Baird's Rat Snake Update

[Tiny Boidae]

Hey all. I'm back for a flash to share a little update on Al Capone. I'll have him for a year in March and he's grown a lot. His colors are coming through and it really is stunning, not to mention he's mellowed out into quite a personable sweetheart. My schedule has been hectic so I don't have much time to update regularly, but it was nice today (in February?) and that warranted some time outside. I thought to take a few pictures while I was out, just in case I got any that I felt like posting here and was pleasantly surprised.

http://i67.tinypic.com/oj2gdl.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/mcb1i0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qTvhocj.jpg

[Jim Smith]

Very pretty. I've always liked the beautiful colors of the Baird's Rat Snakes. Lovely animals.

[EL Ziggy]

I agree with Jim. He has beautiful coloring. Very nice critter.

[Tiny Boidae]

Thank you for the compliments! Thought I thanked you for em earlier, but I got there in the end I guess.



Regardless, it was 80* today and sunny so I decided to take Al Capone out on the grass for some natural sunlight and a little bit of stimulation. He handled it pretty well. No tail-rattling, no musking. I was even able to pick him up without him trying to run, which is a rarity. I think he got really excited about it, as you can see in the video I took where he starts "dancing" as I call it. This will be a picture heavy post but I got a couple of shots that I was happy with. Thought to share em with you guys.

watch?v=IcDgxBzmvS4

This one is easily my favorite picture of him. I love his eyes. It's not even just P. bairdi, but snakes in general just have wicked eyes. Gotta love pictures that really bring em out.

http://i66.tinypic.com/16gwwo2.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/mwrsaq.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/2lkb0nm.jpg

A little bit of periscoping.

http://i67.tinypic.com/f00kld.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/2i89c28.jpg



On a semi-unrelated note, I'm considering getting a female within the next few years and maybe start a little breeding project with them. In the past, I said I wasn't interested as my animals were simply pets, but I really enjoy this species. They're gorgeous and they have wicked personalities. It won't be for a few years if I do it, as I want to get my undergraduate out of the way first, but I'll definitely let you guys know if and when it happens.

[SWDK]

Looks good. My Bairds is going through the color change as well.

[Tiny Boidae]

Looks good. My Bairds is going through the color change as well.

Thank you for the compliment! He's about two and sitting at about 182 grams so he's almost done with the color change. He's a western local so there's a lot of yellow up by the head but it turns red/dark orange towards the tail. Wicked animal though.

[whistlepig]

Great pictures, cool snake. Makes me jealous that I can't bring mine outside to enjoy the yard.

[Doug 351]

Great pictures, cool snake. Makes me jealous that I can't bring mine outside to enjoy the yard.

Meh...I can throw mine out in front of me ...and turn it in a knecktie in 60 seconds. Just pick her up....( and she loves EVERYONE!)

[Tiny Boidae]

Great pictures, cool snake. Makes me jealous that I can't bring mine outside to enjoy the yard.

Thank you. I bring him outside for a few minutes almost everyday that it's warm. I mostly do it for some natural uvb but I also think that the stimulation and exercise has its benefits as well. I'm sure you can take yours out if the temperature is right, just don't take your eye off them for a second ;)

Meh...I can throw mine out in front of me ...and turn it in a knecktie in 60 seconds. Just pick her up....( and she loves EVERYONE!)

He's pretty forgiving about handling as well. A little bit of musking and tail rattling especially, but he's never struck at anything but a mouse. Yours sounds like a doll to be around.

[Albert Clark]

This little rat snake species is still on my radar and short list. I think he's amazing T.B. Great update. Thanks..

[Tiny Boidae]

This little rat snake species is still on my radar and short list. I think he's amazing T.B. Great update. Thanks..

Thank you. Great animals to have around for sure.

[jjhill001]

Nice to see another Baird's keeper around!

[Tiny Boidae]

You have no idea! Funny little animals for sure.

[Tiny Boidae]

I feel a little hesitant about posting this update since it's barely been two weeks since his last one, but I think these pictures turned out better and...

He found this!


http://i65.tinypic.com/20785sk.jpg

He was dead set on getting to the garden (presumably because we have a colony of skinks that live there - I found eggs in the mulch once), and this just happened to be in his path of vegetative destruction. I've personally never found a four leaf clover before so I got really excited. I think I forgot about him for a solid thirty seconds.


And more pictures, this time of him.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2hwi6u1.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/2m28h88.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/5a0uc4.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/208xj5v.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/11gkqib.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/pumas.jpg

[Tiny Boidae]

He shed yesterday, so I thought to post a small update.

http://i65.tinypic.com/i2kimx.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/2zxuv7b.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/2ztdcgj.jpg


What a dangerous predator...

http://i66.tinypic.com/2u767b7.jpg

[dannybgoode]

Good to see some interest in the lesser known rat species. Really nice example you have.

[dave himself]

Al is looking really well

[Tiny Boidae]

Thank you both for the kind words!

Danny- I'm quickly falling in love with this species and my interest is starting to wonder to others as well. I was a little worried at first because usually you see more colorful individuals at the age of two, but recently he hit his first growth spurt with me and that brings about a rapid change in color. I'll keep you up to date when he sheds next.

Dave- He's doing great. Was gaining 10 grams a month usually and just jumped up 35 last month. Voracious and fun to watch.

[whistlepig]

Great pictures. Love seeing the updates. Thanks for sharing.

[dannybgoode]

Thank you both for the kind words!

Danny- I'm quickly falling in love with this species and my interest is starting to wonder to others as well. I was a little worried at first because usually you see more colorful individuals at the age of two, but recently he hit his first growth spurt with me and that brings about a rapid change in color. I'll keep you up to date when he sheds next.

Dave- He's doing great. Was gaining 10 grams a month usually and just jumped up 35 last month. Voracious and fun to watch.

I've heard rat snake addiction can get quite serious! I know people with very substantial collections.

Just don't look at all the Asian and European species as well and you'll be fine...

[Tiny Boidae]

whistlepig- Thank you!

danny- Haha, well I can see why! But your warning came too late for me. I'm hoping to get an Asian species soon-ish.

[Tiny Boidae]

Small update. He's doing extremely well. He's probably going to be getting a bigger cage sometime this month, which he definitely needs. I haven't measured him length wise in about a month, but he's a little over 4' and he's 222.5g from about a week ago. I'm starting to slow his feeding schedule down and we'll see how he handles that.

http://i.imgur.com/CWAjCYq.jpg

This isn't really something the camera can capture, but he's made huge changes personality wise as well, even in just the past month. I can't remember the last time he's tail rattled and now he's extremely placid and curious. I'm able to pick him up out of the enclosure without him even attempting to run away. He also loves my hair, as it's probably a pretty tempting hiding place. Unfortunately for him I try not to let him near my face, but a funny thing about that happened when I was taking these pictures. I didn't have him close to my face, probably at around chest level, but I wasn't paying him much attention and when I yawned, this punk stuck his head in my mouth, which was something I'd never imagined I'd have happen. But yeah, extremely curious and no fear lol

http://i.imgur.com/RR2ngJg.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mpbaWab.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Im7Sheu.jpg

[Albert Clark]

He looks amazing! Grats TB.

[jjhill001]

I wish my Lucy would calm down. She's an ornery little lady.

[jjhill001]

Also, just a tip especially if you're capturing photos with a cell phone. Take it out in the sun. You might not be able to see your screen too well but just snap the photos best you can and usually they turn out alright.