Three down, one to go

[EL Ziggy]

It took 3 hours to clean the kingsnake and bull snake enclosures. I ran out of steam so I'll clean the carpet's cage tomorrow. Everybody was happy with my maid service.
http://i1319.photobucket.com/albums/t674/EL-Ziggy/Mobile%20Uploads/20160109_212147-1_zpstvxlqkmm.jpg (http://s1319.photobucket.com/user/EL-Ziggy/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20160109_212147-1_zpstvxlqkmm.jpg.html)

[Minkness]

Looks great Ziggy!!!

She-Ra is so impressive! Really makes me look forward to when I can have a bull! How big will she get?

[EL Ziggy]

It's tough to say Mink. She's a smidge short of 7ft now and she's just a little over 2 y/o. She's sweet as pie too. :)

[Humble308]

Dude She-ra is gorgeous, I'm always blown away when you share pics of her. Is she one of Jason's hatchlings?

[EL Ziggy]

@ Humble- Thanks a bunch. Both my Pits are from Jason. She-Ra was a 9/13 hatchling and Apollo was a 7/14 hatchling.

[Minkness]

Do the males stay smaller like some snakes, or does it matter?

[Humble308]

Very nice. He has some great looking snakes for sure. I think ill get something from him during his 2016 season. Fortunately for us Pits are still fairly cheap ;)

[EL Ziggy]

@Mink- From what I remember females are larger on average but not by much. At 18 months She-Ra was 1327g and Apollo was 1184. She's always been a slightly more aggressive feeder too.

@ Humble- Jason has some amazing Pits and the prices are right on. Your gopher Bella is something extra special too :).

[Humble308]

Thanks! She has my heart for sure. Unfortunately I'm actually dealing with a mite issue with her, I think from a piece of bark deco I used. She has also regurged the past two meals 3 days after eating.

I've given her a warm water soak and sterilized her cage switching to paper towels and a spritz of some mite spray. Feeding day is tommorow, but after some research I'm going to give her another week off to rebuild her gut flora. After losing Pepper to regurge it's not something I'm taking lightly.

Fortunately none of the other snakes are showing mites, but they got a spray down anyways...I guess we all think we're immune to these things until it actually happens

[EL Ziggy]

Sorry to hear that Humble. I'd give her 10-14 days to recover from that regurge. Are your temps on point? What do you think caused her to regurge 2x ? I hope you get it all sorted out bud.

[Humble308]

Temps are pretty good with ambient being 76, and a hot spot of 86-88. She uses both hot and cold so I don't think it's a temp issue. The only thing I can think of is the first regurge may have been handling too soon at around 36 hours instead of the usual 48, with the second likely from feeding too soon. I'm going to go hands off with her for awhile. Thanks for the tip, I think I'll give her the full 14 days to heal up. As of now, most of the mites are gone, but I'm going to continue treatment for the next week.

[EL Ziggy]

Your ambient temps are good. I like to keep my warm side at a max of 84-86. Both my pits seem to enjoy cooler temps than my kings and carpets. I found my sweet spot at 75-85.

[Pogie]

I love your setup. I think all the snakes are beautiful. I didn't know bull snakes got so big :shocked:

[Minkness]

Nnng....they have tiny baby bulls at the reptile store I go to x.x

They were in the back though because they are apparently so tiny, so I didn't get to see them. I may try and get a look on friday when I go back for feeders and to sell/trade my baby cresties.

[EL Ziggy]

Be careful Mink. :)

[Minkness]

I know i know lol.

I said no....for now...

As of now, I am 100% fully dedicated to house related things, and a new snake is not part of that. I am working on getting some pics of my new addition though and will be getting a thread up in a bit =)

[Bandit]

Great looking snakes and setups. Is that top one a T8 with a divider?

[EL Ziggy]

Thanks Bandit. It is a divided T8.

[Bandit]

Cool. I hope to one day get a T8 for my gopher and then possibly divide up a second T8 for my milk snake and get something else for the other one.

[EL Ziggy]

A T8 will be perfect for your gopher Bandit. My young carpets are in a divided T8 as well. I'll move them into enclosures with more vertical space next year.

[Bandit]

I've really been having the itch to get something else...especially a bull. Riddick just killed me with that bull he just posted. But I know I don't have space for something that will get that big that fast. It would have to be something a bit smaller if it was in the immediate future, maybe a king of some sort.

[Minkness]

Bandit, you could look into an IJ carpet as well! They stay slender and don't get very large at all. I would say that they have a medium activity level and when full grown would be comfortable in a 40 breeder set longways in it's side. They would require a sturdy perch though as they are semiaboreal.

I currently have an adult male who isn't even 5 foot. He may gain another few inches, but not much. =)

[Bandit]

I actually really like the jungle carpets, and I will definitely be owning one in the future. I'm just worried that when the time comes to put one in a larger enclosure, I won't have the room. That's why I'm hesitant on getting anything right now. My apartment is fairly cramped as is, and I don't have much room for another tank. I'm really trying to fight the itch and hold off. I think just seeing everyone getting new snakes right now is really making me want another.

I was kind of thinking of a gray banded king since they stay fairly small...wouldn't be much of a problem to fit one in somewhere and I've always liked them.

But that is a beautiful carpet you just picked up. I can easily imagine having one in a nice naturalistic enclosure.

[Minkness]

Awww, I totally get that! I almost picked up a gorgeous variable king myself, but that snake is just not on my list. If size matters and you want something to scratch your itch, I suggest a male hognose, garter, kenyan or rough scale sand boa. Any one of those snakes is fine in a 10 gallon tank, or, in my case, smaller tubs. (I can take pics later to show you).

I have no experience with garters or kenyan sand boas, but hoggies have great personality and are easy to care for. Roughscale aand boas have an attitude problem at first, but mine are calming down every time I handle them. So, if you don't scare easily and don't mind harmless, painless bites, they could work for you. I would still suggesta hog over a roughie any day though because they are also mildly active and usually out in the open, whereas the roughies stay hidden 99% of the time. However, hoggies can be finicky eaters while roughies hit hard EVERY time.
Either way, ine of those 4 might be a good 'for now' snake until you have rhe space for somwthing bigger like a carpet or bull.

[EL Ziggy]

I feel you on the need for my space and the itch to get more snakes Bandit. Lots of snakes including kings, pits, and carpets can be kept in small-medium sized tubs for 12-24 months or longer :). You can always get nicer enclosures when you have more space. Looking back, if I wasn't starting with pvc, I would skip the tanks and go with tubs. They're lightweight, easy to clean, and they come in a multitude of sizes. The only drawbacks with tubs IMO are they're not very conducive to viewing your animals and it's hard to use a supplemental heat source like a CHE or IR heat bulb without modifications.

[Bandit]

Yeah I'll really have to think about if I want to commit to another snake at the moment. I really think I'd go for a gray-banded king if I cave, simply because I like them and they stay smaller. However, garters aren't a bad idea Mink. I've had them before and loved them. That's definitely another snake I'll consider getting.