How would this enclosure size do... - Page 2

Invictus · 02-11-04, 06:23 PM

haha... great follow-up Grant!

I'm not personally saying I would do it either with my blood, but mostly because it's just not economical for me with 32 snakes in the house. She's a baby, and is in a 2' rubbermaid with a hide cave that she seldom uses. She has a VERY sought after personality - you can even touch her head, and she doesn't even flinch. But, she's a shy feeder. Won't take food dangled from anything. I have to leave it in her enclosure and wait for her to take it on her time.

Nonetheless, I do see your points, but I dunno... it just seems to me that they seek security if they need to, and when they find it, they aren't concerned with life outside their cave. I'd be willing to bet that my baby blood would do just great in a big enclosure, because she doesn't seem to get rattled by ANYTHING... but as I said, it's more economical for me to use a rubbermaid right now.

axwielding1 · 02-11-04, 10:49 PM

Hey Invictus, is your Borgersmai a sumatran, or maylasian? Just curious.
My sumatran borgersmai WAS timid and shy, and tough to get started. But now,5 months later, 1 foot longer, and much heavier, she's quite confident. She does choose either her cool hide, or her warm moist box daily, and utilizes them when needed(or wanted) I think now that she's confident with her size, she would also do well in a large 6ft cage. I don't plan to get one till she's much larger, but think once they've hit their stride, they could probably handle it. She's in a glass tank, and maybe that's why she uses her hides more than yours, in an opaque rubbermade, which is like a hide in itself.(as far as vision is concerned)
Also, I think of snakes in the wild. A hatchling python is a good, and easy meal for many animals, and I would imagine they spend more energy hiding from predators, than looking for prey. That would support the timid/non eating theory. Imagine a blood in a glass tank, who in the wild would be hiding from birds and lizards, and having a 6ft person constantly peering into their little world.. They must be petrified! That assumtion is what led me to wrap her tank with a dark sheet for the first 2 months. Once feeding is regular, they attain some size, and gain trust in their handler, they do very well. I found when I brought mine home, I put her on my chest, and covered her with my hand, she settled down after awhile, and peered out , then began crawling around my hand. After that, she was easy to handle, and didn't mind me doing anything to her. When I bought her, she sat frozen in the guy's hand, then frozen in my hand, and when I handed her back to him, she gave him a nasty defensive bite! She's NEVER bitten me (yet) and has been really .....nice.
Acclimating is the key, as well as husbandry. I'd stick to what's
"Tried and True" Why experiment?
ax.

Invictus · 02-11-04, 11:47 PM

Mine's a Malaysian blood. And she's literally the calmest snake I own next to my adult female Kenyan. I just couldn't be happier.

As for why experiment, well... isn't that how things are learned? I'm not talking about experimenting with something that is dangerous like "Let's see what happens if I put her in the freezer" lol... but sometimes things like the size of the enclosure, as long as they have secure hides, are really not all that dangerous to test the waters with.

Linds · 02-12-04, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by emroul
Oh, and Linds, I'm not too crazy about the whole "natural" look with all that stuff in the enclosure. I'm old fashioned (and maybe a bit lazy..or maybe a neat-freak? LOL)..I like two hides, a water bowl, and paper towels. That's how everyone is being housed here, and I love it. (They don't seem to mind it too much either).

All mine are housed in functional setups as well, all I was saying was that if you -were- to make a cage that size suitable for a baby, then you wouldn't be able to just put in newspaper and a waterbowl, you would have to cram it full of all sorts of crap to make it a secure enough environment. Waaaay too much work.

emroul · 02-12-04, 01:42 PM

I hear ya, Linds. I'll go with rubbermaids first.

axwielding1 · 02-16-04, 09:08 PM

Hey Invictus, that's impressive as hell to hear of a calm Maylasian Blood!! I've heard stories of them being, well, downright nasty!Awesome to hear of a *nice* Maylasian to disprove the common beliefs! As far as dispoving common beliefs, I suppose your right in trying new ways of housing,and keeping these animals. I guess they're like a box of chocolates.... ya never know what you're gonna get!!
Also, I keep my ambient temps at 85, with a gradient from
79-85. I almost always find her on the cool side, sometimes even laying against the glass. She goes to the warm side for an hour here and there, but predominately cool. Should I lower her temp a bit, or just leave it alone. She's doing really well, and utilizes both sides, just seems to prefer cool.
ax.