Sasha - right now

[Strutter769]

Originally Posted by Snakey-Jay-BRB

@strutter- .... As far as I know "stargazing" is more where they are looking up for long periods in an unusual position or for prolonged periods... Not so much a worry in this behaviour during a long, well planned escape attempt
This is in no way meant to sound condescending, just my thoughts.

I think I'll start another post with more questions.

[mykee]

Her ease of accessibility to the mesh where the bulb is concerns me greatly.

[alessia55]

Nice pics! Is that a second shelf thing? What is that black thing that's hanging? Sasha is getting bigggg

[EasternGirl]

I don't know if this happens with bigger snakes..but my garters always balance themselves trying to get out like that..and then they topple over and I laugh hysterically. My cats also look at my snakes like that...and my snakes look back at them like "You are so lucky there is glass between us you stupid cat!".

Beautiful snake you have btw!

[bigsnakegirl785]

lol My BP does that too, his enclosure is about that size, he's about 3.5-4 ft not sure. Still seems to be growing at 5 yrs. When we don't have our windows covered during winter, he loves to crawl onto that tiny ledge at the top of the window, the one that pushes up. lol It's hard to express w/out pics but it's amazing he can stay on it when 95% of his belly hangs off. I sit there, with my hands underneath him just waiting for him to fall off lol.

[EasternGirl]

You should get a pic of it and post it sometime!

[ZARADOZIA]

Originally Posted by strutter769

I am so glad you posted these shots, she's proof there is A LOT of beauty in that home!

It also of course prompts a question. How much of this behavior is normal curiosity, exercise, leisure, etc., and when do you start to have concerns around "Stargazing?"

I have never dealt with stargazing first hand, only with what I have read about it. Sasha was desperatly trying to get back out. I was changing her water and misting when she decided she wanted company, crawled up my arm onto my shoulders. She doesn't actively seek interaction very often, so when she does I jump at the opportunity. She wasn't ready to go back inside when I put her in and that when she started looking for a way out. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up to grab a few pics. Then off to bed for me.

Originally Posted by Kayla90

Bahaha those are some seriously awesome pictures.. I like the one with the cat present :P
It reminds me a little of Silvester and Tweety.. only maybe.. Silvester and Sasha :P (doesn't roll of the tongue the same way but you know what I mean..)

Thank you! Yea, Spike is my special crack cat. He is Trouble with a capital T. Curious about everything and not a lick of sense.

Originally Posted by Kiljosh

What kind of lights do you use to heat something that tall?

On the left side I have a 200 or 250watt CHE (I will check later and tell you for sure). On the right I have a 100watt grow light. The CHE is always on, the growlight is on a 12 hour cycle. On the left side under the tank I have a UTH with rheostat. The internal ambient temps stay between 80-98 depending on the time of day. The burrow temps (floor temps under the moss) on the left side are 92-97F.

Originally Posted by Freebody

Looking good, funny how you dont realize how big they get until you measure them or compare them to somthing and think, when did you get so big? lol i like you set up as well, surprised the plant has not been flattened down on top :P

When I got Sasha a year ago, she was just barely 3 feet. And now she is soo big!

Pothos- greatest plant ever for non-plant eaters. It is extremely hardy and survives a good thrashing from Sasha. I have 2 inside to help keep humidity levels up.

Originally Posted by Snakey-Jay-BRB

... Not so much a worry in this behaviour during a long, well planned escape attempt...

That's why the door has a good lock on it! Cause she is crafty!!

Originally Posted by mykee

Her ease of accessibility to the mesh where the bulb is concerns me greatly.

100% Valid concern. It was also my concern which is why I have the shelving set up the way I do. On the left side is the CHE which is always on. The shelf on the left is 6 inches above the base and Sasha never climbs up on that side. She always goes for the side where the door is because she can smell & feel the air exchange.

On the right side is the glow light, It is never on at night and Sasha is only active at night. Sasha's normal schedule is to become active around 8-9pm and the light shuts off at 6-7pm. The mesh area around both lights is covered in heavy duty glue so the mesh will never come in contact with her. It takes about 10 minutes for the area to lose all heat and even when the light is on (right side) the temps of the meshed area never reaches above 110F. On the left side where the CHE is, there is 2 inches between the CHE and mesh and 6 inches radius from the CHE to the outside mesh. The mesh (also glued) temp area doesn't reach above 115F with constant heat. In other words, I can place my hand on both areas without being burned.


At the top around the rim of the lid, you will see small blocks of wood. These were placed there so Sasha cannot squeeze herself up there, which she has done when I first put everything together.

The mesh was covered in glue because when I first put everything together Sasha would squeeze herself in the 2 inch gap at the rim and scrape herself.

Originally Posted by alessia55

Nice pics! Is that a second shelf thing? What is that black thing that's hanging? Sasha is getting bigggg

The black things are shelves that have been flipped upside down. I haven't gotten around to painting them or the chains yet. Sasha enjoys climbing and I needed something that would hold water for my pothos plants and support the combined weight of Sasha as she grows and the plants as they are upgraded to larger pots. The shelving has a 3 inch lip and makes an excellent source to retain water from the plants. I can water the plants and the inside will contain the water to one square of the shelf. I prefer hanging shelves opposed to branches because the weight is secure with chains and screws from the top. I never have to worry about there being too much weight on the bottom and the glass breaking and I never have to worry about the shelves falling because there is too much weight like I would if I used branches that are afixed to the sides. There are 2 shelves, one on the left which is about 6 inches above the bottom, on it is one pothos and Sasha water bowl, Sasha loves sleeping under it burrowed inside the moss. The second shelf you can see easily.

Enviro elements 49"H x 22"W x 14"D Plastic Freestanding Shelving Unit

Originally Posted by EasternGirl

I don't know if this happens with bigger snakes..but my garters always balance themselves trying to get out like that..and then they topple over and I laugh hysterically. My cats also look at my snakes like that...and my snakes look back at them like "You are so lucky there is glass between us you stupid cat!".

Beautiful snake you have btw!

Thank you! And yes, Sasha topples over. I swear she looks surprised after she falls. She raises her head and looks around as if someone pushed her over.

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

lol My BP does that too, his enclosure is about that size, he's about 3.5-4 ft not sure. Still seems to be growing at 5 yrs. When we don't have our windows covered during winter, he loves to crawl onto that tiny ledge at the top of the window, the one that pushes up. lol It's hard to express w/out pics but it's amazing he can stay on it when 95% of his belly hangs off. I sit there, with my hands underneath him just waiting for him to fall off lol.

Sasha can squeeze herself into the smallest areas! Whole reason I have 2 inch block at the top rim of her enclosure. I had a devil of a time trying to get her out of there.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I'll post pics of my enclosure as soon as I can, but my snakes are at two different houses and I won't see my BP till Monday and I might not be able to post them until I get back here. Until I move out, I'm using the walls of my room as the walls of the enclosure so only two sides are the actual cage. The bottom and the front. The front is two sliding pexiglass doors held in place by two horizontal metal strips with wood screwed on, the points cut and filed on the side in the cage but not the outside as he has no access to it, and I'd be hard-pressed to cut myself on them. Usually one light suffices, warms the substrate nicely even though it's high up, if it doesn't I use a heat blanket on the bottom. But I don't usually have to do that except during fall as we keep our house warm. Since the walls make up four of the sides, there's insulation on four sides and a hole patched up and covered with tape on the side. There's extra plywood on the bottom to make the missing sides when I move out. He's got five hides, two on the cool side two on the warm side and one in the middle. I normally only leave a few in the enclosure to take pics as he'll just hide in them. The light doesn't have mesh on it yet because he doesn't have access to it, I moved it back so he couldn't reach. If he gets bigger, though I'll need to get some as he's only half an inch from the top of the cage with only the very tip of his tail holding him up, he'd have to also reach backwards a bit but there's not enough of him left-over to do it :P. I don't think I need any plants or anything as he's never been stressed in his enclosure except the first couple of days I put him in there. Lazy thing doesn't come out until 10 o'clock and the lights go out at 7-8 as I spend little time in my room. His bath is on the cool side and an extra, small bowl in the middle of the cool side and the middle of the tank. I spray his enclosure 1-2 times a day or as needed. I change his water every 3 days unless he gets it dirty, only changing it while he's hiding to make sure he doesn't get upset.

[mattchibi]

Bahah who knew ball pythons could climb vertically like that ??

[millertime89]

I love the pictures Kat, thanks for sharing.