'M TOO HOT poo poo' behavior. Also, just one hide cave? Remember, more cage furniture = more enrichment and less stress. Add some hides and see if you can fix your gradient.
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Jul 3, 2014 18:32
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Got an adorable little crestie today! He seems to be settling in okay, however I've got a question. The reptile store I got him from gave me a care sheet that is recommending temps of 80-86 degrees and feeding 4-6 crickets daily. It seems they recommended feeding them the diet once a week too which seems odd, is this wrong?
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Jul 4, 2014 20:19
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All of that is ridiculously wrong and your gecko is going to develop MBD and death if you do that. The latter probably before the former just because of temperature. http://www.pangeareptile.com/store/crested-gecko-care-sheet-en.html http://www.gorgeousgecko.com/crested-gecko-care-sheet.html http://www.moonvalleyreptiles.com/crested-geckos/care For the record, I don't bother with lightning with my geckos. E: You were in here before and you asked for advice. Hit the little ? under your avatar and you can go back to when you came in and asked us before. That way you can see what we said back in May without having to scroll through the thread.
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Jul 4, 2014 21:01
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Take petstore advice like fitness advice: With a HUGE grain of salt if they're trying to sell you something. LLL Reptiles has a couple videos on blue tongue skinks and they advise against dog food and tell people to use turtle/monitor chows that are full of soy protein... So their logic being that it's not formulated for reptiles/reptiles don't eat "that" in the wild goes right out the window. edit: VVV I know how you feel, the reptile store in my city is terrible; my desire to support local businesses is trumped by how rude and disrespectful they are to their customers. I can't really comment on their husbandry advice because I didn't ask for it... Because they're rude. Clavietika fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Jul 4, 2014 |
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Jul 4, 2014 21:12
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:All of that is ridiculously wrong and your gecko is going to develop MBD and death if you do that. The latter probably before the former just because of temperature. Oh, I completely forgot about that feature, thanks! I remembered the advice about heating but wasn't sure about anything else. I asked because the store I went to are reptile specialists and reputable enough, I didn't think they would just give out false info, but apparently this caresheet is for the leopard geckos on their site so I guess I know not to shop there for reptiles again.
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Jul 4, 2014 21:40
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Octolady posted:Oh, I completely forgot about that feature, thanks! I remembered the advice about heating but wasn't sure about anything else. I asked because the store I went to are reptile specialists and reputable enough, I didn't think they would just give out false info, but apparently this caresheet is for the leopard geckos on their site so I guess I know not to shop there for reptiles again. http://www.anapsid.org/leopardgek.html Their information is not the right information for leos either. But at least it's a bit closer. They sound like they probably shouldn't be called "reptile experts". Leopard geckos and crested geckos are absolutely nothing alike. Leopard geckos eat insects. Cresties eat fruit and the occasional insect. Leos live in high plains/desert-ish area in the middle east. Cresteds are from a tropical island. They're not even the same suborder when it comes to biological stuff (technically). To put it bluntly? Lions and house cats are more closely related than leopard geckos and crested geckos are related in terms of care.
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Jul 4, 2014 23:40
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Beardie update! I managed to get the cooler side down to about 82, but we're having a crazy hot period here on the east coast right now so everything is crazy warm. I also set up some more things for him to run around on in the enclosure, and I haven't seem him glass surfing in two days so i'm taking that as a good sign! I've just built a little basking platform and ramp which i'll be putting in there shortly, just to give him more stuff to pretend he can't climb and then randomly hop up onto like he's made of springs when he thinks I'm not watching. I'll take some pictures of his enclosure and his fat little belly this weekend too.
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Jul 5, 2014 00:40
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82 is still too high. Can you raise your heating source(s) further away from the tank? The only other alternative is using a smaller wattage heat source, but since your basking zone temps are perfect (105) you don't want to affect that. Thermogradients are a pain in the rear end to regulate. Re: cresties, lol absolutely do not treat them the way the pet store described unless you want a dead crestie really really bad. FB posted some good caresheets but basically for cresties you want: -70-80 temps (room temp is ideal), with drops to 60-65 acceptable, but anything over 85/under 60 will be fatal. -mist once daily, provide water dish -CGD (crested gecko diet from either Pangea or Repashy, anything else is poo poo) three times weekly for adults, every day/every other day alternating with insects for juveniles/hatchlings. Mix the powder with water until the consistency of runny baby food, feed a dime/quarter sized amount depending on age. Dust and gutload insects like crickets, dubia roaches, waxworms, black soldier fly larvae, etc, and feed at least three times weekly. Remember: variety is key. Feeding ONLY crickets or mealworms or etc is going to cause issues, so change it up as often as possible. -Don't grab by the tail. -At least 20g of space per gecko -Housing multiple females together is possible, but remember it's for your benefit, not theirs. Reptiles aren't like dogs and cats and don't enjoy or need each other's company, and are very territorial, solitary creatures. They can even stress and harass another to death and you won't see it happening until it's too late, so if you want more than one in the same enclosure, keep in mind that you do so at your own risk. -Lighting is unnecessary, potentially even harmful if it adds heat to the tank. They're nocturnal and won't benefit from it.
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Jul 5, 2014 02:08
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Captain Foxy posted:82 is still too high. Can you raise your heating source(s) further away from the tank? The only other alternative is using a smaller wattage heat source, but since your basking zone temps are perfect (105) you don't want to affect that. Thermogradients are a pain in the rear end to regulate. 82 is with the main white light off (10.0 UV is on the left, basking is in the right) and a small fan blowing through the vent on that side. It's ridiculously warm here right now. Could I freeze a bottle of water and put that in on that side wrapped in a towel? Any other ways I can bring the temperature down on that one side?
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Jul 5, 2014 02:29
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My wee little hoglet finally moved up to hoppers last night. I wasn't sure if he was going to be able to or not, and almost took it from him but he managed after a little bit of wiggling with it. After I think he went into a food coma because he sat there for a few minutes, when he normally imideately goes under his water dish to sleep it off. Meanwhile, my corn snake, Kyoshi, continues to be a cartoon googly eyed monster. 
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Jul 5, 2014 02:33
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:http://www.anapsid.org/leopardgek.html Yeah I figured, pretty disappointing I have no idea really where they got this. Earlier my crestie had buried himself right under the substrate and I panicked and thought he was dead. I probably did the wrong thing and tried to remove him since he felt really cold. It took forever to prod him gently into action, though he did leap away and appeared fine afterwards. I read after its normal for them to bury themselves but staying so still for so long? I think he may be too cold...my thermo is reading 18C but I'm pretty sure there's no way that's right. Ugh, I'm such a worrier
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Jul 5, 2014 02:49
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Unless you have a few hides I wouldn't be surprised to see him hiding in the substrate. My idiots try to all the time. But I use paper towels so it doesn't really work. He's still settling in and 18C isn't too cold, really. It's on the colder side but he's fine unless he's sick from the store.
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Jul 5, 2014 04:18
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Cthulhuite posted:82 is with the main white light off (10.0 UV is on the left, basking is in the right) and a small fan blowing through the vent on that side. It's ridiculously warm here right now. Definitely try it. You'll need to come up with a more permanent solution eventually, though.
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Jul 5, 2014 05:45
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Hey guys, I need some help buying bulbs. I have this light unit from exo terra, in the PT 2239 T8/T10 2x40w model. Can I use these bulbs with it? They're 30 watt, I was wondering if I had to use 40 watt or if I could use UP TO 40 watt. Thanks!
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Jul 6, 2014 00:06
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Crested geckos sleep during the day usually, so if you're checking the gecko out during the day time you would expect him to be basically torpid. As a reptile it's also going to have a body temperature the same as the surrounding temperature, so it will almost always feel cool to the touch. Mine take a while to wake up if I need to disturb one during the day too. One of my cresties likes to "get up early", I usually see her wandering about before it has actually gotten dark, I guess she's just an early riser. Another one is rarely up before about 11pm or so. While they're sleeping, all of my cresties like to bury themselves under the sphagnum moss I use as substrate (I like to put down at least a two-inch-thick layer, which gives them lots of nice bedding, acts as a shock absorber when they launch themselves at the bottom to catch a bug, and sphagnum moss is anti-fungal, anti-biotic, and does a good job re-releasing moisture to prolong humidity after I mist). Sometimes they sleep in the foilage of a plant instead, or just stretch out on the back of the glass, so it seems like they like to pick different spots for snoozing during the day. Clavietika posted:Hey guys, I need some help buying bulbs. I have this light unit from exo terra, in the PT 2239 T8/T10 2x40w model. Can I use these bulbs with it? They're 30 watt, I was wondering if I had to use 40 watt or if I could use UP TO 40 watt. With all light fixtures, the watt rating of the fixture is a maximum. You can always use a lower-wattage bulb. As an aside, that's a listing from Josh's Frogs, which is a reputable online retailer. You can also buy those bulbs directly from his website, for the same price, which is a nice way to avoid the merchant having to pay eBay fees. I know some folks who have bought dart frogs from him with good results. They don't sell geckos, but they've got enough expertise with herps in general that I'd be comfortable buying any reptile stuff from them too.
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Jul 6, 2014 20:45
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Thanks everyone I think I needed as much time to settle in as this little guy... He's still sticking to one corner of the viv, if he moves I never see him do it, and he stays curled up in his leaves most of the time. He is a lovely banana yellow at night though, and a total cutie. As far as I can tell the temps and humidity are good and he seems alert if not moving. This is probably a dumb question too but, is it fine to move the crestie to clean his tank during the settling period? I'd imagine moving him to clean it temporarily would just stress him out more. What's the best way I could do this? I also want to move him off the repti bark that was put in his viv onto paper towel if this wouldn't bother him.
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Jul 6, 2014 23:50
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