anybody else like snakes?

owenj

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I love snakes. Here's about half of my collection:

Augmented, a male Borneo python


Diminished, a female Borneo python



And the blood pythons-
Daphne and me (I swear to God I'm not really a stoner)


Heath


Jim


Pam



And finally Snakey, a carpet python
 

arlyn

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Gorgeous snakes, I only wish I had the room here to keep them again.

I used to keep corn and rat snakes, plus a successfully mated pair of ball pythons.
The corns and rats went to a herp friend and unfortunately, my balls died during a power outage in the hands of a rank beginner herper while I was away from home for a month, or so she tells me


I live in the Mojave now, so I get to watch all the spiney lizards, geckos and desert iguanas out here.
We have a rather large bull snake in residence in the resort park, but I have yet to see her.
 

goldenkitty45

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I do. I had a Ribbon Snake. But my favs are Corn or Milk Snakes. One day I'll get another one


But a question for you (I'm assuming you've had them sexed) - I thought that male snakes had a longer and thinner tail - the females were short and fat. Your one male (first photo) looks like a female if I'm correct????
 

faith's_mom

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I like snakes, but not sure I could ever own a snake that if loose, could swallow one of my kitties


I'll stick with corn snakes and bearded dragons when I actually have a place big enough to invest in them again...
 
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owenj

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

But a question for you (I'm assuming you've had them sexed) - I thought that male snakes had a longer and thinner tail - the females were short and fat. Your one male (first photo) looks like a female if I'm correct????
Tail-sexing is kind of a shady way to sex snakes. There are general differences that you can learn to look for, but it's unreliable. Probing and popping are the best ways to go. To tell you the truth, I haven't had them sexed personally; they were sold to me as male and female. But I'm pretty sure I've got a pair, because I observed mating behavior this past winter. No eggs, but they were both virgins. Maybe this year


You must be a guitarist! 'Augmented' and 'Diminished' for pet names. I love it!
Why yes I am, but I have to give credit to my then-future-wife for the names. She's a cellist, and when we were in high school, I got those two snakes and I said I should come up with musical names for them. We both thought of the names at the same time, but she got the words out first. The rest is history.....
 

EnzoLeya

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Ooo a carpet python! Nice! Your snakes are all beautiful!

I've got two ball pythons on hold. They aren't quite old enough/eating well enough yet. I tried my luck with my first snake EVER a few months ago, but sadly I lost her after a two month battle of trying to get her to eat. I litterally tried everything! I joined a ball pythons site and they taught me a lot. I'm still a little heart broken, but they all pretty much told me "that's what you get for not buying her from a breeder." She was a baby and underweight when I got her.
 
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owenj

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Yeah unfortunately, the vast majority of baby ball pythons sold every year are imported from Africa. Meanwhile, we have way more than enough already in the US to support a sustainable captive population, free from any further importation.

Your situation is very sad and all too common. It doesn't help that ball pythons are already notorious for going off feed for months at a time. Good luck with your next two; I'm sure they'll fare much better this time! And feel free to PM me if you've got any questions!
 

snosrap5

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My son has a ball python he received as a gift from me for graduation. He/she is eating well and this is our third week with it. He has read lots of stuff about them but I'm worried we will still make mistakes. Is there anything we shouldn't be doing? What are some of the biggest mistakes people make concerning ball pythons?
 
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owenj

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Off the top of my head, one of the biggest mistakes people make with snakes is feeding live. It can be tricky to convince a snake to eat a pre-killed meal, but it's much safer for the snake. People also like to feed their snakes a lot in order to have a larger snake sooner, but it is healthier for the snake to feed in moderation. For a ball python, I'd say three or four adult mice every five weeks is good.

Lots of people also fudge the temperatures. Some people swear by temperature gradients, but ball pythons can be kept and even bred very successfully with just an ambient temperature of 80 F, maybe into the mid-80s.

Also, make sure you give the snake a hide box, preferably several if you do have a temperature gradient. Snakes like nice, tight spaces in which they can feel secure. Many inexperienced snake keepers want to decorate the cage so it looks nice to the keeper and so the keeper can see the snake. The snake really doesn't care how the cage looks, but it does care if it feels safe. A nervous snake is less likely to eat and more likely to become sick and die.

And don't use any pine or cedar bedding! The vapors it releases are toxic.
 

EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by owenj

Off the top of my head, one of the biggest mistakes people make with snakes is feeding live. It can be tricky to convince a snake to eat a pre-killed meal, but it's much safer for the snake. People also like to feed their snakes a lot in order to have a larger snake sooner, but it is healthier for the snake to feed in moderation. For a ball python, I'd say three or four adult mice every five weeks is good.

Lots of people also fudge the temperatures. Some people swear by temperature gradients, but ball pythons can be kept and even bred very successfully with just an ambient temperature of 80 F, maybe into the mid-80s.

Also, make sure you give the snake a hide box, preferably several if you do have a temperature gradient. Snakes like nice, tight spaces in which they can feel secure. Many inexperienced snake keepers want to decorate the cage so it looks nice to the keeper and so the keeper can see the snake. The snake really doesn't care how the cage looks, but it does care if it feels safe. A nervous snake is less likely to eat and more likely to become sick and die.

And don't use any pine or cedar bedding! The vapors it releases are toxic.
And use a small tank (a plastic tub would be better)! That was my biggest problem for the first month. Don't EVER listen to pet stores, they know NOTHING!
Another reason my baby ball didn't fair well.

Thanks for all your info Owenj, I joined a site for ball pythons and they helped me out so much. I started assist feeder her small meals every now and again and she FINALLY ate a live pinky after 2 months and killed herself. One of the balls that I have on hold isn't eating well yet
So I'm still waiting.... The other ball was just hatched last week so it will be a good month or two till I get her.

Here's the male I have on hold


And the female I have on hold



And the snake I lost




Some day (in 3-4 years) I'm going to get two het pied balls to breed and hope for pieds!!!
 

snosrap5

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Originally Posted by owenj

Off the top of my head, one of the biggest mistakes people make with snakes is feeding live. It can be tricky to convince a snake to eat a pre-killed meal, but it's much safer for the snake. People also like to feed their snakes a lot in order to have a larger snake sooner, but it is healthier for the snake to feed in moderation. For a ball python, I'd say three or four adult mice every five weeks is good.
We don't know the age of the python. She is 14 inches long and not quite as round as a hotdog.
Right now she eats every five days. One fuzzy and one pinky. They are frozen. It was recommended that if she didn't eat we could rub the fuzzies against our water dragons and that would do the trick to entice her to eat. But we've had no issues so far..

Originally Posted by owenj

Lots of people also fudge the temperatures. Some people swear by temperature gradients, but ball pythons can be kept and even bred very successfully with just an ambient temperature of 80 F, maybe into the mid-80s..
We do have two temperature gradients in her cage. No higher than 85 on one side and the other side stays room temp. We set up her water directly in the middle of the tank.

Originally Posted by owenj

Also, make sure you give the snake a hide box, preferably several if you do have a temperature gradient. Snakes like nice, tight spaces in which they can feel secure. Many inexperienced snake keepers want to decorate the cage so it looks nice to the keeper and so the keeper can see the snake. The snake really doesn't care how the cage looks, but it does care if it feels safe. A nervous snake is less likely to eat and more likely to become sick and die.

And don't use any pine or cedar bedding! The vapors it releases are toxic.
There are two hide boxes one on the cool end and the other on the warm side. She uses both boxes. I can't think of the name of the bedding but I do know it's not cedar or pine.
This snake so far is very active and curious about her surroundings. Eyes are very bright, skin very healthy looking. No mites were found.
I did notice that she looks like she might be starting to shed. Around her vent and under her chin it looks like her skin is lifting.

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

And use a small tank (a plastic tub would be better)! That was my biggest problem for the first month. Don't EVER listen to pet stores, they know NOTHING!
Another reason my baby ball didn't fair well.

Thanks for all your info Owenj, I joined a site for ball pythons and they helped me out so much. I started assist feeder her small meals every now and again and she FINALLY ate a live pinky after 2 months and killed herself. One of the balls that I have on hold isn't eating well yet
So I'm still waiting.... The other ball was just hatched last week so it will be a good month or two till I get her.
We have a 20 gallon tank with a snap lid we also bought a lock for the top.
 
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owenj

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Snosrap, sounds like you've got it down. Enzo, those are some pretty ones, esp that female. If you don't mind my asking, which breeder(s) are they from?
 

twstychik

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Originally Posted by SportBikeMike

You must be a guitarist! 'Augmented' and 'Diminished' for pet names. I love it!
And a fan of the Office too! They are all beautiful!

Originally Posted by faith's_mom

I like snakes, but not sure I could ever own a snake that if loose, could swallow one of my kitties


I'll stick with corn snakes and bearded dragons when I actually have a place big enough to invest in them again...
I've owned up to a dozen snakes at once but adopted out my last red-tail boa about 2 years ago. I simply didn't have to time to care for him properly. Since then DH has said no more snakes but I'm hoping a beardie isn't off the table when we have more room and time.
 

EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by owenj

Snosrap, sounds like you've got it down. Enzo, those are some pretty ones, esp that female. If you don't mind my asking, which breeder(s) are they from?
Thanks!!! I love them! The male I'm getting from a friend of mine, he's got a website www.jdconstriction.com. He lives here in Iowa.

The other one is from a friend I made on the ball python site. I thought she would have a website, but this is the only thing I could find about her online. http://reptilegeeks.com/rabernet

Trust me....I'm getting great deals on both snakes. (and I do know they are both normals and not hets
)
 
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