I've been radio silent again, as the forum has been very slow lately, but I figured I'd do an update and let everyone know the gang is still all healthy and trucking along.
I was wanting to wait until I could get Dominika's weight, but the scale I bought is faulty...I was looking on Amazon at various postage scales, but many of them had overall bad reviews for faultiness. I really like the ones that have that separated readout for the weights and controls, like
this one. Does anyone have any recommendations for a scale like this under $100 that might not be faulty right out of the box? It doesn't have to have such a heavy weight limit, that's just what I normally see for this style of scale. The scale is only going to be to weigh the bigger snakes, so I see no reason to spend more than that unless it's the best way to get a semi-reliable scale.
Anyways...on to the snakes!
Tirel is doing very good, she's been moved up to medium rats every 2 weeks. I haven't weighed her in awhile, but she's getting ready to shed again so I'll get a new weight on her then. Last weight was 1,009 grams last month. I haven't measured her, but she has to be closing in on 4.5' now, as Nymeria is now exactly 4' and there's still a noticeable difference in length between the two.
Nymeria, as mentioned, hit 4' recently. Still eating small rats every 2-3 weeks. Her last weight was 827 grams just about a week ago.
Crona is getting very close to a prey size upgrade, still getting weaned rats or day old chicks every 2 weeks rn. His last weight was 455 grams, and last length was 40".
Howl hasn't been weighed in awhile, but once he poops I'll get a recent weight on him. Not much has changed with him, just his usual gorgeous self.
Dominika is also her usual self, enjoying her mix of rats, rabbits, and chickens. I have some photos and videos of her on my phone, but none on my laptop.
She is coming a long way! I can now touch her with minimal flightiness, and she will come and interact with me instead of running. I have a couple videos of her from last month when I was dampening her bedding (her enclosure is the only one still able to maintain EcoEarth without getting overly damp). I was turning over her bedding to put some moisture in it, and she came out of her hide on the opposite end to come sniff the bedding, and then my fingers. She ended up sitting on top of the pile and digging her nose in it. So, I moved to the other end to wet that so I wouldn't have to take her out. She then proceeded to come investigate me on that side, too. XD When I was done, she stayed in her pile nosing around for a few more hours before retiring to her hide again.
She's taken a lot of trust building to get to this point. I've all but eliminated handling, and any time I do need to take her out, I try to gain her trust first. I touch her, let her sniff me, and if she isn't too flighty when I touch her, I take her out. If she gets worked up, I try my best to work around her. There have only been a few times I've had to take her out despite her wishes. I believe this is why I've had a sudden increase in our relationship the past few months. She also appreciates having a jungle gym to climb on vs being on the floor or ground, and will be less flighty and anxious if she can climb.
Cloud is staying pretty much the same as well, he continues to lighten up, but is starting to move sluggish and his bone popping issues persist. His ribs also have been misshapen in some areas due to a cat attack as a baby, and those are getting bigger and more obvious, where I used to only be able to feel them. I'm wondering if it's some sort of reptile arthritis? The vets I've visited so far have no idea what's up, but I think I've found a promising vet's office, and I'll see if maybe I can get him in for them to see him. The X-rays I had done on him last year didn't show anything worrisome to the vet at the time, but I'll have him send the X-rays to the new vet, it's too bad I don't have any from when he was a baby.
Good news is, I'm getting new AP cages in soon, hopefully no later than end of next month (ordered them in July). Cloud will have to sacrifice a bit of floor length and height, and River a bit of height, but at least this way I'll be able to move the two of them with me so I can keep an eye on them and give them some better care.
As a side note, has anyone else been experiencing an abnormally humid summer? It's been absolutely ridiculous this year here in NC. Weather channel is quoting about 85%+ humidity, and I can believe it! I've had to switch to aspen because even bone-dry EcoEarth was causing the walls to drip with condensation. Even with aspen, it gets a little damp in the mornings when it's cool. It's also been almost impossible to go this summer without an A/C as the heat has often been 95F. The trailer is insulated quite well, which means it's not quite as awful indoors, and is a sweet relief as I'm used to very poorly-insulated places that were a pain to heat in the winter and likely would feel like an oven in this heat.
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