New site, need help!

[Zoe]

Hi!
I recently bought moreliaspilota.com, and I have made a site for it (it isn't on moreliaspilota.com yet tho). Anyway, I was hoping that some of you experts :D might be so gracious and kind as to read over some of the info and make sure it's all correct and that nothing is missing!
The temp url is:

http://www.indiepool.com/privateftp/archermultimedia/zoestevens/ms/

Thank you so much!!
Zoe

(BTW it's all about Irian Jayas for now)

[Tim_Cranwill]

Very nice work! I don't have time to read it all right now, but it sure looks nice:)

[TonyL]

Great job so far Zoe!

And all about my favourite snake :)

Let us know when it is finished.


Tony

[JIMI]

found two lil spelling/typos in the care sheet.

in the scientific name - it's New Guinea
and in pattern and colour variation - i think you mean to say "some of the finer examples" and not "some of the finger examples"...

saves ya the trouble of findin them yourself

[Zoe]

hehe thankies... I do that with a lot of words :]

Zoe

[Terraweb]

Wow looks good i must say ! Only the pics are missing? I will place your link on my site,....will you do the same for me !>
Take a look on our site too....

http://terrapics.com.purple.wsgate.net/ (what do you think ?)

[Terraweb]

ooooops here it is (http://terrapics.com.purple.wsgate.net/)

[Clownfishie]

The site looks great Zoe :)
The only mistake that I noticed was the "finger" one too...

[JKUROSKI]

1)Scientific Name:
'Harrisoni' not harissoni and is not a recognized subspecies by taxonomists so it's use may or may not be the best.

2)Distribution:
Irian Jayas are found in many other places in Irina Jaya and Papua New Guinea not only Merauke. "all Irian Jayas in American captivity are from the island." I would hardly call Irian Jaya an Island and there is Australian Variegata in North America.

3)Size:
They are semi to mostly arboreal....stated as fact based on what research.

4)Water:
distilled water (real distilled, not purified, Brita, etc. ) is not recommended. Distilled will cause small systematic problems...usually manifested in the G.I tract and the kidneys...Osmosis is the key factor. Remember back to high school bio or chemistry...when a cell is exposed to a hypo tonic solution such as distilled water, it will swell and usually burst, when it does all the nutrients and the water (contained within the cell) will be lost to the surrounding and eliminated...the use of distilled water does not "dehydrate" in the characteristic use of the word, but the effect is the same..water and minerals are lost to the outside..."

5)Cycling:/Introduction:
You should cool them for more than 15 days. Normally two months plus is what is used.

6)Ovulation:
8-24 hours

7)Gestation:
Gestation will last 3 to 4 months.<----where in the hell did you read this!!! WRONG WRONG WRONG

That's enough for now...

[Zoe]

read that on a caresheet but it's obviously false. instead of saying that it's wrong, perhaps saying the right answer?

As for arboreal... all of mine except my gravid one spend all of their nights roaming the branches. that is also stated on several other caresheets.

[JKUROSKI]

Gestation occurs within the python from the time of ovulation till the time of oviposition at which time it is called incubation. So 20 days from ovulation to prelay shed and 25 days from prelay shed till oviposition gives you about 2 months. Add that to the incubation time and total time equals around 3-4 months at least. Maybe that's what they ment.

Semi arborial, yes they do at times climb. Mostly arborial, tough to say...but from my experience it was about half and half at best.

[snakemann87]

cool site, couldnt find any they corrected

[AnthonyC]

Zoe,

Not to pick on you, but I'm going with Jim (JKuroski).

About being arboreal, I'd say 50% arboreal is being generous. With some of my adults, I'd consider them to be about 30% arboreal. Even babies that I've kept in 3 foot tall cages with plenty of branches have spent a LOT of their time coiled up in a hide box on the ground.

[JIMI]

Right now I have one 4.5 foot IJ who's in his hide.
Also a 4 foot female IJ who's on the ground but in plain view against the front of the glass (so obviously not hiding eh)..
and finally a 6 foot female JCP perched on a high branch in an 18 inch high tank. she's going through a shed right now.

the female JCP is probably 40% arboreal.
the female IJ is about the same, but she never hides. ever.
the male IJ is about 60-70% arboreal during the day. 100% at night.

the male IJ prefers to feed from above, on a perch. If he's hiding during feed time he'll come out from his hide, sometimes right past the prey and up into the branches then comes down and strikes from above. resulting in feeding while hanging from his perch. it's the way he likes it and probably does it only because he has the space. the ones in 18 inch tanks dont feed from above. but the male has a 36 high enclosure.

[Zoe]

Anthony,

All of mine have hides and rarely use them. If they aren't in the branches, they are either on a shelf or the ground in plain view.

As far as I can tell, it depends on the individual. If I had no experience I'd agree with you, but I can't plainly see how much time my snakes spend in the branches.

Of course, if they aren't given much in the ways of branches, of course they won't use them. But mine are given a wide variety of thick branches, thin branches, shelves and floor space (with hides) and rarely use the latter.

Zoe

[AnthonyC]

Zoe,

Are you using "undertank" heat in those cages?

[Zoe]

Yes I am

[AnthonyC]

Hmmm...

Just FYI - I'm not at all questioning what you're saying, but you've got me wondering why ours behave so much differently.

With the umpteen Carpet Pythons that I have/have had, I'd say only a handful (maybe 4) have spent more time out in the open than they do hidden. Hatchlings seem to prefer to hide almost all day, but will almost always come out and perch at night.

Of course, some of that may be attributed to the fact that almost all of my Pythons (except GTP) get relatively huge meals compared to what some people feed their animals, which would obviously cause them to retreat to a warm hiding place for several days at a time.

Do you typically feed meals that are larger in diameter than the snake, or do you stick to the rule that says prey items should be no thicker than the snake?

[Zoe]

Well, my younger female who spends all her time off the ground eats only mice. So the food items are considerably thin (mind you, she takes many at a time). Same goes for the male.
My biggest female isn't eating as she is gravid so I can't say.

That is a possible explanation though!

[AnthonyC]

Well, that may be the case. I bet it would take 6 big mice to equal a small rat.

Are they eating f/t mice or just pre-killed? If they will take f/t mice, how do you thaw them out?

I know you have a lot of switching methods listed on your site, but there's one more thing you might try.

[Zoe]

I use pre-killed mice. I breed my own so it would be pretty useless to freeze it then thaw it :P
You have a method that might work?? Do share!! I'm desperate! I've tried live and scented and chain feeding!

Thanks
Zoe

[Ritus_Reptile]

Hmm im kinda in the middle too. My hatchling spends ALL of his time in the branches hes got. He even just hangs down to drink in the tree. He snatches pinkies from in the tree too. But as for my 4 foot male he eats from his tree and comes down to drink. He explores his cages floor than gos right back in to his tree. I rarely see him on the ground and never in his box. The time he spends on the floor is only to drink or after a large rat he might be on the floor for a day or two but than hes back to the trees. In the tanks i have plants that hang from the walls adding cover for the snakes when they are in the branchs, so mabey thats why they are always up there so much. I only have 2 carpet pythons but i have had my 4 foot male since he was a hatchling. So who knows, it might just be the snake or what you have in the tank. All of my tanks have thick branches and hanging plants that add cover mabey they like that more.???? this is just what i have gathered from my experience. I would say 70-80% aboreal during the day 100% at night

[AnthonyC]

Zoe,

I wrote a lengthy post at MoreliaPythons.com (link to the post below) about how I switched a juvie from live mice to f/t mice...and then from f/t mice to f/t rats. To this day, she won't touch a live or pre-killed rat, but will come flying out of her hide box or off of a perch to get to a thawed rat.

It's pretty interesting, and was about the only thing left to try. I tried the typical scenting methods, etc., but I think thawing mice and rats in the same tub of hot water made the difference.

Here's a link to that post...

http://www.moreliapythons.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1398#1398