RoTTen2TheCore

Update: So after days of soaking, he pooped. Or at least i thought... I figured before i disturb him by cleaning his cage, i will try to feed him since he pooped and maybe will now begin to eat. I was wrong he refused again and still has not eaten. After my attempt, i removed the paper towel from the bottom of the cage and upon closer inspection, i noticed it looked like only urates. It was all yellow and crusty looking. Mind you there was quite a bit of it, hence why i thought it was a full defecation at first. I decided to take a look at him and saw that the base of his tail is still swollen. Here is a pic. Sorry its not too great, my camera's batteries are dead so i just used my phone again. Am i just being paranoid or is this normal? Guess i;m just used to my rainbow boa who poops like a machine lol

Yes! From what I have seen up to date, for their size, blood pythons have one of the fastest strikes. I guess its because they are so stumpy. I also noticed that retics are one of the slowest, or maybe it was just the specimen I was dealing with. It wasn't really aggressive, more nervous and his strikes at me were so slow I never got bit. I once had a Children's python bite my hand, hold on, wrap around and start to constrict lol. He thought my hand was food and since I didn't move when he bit he kept going. But once I gently started to move he was like "Oh crap! This thing is big!" and started to let go. Cant say I have ever experienced a snake bite that really hurt. Only one that made me cringe a little was a baby ball python that got it's fang right into the vein in my thumb and started to pull. Yesh! In any case, lets hope I never have to change that statement lol

Awesome thanks! When you mentioned the whole biting thing, i remembered something i saw on TV. Found part of it on youtube. Adults sure do have scary mouths

Hehe not too worried about the teeth, i have been bitten by way worse. I figured they just take a long time regardless to poop. Mine is super active, he is often changing branches and at night he moves around the cage by himself. It is actually rare i catch him coiled up and resting. Little bugger is just full of beans i guess. Maybe i will just give him a bath when i get back from class tonight and see what happens.

Je trouve souvent mon brb dans sa brange quand elle est entrain de se promener pendant la nuit. Mais c'est vrai qu'elle passe la plupard de son temps dans sa cachette par dessus le heat pad. Personellement, j'ai mis son bol d'ea dans le cote froid pour qu'elle a de l'au fraiche a boire et un moyen de se refroidire si elle sent trop chaud. Mettre ton bol par dessus le heat pad peut aider a augmenter l'humidite, mais je prefere utiliser un humidificateur dans ma cage. Ca aide a garder l'humidite tres haut et en meme temps pas besoin de restricter la circulation d'air. J'ai aussi remarque qu'il y a pas de condensation sur les vitres avec un humidificateur. Voici un link qui dit comment faire un humidificateur pour le terra vous meme. Les photos ne marchent plus, mais les instructions sont faciles a suire. Jai fait le mien pour 50$. http://joshsfrogs.blogspot.com/2008/06/creating-terrarium-fogger.html

Thanks for the compliments guys! So last night i noticed something strange. My emerald was doing his usual night time romp around the cage when i took a close look and noticed that his tail is swollen just below the vent. So i figure "cool he is going to poop, hopefully this means he will be hungry when i try to feed him on friday." However, i woke up this morning and his tail is still swollen. I know that bathing them for a few hours helps them to pass feces, but i am still letting him get used to his new home and don't want to disturb him. I know Emeralds have a very slow digestive system and it just may take longer for them to poop. I would find it strange that he is constipated since he moves around a lot, which i know helps the intestinal tract work quicker, and his humidity is always in the right range. Anyone have any ideas, input?

Tu peux aussi essayer Rob McRobbie. Il fait de l'elevage et des fois il vend des bebes a l'expo des reptiles a point claire. Bonne chance!

Wow hi-tech. Ca doit etre bein precis. Merci de me l'avoir montre.

Presentement, j'utilise le Zoomed Repti-Temp 500R Remote Sensor Thermostat pour reguler la temperature etdans mon terra et le Zoomed Analog Reptile Thermometer & Humidity Gauge pour mesurer la temperature et l'humidite. Le thermostat fonctionne tres bien car la temp dans ma chambre change frequament, mais la temp dans mon terra rest toujours stable. La gauge a prouve d'etre tres preci quand je l'ai teste avec mon temp gun. Je cherche a acheter un guage digital et une deuxieme thermostat bientot. Le Fluker Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer a l'air precis, mais j'aimerai un gauge avec des probes. Suggestions/bonnes experiences?

Heh yeah same here and thanks for the offer!

Of course after I posted look what happened... lol As it is now, his perches are just a liiiiittle bit smaller than his body, but almost the same size. I bought some wooden perches yesterday actually because i find the plastic ones i have look ugly lol. I just haven't put them in yet because i dont want to disturb him. I check the temps with the digital thermometer and hygrometer as well as have a temp gun too (they are so awesome right?). Temps seem good and so does humidity. Anyways, thanks again!

Thank you all for the compliments! And thank you again Amy for the good advice, I will be sure to follow it. I was just wondering though, he has never actually perched properly since I got him. He just switches from branch to branch and hangs down in a S shape for hours. This is why I figured he was hungry and tried to feed him so soon after getting him, since I know that, in the wild, they hang from branches to catch passing prey. Or is he just restless because of his new diggs? Any ideas? Here are some new pics with my real camera. This is how I found him this morning and he was doing the same on another branch all last night.

Sounds reasonable, I was going to do the poping method, but i heard their tails are very delicate so I guess I will just wait a year and just probe. I am in no hurry. Looking forward to seeing more pics of yours. Tried feeding him, not interested in the slightest. I guess he is still getting used to his new home, I will wait another three days or so before trying again. And thank you SnakeEyes and Laurent!

Thank you. Yes a absolutely can't wait! I will be sure to take pictures as it progresses. I saw pics of yours and he is absolutely stunning. Yeah i havent sexed it yet, dont want to stress it out too much. Maybe next week. Going to try feeding him/her tonight tho, he/she seems hungry and the guy i bought it from said it has been about 12 days since he/she has eaten.

D'habitude, il faut just attendre et la peau s'enleve tout seule. Pour enlever de la peau problematique, j'utilise un peu d'eau tiede et je frotte tres doucement avec mon doit pendant que je porte un gant en caouchouc (le gant donne plus de friction et glisse la peau au lieu de la tirer). Encore, si tu donne des bains temps en temps, ca dout s'elever tout seule.

Lol yeah my phone takes craptacular close up pics. I will take some with a real camera soon.

J'ai eu la chance de prendre une couple de photos ce matin avant de partir pour classe. Voici mon nouveau bebe emerald tree boa! I'l n'y a pas de nom encore, mais bientot! So I was able to find (more like stumble upon) an emerald tree boa for a price I just could not refuse. It's a baby and very friendly. Luckily i have a ton of reptile stuff lying around and was able to quickly set up a decent enclosure. Right now, he is sitting in in a small 12x12x12 inch exo terra (since my rubbermaids are currently containing my gecko's insects). I covered the top with plastic to keep in the humidity in and the holes in the front as well as around the doors seem to be providing descent air circulation. I have a heat pad covering the bottom and am using a bendable vine as perches. Put in a large plastic container with water and paper towel covering the bottom. The humidity is at about 78% and the temp is 88 on the floor, 82 in the middle and 76 at the top of the enclosure. Going to get live plant to stick in there on my way home tonight.

Update!! So I was able to find (more like stumble upon) an emerald tree boa for a price I just could not refuse. It's a baby and very friendly. Luckily i have a ton of reptile stuff lying around and was able to quickly set up a decent enclosure. Right now, he is sitting in in a small 12x12x12 inch exo terra (since my rubbermaids are currently containing my gecko's insects). I covered the top with plastic to keep in the humidity in and the holes in the front as well as around the doors seem to be providing descent air circulation. I have a heat pad covering the bottom and am using a bendable vine as perches. Put in a large plastic container with water and paper towel covering the bottom. The humidity is at about 78% and the temp is 84 on the floor and 76 at the top of the enclosure. I have had him in there for about four hours now and for the first 2 hours he was moving around the enclosure and now he is just sitting at the bottom with his body on the base of the vine and his head in the corner on the floor. Is this a bad sign or will it take a little time till he finds a perch? Oh and pics coming soon!

Hehe bien sur!

Wow elle est aussi huge que belle! La mienne acheve cet grosseur. J'ai hate

Thanks again. Would have never thought of using aluminum lol brilliant!

Snazzy! What do you use as a heat source for a rubbermaid? Most heat pads i've seen specify for glass tanks only. Just had an idea. Would a heat cable running through a pvc perch work? Or are they better off with heat comming from the top/bottom?

Cool, yeah i figured it was on a Sunday in March. Was nervous that no date on the site meant that they were skipping it this time. I absolutely agree with your views on experience regarding quantity over quality. Hence why i only own 1 snake and after the ETB that will likely be all i will get. But then again, I'm sure we have all said this before buying yet another lol. Yeah i have heard rubbermaids are they way to go for the same reasons. I use a thermostat and hooked up a ultrasonic humidifier with pvc piping to my rainbow boa cage(which I covered the top partially with glass) and give a little spray here and there and all that keeps the heat and humidity pretty stable. Would the same thing work for an ETB if i wanted to skip the rubbermaid and put it in an enclosure straight away? If not, no big deal, the snakes health is obviously far more important than just being able to see it. The main diff between specialty pet stores and commercial, I find, is mostly just the price which is usually much higher in commercial pet stores (around here anyways) and specialty stores tend to have rare finds more often. It is pretty much impossible for me to be able to tell if someone is truly competent enough to buy an animal as they can simply walk in and lie. But i have refused to sell animals because the person basically told me they would not give it the proper care. The most I can do, when it comes to making sure a person is competent enough to take care of an animal, is help them become competent by telling them what I think is the proper care and never to take only one person's opinion (including my own), but rather research as much as you can many different opinions. It is a shame pet stores in general have such a bad reputation. I understand where it comes from and in a few cases i agree completely. But there are also many pet stores which take great pride in taking good care of their animals as well as their clients. All in all, it boils down to what you said, "as you read... and take everything seriously" it is hard to go wrong. And I'll be sure to contact Rob for some ETB answers thanks!

Wow Amy, yeah i can see how you guys got discouraged, but I'm really glad it worked out for you in the end. Yes i have been to the reptile show. Went to the last one and 2 others before that and will almost definitely be going to the next one so I will certainly keep an eye out for Rob . Hopefully by then ill be finished building my "rack" and also finish building another enclosure for the ETB. By the way, when is the next reptile expo in PC? I went on the site and there is no new date. J-N I have some experience with snakes, I currently own a rainbow boa and I work at a pet store so have had the opportunity to take care of many other species. I will admit i have never taken care of any snake that requires the care of an ETB, but after what I have read, I'm pretty sure i can handle it and look forward to the challenge. Handling is not my main concern, I have my rainbow for that. The ETB would be more of a display animal (unless it is docile, to which I will definitely take advantage of from time to time:)). I can tell you the reason why we do not carry them at my work is because our supplier never has any in stock, and second (and most importantly), even if they did, they would be selling it to us for about 700$ and after the store puts their profit on top of that, it just would not be worth it since people who are experienced enough to care for these animals know about buying from breeders and reptile shows, so i do not bother. The latter is also why I don't carry any ball python morphs lol. Usually when customers ask me for morphs, I tell them to wait for the reptile show, since they usually have some pretty awesome stuff at a much cheaper price. Thanks Jonton. For an ETB, cb would be the only way I would go about it and I would agree that wc boas play some part of the bad reputation. Having an aggressive snake would not bother me too much, it's more the parasites that I am worried about. I have a tortoise who had hookworms when I got him... Yeah no fun. Oh and if anyone is wondering, I didn't exactly answer my own original question back there lol. I know why regular commercial pet stores do not carry them. I meant specialty reptile stores where the owners usually breed their own snakes. Once again thanks for all the suggestions folks, really big help!

Thanks, great great info! Sorry to hear about you are your bf's bad experience with the pythons. If you don't mind me asking, why did they die? I have been reading quite a bit in the past month on them. Seen some nasty pictures of WTB bites requiring stitches! But i know that the fact that they are all insanely aggressive is simply not true. I think the myths about how difficult it is to keep them and how aggressive they are were probably created to keep people from simply impulse buying this species of snake. After some research, many will find that they can be tame and care is reasonable and not beyond the average reptile keeper's capabilities. My mind is pretty much already made up on getting the ETB over the GTP. I just noticed that the availability of the GTP outnumber the ETB in pet stores and shows. Was just wondering why. For example, i know that ball pythons most likely outnumber ETB's in pet stores and shows because they are a great beginner snake, they are cheap, rarely aggressive, simple care, etc. The reason why I ask this is because I have never seen an ETB in a pet store and only once in a reptile show. While GTP's seem to be fairly common in these places. This is only for my curiosity since when i get one it will certainly be from a breeder.