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FreshFeesh posted:One of our two fat-tailed geckos has recently had a voracious appetite; instead of the normal 3-5 medium worms every two to three days, she’s now eating upwards of ten a day, and this behavior has gone on for almost a week. Is she preggers?
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Mar 20, 2019 14:40
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She’s been solo for the past year so I sure hope not! I don’t know if I could handle having baby lizard Jesus in my hands.
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Mar 20, 2019 16:28
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Would be fun if those geckos can store sperm and fertilize eggs at a later date. I am sure someone who's not just in the thread for pics can answer you that. (I kinda want an uromastyx ornata but lack the space)
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Mar 21, 2019 10:20
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I've heard that geckos will sometimes lay unfertilized eggs. It could be she's got something in the works, or thinks she does? Maybe it's the changing weather that's provoked a change in appetite? How big is she? If she's not yet between 7 - 9 inches, she may still have some growing to do. Maybe she just wants to be fat all over.
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Mar 21, 2019 15:44
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Ball python breeder weighing in. Spider balls are hosed up and should not be bred. I've been saying this for YEARS. I remember when spiders were new and still selling for thousands. Breeders kept quiet about spider wobble for way too long. Even long after it became common knowledge, so many breeders would deny it or try to argue about it. Spiders are my dipstick for judging breeders. If someone breeds spiders, they obviously care more about profit or appearance than the health of their snakes. I have zero respect for that. A truly responsible breeder who wants to produce healthy snakes would never breed a morph with a very well-known and completely unavoidable neurological defect.
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Mar 21, 2019 15:52
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FreshFeesh posted:She’s been solo for the past year so I sure hope not! I don’t know if I could handle having baby lizard Jesus in my hands. There are a number of reptiles that can have virgin births - it's called parthenogenesis. Most lizards aren't known to do it, but I've heard of monitors and a handful of other species where the female will produce a viable offspring from an unfertilized egg - essentially she gives birth to a twin. There are a handful of species that are obligate parthenogenetics, with all female species. One common species in the pet trade that does occasionally have parthenogenetic births are ball pythons - it's just extremely rare. We actually had this happen at the science center I work at, and there were two babies that hatched. Unfortunately, one didn't make it and the other one got stolen, but it was a pretty neat experience.
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Mar 21, 2019 16:02
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snake and bake posted:Spiders are my dipstick for judging breeders. If someone breeds spiders, they obviously care more about profit or appearance than the health of their snakes. I have zero respect for that.
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Mar 21, 2019 16:58
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OneTwentySix posted:There are a number of reptiles that can have virgin births - it's called parthenogenesis. Most lizards aren't known to do it, but I've heard of monitors and a handful of other species where the female will produce a viable offspring from an unfertilized egg - essentially she gives birth to a twin. There are a handful of species that are obligate parthenogenetics, with all female species. You can get parthenogenic geckos fairly easily and I assume they’re as annoying to keep as they sound. Also, technically parthenogenic organisms give birth to clones. 
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Mar 21, 2019 17:03
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I don't know for fat-tailed geckos, but cresties can store sperm for years, and also unbred females lay infertile eggs regularly.
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Mar 21, 2019 18:03
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dwarf74 posted:Speaking of ball python breeders, the time to buy my son his first ball python has finally arrived. I just got in touch with a small hobbyist breeder in Tinley Park IL and we'll be heading up to pick one out this coming weekend. I'm very glad we're getting a snake from a breeder instead of a local pet store, as this thread recommended. (This guy isn't doing any crazy stuff, by all appearances.) The issue isn’t crazy stuff, the issue is breeding sound gene lines, not breeding for risky morphs like spider, and not inbreeding. If you’re gonna buy from a hobbyist at their own home, make sure to grill them on the snake lineage. Ask to see the parents and ask where they got them from. A good snake breeder is like a good dog breeder- they should know the pedigrees of their animals going back to when the lines were acquired. snake and bake posted:Ball python breeder weighing in. Spider balls are hosed up and should not be bred. I've been saying this for YEARS. Putting on my biologist hat for a sec- it’s really interesting to me that nobody actually knows anything about what causes the spider wobble because ball python genetics are relatively poorly studied (at least from a neuroscience or genetic disorder perspective) and snake/reptile neuro is an under-studied field in general. The big issue is that snakes are slow breeders and growers, they’re cryptic and not super expressive- and you can’t exactly ask them how they’re feeling. So when a big, noticeable phenotype like spider wobble pops up it kinda piques my ‘model organism detector.’ Studying spider ball pythons would be valuable from evolutionary bio and veterinary perspectives, but at the cost of labs keeping and probably breeding those snakes. However, I work in this field and I don’t have any problem with the myriad number of disease model or knockout/in animal lines that are already used in biology. I don’t think it would be unethical for labs to have spider ball pythons but I think it’s unethical for them to be in the pet trade in the same way that it’d be unethical for randos to keep leptin-deficient mice or diabetes model mice or whatever.
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Mar 21, 2019 18:33
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Electric Bugaloo posted:The issue isn’t crazy stuff, the issue is breeding sound gene lines, not breeding for risky morphs like spider, and not inbreeding. https://www.facebook.com/Kerrsballpythons/ He looks to keep good track of his lineages, with ID numbers and whatnot. I feel a lot better about getting a snake from him than from the local Petsmart.
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Mar 21, 2019 19:02
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dwarf74 posted:Well, here's his page if you're interested. Oh, absolutely.
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Mar 21, 2019 19:33
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Leperflesh posted:I don't know for fat-tailed geckos, but cresties can store sperm for years, and also unbred females lay infertile eggs regularly. According to what I've found a female fat tailed gecko can store sperm for a year, so she could be pregnant.
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Mar 21, 2019 20:36
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I’ll see what develops and, if anything interesting, tell the thread. Thanks!
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Mar 22, 2019 00:21
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Gravid, not pregnant. Ugh. A friend of mine got promoted at work and now he's my manager. His husband wants to buy a baby leopard tortoise from me, and it's bad idea all around because friend was decent as a coworker but as a manager he has turned corporate shitlord.
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Mar 22, 2019 01:14
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Cowslips Warren posted:Gravid, not pregnant. Yeah that.
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Mar 22, 2019 01:50
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I've kept a house gecko for almost a year and thought it was a male until she laid two eggs just last week. I thought something was up because she didn't eat for over a month and then one day there was an egg sitting next to her. I got her out to check on her and she laid another in my hand. She's the oddest lizard, never been interested in eating insects since I've had her. I've been feeding her Pangea food for cresties for months. Right now I'm trying to get her interested in fruit flies.
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Mar 22, 2019 12:11
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Copper Vein posted:I've kept a house gecko for almost a year and thought it was a male until she laid two eggs just last week. I thought something was up because she didn't eat for over a month and then one day there was an egg sitting next to her. I got her out to check on her and she laid another in my hand. Which species of house gecko?
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Mar 22, 2019 12:33
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Big Centipede posted:Which species of house gecko? I dunno, Mediterranean? My nephew got her from a pet store, then asked me to take her because he was no longer interested. He said they put crickets in her tank, but never actually saw her eat. I've seen her let crickets crawl on her face. Here's some pics from when I first got her.  
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Mar 22, 2019 12:48
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Copper Vein posted:I dunno, Mediterranean? My nephew got her from a pet store, then asked me to take her because he was no longer interested. He said they put crickets in her tank, but never actually saw her eat. I've seen her let crickets crawl on her face. Hemidactylus frenatus. I have H turcicus loose in my animal room now
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Mar 22, 2019 12:53
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"Loose"? What is it eating? I don't think there are enough bugs in my home for her to catch, and where would she get water? Once it gets warmer, maybe I should think about turning her loose outside; I'm southern enough that it will be plenty warm. I don't think that she has gotten any healthier under my care.
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Mar 22, 2019 13:05
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Copper Vein posted:"Loose"? What is it eating? I don't think there are enough bugs in my home for her to catch, and where would she get water? They're an invasive species here. They snuck in from outside. I breed a lot of insects and have a lot of plants in the room. Plenty of indian meal moths flying around and some of my roach colonies have ventilation holes big enough for them to get in. I keep trying to catch them, but they're fast.
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Mar 22, 2019 13:14
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That's kinda the nice thing where I live, it's in the middle of a city but we got so many lizards (Lacerta agilis) and they are really pretty. Somehow the train tracks around the main station are one of the biggest biospheres in the country for them. Always loved that part when I did my civil service, having lunch and seeing the lizards come chill next to you and not give a gently caress.
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Mar 22, 2019 15:38
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My kid got his first snake today. A pastel ball python. 
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Mar 23, 2019 20:20
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dwarf74 posted:My kid got his first snake today. A pastel ball python. That snake is lovely but repeat after me: you guys a snake together Edit: you guys got* trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Mar 24, 2019 |
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Mar 24, 2019 00:44
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Electric Bugaloo posted:That snake is lovely but repeat after me: you guys a snake together   Also the coconut hideout was way too small, but he was game to give it a shot anyway. 
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Mar 24, 2019 01:14
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dwarf74 posted:Hah yeah no illusions there. He's adapting to his new habitat, and the cat's trying to figure out what the gently caress. Very nice! Not a huge note, but next time I’d try not to use a sheet of newspaper with quite so much ink on it. Having the coconut hide on top of that big picture like that (and next to the water bowl, no less) seems a bit hazardous. Any moisture there could make an inky mess and you don’t want the snake sitting in that. And if the snake decides to get wet and then go into its hide you may end up with a really bad situation. My recommendation is something like an unwaxed butcher or parchment paper or clean newsprint paper- these can all be bought in big rolls for really cheap from places like hobby stores or even amazon.
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Mar 24, 2019 01:52
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Good to know. We already replaced it out.
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Mar 24, 2019 02:34
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I use normal newspaper for most of my reptiles, it's no big deal. I tried brown kraft paper at one point but it was far less absorbent than I expected, causing wet urates to run all over the place, plus it kept curling like crazy because I live in a very humid area.
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Mar 24, 2019 02:37
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dwarf74 posted:Hah yeah no illusions there. He's adapting to his new habitat, and the cat's trying to figure out what the gently caress. That cat looks exactly like my Miyu, who has always been interested in our snakes and reptiles. She tried to whack the 6 foot bullsnake in the head but decided against it at the last second.
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Mar 24, 2019 02:44
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Khisanth Magus posted:That cat looks exactly like my Miyu, who has always been interested in our snakes and reptiles. She tried to whack the 6 foot bullsnake in the head but decided against it at the last second.
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Mar 24, 2019 15:41
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My dog was never really curious about my reptiles until I got a blue tongued skink. It's large enough that it registers as a possible living chew toy. This is probably due to the fact, when I first got Buttercup,he tried to bite the doggy. But anyway, anytime I open his enclosure dog comes a runnin. Mostly cuz it's a good sign that I'm breaking out the wet dog food and she gets to eat whatever Skink doesn't.
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Mar 24, 2019 16:50
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My cats overall ignore the reptiles, unless I am feeding snakes. Then a few cats try to smack the mouse from my hand for a fun snack. I think we have the best dogs ever because they ignore even the cats loving with them, and the outside tortoises and turtles barely get a glance. We had a dog, briefly, who thought the tortoises were great chew toys, despite our best efforts, so she had to go. We still have Chewie the tortoise...who hasn't regrown much of his damaged shell in 7 years. Axolotl question! My reverse trio are lucys. If I managed to get a female wild color strain, what would the babies possibly look like?
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Mar 24, 2019 20:26
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snake and bake posted:I use normal newspaper for most of my reptiles, it's no big deal. I tried brown kraft paper at one point but it was far less absorbent than I expected, causing wet urates to run all over the place, plus it kept curling like crazy because I live in a very humid area. Actually, on further consideration, newspaper doesn't work as well in a tank. I use tubs and keep plenty of spares around, so I don't spot-clean, I just change out the entire tub if it gets dirty. Newspaper is great for that. However, with a tank, it would be a lot more work to do a full clean every time. For a tank I'd go with cypress or aspen instead, it's much better for spot-cleaning. Cypress if you need more humidity, aspen otherwise.
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Mar 24, 2019 21:34
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I use sphagnum moss for my geckos, is it good for snakes too? I like it because it retains and slowly releases moisture so I can control humidity well, and it doesn't mess them up if they swallow a little while hunting crickets. Plus it smells nice.
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Mar 24, 2019 21:36
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Sphagnum is good for snakes too. I always put a handful in my hatchling tubs.
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Mar 24, 2019 21:38
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snake and bake posted:Actually, on further consideration, newspaper doesn't work as well in a tank. I use tubs and keep plenty of spares around, so I don't spot-clean, I just change out the entire tub if it gets dirty. Newspaper is great for that. I’m still gonna contend that a roll of white newsprint paper is safer and better looking and dirt cheap. Just take 15 minutes on a chill evening to cut out like 20 floors for your enclosure and have them ready to go for when you do cleanings. Edit: This is the first result on amazon when searching “newsprint paper” and the review photos are of somebody’s beardie enclosure. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Mar 24, 2019 |
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Mar 24, 2019 21:44
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Hey, thread. Here's me hand-feeding mealworms to Elmore yesterday. Linked because the gif kept hiccuping halfway through when I tried to embed it in-line. munch munch munch 
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Mar 28, 2019 13:34
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Re: substrate for snakes, on the recommendation in this thread (or a previous version, can't remember), I switched from newspaper to coconut coir for my BP. It really keeps the moisture in, and it's dead easy to clean since everything clumps up like a litter box. The problem is, it's a nightmare when feeding, since the rat sticks to everything. Right before christmas, he squeezed it so hard the entrails came out, and it created a huge ball of dirt like 3x the size of what he could swallow. It got stuck, he couldn't get it in or out, I had to go in and pull out the ball with tweezers, it was an all around bad time. After that, I started moving him to a small 10 gallon covered in butcher paper when it was feeding time. But reading more, it looks like moving them to feed is frowned upon nowadays. Any ideas for a substrate that keeps in the humidity but won't stick to feeders? I really don't want him ingesting huge chunks of anything that isn't food.
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Mar 29, 2019 17:40
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hyperhazard posted:Re: substrate for snakes, on the recommendation in this thread (or a previous version, can't remember), I switched from newspaper to coconut coir for my BP. It really keeps the moisture in, and it's dead easy to clean since everything clumps up like a litter box. It is a bit more work, but all of our reptiles have what are called "bioactive" setups. In the simplest terms it is a setup created to mostly mimic their natural environment, with the top layer they are on being a mixture of dirt, sand, and possibly other materials. It absorbs and releases moisture great, and with the addition of a "cleanup crew", which is a mixture of insect life similar to what would naturally dwell in the soil, there is minimal cleanup required because the crew will eat the snake poop, skins, and if it is established enough will even eat a rodent of your snake decides to not eat. This also provides some additional entertainment for the snake in that they get to dig in the dirt and even do some "landscaping" to get it how they want it.
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Mar 29, 2019 18:22
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