View Full Version : more pics...
SilverTongue
09-03-02, 11:02 AM
looks like a happy lil snake :)
that is a gorgeous snake!
How old and long is it?
Dom
That's our male and he's not likely over 3 to 4 months old if that, we're still waiting to hear back from Ben on the date, he's probably not recovered yet from the show. I would guess, since we have tried really hard not to stress these guys out, that they are both approaching 1.5 to 2.0 feet long, but the male is much fuller bodied.
Thank you for the kindness, we're kind of partial to those two guys too! The bloods are just so different, the pattern is striking and we just couldn't help ourselves (G).
Tay
Grant vg
09-03-02, 01:17 PM
Lookin good guys, glad to see ur enjoying them.....:D
I like the plants....thinkin bout adding some myself to my enclosures.....
gvg
Thank ye! They seem to really like them, the Boa has been hiding on her perch behind the vines and leaves all afternoon and the bloods take their turns with the ivy. I've got to get them some more, I'm thinking of hanging vines from the peg board and letting it trail over their humidity box.
Grant, what do you think of putting a little air pump and stone in their large pool to aerate the water and help to humidify the enclosure, do you think it would freak them out too much? I can get the humidity up in there to close to 60% but can't keep it in that range and the dang thing is completely sealed except for the peg board in the back, it's driving me nutzzzzz! They use their water containers often, I've seen them swim in them at least a dozen times today and they'll swim out and find a shady spot in the cage to slumber, so I wonder if that reading is okay since I have the two pools which together are holding about 3.5 gallons of water and the humidity box with wet paper toweling inside.
We're also thinking of buying one of those water falls from Zoo Med for their enclosure this weekend, I wonder which do you think would profit them more?
BTW, I have to agree with you on the temperment, I find those statements highly questionable with regard to their 'aggressiveness', these two babies are so sweet and I handled three others at the show, all very much puppy tame, but what I find odd about these two, is how they will come to my hands whenever I open the enclosure, they actually crawl up your arm if you just lay it still! I've never had snakes do that before and I wonder if that's where people are getting the idea that they're agressive. I could see it, they come at you in a not so slow sort of manner, but with intent (G) but they don't strike, not even closed mouthed, they just raise up and crawl up your arm and it freaks me out because I've never experienced that from any other snake, they're usually could care less whether you ever touch them or not, but not these two. Have any of yours been so forward with their desire to use you as a heater. While I'm at it, it's 85.0 to 88.0 in their enclosure most of the time, with a 4 to 5 degree gradient in the front and rear corners.
Tay
nice snake and nice pics!
Thank you ladies! I think it's love, I can't stop watching them!
Help!
Tay
LOL...I know new snakies are always the best snakies! I can see how you can stare at these guys though, they have such unique movement since they are so heavy bodied :)
Grant vg
09-04-02, 09:59 AM
Tay and Jon,
I personally have never used air pumps or the zoo med waterfall i my enclosures before.....although i have heard from many ppl the water fall works wonders.....
but if ya ask me, i dont like adding things like the waterfall in my enclosures.....its just asking for water everywhere.....lol
Id try a air stone first, seeing that ur bloods seem to not be
timid (G), they prolly wont have a problem with it......and it could very well be therapeutic, u'll never really know unless u try it!
Who knows, u could be onto something....
Humidity can be quite tricky in certain enclosures, and it might take some fine tuning before u get it right.....
If ur close to 60%, u could just try sealing up some of the holes in the pegboard......
or possibly hanging live pothos along the cieling.....
this is what i was originally going to do with my enclosures.......
get some small pothos, attach em in the corner and as the vines grow, attach them along the cieling....of the enclosure and drape them into the water bowls....
I dont know, im just rambling on and throwing ideas at ya....
Humidity is something u have to check on a daily basis.
and alter things accordingly, each season, u may have to alter ur entire set up.....like right now...i have very small water bowls, just enough to get there heads in there for a drink.....but come winter...i may have to put in a large rubbermaid, and spray multiple times in a day....
ITs all part of the fun keepin bloods, they keep u on ur toes daily.
As for the comming when u call them...lol
i have a few who do that sometimes.
One of my adult males will constantly try to open his door well im on the pooter surfin....after about an hour, i usually let him out an he'll come up on to me just to chill out and see what im doing on the net....lol
I didn't know this was a common thing in bloods....lol
anyways, have a great day.
Gvg
Grant,
Thanks for the response, I need all the help I can get in more ways than one (EG)!
On the air pump, I did that today, then I went around behind the cage to the pegboard and covered sections of it with clear contact paper, we'll see how that does. The air pump doesn't seem to bother them at all, in fact, I think the female likes it, she swam in the big pool toady!!!
On the Pothos, I LOVE Devil's Ivy!!! I just happen to have a HUGE one growing in a pot with a Fiddle Leaf Ficus that now since you mention it, I'm going to re-pot into one of those long deck style planters this weekend in some nice vermiculite enriched soil and place that in the cage and run it up the middle divider. Thanks for a great idea, I love a more natural look anyway and want to do something to enhance the looks of the enclosure.
I am begining to wonder about their assertiveness though now that you've stated yours will come to you. Maybe that assertiveness is getting misinterpreted as outward agression, because like I said earlier, she came at me rather fast and I kind of held my breath thinking, "What is she going to do?" but she just slid up my arm as if to say, "Where we goin'?" LOL He does the same thing, and now they're always coming up to the glass to watch us! It's so cute to see their little pupils shifting back and forth when they watch you!
Now for a more species oriented quesiton... You saw the pics and I'm wondering, do you think the male is actually a Sumatran? The female is so much darker and more blood colored, he is more blonde all over and I don't know enough about them to tell yet. So whaddaya think? And btw, they were 8 weeks old Saturday according to Ben Siegel whom we purchased them from at the show, so will his color lighten or darken with age?
Again Grant thank you for all the wonderful help and keep those pics coming, we love to see the babies as they grow and yours are absolutely GORGEOUS!
Tay
Grant vg
09-05-02, 11:48 AM
Along with there assertiveness, i think the FREAKY eyes, There colour, there slow but direct movemnets, and the fact that they can be very vocal....has lead to the misconception that these guys are nasty......
However,
There are some pretty nasty ones out there.....and they're bad,....lol
As for the local identification......i really couldn't tell ya.....I havn't heard of any research or ways that have been able to identify who comes from where....
It would be nice to know though....if i could, i would breed local specific.
As i said , theres been talk about adult colours being put to locals, but for me that is definatly not a reason to put any colour of each side in there respected local. theres always an exception.....and in this instance i think the exception is large.
I know of some papers on brongersmai as well as the other two ssp.....im havn't a hard time geting into the site right now, but will send them on to u when i can, because it is very interesting reading if u can understand it.
u will need acrobat reader to read em....
Grant vg
Sounds great Grant, We've got everything Adobe so that's no problem. Whenever you get the free minute we'd be glad to have them. Hard to find anything besides basic care sheets on the net.
I wonder if the nastyness of some individual snakes of this species could be attributed to poor habitat/husbandry more than the species itself? There was a subadult Sumatran from a different breeder than we bought from that had it housed in what looked to be an acrylic enclosure that couldn't have been more than a square foot in dimension - we inquired about him and were told that he was too nasty to handle. If this is his permanent enclosure I could see why! Poor guy looked miserable. Needless to say we just walked off. Maybe he didn't know, maybe he didn't care. But, I wonder if these are the folks that are saying they are nasty as they DO have more requirements than a simple heat light and a ceramic bowl with water.
Ours ate again last night, just single, small hoppers for now. They are taking some coaxing, but they do take the thawed better than I expected. I suppose now we'll have to look into breeding some rats...
We're looking to Amazon for some more 'in-depth' herp books... maybe we'll find some more info there.
Take care!
Jon
Grant vg
09-05-02, 12:22 PM
As far as i know, there has been nothing published on this species, meaning a complete book for them.....if the barkers dont come out with one, ill do...lol
Some bloods can be tricky eaters....and for one that i have, i leave a f/t in there and if he doesn't eat it then ow well, im not gonna try the next day with a f/k.....
They'll just get bothered with all the offerings....
They'll learn to eat when they get offered F/t sooner or later....
Most snakes can be tamed, i have a borneo that was the craziest thing when i got him as a LTC,....
He has calmed down so much and never strikes, although he continues to display like hes a bad boy.
heres a pic of a big male not the prettiest guy but hes about 5 feet or so.
Enjoy,
Grant
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/5xx016-med.jpg
He's a healthy one! Ya should come out with a book. The species is getting more and more popular - at least from what we saw this past weekend.
Jon
Grant vg
09-05-02, 01:33 PM
I would, but i am not even close to habving all the knowledge i would need for a book....i like em, well....love em....but Dave Barkers the one who's payed his dues and done all the reasearch, so if he came out with one.....i would buy an autographed copy....lol
SilverTongue
09-05-02, 01:42 PM
That is a beaut of a snake!
Grant, I think that boy is absolutely beautiful actually, love the pic! I don't think you give yourself enough credit here, what I've seen from you has helped us a great deal.
One thing on my mind though, since these guys are said to be a semi-aquatic species and the humidity requirement in an enclosure is so high.... Since I've noticed that by keeping two pools in there that they swim a great deal, should I worry all that much about maintaining humidity levels? They swim all the time when they haven't just fed, it's like 12 to 15 times daily, so I'm wondering if I have to be all that concerned??? Just a thought.
Tay
Awesome looking snake Sophia! I want to eventually get a blood python!
Thank you and you should go for it Murray, they are beautiful, sweet babies and I don't know how we ever got along without them! I think I'm in love!
Tay
Grant vg
09-05-02, 09:57 PM
its hard to say guys....
Many different things work for different ppl which work differently for different snakes....Wow!...lol
do u get what im sayin there?.:P
I've always stuck to the book, and did what i was told, and so far have had no problems....so theres no reason why i would change....
It could very well be fine for u guys to keep em at 50% ambient humidity and have a damp hide and good amounts of water.....
i think anything lower then 50% is pushing it though.....
I have my hydrometer controls to alarm when humidity reaches below 50% and above 85%.....i dont like it crossing either side for large amounts of times.....
and i have alarms for temps as well....
What do u have them at now?
Does multiple sprayings throughout the day not work as well in that enclosure?
And for the multiple trips to the water container.....that is sometimes a clue to some husbandry faults, although not always....
I'm not questioning ur practices...but just for heads up's....
Im sure u know...mites...
also, lack of humidity,
and also, they feel secure in the water and invisible kinda thing.....
So it might be there hides aren't dark enough....
New arrivals sometimes do that....so not to worry....if it continues.....they might be trying to tell u something....
But again, thats not always true.
That guy in the pic....absolutely loves to soak, as do some others....
But if ur temps, humidity and hides are in check, then no worries.....
they are fine.:D
Gvg
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/5xx001-med.jpg
Thanks Grant, honestly I can't say, humdity ranges usually between 50% and 60% but I think the hydrometer/thermometer combination may be bad, so I'm going to pick up a hydrometer tomorrow with 'no bells or whistles' because according to the doors, it's humid in there, I'd say between 70 to 80% according to the fogging that occurs with in an hour of spraying and yet the probe will read 51%! I've even directly sprayed the probe and awaited a change only to get "NONE"! It's highly frustrating.
Now today with them has been a different story, they've been burrowing in the paper all day quite happily. I don't know what to make of it, but like you mentioned, I have been checking closely for mites because until I read that they were a semi-aquatic species, thier swimming habit worried me a bit and since the temps weren't ever about 88.9 and the cage shows a good gradient range of about 5 degrees here and there, then I knew it couldn't be heat causing them to swim.
What can I say, they're new babies and I'm a complete control freak, worry wort, anal retentive, deviate! LOL But I can't help it if I want everything to be absolutely perfect. And btw, that's a nice baby in the shot above (G), you took it to heart when I said 'more please' (G). Perhaps the hides should be darker, I may work on that one tomorrow night. I'm just rambling....
Thanks Grant!
Tay
paul_le_snake
10-05-02, 09:18 PM
a little tip on hightening the humidity, just use a potting soil / melaleauca mulch mix substrate. my borneo loves it to dig into to it, just leaving his head above ground, waiting for a unsuspecting rodent to come across!!!!! i'll hopefully have some pics soon!
paul
We finally got it straightened out. I put in one of those little cheap air pumps and added a little extra airline tubing to make it really bubble up and throw a good spray, plus some phiolodendron in a large pot with good sterile soil and now it's staying about 60% to 70% without misting! FINALLY! But yes, I do think they're going to like the potting soil and plants a great deal, they love to hide!
Thanks!
Tay
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