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OneTwentySix posted:Anyone keep worm snakes in captivity, or something like that? I work at a place that does outreach programs with animals and we definitely need a snake, but I want something that will never bite the kids and would need mice (just due to freezer issues and so on, though I might pitch a hognose if need be.) Any recommendations or anything to add that we might try? My first snake was a San Luis Potosi king and he never, ever bit me. I've also had a Rosy Boa that was really docile. Most of my adult corns that were handled often didn't bite as long as you didn't smell like food. Ball pythons are also a good choice because they aren't really fast and are easy for small kids to hold or touch.
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May 27, 2015 19:57
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A rosy boa would be a good choice. They're very calm and generally don't bite anything but food.
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May 27, 2015 22:16
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Yeah, a rosy boa is a far better choice than a worm snake. Who even thought that sounded good? They would need a termite colony and are almost impossible to find even in a small area. I kept one in my lab for a bit for some research and it would take me a good 3-4 minutes of rummaging to find it in a 2.5 gal tank. Pics from some recent field work:    
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May 28, 2015 01:28
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I'm a newbie to keeping reptiles and I wanted to see if you guys could tell me if my baby red eared slider's shell is looking healthy. I'm not sure how old he is, just that he's about 2 inches long. He gets fed a varied diet that is not excessive in protein, has a UVA/UVB reptile light, and a dedicated basking spot where he can get fully out of the water and with a heat lamp gets up to about 94-95 degrees in the hottest spot. I'm just very paranoid about metabolic bone disease from seeing a lot of sad pictures of horribly deformed turtles.
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May 28, 2015 06:02
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Crestie q: how do I know if Electra is
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May 28, 2015 08:39
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republicant posted:I'm a newbie to keeping reptiles and I wanted to see if you guys could tell me if my baby red eared slider's shell is looking healthy. I'm not sure how old he is, just that he's about 2 inches long. He gets fed a varied diet that is not excessive in protein, has a UVA/UVB reptile light, and a dedicated basking spot where he can get fully out of the water and with a heat lamp gets up to about 94-95 degrees in the hottest spot. I'm just very paranoid about metabolic bone disease from seeing a lot of sad pictures of horribly deformed turtles. Looks okay to me but I'm not a turt person really. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUrG8TrAOBo
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May 28, 2015 14:57
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Fraction posted:Crestie q: how do I know if Electra is Is she jumping around a lot: could be stress, could be too warm. Could just be here. Is she firing up: stress or warm. Is she biting you: that's stress or hunger. Is she making GBS threads on you: she approves of your warm and has left a warm for you.
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May 28, 2015 16:20
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Is she jumping around a lot: could be stress, could be too warm. Could just be here. She usually just climbs/jumps up to my shoulder and then chills there for a bit. Her movement is pretty slow (cooler room temp than tank temp), but her jumps are fast. She doesn't really fire up while being handled her, but when I handle her at different times of day/different days she's usually different shades. No poop yet. I'm also not 100% sure if she's eating, as I haven't seen her do at all.
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May 28, 2015 16:24
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I have to admit I had judgement about leopard geckos. I thought they were boring and kind of dumb pets. In reality they're loving adorable and are really feisty hunters. Please forgive me adorable gecko gods, these things are neat! 
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May 28, 2015 17:01
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Fraction posted:She usually just climbs/jumps up to my shoulder and then chills there for a bit. Her movement is pretty slow (cooler room temp than tank temp), but her jumps are fast. She doesn't really fire up while being handled her, but when I handle her at different times of day/different days she's usually different shades. Put a drop of honey on your fingertip and see if your crestie will lick it. Also, you're feeding some kind of gecko diet, right? Put a small amount (a few drops maybe) into a very small dish (a bottlecap maybe) and, without moving fast to startle the gecko, hold it riiiiight under her nose. See if she'll lick it. When I feed my geckos, the food is usually viscous enough that I can see lick-marks later. It's OK if the food is a bit more watery, since that keeps them hydrated, but it may also cut down on the scent a bit. If you're concerned about eating, get an accurate gram scale and weigh her every other day for a couple of weeks. If she's not losing any weight, she's probably doing fine. e. if you're feeding crickets, make sure they're no longer than the width of the gecko's head. A little smaller than that is best. Put them in when she's awake, and you will usually see a vigorous hunting response the instant she spots a cricket moving. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 17:17 on May 28, 2015 |
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May 28, 2015 17:13
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Also, here are some more photos of new stuff I got in since I sold off my pines and kings Baby Centrallian Carpet Python (my first python  ) Hypo Motely Boa constrictor het Kahl albino. I just picked up this guy over the weekend from my breeder. Barring any complications, he will be the future mate for the next snake  Hypo Boa constrictor het Kahl albino  Spot, my Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink enjoying his dog food. Yes, it is up his nose. He is a very messy eater and I have to give him a bath after meals.  And my lizard project. I have a three African Fire Skinks set up in a 4'x2'x1' cage and they are really cool little dudes. They tamed down very quickly and I can pick them up, plop them on my arm and tong feed them. I really, really like these lizards. 
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May 28, 2015 17:23
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Leperflesh posted:Put a drop of honey on your fingertip and see if your crestie will lick it. I'll try this tonight, thanks! I've been putting a bit too much water in I think (I'm feeding Repashy). I'll see if I can get a gecko weighin' scale from ebay or something. I might get some crickets this weekend. Maybe. Idk they kind of terrify me and with only one gecko, it might be a waste? Silver Nitrate posted:I have to admit I had judgement about leopard geckos. I thought they were boring and kind of dumb pets. In reality they're loving adorable and are really feisty hunters. Please forgive me adorable gecko gods, these things are neat! I've kinda always thought the same, but yours are so cute omg
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May 29, 2015 09:06
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OneTwentySix posted:Anyone keep worm snakes in captivity, or something like that? I work at a place that does outreach programs with animals and we definitely need a snake, but I want something that will never bite the kids and would need mice (just due to freezer issues and so on, though I might pitch a hognose if need be.) Any recommendations or anything to add that we might try?
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May 29, 2015 09:23
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Fraction posted:I'll try this tonight, thanks! I've been putting a bit too much water in I think (I'm feeding Repashy). I'll see if I can get a gecko weighin' scale from ebay or something. With a smaller animal you can probably get a good scale at a headshop  . I use a food scale from walmart for my dudes. These leos are so cool, their backs feel like sand and their bellies feel like velvet
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May 29, 2015 14:21
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My mom works at an elementary school and they need people to take care of the animals over the summer, so I volunteered to take care of their beardie for a few months. I'm a bit of a novice to the herp thing so I'm probably gonna be posting in here a bit later on for advice. I'm definitely going to be posting pics once I get her so I can make sure she looks healthy, because she's a couple years old but doesn't seem too large to me. She almost never gets handled so she seems pretty nervous for a beardie, but I was also in a room full of rambunctious kids, too and that's enough to stress out adult humans, let alone little lizards. I figure I'm going to have to handle her a bit to get her used to it, but not until she's gotten used to her new location. I wonder if she was the runt of the clutch because she's not 2ft long and it almost seems like the very tip of her nose is missing, as if a sibling bit her there when she was a baby. I dunno about reptiles, but being the runt of the litter often results in some more neurotic personalities for dogs and cats. Also it's possible her tank is too small and they're not feeding her properly. I dunno. Speaking of feeding, I think I'm gonna leave the crickets out on the porch because I don't want to deal with cricket stink or crickets getting loose in the apartment. This should be fine as I'm just going to care for her over the summer, right?
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May 29, 2015 18:08
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A blunted nose usually means they're pressing themselves up against the wall of their cage constantly and trying to climb/dig out. It's usually a sign of either too small of an enclosure or stress. Stress can also cause stunted growth, so I'm guessing all her issues come from living in a classroom. They also might not have the right kind of UVB lighting for her, with can cause bone development issues. Depending on where you live, the crickets might die if you leave them outside all the time. If you're in "normal" climate areas they'll probably be fine, but if you live in a place that gets too hot or cold they might not make it. If you bring them inside cricket stink won't really be an issue assuming you're only getting a few dozen at a time, but some are going to get loose in your apartment no matter how careful you are.
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May 30, 2015 03:39
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Knormal posted:A blunted nose usually means they're pressing themselves up against the wall of their cage constantly and trying to climb/dig out. It's usually a sign of either too small of an enclosure or stress. Stress can also cause stunted growth, so I'm guessing all her issues come from living in a classroom. They also might not have the right kind of UVB lighting for her, with can cause bone development issues. I live in NC. It gets a little hot and humid here. That stuff you said makes me really sad.  I wondered if her enclosure was too small. I'm pretty sure my mom told me they had a gecko up front... who died because they were using a heat rock. And my mom told them that was a bad idea and they did it anyway. I kind of got the feeling that these animals weren't being cared for properly.They do have a heat lamp for her, but I'm not sure if it's proper UVB or not. I know beardies need UVB light to survive and if they don't get it, they get super hosed up. She's also in a sandy enclosure which worries me a bit because I know if they eat sand, they can get impaction and die.
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May 30, 2015 04:32
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May I present for your approval, Dickhead.
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Jun 1, 2015 17:12
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A very apt name for a carpet.
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Jun 1, 2015 17:16
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Totally thought that was just paracord and got very confused as to why you would name an inanimate object
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Jun 1, 2015 17:58
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 pissy gecko alert  DSC_8919 by straygiraffe, on Flickr  DSC_8928 by straygiraffe, on Flickr  DSC_8929 by straygiraffe, on Flickr
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Jun 1, 2015 21:20
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Honey, my big pastel ball python, laid 8 eggs last week. She paired with two.different males (pinstripe and lesser pastel) so I have no idea what might hatch out.
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Jun 3, 2015 10:26
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Drinking problem? What drinking problem? 
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Jun 3, 2015 17:25
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Ugh, my RodentPro order came in nasty as gently caress this time. They're sending me new ones, like right now, but I'm not risking it again on future orders. Oh god that smell
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Jun 3, 2015 19:46
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RodentPro has been getting worse lately. My last bag of pups had so many poops in it. I switched to Big Cheese and they were a lot less stanky.
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Jun 5, 2015 03:59
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Oh god, the smell of rotten rodents.  I've been using Big Cheese for a while now. The rodents I've gotten were clean, smelled fresh, and nicely packed in flat rows on styrofoam trays.
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Jun 5, 2015 10:48
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Silver Nitrate posted:With a smaller animal you can probably get a good scale at a headshop Ha, so I ordered a scale and... only her body fits on, not her tail.  I managed to convince her to stay still long enough to weigh her, and she's 0.81. Is that about normal? She'll be uhhhhh about four-five months I guess by now.
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Jun 5, 2015 10:56
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I've ordered a few times from Perfect Prey and it's all be good quality.
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Jun 5, 2015 12:20
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Fraction posted:Ha, so I ordered a scale and... only her body fits on, not her tail. Is that kg? Because if so she's fine. If that's just normal grams your gecko is about to disappear. Also her tail doesn't have to be on it. I use Glacier Rodents because I'm close by, but man his stuff is awesome.
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Jun 5, 2015 15:07
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Fraction posted:Ha, so I ordered a scale and... only her body fits on, not her tail. Get a plastic tub or something, put it on the scale, and push the tare/re-zero button. Now you can add gecko to container safely. And weight is usually given in grams. I think that might be 0.81 ounces, which is about 23 grams, which based on memory, so please check this would be a decent weight for a 10 or 11 month old crested gecko? How old is yours? A full grown crestie is around 35 grams, but they vary a fair amount in fullgrown size so don't freak out if you're a bit behind "expected" weight. The key thing will be to weigh her once or twice a week to see if her weight is steadily growing, stable, or dropping. e. Oh and bear in mind that sexually mature females will lay eggs occasionally, which will correspond to a sudden drop in weight from just before they were laid. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Jun 5, 2015 |
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Jun 5, 2015 20:31
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Fraction posted:Ha, so I ordered a scale and... only her body fits on, not her tail. Dunno why you ordered a scale, she seems to have plenty already 
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Jun 5, 2015 23:47
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My royal is going into shed with me a second time, and again.. it's bad. I feel awful. The humidity is usually a stable 60-70%, but I bumped it up to 85% when I saw she was in blue. I put in a water bowl big enough for her to sit in, I've lightly misted her and the aspen substrate every day or so (not particularly needed to be honest because the humidity was consistently 85%). I took her out of her warm hide today to check how she was getting on, and she was SO dry and crinkly! She had a line running horizontally down her body that suggested dehydration and I'm devastated and confused. How could be possibly be so dehydrated? She eats wetted rats weekly (except she missed a feed because she was in blue and didn't want it), she has two water sources to drink from and I've SEEN her drink this week.. she gets misted, too, so what the hell is going on? All I can guess is that because she's spent most of her time in her warm hide during this shed she's just dried herself out being in there and not leaving to drink as much as she should? But why? Ambient temp is 25 and warm side is 32, normally she relocates several times throughout the day between her warm and cold hides but during shed she's just stayed in her warm hide from what I could see. I've never seen her rubbing against the rough rock or branch in her tub, does she not like.. know what to do? Is that possible? I'm baffled and upset that I seem to still be doing something wrong. Help! e: I gave her a bath for a while and put her back on sprayed substrate, left her alone a while and now she has shed everything except her head (which she's close to getting off), so I'm much happier now. No idea why she got so dry in the first place 
Build-a-Boar fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Jun 7, 2015 |
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Jun 7, 2015 15:48
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So remember this guy I got a few weeks ago?  Yesterday night I looked in his cage and he was gone. He's still under quarantine so I have him in a 10 gallon terrarium with a screen lid for a few more weeks until I'm sure he's clean, but his basking rock takes him up close enough to be able to jump up to the top, evidently he got sick of the small accommodations. I cut a hole in the screen lid for easy cricket access, but I had it covered by the UVB fixture, so I figured he either wedged his way out a corner by lifting the screen or made it to the hole then somehow managed to get out from under the UVB. I looked around for half an hour or so with no luck, so this morning I set my alarm to get up early since like most lizards these guys are most active in the morning, and found him basking on a stack of books in a sun beam about two feet from his cage. After a brief chase all around my apartment I got him back in his cage, put a rock on top of the screen to hold it down, and went back to bed. Then later this afternoon I looked in his cage and he was gone again. This time I found him behind a bookshelf, so after another chase around my apartment it was time for him to hang out in a Tupperware for a while (with air holes of course) while I set out to seal up his cage. After securing his lid with some sticky-back velcro strips and covering the feeding hole with phone books I put him back in the cage. Twenty minutes or so later I went back to see what he was doing, and found him hanging from the screen near the hole. It took him no time at all to head back to his escape path. So to summarize, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKRnEOUxZm0&t=48s
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Jun 8, 2015 06:54
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 Does anyone know if these are uvb bulbs? We got them for our reptile setup in my store but i couldn't find anything about the bulbs online. Companion habitats website doesn't seem to have bulbs [or i couldn't find them) and part number search came up as nothing. Thus is kind of an issue because apparently there's no order forms for uvb bulbs through the company website.
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Jun 8, 2015 23:46
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So I got the beardie I'm taking care of over the summer for my mom's school. Taking a peek:  She looks a little skinny to me:  It's hard to see on my crappy camera, but she has a little yellow spot on her nose:  She's pressing up against her glass, and that has me a little worried. Is her tank too small, or is she just stressed getting used to a new place? She's a bit jumpy.   Also, I know that sand is a terrible substrate for beardies and they can get impaction if they eat it. I'm going to have to change that out. I also kinda fed her too many crickets today and when I got back from dinner, her rear end in a top hat opened up and she took a huge poo poo. There was a little white goo along with her brown poo and I was worried she was laying eggs at first, as she's done that in the past. I think I'm going to resist the temptation to take her out for a little while and just let her get used to her new surroundings and hopefully relax a bit. Edit: also I need to go out and get her a UVB bulb because I doubt hers is. I'm not exactly sure how old she is, but she's a couple years old and is roughly a foot long. GET IN THE ROBOT fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Jun 9, 2015 |
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Jun 9, 2015 01:27
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Are you just feeding crickets? What are you dusting them with?
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Jun 9, 2015 06:10
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I just got her in last night. They seemed to mostly feed her crickets (which isn't the best diet for an adult) but they also gave me some fruit and veggie mix. The crickets have flunker's high calcium cricket diet and some orange gel cube things. I need to get some more today as I kinda fed her too many by accident. Also I need to get a thermometer, a UVB bulb (as I'm not sure the one they gave me is) and maybe some proper substrate.
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Jun 9, 2015 11:57
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I need to transport my milk snake (I'm moving home) so he'll need to put up with a 2.5 hour journey by van. Will he be alright if I just keep him in his little vivarium, minus the water and heating pad?
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Jun 9, 2015 14:31
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Gammatron 64 posted:I just got her in last night. They seemed to mostly feed her crickets (which isn't the best diet for an adult) but they also gave me some fruit and veggie mix. The crickets have flunker's high calcium cricket diet and some orange gel cube things. I need to get some more today as I kinda fed her too many by accident. What's the fruit and veggie mix look like? Pellets? Yoshimo posted:I need to transport my milk snake (I'm moving home) so he'll need to put up with a 2.5 hour journey by van. Will he be alright if I just keep him in his little vivarium, minus the water and heating pad? Your snake will be fine. When I transport my reptiles across the US (or across the world like that one time thanks military!) I feed the week before I leave, fast them the week we're traveling and get them set up temporarily then feed the following week. Haven't had an issue yet and I've kinda been doing this a while. Two and a half hours is nothing. He might wallop himself in the face if you leave him in his viv. I'd probably toss him in a pillowcase, zip a delicates laundry bag around him, zip tie it under the knot altogether, then settle him somewhere out of the line of a/c but still somewhere cool and dark.
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Jun 9, 2015 16:11
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:What's the fruit and veggie mix look like? Pellets? Nah, it's like a bag with little chopped up bits in it. Looks like chopped up carrots and green beans. It's this stuff: http://www.petsmart.com/reptile/food/all-living-things-dried-reptile-food-mix-zid36-21544/cat-36-catid-500004
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Jun 9, 2015 16:54
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