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You may want to remove desert hairy scorpions and aphonopelma tarantulas. Yes, they are both great for beginners, but pretty much >95% of the ones you can buy are going to have been wild collected. Especially with these slow growers, this has all sort of ethical problems. You also missed the absolute best starter tarantula. Greenbottle blues (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens)-Practically bulletproof, gorgeous colours, decently common & cheap captive bred young, massive webbers that adapt being able to burrow or tall cages, and generally have a great attitude. Avics generally arn't actually a beginner species-little ones tend to die randomly, and they can be really skittish for a starter species. Salmon pink birdeaters (Lasiodora parahybana) are another good starter-super cheap, common, massive growth rate.
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Jan 19, 2012 01:22
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Oh! I don't think anyone has mentioned it, but D3 calcium/normal calcium, and that you need to watch expiration dates and how to store supplements properly. vvvv Sounds fine to me, let me redo the op of that one tonight, and you can copy paste it tomorrow vvv ZarathustraFollower fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Jan 19, 2012 |
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Jan 19, 2012 04:21
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Sorry I haven't worked on something for inverts, I take the GRE tomorrow and * priorities*
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Jan 20, 2012 05:09
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Poke around some invert forums for sale section, or just cultural your own. Generally 1 generation from wild-caught should be fine to be put into a colony. Although collection may be a headache this time of the year depending on your location. Some dart frog boards might also sell them, especially if you post a want ad. I wouldn't be surprised if someone offered them for a few dollars more than shipping costs.
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Feb 9, 2012 05:57
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I plan on passing through SC in March to go camping. So if you make any plans to go herping, please tell me. I'd love to get in on that.
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Feb 9, 2012 14:38
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I can literally go anywhere. I'm finishing up applying to grad school for entomology this month, and then was planning on spending the next 3-4 months backpacking and camping out of my car. Planning on going from PA down along the coast to FL because I need to see the everglades, then into GA and TX for more herps and inverts. I'll try and get some more concrete plans soon.
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Feb 10, 2012 07:34
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Dr 14 INCH DICK Md posted:I found a 1 yr old crested gecko on Craigslist I've been talking to the owner about. For a nominal fee I get the gecko, cage, and a whole crate of heat lamps and supplies that could be used on other setups. I asked about temps and food and I was told kept at 'normal' room temps with feeding Repashi 3 times a week and crickets once or twice a week which seems to be in the normal feeding ranges? I'd like to give an animal a good home, they want to give it up because their job requires them more and more to be away and they don't like having to constantly talk to their room mate about care. Does this sound like something to look into? Just going off of dollar value its about 1/3 what everything would cost brand new retail. Are you going to take better care of it then your spider?
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Feb 24, 2012 13:50
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Dr 14 INCH DICK Md posted:Like Centipede said, it just kind of up and died Inverts up and die unexpectedly yes, but the whole leaving the body in the cage for so long is more of what worried me. I did skim your e/n thread, and I am glad it seems like yo're getting out of the 'funk' you were in.
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Feb 24, 2012 17:23
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The snake's still doing really well, and I guess I slipped into a serious funk for a few months without even realising it. Posting about my living situation has really made me feel accountable about keeping my room like a normal person's and it's been going very well for keeping it organised. It is a valid point though, but things have definitely improved on my end and continue to improve.
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Yeah, I would feel comfortable using it on most reptiles. Just no amphibians.
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Mar 7, 2012 04:39
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So, I don't know if I ever posted some pics I took in this thread. When I was working for TPWD, on my last night in the park I stumbled upon something pretty awesome to get to watch. http://imgur.com/a/nOsQ1 I think I have the right species for both snakes, but if not, someone please correct me.
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Mar 14, 2012 04:39
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Just got back from the everglades. 10 mile hike out in the backcountry to my camp site. Not as many herps as I would have liked, but I'll post pictures when I get around to pulling them off my camera. Florida Kingsnake, gartersnake, softshell turtle, crocs, dead copperhead  and a bunch of anoles are the only herps I saw.In other news, I got an internship with the national zoo for the summer, and get to help out with some work regarding Chytrid fungus!
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Mar 22, 2012 19:47
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It's a damselfly naiad. I guess a lot of people arn't familiar with them, but the prof that got me into insects/biology is one of the top Odonata specialists in the US. Ephemeroptera have gills running the whole length of the abdomen, and dragonflies have internal gills they suck in water across (which also allows them a means of jet propulsion) Plecoptera have 2 cerci, not 3 gills coming from the end of their abdomen. It's probable a member of the family Coengrionidae, because those are the most common, but if you said what type of water (standing/running) you found him in, and if you saw any other adult damselflies I could give you a bit more sure of a family answer. If you have a few other pics, I can ask my prof and he might be able to id it, although it isn't quite up close enough to make out the features. Also: Nymph: Juvi insect who has the same environment as adult w/o pupal stage (aphid young would be nymphs) Naiad: Juvi insect who has a different enviroment from adult w/o going through a pupal stage (Odonata, Ephemeroptera, Neuroptera, Trichoptera, Plecoptera off the top of my head) Larva: Juvi insect who has a pupal state. vvvv: Dr. John Abbott; He wrote Damselflies & Dragonflies of Texas, Damselflies of Texas, and started OdonataCentral And, yeah, looking at it again I do think it's a mayfly naiad. I really wish it was in the water or a fulll top down shot. The body type is almost identical to this mayfly, except for the gills at the end. http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/mayflies/mayflies.htm ZarathustraFollower fucked around with this message at 08:12 on Apr 3, 2012 |
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Apr 3, 2012 07:05
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 Perk of my internship. I also have a pic holding an adult black-headed python they are trying to acclimate to handling, but I can't get it off my phone for some reason. Hopefully next week I'll get to start helping out at the reptile house proper, in addition to my research position. Although I have to bring a change of clothing and shower before going over to the building because I work with chytrid fungus. My hands also now smell like bleach 24/7. The people at the zoo are really impressive. One of the keepers is apparently really into green tree pythons. Like, they had a tiny shelving rack of 16 of them off to the side that blew most of the ones I've seen in the trade out of the water. The keeper just breeds them for fun. ZarathustraFollower fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Apr 13, 2012 |
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Apr 13, 2012 00:44
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^^^^^ It's mostly just temperamental. Basically, if it starts to hiss you have a few minutes to put it back in its cage before it might bite you. Bobbaganoosh, I work mostly at the SCBI for my internship, but my PI is getting me to help out at the reptile house next week. The guys that run it were out of town this week, but I'll find out sometime next week if he is still around.
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Apr 14, 2012 04:40
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Sorry for not coming back to this thread for awhile. I started with an internship at the National Zoo back in April, and that turned into 2 internships and volunteering at the Reptile Discovery Center. Both internships are with amphibians too. One of them just ended, but the other is working with Panamanian Golden Frogs. The males make the most adorable noise when you hold them and they get annoyed. The RDC is an awesome environment, and they really appreciate any volunteers. Basically, you work alongside a keeper until they clear you to work solo on any 'safe' (not venomous, massive, or aggressive) animals that are part of their area. I tend to work 2 areas most of the time, and help with the anacondas often. They have 2 males together, and they are super docile and calm, despite one being WC. The Burmese is dumb as a brick though, and no one likes going in with it. Out of everything, I love our Pine snakes the most, and would like to eventually get one (or any bull snake) once I've gotten settled back down and can properly care for it. I've got a few stories from them, like the King Cobra being a dick and breaking all 3 of his heat lamps within 24 hours of coming to the zoo, or the time a keeper left some rats thawing under a heat lamp and everyone though someone had chicken soup in the building. The one animal none of the keepers like to deal with because they don't want to get bit? any of the 4 leachies, all of which I'm cleared to work on Also, baby pine snakes are the cutest motherfuckers.
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May 25, 2012 00:09
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Just going to leave these here: 
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Jun 16, 2012 03:27
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Snaffoo posted:I've already got some of the calcium you linked on order with some proper food, but shipment and delivery being what it is here, I might not see it for another two weeks. (On top of being in Alaska, I'm on an island.) What should I do in the meantime if I can't find any gecko-intended calcium at any of the stores? Because I'm really going into this assuming I'm not going to see the stuff I ordered for awhile. You can PM me if you want, but are you out in Dutch Harbor? My best friend works there, and he should be back from vacation if you need help. He's watched my crested geckos for me for several months, along with a fair number of other exotics, so he has a good idea of how to take care of them.
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Jun 24, 2012 00:13
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Lonesome George was found dead this morning. A sad day for tortioses. On a less depressing note, are there any TX goons here that wouldn't mind keeping their eyes open for a beetle species for me? I'm interested in trying to get ironclads breeding in captivity. ZarathustraFollower fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Jun 25, 2012 |
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Jun 25, 2012 18:53
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Bobbaganoosh posted:Wasn't he the one who tried to ride it out sans treatment? That would exacerbate the effects of any bite to the extreme. Venom left unchecked is insanity. Unless you're Bill Haas, of course. One of the keepers I work with used to work for a private zoo. He was in charge ot the hot snakes specifically, and the owner would often go in after closing to rearrage the back room/feed stuff. Often the owner would forget/not care to relock or even close cages. The guy quit after the 2nd time of playing 'find the cobra' by himself one morning. Anyway, she's a beautiful snake, and I can't wait to see more pics as she grows. What size tank are you going to keep her in full grown? Are you planning on setting up a lock box to herd her into while working in the cage, or just removing her each time?
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Jun 26, 2012 21:40
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I swear, geckos know that making GBS threads on the glass is the most annoying place. Little bastards....
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Jul 14, 2012 04:16
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Anyone know of any good breeders with Northern Pine snakes? The few times I've seen them pop up on fauna or kingsnake classified they are sold before I get there. Big apple herps has them, but I've got no idea about their reputation either. Also, any sources for normal morph cb tokays? It seems like there is just a straight jump from $15 parasite loads to $100+ morph and het genetic ones. All I want is a mid-price normal morph.
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Aug 23, 2012 00:37
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Dunno, I know a few people here keep Tokays. I really want to get a pet now that I'm a little more settled down and don't have any (donated all my inverts to my ento lab for outreach, and when my ex and I broke up she took the herps we didn't sell.) After working with such a variety at the zoo, I've straight up fallen in love with pine snakes over all the others I've worked with (kings, milks, corns, old & new world rats.) Where I help out with has 5 northerns, ranging from our resident grandpa at 18 years, to a trio of adults on display and our super adorable baby that hatched a bit after I started helping out and I've posted pics of in this thread before. I wish I could just take an egg home instead of having to freeze them, but it isn't a private zoo so there is no way in hell of that happening. Anyway, I'm waiting to hear back from a guy about a snow morph southern pine snake, so I might go with that if it is still available.
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Aug 23, 2012 02:37
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I'm sorry to hear about your hognose. That sucks. I just paid for a snow southern pine snake female. She should ship monday and be here tuesday. I think I'm going to call her Pangur Ban. Also should have an adult pair of D. granti beetles showing up sometime next week too.
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Aug 23, 2012 23:25
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So, I went to get a tank for my incoming snake and beetles. There is a local saltwater place I went to. For $80, I ended up leaving with a 40g breeder tank, 5g tank, heat pad, water bowl, and a thermostat. I love local stores. And yes, both tanks have metal screen lids.
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Aug 25, 2012 06:13
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Pinesnake arrived this morning. No pics, because I pretty much just unpacked her, gave her a look over for injures/problems and then put her into her tank. Right now it's 4 hides (2 hot side, 2 cool side) and a water bowl on some cage liner, although I'd like to put her on a sand/soil mix later so she can burrow. She's active and alert, and dropped a fecal this afternoon (which I was dumb and tossed, rather than saving to take to a vet for a double check.) The place I got her from said she's 4 months old, and eatting pre-killed. Friday I'm planning on offering her a thawed mouse, and hopefully that'll go well. Which reminds me, I still gotta poke some holes in the tub I got for feeding her in.
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Aug 28, 2012 22:55
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poo poo. I had my snake out a few minutes ago, and I noticed her vent looked odd. Does this look like a vet trip, or do pale snakes normally look this red? Now I'm worried the seller might have injured her while probing. Edit: Mentioned it when I said I got her, but she did defecate yesterday. It wasn't bloody or anything, at least not that I remember. Ugh, this was me when I first made this post/saw it:    
ZarathustraFollower fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Aug 29, 2012 |
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Aug 29, 2012 20:48
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Ok, so today was an..interesting? day for me. First, spent all morning cleaning a snake neck turtle exhibit so it could be resealed. That was fun, and by fun I mean I got blisters through my gloves and was sneezing actual dirt clods. At lunch, I chattec with the curator of the reptile center, and dude knows so much awesome poo poo. He also kept and bred venomous snakes in his dorm room, and remembers days when you could buy king cobras priced by the foot. His friend also found a ball python wandering around downtown D.C. and was trying to find someone to take it in. So, Saturday I'm getting a new snake? The guy next door saw me bringing in a new tank in prep for Saturday, and it turns out he's from Florida and used to breed so many snakes he had 2 rooms in his house just for them. He also said that a decent trick for getting indigo snakes from gopher tortiose holes was to put a gardening hose down and blow into it. Then listen in it for a hiss or any noise, pull the hose out, and the snake will follow within 5 minutes because they want to know what the gently caress it is.
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Aug 31, 2012 01:28
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Went and picked up the ball python I mentioned yesterday. It's this one if anyone is curious http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...f430_story.html So, now I can say I own a snake that was in the news. Yay. Anyway, it's stressed as gently caress, and I drapped some towels over about half its cage to darken it even further, and it has been just hiding the whole time. When I got it, I glanced over its vent and face as a quick health check and it looks alright in that regard. So far, it looks like I'm going to call it bitey, and you can probably guess why. First pet I've had in 5 years that has managed to draw blood on me, which is impressive. Right now I'm using a ceramic bowl for its water dish, which is way too tiny for it to soak in, and I'm wondering where is a good place to pick up cheap & large hides and water bowls. I was thinking Home Depot and getting those dishes for underneath potted plants? Oh, anyone going to the Baltimore Repticon?
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Sep 2, 2012 20:58
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Ugh, I feel like a monster. I bought a live rat for my ball python, because the pet store was out of frozen. So I tried to do a cervical dislocation on it before feeding it off. I ended up de-gloving the poor things tail Ended up throwing it in the freezer, which I know is an awful thing to do, but gently caress, that really shook me up. I guess I didn't grab the tail high enough up?
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Sep 7, 2012 21:17
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On the subject of GTP, the zoo I'm at has...well, a lot, thanks to an old keeper breeding them for fun. Like, double digits of them, just chilling in the back room. The setup there is just a large plastic bin with 2 perches hanging from wire, and a screen cutout on a hinged top for a lamp. About 1" of water is covering the bottom, and whenever it gets gross, we simply move the cage to the floor, flip the lid (and thus the snake) so it's resting parallel to the ground, and slowly tilt the entire base until the water all pours out. The perch swings on the lid, so the snake really isn't disturbed. If there is a lot of algae growing, or the snake is really active, we bucket it and then manually scrub out the cage. All the snakes are manually misted once a day, directly on their coils. We wait till either they drink and are done, or they tuck their heads deep into the coil before stopping. When feeding, the feeder is put directly into warm water while thawing, so that if the snake feeds, it gets a good bit of hydration too. Just another technique if anyone is interested.
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Sep 11, 2012 07:15
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Desert Bus posted:Anybody here keep Tentacle Snakes, Erpeton tentaculatum? I just discovered they existed today, and think they're kind of neat. We've got 3 at the zoo. Next time I'm helping out, I'll ask their keeper more about the set up. They've got a fliteration system, and we never really need to do much besides throw fish in, and remove dead fish. Pretty lazy guys honestly.
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Sep 14, 2012 18:43
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Went to Repticon yesterday, now I've got a 2 month old Eastern Hognose. I picked up some canned mackerel and sardines to scent with, but I also realized the smallest mouse I can get from my lps is probably too big for it. Is it fine to cut a pinkie in half and offer it that way? I also swear I remember someone talking about just offering mouse heads to smaller animals...
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Sep 24, 2012 03:24
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Quick update on my Hognose issue. I'm now getting advice from some experienced herpers, including one who has done field research on Easterns. 2 of them are asking around for American toads, and if any of you folks reading this can get me some small bufos to sell (check your local laws first) that would be awesome. I'm flat out going to give up even trying mice with it. Honestly, I wish I had picked up more on some of the red flags while buying it at the convention (like that it was an eastern, and not western hognose) and that none of the hatchlings had eaten in captivity, but I can't go back now. It looks like the seller just managed to catch a gravid female (considering he had her for sale too) and was trying to move the young too. Of course I have nothing with his name on it either. I'm also probably going to have to get a permit just to get the toads for the little fucker, because you need a permit in my state to own more than 4 American toads, even if you buy them from out of state. Short term, I'm going to ask a family friend in a different state to keep the toads for me. If I can even get any. It was a mistake to get the hognose without getting better info on it, but at this point all I can do is try and do the best I can for it.
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Sep 27, 2012 22:10
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Maryland, Fowlers and American toads are the only controlled bufos. I'll contact Mark next. Tomorrow I should know if one person found any toads, and Monday for the other. It's raining right now, and it's been rainy the past few days so I have some hope. The complication is that this guy is maybe 6" in length, so he can only take newly metamorphosised frogs. Ah, dammit. I should have just gotten a coachwhip. Getting bit non-stop would be preferable to dealing with this. 
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Sep 28, 2012 02:46
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So far what I've tried was a straight pinky, and then one that was soaked and frozen in with crushed mackerel and sardines (both were packed in water, not oil). Didn't try tuna, catfood, or braining. Figure braining isn't worth the effort, since the snake is just not interested in mouse scent. I've got 1 pinky left, in the same fish juice as the other I tried. Right now the snakes got enough weight from its yolk I'm holding out to see if I can get toads before trying other fish scents. If I don't have a toad by Tuesday, I'm going to buy another 3 pack of frozen pinkys and try tuna, catfood, and egg yolk. My goal right now is to just get food in it, because I'm really worried about it going off feed due to winter without ever eating anything. Should it really, really come down to it, the senior keeper from the zoo (one of the guys giving me advice) may be able to come over and force feed it. I'd only consider this if it hasn't eating by January or so. He's the guy that's done field work with the species, plus keeping reptiles is his job. The snake is in a 5g with a heatpad/slate combo keeping one side at 85-87, and the other in the low 70s with 2 hides and a waterbowl on reptibark. While I know a lot of places online said to keep them in tight spaces, the other zookeeper that is giving me most of the advice said I shouldn't go any smaller, just because right now I'm able to give it a proper heat gradient with hides. She's also advised against trying Rana or Hyla unless I really can't get Bufo. Also, I'm really expecting a letter from the HOA in the housing block I'm in, simply for trying to catch frogs in the pond behind my house. The one nice thing is, if I can get toads, I've got an empty 15gal so I can give them a big setup to keep some alive.
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Sep 28, 2012 03:44
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Big Centipede, Mark Lucas got back to me about the toads. He found some toadlet Southerns that can fit on a dime. I'm looking at ordering 20, due to the price he is offering me (plus shipping is going to gently caress me either way, and I'd prefer it to be just once.) That size should be good for a hatchling hognose right? I'm going to try to keep them alive so as he grows I can just feed them off. A friend got me a massive American toad that my girlfriend affectionally started calling meatloaf, and trying to scent with him went about as well as expected. I'm going to try at least once more with day-old pinkies when I can get some.
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Oct 2, 2012 04:42
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Here is a pic of Rebel with a dime for scale. He was not happy about me taking him out of his cage. Have some bonus pics of my snow southern pine snake.  
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Oct 2, 2012 18:41
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Soonish. Pretty much just need to get info on how to pay him, so next week I hope. The snake still have a good bit of weight on him, but the shorting days worry me.
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Oct 2, 2012 20:34
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Why are you just looking at balls? I think kingsnakes are far more personable animals, and jus as easy/easier to care for. Speaking of, the local store near me has an adult kingsnake + a showcase tank for $230. Considering that's a $400 tank, I look at it with envy whenever I go in.
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Oct 3, 2012 01:26
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50 Southern toads arrived in the mail a few minutes ago for me. The hognose took one about 2 minutes after I put it in the cage, and is getting it down now. Going to run out and buy some fruit flies and pinhead crickets to feed the rest. They should more than last till March I hope, and probably come November I'll work on getting pinkies into his diet too.
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Oct 4, 2012 15:28
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