Cuddles the Woma Python - Page 7

Captain837 · 08-20-16, 10:04 AM

I don't think it is any training on my part as we have only had them for 2 weeks at this point. I would assume it is the way their instincts have them wired. I believe they are active hunters rather than ambush predators. As such I would expect them to be much more active and alert to any movement in the room. It is what makes them appear very inquisitive and is a very distinct difference in behavior from what we are used to with our BP's.

With that said, you can learn a lot about your shakes behavior by studying where they come from, what they eat and what eats them. Often times it will make a great deal of sense out of seemingly odd behavior. I used this technique many years ago when I worked for a mom and pop pet shop handling exotic reptiles to get them manageable so they could be sold as pets. You would be surprised how some species get bad wraps for being bitey and aggressive when it is nothing more than a misunderstanding of what the snake is programmed to do and why. Simply put, figure out why it does what it does and you can learn to work around it. People tend to give these creatures too much credit for being intelligent and they make assumptions to motives behind actions when in the end the snake is just doing what it was wired to to. Figure this out and they become very predictable.

REM955 · 08-20-16, 05:01 PM

My understanding the idea around tap training is that you are letting them know that you are not food when you come into the cage. I am guessing the guy I was subbed to was using the same concept when he first described just dropping the food in.
I am not trying to pedestalize the Woma, but it might be something it has just come to expect. Perhaps who you got yours from gave them food off tongs.

All just theories, but then I have to ask openly for other theories. Including faults in my own husbandry.

*Note: The guy on youtube aforementioned has breeding adults and they appear to take the opportunity to come out. Comfortable, I suppose.

Captain837 · 08-20-16, 07:01 PM

I agree, it's always a good idea to get others opinions. It sounds like your husbandry is good. I am not sure how ours were fed.

REM955 · 08-24-16, 06:46 PM

Cuddles decided she would sit still for me.
Almost 15 grams gained. I know it is the right direction considering her age, but nothing more.
Also, this is on a fuzzy every Sunday.

Thoughts?

SWDK · 08-24-16, 07:04 PM

That's good to see he's progressing nicely for you.

Captain837 · 08-24-16, 07:30 PM

Looking good!
After speaking to the breeder we got ours from he wanted us feeding hoppers to ours. The male had not eaten yet (refused pinkies the last 2 weeks) so I was a bit skeptical but I tried a trick that worked on our male bp when he was new. I placed the fresh killed hopper in the hide with him, came back 20 min later and he has coiled it, drug it out of his den and began eating it. Score...
Funny note, reading back over your first few posts on this threat, our male is acting exactly like yours did on his first feeding. Rubbed his head all over the place for about 15 min after eating. He also has those small wrinkles on his sides that yours had. Neither of the females have them or rub like that. Glad I read your post or I would have been more concerned so thanks for sharing. None of them are using their hot spots either. After eating they went back to their usual spots in the 83-85 deg range.

REM955 · 08-28-16, 12:38 PM

Ok. She seems to hide out under the hotspot or in the 87 degree area. To each their own.

I hadn't seen her for a while so I assumed she was in shed. Supposed to be fed today. Prepped some sphagnum moss for her to put in her hide and she is really deep in blue and "crinkly". Let her sniff the moss a bit before placing her on top of it and the hide back over.

Now, she is churning inside her hide. Hasn't come out yet, but still moving...

Edit:
Captain. I forgot to ask; do your Womas tend to make paths along the edges of the cage? Cuddles seems to enforce that there is no substrate alongside the cage. I have even put toilet paper rolls in place and found them moved over a ways.

Captain837 · 08-28-16, 01:26 PM

Yes, ours seem to blaze trails all over their enclosures including the edges.

REM955 · 08-28-16, 08:47 PM

Ok. Seemed kind of odd. Was thinking about actually carving some grooves in the substrate for her, but I suppose she will create them as necessary.
Just like she decided to push out all the sphagnum moss. Appears that is something she doesn't like.

At least she did eat for me.

Onto that topic: fuzzy mice to rat pinks. 1 to 1.5 the thickest point in her body. I think while I am shopping for her next meal I will pick one rat fuzzy just for comparison, but I think she is a ways from that.

Captain837 · 08-28-16, 11:28 PM

Yes, ours seemed to be stretching to eat mouse hoppers but the breeder insisted that is what they were on. We will probably try to make the jump to rat fuzzies as soon as they can take them. I really do not want to run the risk of ending up with a mouser.
As far as substrate goes, I opted to try the crushed walnut shell bedding. I was hesitant at first because of it's inability to hold humidity but everything I have read says the Womas actually do better with less humidity than more. I also know they love to burrow and I see them do exactly that from time to time. As long as they have descent sheds I will probably stick with it. Our BP's get shredded aspen due to humidity requirements. We live in Arizona so ambient is 35-40% on a good day. I will note that I have misted the womas cages on occasion and they come right out of their hides to see what is going on. The do not retreat from the water either. I will not be doing this too often as I have hear they are prone to skin issues if they get too much moisture.

REM955 · 08-31-16, 08:00 PM

Have not heard of that regarding the humidity issues. I just know to keep in the 40% range. I have considered boosting it a bit when in shed like she appears to be now, but I have put that off for now.

She currently is on aspen now and does some burrowing. I have a little less than the 4 cubic feet I started with so likely a while before I ever consider the crushed walnut bedding. Who do you use? If you have a bulk suggestion for me to bookmark, I'd be eager to try a smaller sample when considering.
Edit: While searching, I found a bulk bag for crushed walnut litter for birds. Not sure if that is reason not to consider for snake substrate. Walnut Bedding 25 Lb Central - Kaytee Products, Inc at PupDaddy.com

How long do yours take to shed? It is going on a week.

Captain837 · 08-31-16, 08:22 PM

I just bought a bag of the stuff from pets mart while getting food for our dogs. Not really sure I should recommend it as there seems to be a hot debate over injestion of it causing intestinal blockage. I am not concerned enough to to remove it but I may switch to shredded aspen when the cages need cleaning.
Last night while eating her f/t hopper, she flipped it in the water dish then onto the substrate resulting in a big mouth full of bedding with her food. It did not seem to bother her much and initially I figured the same if not worse happens in the wild with dirt but I chose to do some googling and as usual it makes the inner hypochondriac come out. Not worried enough to take her to the vet as she seems fine but I probably will remove the water dish when feeding in the future.

On a better note, all 3 took f/t hoppers from me for the first time. The two girls were very enthusiastic about it. The male required me to put it in his hide so he could eat in peace.

Ours have not shed yet. They are going on 4 weeks with us now I believe. Not sure how frequently they should be doing so at this age but it should be happening soon I suppose. I will report when they do.

REM955 · 09-02-16, 05:54 PM

For me it was about 6 weeks after I got her.
As for this current case, I just found her shed skin, so about a week to shed from going blue.

REM955 · 09-03-16, 05:14 PM

So hopper size. How does that compare to the "Small Mouse" from Artice Mice?
I bought one just for comparison and it looks huge compared to the fuzzy.
Are yours really putting that down every week?

To add, I did a rough measure of her length. She is nearing 24"/ 2 feet.

Captain837 · 09-05-16, 06:15 PM

Hopper mice are between a pinky and a small mouse. I did just get an order of pinky rats that seem about the same size as hopper mice except their heads are bigger.