Blood python quirks [Archive] - sSNAKESs : Reptile Forum

CDN_Blood

05-24-12, 05:47 AM

I've been helping guide a new Blood python owner for several months. She tracked me down and has been picking my brains since she decided a Blood would be her next snake, and although I did try to dissuade her at first, it was clear that she had tremendous passion for her snakes, and that she also had a very deep understanding of them. Those are two qualities that are essential to keeping Bloods, and I think you'll find that anyone who does have them will exhibit these qualities.

So, to make a long story short (yeah, right, lol) there are things that come up during our conversations that I thought would be useful for others who are thinking about Blood pythons, or who are new to them. I'm sure we can compile a list of 'quirks' which folks should know about them, so let's hear some quirks that current Blood keepers have noticed about their snakes. I don't mean individual oddities, but rather things that apply to all the Bloods as a general group.

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Quirk: Cleaning vs. Eating
If you plan on feeding your Blood, don't clean it's enclosure or even move things around in it beforehand. They're much more thrown by something being moved than your average snake. These are shy and paranoid creatures - any small change affects them quite a bit and they're very unlikely to eat after a change in their environment until they're accepted the change. This can take several hours.

CDN_Blood

05-24-12, 05:57 AM

Quirk: Travelling in Reverse
A frightened Blood python is likely to travel in reverse in an effort to slink away from a perceived threat. Even in it's enclosure, upon noticing movement, some will start moving backwards slowly, hoping not to get noticed.

For snakes with such short tails, that tail is *awfully* important to them and they'll use it with surprising dexterity and power at times. Brongs tend to use their tail as an anchor, backing up slowly by digging the tip of their tail into something and pulling their body back.

While they don't care for their tails touched, it is very important that it's given support and allowed to anchor.

CDN_Blood

05-24-12, 06:04 AM

Quirk: Digging
There's no doubt about it, they'll dig any chance they get. Since they'd naturally be found submersed in mud any chance they can get it, this one is a given. There are, however some quirks, so to speak.

Given too much substrate, you may not see your Blood for quite some time.

I do like to give my Bloods a chance to dig now and then, they just enjoy it so much. The last time I gave my youngest a few inches of substrate to dig in, I had to dig him up after a full month because he had not surfaced in that time to drink. Boy, was he thirsty, lol. Although this is totally natural behaviour and very closely mimicked his preferred natural environment and time spend buried, it can be worrying. Food for thought...

alessia55

05-24-12, 01:32 PM

This is going to be a great thread. I hope more members chime in with more quirks too :yes: Keep them coming!!

Rogue628

05-24-12, 02:34 PM

Great thread Todd! :D

jheane14

05-24-12, 09:09 PM

more more.... :bouncy:

CDN_Blood

05-25-12, 04:29 AM

Haha! I'm glad you're all enjoying this one. I'm so conditioned to think these things are normal that I have to dig deep to remember that they're not. I'll try to keep going, but some input from other current keepers would be great :)

Gungirl

05-25-12, 05:36 AM

Todd... Every time you post something about Bloods you make me want one more and more. I hope that some day I am able to control my crazy attitude and get one. I just know that right now I would get bitten more times than I would like to, Although 1 time is more times than I would like to.. lol I appreciate the info and I will continue to absorb it until I am ready to take the step.

CDN_Blood

05-25-12, 06:36 AM

Gungirl, by the time we're done, you'll be armed with everything you need to make a really informed decision as to whether or not these are a good choice for you :)

It's difficult to find quality information on this family of snakes because not many people spend as much time with their Bloods as the group you'll find here, so the info that everyone will get from this thread will provide true insight into what these things are really like as a pet. My NRF buddies and I (hopefully with the input of others who are keeping more than one Blood python) are going to perform a service here, as well as have a little fun along the way :)

CDN_Blood

05-25-12, 06:57 AM

Quirk: Hyper Excitability
Like many other snakes, you can tell when a Blood is excited by it's breathing, and it's something you really need to learn how to interpret if you want a good relationship with your charge. Fortunately, these snakes are chunky animals, so it's *really* easy to see them getting excited.

While it's fortunate as a keeper that they breathe so heavily that it's easy to see, they do breathe really heavily, taking in a huge amount of air in several minutes of quick successive huffs - almost to the point of hyperventilation. This dramatic in-surge of air makes them a little dizzy, which in turn gets them more excited and heightens their awareness, alertness and preparedness levels. It's a survival mechanism and you really need to be aware of it and give it time to pass *before* approaching it.

Failure to allow a Blood time to relax when excited (which happens a lot) can result in defensive behaviour and not understanding that is why you often hear that Blood pythons are 'aggressive'. They're not aggressive - they're shy and paranoid upon approach, so failing to yield and let them chill before approaching them has always been interpreted as aggression because they do tend to defend if you're too fast around them. That interpretation is inaccurate in my opinion.

I've often seen Bloods get so excited that they start scaring themselves, and that can lead them quickly to panic. This can be set-off by something as small as the snake touching itself as it tries to curl-up tighter upon approaching them. If they panic, you'll know it and you'll also know (hopefully instinctively) to just back-off and give it a few minutes to regain it's composure. By this point, a Blood will be very obviously stressed, so it won't be hard to recognize.

I have one that's prone to occasionally scaring himself to the point of striking-out until he's calm again, but it doesn't last long if I give him the space he needs to feel less threatened. As his breathing starts to slow, he regains his composure within a few moments. Only once he has started moving again in a clearly non-threatened fashion will I approach him.

Only a fool picks-up a huffing and puffing snake that's all excited ;)

ADDENDUM: While I realize that this quirk sounds rather generic and can be applied to almost any animal, once you see this with a Blood you'll know we're talking about a whole new level of it which is actually specific to the Blood python family.

marvelfreak

05-25-12, 08:25 AM

Todd this thread rocks. I have one for you.

Quirk: Tail wagging

It looks like a dog with a stub tail wagging in excitement. Difference is with a dog it mean they are happy, with a Blood it means back off now. What they do is from the butt down they will wag it back and forth. If this doesn't work they will raise their tail up and leave you something you don't want.

I seen my one males do it a couple time. The one time he actually unload a load. Then two days ago i got to see my big girl do it when we were outside for fresh air and pictures. Chase come running out the door and it spooked her. I had never seen her do it before. I had the camera right in my hand and wish i would have video taped it, but i was more concern with putting her back in the tub.

CDN_Blood

05-25-12, 08:31 AM

Marvel: Good input and a common trait, so Thanks!

I've seen them wag furiously when in hunt-mode also. One really wouldn't think they have a lot of control over that tail, but man-o-man, is it important and well-used or what?!

Will0W783

05-25-12, 08:50 AM

Todd and Chuck, this thread is awesome!!

I saw Karma really spaz out when I removed his shed. He had just shed so I guess he was a bit sensitive, but when I opened his tub, he tensed up so much that he lifted his middle portion off the ground, and I could hear the "huff, huff, huff".....I just froze until he relaxed a bit and then took the shed out. He also wags his tail when I feed him. He'll constrict his food up and drum his tail all over the cage while he's wrapping it...so cute. :)

CDN_Blood

05-25-12, 09:10 AM

...I saw Karma really spaz out when I removed his shed...

I'll tell you something funny; there were about 3-4 months with Bubbles that I couldn't even look at him without provoking attack, all these times were within the day of a shed.

If he had just shed, don't even look in the direction of his tank, lol. The day after he shed he was still the same, but you'd have to get closer. A full day of rest and he was totally over it. Now that's just weird, lol. He's never been like that since - it was just a few bumpy weeks :)

Will0W783

05-25-12, 09:41 AM

Karma was fine this morning. I picked him up and held him for a few minutes while I checked on the others, and he was back to his usual calm cuddly self. But man, he looked ready for war after that shed!

CDN_Blood

05-25-12, 09:55 AM

...he looked ready for war after that shed!

This is making more people than just me giggle like a school girl right now :D

Caylan

05-25-12, 01:18 PM

I'd like to add some input of course, but I'm not sure my experiences are the best sources for blood python info. One subject comes to mind though:
Support!
When handling a blood, these snakes prefer a lot more support then any other snake I've ever held. They do not hold on except for with their tail, and generally start backing up in your arms making them rather difficult for a new person to handle, especially as the snake gets larger. I'm lucky in a sense that Lucy my big girl has always prefered to drape over my shoulder, and still likes does. Ashe however is a little less enthused with that idea and his handled more like a typical blood I'd say. She's a little cruiser too which can make things a little more difficult, but at least she doesn't go backwards very often. Regardless, the less support you give them, the less comfortable they are, and you don't want to make a blood uncomfortable :D

Rogue628

05-25-12, 03:40 PM

I want to thank all of you experienced blood owners for posting in this thread. Like Gungirl, I would love to keep a blood, yet I know I don't have the experience to have one yet. I've been following alot of posts in reference to bloods, watched Todd's videos of his as well have been asking questions and researching them. I don't want my blood experience to be bad. I've made it my goal to gather the knowledge and experience I need in order to have a happy blood/keeper relationship with one.

Alot of things I've read I'm using to tweak my handling with my current animals as well learned how to better read mine, such as scooping them up instead of just picking them up, slower movements, and even more important; building a better trust with them. I'm definitely becoming better at reading my animals and handling them.

I guess I'm lucky that all my animals have good temperaments and that they've been forgiving of my more noobish mistakes. I think learning about bloods is making me a better keeper. So even those of us who don't own a blood can learn alot from others who have them. :)

Robyn@SYR

05-25-12, 04:59 PM

Interesting thread.

Trent

05-25-12, 10:48 PM

I will add a little. The difference between the sexes.
I find my female bloods can be just as nervous and flighty as the males,but they calm down way quicker.Which is good thing when you consider the size difference between the two.Girth wise it is amazing how much the difference can be!

I also find my females will wrap my arm like a burm or boa when they are upset about something I am doing.ie: removing a stuck shed or giving them a once over to make sure they in good health..I have never had a male do this.

I have noticed this in all three of the bloods that I care for.Borneos,Blacks,and Red bloods.

Something to consider if one is thinking of getting a blood python:)

toadfist

05-26-12, 01:40 AM

I added a pair of 2011 curtus curtus (sumatran black bloods) to my collection about 6 months ago and have found 1 thing so far I find to be a bit quirky. It's slightly annoying as well, but has since gone away.

When they were still small enough to be feeding on rat pinks they would strike so hard that the resistance of me holding the pinks with forceps would freak them out and then they would refuse feeding attempts for a day or two. Sometimes they would actually hit the forceps and really freak. They would strike-Impact the rat hard-then spit it out like it was possessed.

I was able to get around this problem by tying thread around the tip of the pinkie's tail and then dangle/drag/tease. Once they struck, I would tug on the thread a bit till they rolled up on it. From there I could just jerk the thread off and they would be fine. Then once you get the first one down, you can get them to take a second with no problems.

I suppose another way to get around that would have been to feed live, but at 7 herps in, I am trying to keep my 100% frozen thawed record in tact. The problem disappeared entirely once the food items got larger, and they have more area to hit away from forceps.

I suppose this could be more of a python thing too, not a blood quirk. My experience before these guys are 3 BCIs and 2 womas. It's hard to get any of those guys not to eat.

I was also pleasantly surprised that neither of my blackies has tried to bite me yet, and only one has musked ever. I have always been real careful to watch their behavior, and but them down as soon as they start to get upset. It's funny, everyone says bloods have a nasty temper and womas are puppy dogs, but my bloods have never even hissed at me and I have a female woma that will bite me whenever I allow her to get a strait on shot (feeding response, not defensive though).

CDN_Blood

05-26-12, 08:22 AM

toadfist

05-27-12, 12:15 AM

CDN_Blood

05-27-12, 03:24 AM

To preface, as a forum newb here, I did read the Blood faq on this forum as well as plenty of other works on the net previously(Robyn's Reptiles/Pro Exotics Article et. al.). So if I am asking a question that is answered elsewhere, I apologize. (I have just been on the internet long enough to know being a newb that didn't read X is a terrible thing to do)

What would your recommended method of feeding be? If I don't tease feed, I typically get hunger-strikes. If I move my guys to another enclosure with a food item waiting they seem to be to stressed out to take the item. Would live be my best option?

I simply place a thawed item in the enclosure at the opposite end from the snake, secure the lid/door and leave the room.

If there's movement around them at all when they smell food, they'll get so excited that they'll chase it and not even notice the food. If they've been moved or cleaned within the past few hours, they likely won't be interested because they'll still be stressed. If you toss a thawed item too close to them, it can scare them and they can lose interest, so dropping one in at the opposite end is your best bet.

From there the snake will catch the scent and track it down unless you stick around to watch, which I don't recommend unless you can stay dead-still until your snake has started (or even better with younger snakes - finished) eating.

A well-adjusted Blood will have a VERY strong feeding response and they can be just plain dangerous snakes at feeding time. Young snakes and those which are relatively new to you may take some time to develop the strong response, but it will come when they are comfortable with their surroundings and then it's serious business indeed, so never underestimate the speed or strength of a Blood at feeding time.

Lankyrob

05-27-12, 04:37 AM

Seems to be a good thread to ask - when i first got into keeping snakes i was told that Bloods have the biggest fangs of all captive kept constrictors and that a bite would need stitching/hospital treatment - was this just to scare me off Bloods during my early career or is this true?

CDN_Blood

05-27-12, 04:39 AM

Nope. They don't have fangs, just regular teeth and they're proportionate to the snake's head - nothing irregular about the teeth. It's the power behind the hit that can cause some serious damage :)

Lankyrob

05-27-12, 04:40 AM

Nope. They don't have fangs, just regular teeth and they're proportionate to the snake's head - nothing irregular about the teeth. It's the power behind the hit that can cause some serious damage :)

thanks for the quick response :)

marvelfreak

05-27-12, 05:48 AM

Rogue628

05-27-12, 08:09 PM

If there's movement around them at all when they smell food, they'll get so excited that they'll chase it and not even notice the food.
From there the snake will catch the scent and track it down unless you stick around to watch, which I don't recommend unless you can stay dead-still until your snake has started (or even better with younger snakes - finished) eating.

Not trying to change the subject, but this explains why my jungle strikes at the cage when I feed her. I can feed from one end, but as soon as she smells food and sees me moving away, she'll strike the tub a few times. I usually try to stand still after I throw her rat in in attempt to stop this. Last time I fed, as soon as I got her lid secured, I threw a large towel in front of her tub to keep her from seeing me and she only stuck the tub once, then quickly found her food.

I also did this with most of my others (all the bigger ones) as they see me move and follow my movements when I'm walking away from their tubs after throwing their food in. They won't hunt as long as they see me.

Would this work with bloods as well or do you think the sudden darkness or the quick movement of a towel placed in their view may spook them?

CDN_Blood

05-27-12, 09:09 PM

The towel trick can work with well-established animals, but it does freak young ones out - they're just so sensitive to movement that it's enough to throw them for a loop.

shaunyboy

05-27-12, 11:22 PM

I don't recommend tong feeding anything, but to try this method with a Blood python is simply a recipe for disaster. I strongly advise against that. They're much too powerful and unpredictable for that and it teaches snakes to equate someone opening their enclosure and sticking their hand in that food is coming. You don't want a 6 foot Blood making that connection.

sorry,i cannot comment much on bloods feeding responses,but i can believe the power of their feeding response.....

i fed an adult male,but it was only the one time.

that said,it was one of the hardest,fastest,strikes i've ever felt.i honestly thought the snake was dead at one point,because it lay that motionless,barely breathing,i honestly could not make out if it was breathing or not,then out of nowhere.....BAM.....!!!

i'm NOT trying to be cheeky mate,but i will have to agree to disagree with you,in your reasoning behind,NOT recommending tong feeding.....

as far as i can find out,there has been no research,or proof,of snakes being more prone to bite a hand going into a tank,due to food association

i see no problem in feeding all my carpets with 10inch tongs,if done correctly,no harm should come to the snake.

that said,i also understand a bloods way MORE powerfull than a carpet.so not recomending tongs,because of the snakes powe,i understand.

also i have looked for papers on this subject,as i would be curious to see the,imo interesting results,but i have so far not seen,any studies or scientific proof that snakes,being fed in the tank,or being fed with tongs,are more prone to bite,when you open the door and put your hand in the tank,due to them associating these actions,with being fed

imo,that's like when people say.....

that snakes should be fed out their tanks.....

because snakes fed in their tanks associate,the doors opening with being fed,so are more prone to bite,when you open the doors,due to food association...

if you apply that very SAME logic,to snakes being taken out their tanks,to be fed,then surely the snake,would associate being taken out,with being fed,so will be more prone to bite,when being taken it out the tank ?

just my humble opinion :)

cheers shaun

marvelfreak

05-28-12, 02:03 AM

I have another Quirk. Color change with mood.

Not all but some Bloods head color will change when stressed or scared.
If they are one that gets stress really easy some time you'll noticed even the body color change. My big female does it sometime when she smells food. It almost compares to blushing.

On the male and female thing i have notice my females are much mellower than my males. Plus they don't seem to get stress nowhere as easy as the males.
I would also like to add that i noticed my females have a much stronger feeding response than my males. With my females i toss it in and bam they are on it. The male i drop it in then leave the room a couple hours later it's gone.

CDN_Blood

05-28-12, 09:51 AM

@Shaun - all input is good input. As for tong feeding, I said *I* would never recommend it, but I'm just one guy and I've never used tools like tongs or hooks. That's just the kind of weirdo I am, lol.

As for the rest, well, we sure can't compare Carpets to Bloods. That'd be like comparing RuPaul to Elizabeth II - they're both Queens, but that's where the similarity ends :D

@Marvel - yeah, my female has a *much* stronger feeding response than my males, but since I only have one female, I couldn't personally say for sure if it was a fluke or a family-wide quirk and was hoping someone else would chime-in on that :)

toadfist

05-29-12, 08:22 PM

CDN_Blood

05-29-12, 09:01 PM

@CDN_Blood I tried your feeding method suggestion yesterday and it worked wonderfully. Still kindof blows my mind. I have never had one of my boas that refused a tease feeding take the item later, so I was not expecting the bloods to eat without teasing since I have been working so hard to get them to eat. They were all about it, though. I heard one of them strike after I closed the enclosure, so it was fast too! Thanks for the solid advice. I will avoid the tong feeding them from here forward!

Well I'm glad to hear it! These snakes are too fast and too powerful to mess with, and it's a really good sign that it'll take food from the floor. That means it's comfortable, and that's great! You'll be much safer not using tongs with it, and it'll be much safer too. I have to be really quick about it when I feed mine also because they will strike at the enclosure also as soon as they get a whiff of food, so I hear those big THUMPS also - like a heavy-weight champ hitting a punching bag hard enough to send it flying across the room. They keep you on your toes, don't they, lol :)

CDN_Blood

07-26-12, 05:17 AM

Quirk: Day vs. Night

I think anyone who has a Blood will tell you that there's a marked difference between how they are to work with during the day vs. how they are to try to work with at night.

As with most boids, they're more nocturnal than diurnal, which is not really a quirk, however, they can be quite a challenge to work with at night because they're *much* more alert and fired-up. Not only are their reaction times faster, but they will react to just about anything a whole big bunch more during the dark hours than they do in daylight hours. Every little movement catches their attention, every shadow is a possible threat.

Of course, if left in their cages it's not that much of an issue, but for those of us that take our Bloods out often, it's a little more of a concern because they can spook quicker at night, and getting spooked when their at the height of their alertness can make them a bit of a handful to say the least.

For those of us with good Bloods, it's certainly doable to interact with them at night, it just requires that we pay particularly close attention to the snake and what we're doing around it so we don't traumatize our little nervous wrecks.

For those of us with Bloods a little more on the edge, it's probably best to only try to interact with them during the day when their behaviour is a little more sedate/calm/tolerant.

Like us, they have good days and bad days, and they certainly can be moody, so as long as close attention is paid to their body language, night time play *can* be had, but it's always going to be a little safer to work with one of these piles of paranoia during the daylight hours - particularly the more defensive individuals.

CDN_Blood

08-08-12, 08:21 PM

Does anyone have a particular individual (or more) which doesn't fit any of these observations? I can't carry this thing all alone, dontchaknow :)

SerpentLust

08-09-12, 09:22 AM

Oh Todd, I'll play, just for you!

The only thing I've read in this thread that I can't agree with is the difference between the sexes.

For my curtus, Midnight my boy is calmer but is also more exciteable with food versus Onyx my female. She's moodier as far as handling is concerned but is very gentle in her enclosure.

For my breits, Duchess my female is an awesome, large, calm girl but has the feeding response of a maniac. I have to feed her first during feeding day, once she gets the whiff of thawed rat in the snake room, she's ready. If I feed her last, she's just too wound up and excited, striking at anything. Duke, my male, is very excitable and flighty in his enclosure, also very food crazy, out of the enclosure he's pretty mellow

For my brong Rusty, he's a very relaxed boy with both feeding and handling.

I have a hard time differentiating qualities based on sex, I have a strong feeling that any differences noted have to do with the individual snake and not their sex. That's from what I've gathered with my kids.

You guys have basically covered all the things that popped into my head at first. One thing I noticed is that my bloods have a pretty noticeable personality change when indoors vs. outdoors.

There's also "the look", and any blood keeper who watches their snake's mood knows exactly what I mean by that. It's their eyes. I find them to be the most communicative snake with their body language and eyes. Anyone who has told me that their blood strikes "out of the blue" has been sent back to study the animals body language and eyes.

For me personally, I also can't just go in and grab a blood out of their cage. I always give my snakes a warning that they're going to be picked up as a courtesy. I'd rather not spook my animals. But with bloods, this is a requirement, not a courtesy. As Todd mentioned, they're easily startled and are a bit insecure, so measures need to be made to ensure the animal's feeling of security.

The longer you keep bloods, the more everything just becomes habit.

CDN_Blood

08-09-12, 03:27 PM

Ha! Well thanks for playin' :)

Yeah, I'm not sold on the difference between the sexes either, but I only have 1 female so I can't say for sure.

As for the difference in behaviour between indoors and outdoors, that's pretty noticeable with mine also :)

marvelfreak

08-09-12, 03:56 PM

Here's a question on the indoor and outdoors topic. Are your snake calmer inside or outside? For me all four just sit there looking around very curiously. They might move around a little but that's it. They seem more relaxed to with handling outside.

CDN_Blood

08-09-12, 04:02 PM

marvelfreak

08-11-12, 07:23 PM

With Todd's permission here is a video i got one one of my male bloods tail wagging.

NaamvSSNgS0

Rogue628

08-11-12, 11:37 PM

Wow. Is it common for them to wag their tails like that? Almost reminds me of a king snake rattling their tail.

Juggernaut's a bit feisty, isn't he? lol

millertime89

08-12-12, 12:21 AM

I'm curious, does everyone know if the bloods are cbb, ch, or wc? I was told today by two blood breeders that the cbb animals tend to be.less defensive and less prone to being startled into defensive aggression. I know this is common in most species but I'm not too familiar with the blood python market but the way it sounded is cbb animals are just recently becoming more prevalent. I did get to see both T+ and T- albino babies today and all four were very calm. There was a truly monstrous female there too that was puppy dog tame and I would imagine an expo is the last place a blood would be calm especially since.she was taken out and people were allowed to pet her. She was better behaved than one of the Indian Pythons that was there.

CDN_Blood

08-12-12, 06:06 AM

Wow. Is it common for them to wag their tails like that? Almost reminds me of a king snake rattling their tail...

Just about any snake will do that if it's irritated enough. A lot of them wag their tail when they're hunting, also.

Rogue628

08-12-12, 06:14 AM

Are you talking about a kind of slow back and forth motion with their tails....kind of like a happy motion? lol If so, my burms do that for a few minutes every time I get them out, even after feeding. (talking about wagging when hunting). I really haven't noticed any of my other animals doing it. But my burms do it all the time.

marvelfreak

08-12-12, 01:08 PM

Wow. Is it common for them to wag their tails like that? Almost reminds me of a king snake rattling their tail.

Juggernaut's a bit feisty, isn't he? lol
Juggernaut,Grim Reaper, and Lady Deathstrike only tail wag when they don't want to be messed with. Bloodstorm i only seen do it twice an both time it was when in feed mode.
As for Juggernaut being feisty he mellow most of the time.That was just one of his bad days.

I'm curious, does everyone know if the bloods are cbb, ch, or wc? I was told today by two blood breeders that the cbb animals tend to be.less defensive and less prone to being startled into defensive aggression.

My Borneo and all three Bloods are captive bred. Until the two male Malaysian Bloods i have now i have never had a defensive Blood they had all been mellow.

millertime89

08-13-12, 01:26 PM

My Borneo and all three Bloods are captive bred. Until the two male Malaysian Bloods i have now i have never had a defensive Blood they had all been mellow.

Thanks Chuck, so you're at 50% then?

marvelfreak

08-13-12, 06:04 PM

Thanks Chuck, so you're at 50% then?
I would be 5 mellow and 2 defensive. I had three other bloods years ago. They were all three super mellow.

SleepySleazoid

08-20-12, 12:20 AM

I actually feel a little better about reading the bit concerning feeding your blood by way of leaving the food for the snake. My black blood seems to really prefer to eat that way - the first time I ever fed him (around 7 months of age at purchase) he 'killed' his f/t mouse that I offered to him via tongs, but since then he seems to really prefer the 'leaving it there' method.

I wish I had some bit of blood behavior to contribute, however I have only had my Spaulding since June and he was unfortunately sold to me with mites, so for a while he was just unresponsive and lounged in his water bowl. He has been treated, is mite free now and feeling much betterf, so hopefully as he matures he will do some things that will make me flee back to this forum! Thank you!!