hello people - yellow annie

[PsychoSnake]

Originally Posted by marvelfreak

First thing you need to do is get a hook and start working on hook training. Use the hook every time so it know it not feed time and never use it when it is feed time. You don't want them to associate the hook with food.

Second you are correct they are very smart like Retics. I had mine train where if i needed to clean the side of the cage he was on i would tap the hook on the bottom of the cage twice and he move to the far end of the cage.

Third they speed is amazingly super fast even when they get bigger. Never ever let your guard down. As it gets bigger always have someone near by in case something goes wrong. You'll also want to start handling more and if you need to use gloves.

Hopefully yours is a female they are way mellower than males. Also you'll want to start planning now on a adult size cage for her. Plus always have a big enough water bowl that she can soak and move around in easy. As the get bigger they like to spend lots of time in the water. The reason is as they get heavier soaking in the water relives some of the pressure put on their body by their weigh.

Now this next thing will sound a bit odd but it works great for baby to juvenile that are aggressive. Remove all hides but he water bowl. Make sure to have what ever your using for bedding deep enough that it can burrow under it. I had a big time breeder who been doing it for years in Europe on another site tell me this. After i removed all his hide and made the bedding deeper he started to mellow out for me. What it does is allow them to pop their nose out and look around but still feel safe no matter where they are in the cages. By the time they real start putting on some real size they will feel more secure in their cage and you won't need it super deep just a few inches.

Any questions just ask.

+1

I don't have much to add other than the deep substrate worked well for my nervous green anaconda. I use reptile bark. She still hisses at me but once she's out she's of her tub she's usually quite pleasant.

Also you can use a paper towel roll as defense from bites.

[Albert Clark]

She is a terrific looking specimen. How is her temperament nowadays? The tub water, do you keep the temperature at a specific degree or no? Also how long have you had her?

[Albert Clark]

Like I bet if you put live fish in that tub she would grab them right? I mean a large live fish like a trout or a bass. Not anything from petland. That is a natural food item for them.

[alexjames]

Hello guys thanks to everybody for having a look at my posts and for all the advice. There is a wealth of knowledge to learn from on here undoubtedly! With that in mind could you guys help me with my next small problem. I have only ever had to feed anything as large as a large mouse before. But Yaku the yellow Annie is now on three large mice a week. She is growing fast as she is young but I'm thinking its time to trade up to a bigger meal size for her. But I don't know what to move her onto? Is a rat pup the size of a large mouse or a fuzzy? I need something a little bigger than a large mouse! Also as a general rule I read somewhere not to feed her anything bigger than she is round her middle but this seems a bit over cautious to me. Any ideas? Thanks for any help given in advance guys

[PsychoSnake]

Switch her to rats. Sizes of feed are not really standardized so feed about the girth of the widest part of your annie. After eating you should see a noticeable lump but not overly obvious. If you have a local distributor ask them to show you what sizes they have available. Eye ball it and try it.

[alexjames]

Something else I have just thought about. I'm going away for a few days soon and I have nobody to check In on my snake. She will be ok for food and water. But I was thinking I will turn off her lamp but leave on her heat mat and water heater. She spends her time in the water at night and that's obviously when my room is coldest so I know the water is good. I was thinking of doing this because if I leave her in constant Sun ( lamp on) it may mess with her sleeping pattern and weird her out. What do you think? I need to invest in a timer for the lamp I think. But I don't know much about them. anybody know good makes, models? Cheap ones? Hints, tips?

[Albert Clark]

Is it possible to use a small or maybe medium water heater and place that on a timer as well? Like a low wattage one and even hook it up to your thermostat? I use Herpstat thermostat but Zoo med makes timers for heating and lighting devices. They are cheaper than herpstat models. Although I don't know what is available on the market where you are.

[alexjames]

Hey guys thought I would have a go at posting some feed vids. This is the one of the things that attracted me to annies. I love the water feeds!

[alexjames]

hmm don't seem to have found how this works properly so I will try a different way! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBbJioCVgrM

[alexjames]

lol got to apologize for the noise I make in this video. I was holding my breath in anticipation of the strike and when it happened it still took me by surprise! she had just been sunbathing and she is super quick in this vid! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OqsrN6VpkE

[alexjames]

In this vid I tried getting under her to see from the bottom. its one of the benefits of having a glass tank that's in a wooden frame. doesn't quite work but its still pretty cool. the strike is awesome too I set up the camera and luckily she hits the mouse and lands right in front of the camera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70xEQyux4WA

[alexjames]

Hey guys let me know if you have seen the vids and if you like them in one of my earlier posts I mentioned that Yaku was sold to me as female and that I needed to get her sexed again. I was wondering if anyone here has sexed their own snakes and what you thought of me trying it myself? Never tried it before. Seen a video on "popping" and I'm half tempted to give it a go but will probably find someone a bit more capable! any thoughts?