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Fluffy Bunnies posted:The two we did educational poo poo with at the zoo were pretty good. The one on display would literally strike at every single white person who walked past. Good snake.
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Feb 14, 2015 02:30
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:The two we did educational poo poo with at the zoo were pretty good. The one on display would literally strike at every single white person who walked past. Yet another example of how the truly persecuted people are white male landowners.
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Feb 14, 2015 04:10
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Going to try sani-chips instead of shredded aspen. So far my vacuum likes this stuff a lot better. It's more like cat litter, it clumps up around the poops. My life is so exciting. But seriously, carpet pythons are so drat pretty. I might pick up one from my buddy's super tame pair if I can sell off some kingsnakes. I don't know what color they will be, I just want one that doesn't want to eat my face.
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Feb 14, 2015 05:43
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yay, my python came out! she's incredibly docile and playful, easily one of the most hands-on HERPS I've owned. About how long should I let her play around outside of her terrarium? "she" is about 3ft long, still unsexed, and very active. Also apparently my landlord snapped a photo inside my bedroom window of the enclosure and they're arguing that their "no pets" policy extends to contained animals. I'm not really worried about it though, I have security footage of the landlord taking said photo and I'm already building a lawsuit (for many many other reasons) for when my lease is up anyways~ HEY VAPER fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Feb 15, 2015 |
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Feb 15, 2015 00:03
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Just got a PVC cage for my little ball python, flexwatt attached and running now to check temps and set thermostat probe. 93F setting gets around 88 inside the cage.. Wondering about substrate - paper towels for my convenience, or coco husk to keep the humidity level up.
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Feb 15, 2015 00:42
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Binary Logic posted:Just got a PVC cage for my little ball python, flexwatt attached and running now to check temps and set thermostat probe. 93F setting gets around 88 inside the cage.. Wondering about substrate - paper towels for my convenience, or coco husk to keep the humidity level up. I prefer coco for humidity and aesthetics. Paper is a good substrate though, but I only used it when I had 30 snakes. I mostly use sani chips now.
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Feb 15, 2015 01:27
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I don't reccomend paper towels because sometimes snakes eat them. If you want to use paper, newspaper, packing paper, or butcher's paper is much harder for them to injest.
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Feb 15, 2015 01:51
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Thanks for the advice. The cage has a strong rubber/silicone smell so going to let it air out for a few days, wash it a few times with Healthy Habitat, and then rub the coco husk all over to try and get rid of the smell. Then will put in 1 brick coco husk, 2 hides, water bowl and some decor. It's only 2x2x1 which seems small but provides a lot of floor space for the little ball python. Got the flexwatt taped down and temps are steady at 88-90 warm side and 75 on cool side, and it's in a cooler room now than where is will ultimately be placed.. No lighting and not sure if any is needed; there will be indirect sunlight during the day.  
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Feb 15, 2015 12:58
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HEY VAPER posted:yay, my python came out! she's incredibly docile and playful, easily one of the most hands-on HERPS I've owned. About how long should I let her play around outside of her terrarium? I'm pretty sure your landlord would win that one.
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Feb 15, 2015 19:08
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Binary Logic, that setup looks pretty good. It might be too big for a tiny ball python, but you can always add more hides and clutter to the enclosure. I've been using VE thermostats for a couple of years now and I'm happy with them. Balls don't need (or enjoy) lighting, so indirect sunlight is fine.
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Feb 15, 2015 20:07
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Mocking Bird posted:So, my newt of five years managed to escape his tank and get eaten by my roommates dog. This is a bit traumatic for me Crossposting from the fish thread since I am also into slimier friends. I feel like my paddletail newt was a bit cramped in there (he managed to gently caress up the silicone on his ten gallon, because he was an rear end in a top hat) so I wonder if there are smaller and/or lazier species that might fare better?
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Feb 15, 2015 20:25
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RIP Isaac Newton.
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Paddletails really should have a decent sized tank - they're stream dwelling animals and really territorial. A ten gallon is probably too small for any aquatic salamanders, except maybe something small in a semi-aquatic setup - a smaller Eurycea or Desmognathus. I don't really like tens for aquatic animals, though. A larger tank would work for sirens. You could keep a bunch of terrestrial salamanders easily, though - just about anything smaller than a tiger salamander would work. Ambystoma species would do well like that - I donated one of my A. gracile to work, and we set him up in a ten half full of cocofiber, and then a paper towel tunnel that he likes to hide in - might need to upgrade to PVC soon, though, since it's not holding as long as I'd hoped it might. Is the dog okay? I don't know how toxic Pachytriton are, but they are poisonous. Edit: Oh, you're in California, nevermind on the Ambystoma, then. If you go out into the woods, you might flip a Batrachoseps - I didn't have a lot of problem finding them, really abundant in some areas. Completely terrestrial, really long tails, would eat fruit flies - I think they're neat.
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Feb 16, 2015 03:00
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I know, I blame myself for his escape - I shouldn't have kept him in such constraining quarters. In the larger tank he had a strong filter flow that seemed to keep him occupied swimming against it, and a constant tangle of anarcharis to rearrange. I think perhaps I will break down this tank for now and revisit the idea later. The dog is fine, she threw him up outside and was back to tail wagging and begging for treats before I even realized what happened. Yeah, my friend is an environmental inspector who identifies and relocates tiger salamanders at construction sites in the bay area, so I am smarter than the acquire an ambystoma, though goddamn axolotls are cute.
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Feb 16, 2015 03:07
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HEY VAPER posted:yay, my python came out! she's incredibly docile and playful, easily one of the most hands-on HERPS I've owned. About how long should I let her play around outside of her terrarium? Sorry about your dickhead landlord. I made sure to get written permission for my snake before I moved in, and they still tried to ding me on the pet policy last month when they were mad at me for unrelated reasons. Actually, the 'so long as it's only one...' caveat on that permission is the main reason I'm not becoming a crazy herp lady right now. So many pretty snakes 
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Feb 16, 2015 10:28
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I posted in the last thread as I have a adult female (according to the pet shop) corn snake that won't eat and hasn't eaten since we picked her up on the 30th November last year. I'm still not having any luck, I'm pretty sure my husbandry is fine. The ambient temp drops no lower than 70 degrees and the inside of the warm hide directly on a heat mat is a constant 85-86 degrees. I have hides on the left and right, which until a couple of weeks ago were cork bark, but I have replaced these with an exo-terra snake cave on the cool side: http://www.exo-terra.com/download/high_res/products/images/PT2846_Snake_Cave_Exploded.jpg and a reptile cave on the mat on the right: http://www.exo-terra.com/download/high_res/products/images/PT2853_Reptile_Cave.jpg. I ditched the cork bark hides because she didn't fit under them very well so I thought maybe she'd feel more secure with these. She seems to use both the new hides happily and will swap sides couple of days or so (or potentially during the night when I'm not looking). This doesn't seem to have helped her appetite though, she didn't seem very interested in either a rat pup or a large mouse I held near the hole in the snake cave last night. She has shown interest before (moving towards prey, tongue flicking), but never actually gone for it. As always I left the prey in overnight but no luck. I often find she's moved to the other side when I leave the prey in, like she doesn't like being near it? But that could be complete co-incidence of course. I've also often seen more activity the day after a failed feed. I've tried: -Just dropping in a large mouse - Brained mouse - Hot mouse - Hot brained mouse - Rat pup - Drop feeding - Offering with tongs - Shutting snake and prey together in a smaller container (tupperware) I've not tried scenting yet (I could get hold of a day old chick and rub a mouse in some of it's blood, if anyone thinks that's worth a go - or there is chicken soup / tuna juice to try). The pet shop said they just drop in a large mouse once a week (all their herps are drop fed) and they didn't say she'd been off her food or anything. I'm offering the same frozen / thawed mice the shop fed her. I'm thinking none of the tricks I've tried (many which are usually for non-feeding younger snakes or for breeds other than corns that often have feeding problems) will make any difference as she's clearly decided she doesn't want to eat at the moment. She's a big snake and has a lot of reserves but it's getting on for 11-12 weeks without a feed now and it's been stressing me out. She doesn't look skinny but she might look a bit thinner than when we got her. She's still shaped like a loaf of bread / upside down U, spine doesn't appear to be protruding. I've weighed her twice (last weigh in was 16 days ago) and based on those two weigh ins she's losing about 4.5g a week. I don't even know if that's a lot? She was 695g at last weigh in. She shed ok at the end of December and I see her drinking water occasionally whens she's out and about. Her bedding as aspen. Not sure what else to add really. Just checking in to say I'm still not having any luck and does anyone have any additional advice / ideas. There is a herp vet nearby I can use if I really need to. Thanks
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Feb 16, 2015 15:34
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If she's used to being a breeder she might be used to brumination around that time of year, despite temperatures. D'you have any idea if she's ever been bred?
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Feb 16, 2015 15:45
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I'm afraid I don't really have a history, the pet shop said she was a rescue snake, but I could ask them to see if they have any knowledge of her past. They said she was 'about 3-4 years old' and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have sold her / would have said if she had any feeding issues before selling. Given her size, I'm pretty sure she knows how to eat.... if it is seasonal / she was expecting brumination, can I assume that it should sort itself out as we get into Spring? I'm in the UK if that helps from a seasonal perspective.
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Feb 16, 2015 16:06
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700g is a big Corn, and I wouldn't be concerned about the weight loss since her body condition is still good. She might be trying to brumate/breed, as FB suggested. I would sometimes convince animals to snap out of it by keeping the lights on for longer periods of time (~12 hours a day) to make them think it was later in the year.
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Feb 16, 2015 16:36
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11-12 weeks sans a meal is a walk in the park for a big corn. It's probably rather healthy to burn off some of its fat reserves. But thumbs up on being attentive and leaving no stone unturned. Three of my everglades rat snake hatchlings, which hatched back in October, only took their first pinks this week, the little loonies. The tiny lightswitch in their brains just turned on finally: "Oh hey! Mouse! This is the best thing ever!" These rodent vacs won't ignore a mouse the rest of their lives now. My big cal king (66+ inches, all whale) used to shut down every September and then resume in mid-February for the first 8 years of her life. During her feeding season her feeding response is certifiably insane. But during her off-season she would actively flee f/t rodents of any size offered, utterly repulsed as if the mouse were kryptonite. "And you wonder why they won't let us into the country club," I'd lecture.
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Feb 16, 2015 20:02
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Hey there Herp thread, been living with a couple who are incredibly dedicated to their reptiles and arachnids so I've been getting into it with them. The past year I've got an Asian Forest Scorpions, Desert Hairy, a Mexican Red Rump Turantula, a Veiled Chameleon who's been growing beautifully, and most recently the one I'm excited about is this gorgeous Yellow Saharan Uromastyx. Edit: Caught Waldo sleeping 
Somebody fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Feb 18, 2015 |
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Feb 17, 2015 04:13
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timg is your friend, dude. The author from whose book I've been drawing inspiration for my posts in this thread has just published a new paper about crocodilian behavior: Crocodiles think surfing waves, playing ball and going on piggyback rides are fun, too, according to Prof Vladimir Dinets from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
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Feb 17, 2015 09:00
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On the subject of deciding not to eat, I recently read an article in Reptiles Magazine about rubber boas. The author states that he had a baby boa born in the Spring that went through its first brumation before feeding for the first time the following year. He also had a female go two years without food by brumating her, keeping meticulous watch of her weight, and keeping her temps low to reduce metabolism. I found that pretty incredible!
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Feb 17, 2015 16:06
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Rubber boas are fascinating captives. A lot of folks who otherwise wouldn't touch a snake seem drawn to these gummy worms. They are little charmers the way they characteristically wrap around your finger or wrist. The love the humidity and cool temps. I tried cooling mine last year, but my cool room didn't get cool enough (location: S. AZ), so brumation never really occurred to their instincts. Temps only occasionally dipped into the upper 50s. This would be sufficient for most species, but rubber boas are still active into the upper 50s. I've a cooler brumation room this year, so fingers crossed. If that fails to stay cool long enough I'll go with a fridge for brumation next year, which I expect is necessary. Prolonged periods of temps 55F and lower just don't naturally occur in S. AZ. And these require at least 3 months of it. I can see how they could go a long while without food. My males have gone off-feed for a month or two at a time, but the females eat like clockwork, only skipping when in shed.
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Feb 17, 2015 17:41
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Bobbaganoosh posted:Rubber boas are fascinating captives. A lot of folks who otherwise wouldn't touch a snake seem drawn to these gummy worms. They are little charmers the way they characteristically wrap around your finger or wrist. It's funny you mention their tolerance for cold, in the article the author also has a photo of a rubber boa out in the snow, which is the second time they have seen one in the snow. I am very interested in these guys, but I would also have difficulty with brumating, considering I am in NW AZ. I feel the pain. Do you have pictures?
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Feb 17, 2015 19:15
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Hood Ornament posted:I'm pretty sure your landlord would win that one. Not really worried about it, without too much  I'm suing my landlord for unrelated reasons and I put my suit on hold on the basis of "I'll pay my rent on time, leave me alone until my lease is over and I'll drop my lawsuit" Big Centipede posted:I prefer coco for humidity and aesthetics. Paper is a good substrate though, but I only used it when I had 30 snakes. I was wondering the same, the previous owner of my python said I should change the substrate right away (it's full of sheddings) and gave me a bag of wood + paper substrate. I know nothing about snakes and I'm going to clean the substrate today. Should I use this stuff, or get some coco coir/eco earth, or something else? What temp/humidity range should I keep my enclosure at? Is tap water fine, or should I de-chlorinate it first? Any other water treatment I should bother with? Oh yeah, she stopped hanging out in the rock and she's really active now. She always hangs out on the side of the enclosure that's right by my laptop and stares at me :3 She's really friendly too. I really like snakes now. 
HEY VAPER fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Feb 17, 2015 |
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Feb 17, 2015 23:32
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Temps of 80-85 with a hot spot of 90-94. I can tell your humidity is too low because of the stuck shed skin. Soak the snake in room-temp water for a bit and then rub with a wet paper towel to remove it. Humidity should be about 50% for ball pythons, if I recall.
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Feb 17, 2015 23:38
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Hood Ornament posted:Temps of 80-85 with a hot spot of 90-94. I can tell your humidity is too low because of the stuck shed skin. Soak the snake in room-temp water for a bit and then rub with a wet paper towel to remove it. Humidity should be about 50% for ball pythons, if I recall. Thanks, I was wondering about that. How deep should the water be, or am I dumb for being worried about drowning my snake? My humidity is supposedly right at 50% but she's had the stuck shedded skin since I got her, so I'll get a new gauge. Anything wrong with ecoearth substrate? I've found it to be the easiest to manage humidity with in my experience with frogs but again I don't know snakes. HEY VAPER fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Feb 17, 2015 |
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Feb 17, 2015 23:39
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Snakes are pretty good swimmers, I've let mine go in full bathtubs and let them screw around in there. Filling up a bathroom sink is a good option, as well. I've never used ecoearth so I can't give an opinion there.
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Feb 17, 2015 23:54
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Hood Ornament posted:Snakes are pretty good swimmers, I've let mine go in full bathtubs and let them screw around in there. Filling up a bathroom sink is a good option, as well. Cool I just used a big bowl and got most of the stuck shedding off. She has a bit left around her head, but she's pretty squirmy so it was hard to get those areas. I've noticed one of her eyes is silver while the other is black, which I understand to be part of the shedding process, but it's been like that for a few days. I'm assuming that's normal or taking care of my humidity problem would solve that yeah? (the sound snakes make while clearing their noses is )Edit: just called my old roommate, and he has a bunch of my old terrariums sitting around in his garage... A few ~50 gal long tanks, and a 1.5x1.5x1.5ft square one.. My closet is pretty much empty right now.. Pretty tempted to get a pixie frog and some sort of a tree frog after I've gotten the hang of the whole snake thing first. HEY VAPER fucked around with this message at 00:18 on Feb 18, 2015 |
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Feb 18, 2015 00:01
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HEY VAPER posted:yay, my python came out! she's incredibly docile and playful, easily one of the most hands-on HERPS I've owned. About how long should I let her play around outside of her terrarium? Check your local bylaws. Where I live: quote:The Ontario Residential Tenancies Act says that any provision in a lease preventing pets is void. Binary Logic fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Feb 18, 2015 |
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Feb 18, 2015 00:49
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Binary Logic posted:Check your local bylaws. Where I live: I'm not very worried about it, my lease is almost up and if my landlord pisses me off I have a pretty strong pending lawsuit with a p significant amount of damages that would surely cost my landlord her job and she knows it. I went over my lease and it said absolutely nothing about contained animals and only mentioned cats and dogs too. Worst case scenario I found a back-up home for the snake
HEY VAPER fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Feb 18, 2015 |
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Feb 18, 2015 01:33
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Hood Ornament posted:Snakes are pretty good swimmers, I've let mine go in full bathtubs and let them screw around in there. Filling up a bathroom sink is a good option, as well. Ecoearth's cool stuff. Snakes are pretty fantastic swimmers. Just be ready to catch the little fucker when it dives out the side of your sink/tub at a thousand miles an hour. They go faster than a thing with no legs should be able to go.
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Feb 18, 2015 03:36
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Here's another good one: she hasn't shedded one of her eye caps, should I worry or do anything about it, or just try to do a better job than her previous owner with managing humidity and hope it solves itself the next shed cycle?
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Feb 18, 2015 13:57
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HEY VAPER posted:Here's another good one: she hasn't shedded one of her eye caps, should I worry or do anything about it, or just try to do a better job than her previous owner with managing humidity and hope it solves itself the next shed cycle? My snake had this happen and my vet suggested (or was it my snake-lady friend...) anyway the recommendation is to get some towels and soak in warm water and put them in a tub or other place you can contain her and then put her in those with the towels over/around her loosely. Her movement through the towels and the extra humidity will likely get the eye cap to fall off. It worked for my snake even though she refused to do more than get on top of the towels and then flatten them. Good luck!!
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Feb 18, 2015 15:25
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MrConfusedTurkey posted:It's funny you mention their tolerance for cold, in the article the author also has a photo of a rubber boa out in the snow, which is the second time they have seen one in the snow. I am very interested in these guys, but I would also have difficulty with brumating, considering I am in NW AZ. I feel the pain. Do you have pictures? I think a fridge is necessary for AZ brumation unless you're up in some of our higher mountains. I read somewhere the magic numbers for brumation is 55F for 3 months. I'm hoping upper 50s/low 60s will work, but am pretty sure it's wishful thinking. One of the males:   Cold-tubbin with his gal (darker boa). Females get notably larger than males.  She's a moose. I'll get photos of my other female when they come out of my attempt at cooling them. She's a big olive lady. And my other male is a small chocolate colored guy.  Here's the lady Tootsie Roll nestled in coconut soil. They love humidity. I offer this in variants to them: coconut soil, a small tupperware container with a hole cut in the lid, filled with moist sphagnum. I also top some of the coconut soil substrate with moist sphagnum to help with humidity retention in this dry climate. And their cage gets a misting every 2-3 days, which they seem to respond to (unless they're just responding to the possibility of food).  These charmers stay in my cool reptile room along with my coxi, lyres, and triaspis. They're great captives worth getting to know.
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Feb 18, 2015 17:25
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Ahhh they're so cute! I love their little eyes and their snoots. I want so many noodles, but I think one or two of these guys just made my must-have list. The article, and now these pictures has really made me like them so much, especially knowing they have such a docile temperament. Thank you for sharing these pictures 
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Feb 18, 2015 18:26
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Reading a lot of the research and insights of Richard F. Hoyer and his son Ryan hooked me on these. Ryan's site on these beauties: http://www.rubberboas.com/ Interestingly, they are one of the few species that may be kept communally. (Which I don't advise for most species, yet I do for a few species I keep. Do as I say not as I do, etc.) I keep my two females together in an admittedly excessively large Vision 211, and my males each in their own 5 gallon. One did bite me, as I thought I was lifting a faux branch out of the bedding which turned out to be her. She took exception and gave a quick nip. No blood nor resulting superpowers, but it was a bit of an honor. And the classic rubber boa pose of them wrapping around your finger or wrist is their most common go-to position when handled. This species just loves doing that.
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Feb 18, 2015 22:05
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My Tokay has gotten really good at the whole, "hey this guy is dangling food in front of my face hole. I guess I should eat it now." I'd been feeding him is a separate tub since his enclosure is huge and full of soil the roaches could burrow into so he'd probably never actually get them. But now I can just shove food in his face and he noms them down . Guess it helps that he is chill as hell and you really have to piss him off to get him to bark let alone bite.
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Feb 19, 2015 08:40
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We had a gecko when I was a kid and he was a complete psycho. He would literally launch himself at people and was escape crazed. I was utterly terrified of him.
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Feb 19, 2015 19:06
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Knew Pliskin was due to poo but thought it would be fine to let him slither about on me whilst watching GoT after a shower. Just had to have a second shower.
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Feb 19, 2015 21:56
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