Lil Al Capone

Tiny Boidae · 03-16-16, 03:26 PM

So... This is Al Capone

I intend to do a progress thread with him while he grows, and develops his adult colors. I may or may not continue it at that point, but I'm stoked to see how his colors develop

So, I'd gotten my little Baird's rat snake yesterday and he's been such an interesting snake so far. He was really active for a few hours, and he felt like exploring everything. He's still a little nervous and flighty, but hasn't struck at me yet (I'm a little disappointed, I was hoping for a little more kick to his spirit, but it's still a refreshing change of pace).

I didn't take a picture of this, but he was in his cold hide at one point with his head out at an angle. Anytime I moved, he'd duck back in real quick like I didn't see him. I don't think he knows he has a warm hide yet, as he'd much rather get in the red plant back there or burrow in the eco-earth. Such a character, it was love at first sight for me

Anyways, enough with my rambling. Here's some pictures of the little man.

(I know I posted some of these pictures in a different thread, but I wanted to make him an official progression thread so I went ahead and reposted them for everyone to see)

Albert Clark · 03-16-16, 03:32 PM

He really looks cool! I was digging the way he snaked his way onto the cables and up to th rim of the enclosure! Flight risk? Nice coloration too.

Tiny Boidae · 03-16-16, 03:48 PM

Yeah he'd used the hygrometer probe right there for leverage which made me nervous to watch. I'd never known those suction cups to be the most stable things in the world, and I didn't want him to be any more freaked out than he already was.

He'd calmed down considerably since yesterday, and has made himself a nice little burrow in the back corner, but he was definitely looking for an escape. I had to drill through the screen to fit a thermostat probe and I was worried he'd be able to fit through the hole. He tried it though, and failed.

But thanks for the compliments! He already has some red and white popping up on some of his scales so it shouldn't be long until his next update

macandchz · 03-16-16, 06:23 PM

lil al capone is probably just biding his time till he takes the place over. very nice snake!

Tiny Boidae · 03-16-16, 07:45 PM

Haha, no doubt about it! Day 2 and he's already calmed down considerably. He isn't spunky like he was yesterday, but he's not a shy slug anymore. Like I was just kneeling down in front of the cage watching him, and he approached me with no hesitation on his part. I'm not sure what his motives were, but I want to think he was just being a curious boy. I'm sure if I moved too suddenly or tried to open the lid, he'd freak out in a second, but he didn't even want to approach me from behind the glass yesterday so this is very good news from me. I wasn't going to this soon, but I'm going to offer a fuzzy this weekend and see if he takes it. Fingers crossed I can get him to eat without much fuss!

toddnbecka · 03-17-16, 12:49 AM

I cut pegboard to fit inside the tank rim to prevent small snakes from getting between the rim and the screen top. Those clips really aren't very strong. I use 1" wide nylon strap with velcro sewn onto the ends to secure the tops. Was buying the tera tiedowns from Amazon, but they get expensive when you need enough for a large number of tanks.

Tiny Boidae · 03-17-16, 04:57 AM

Thanks for the advice! I'll look into getting some pegboard like you said, and I'll see if I can do anything to add any security for now. (I really don't trust those clips either, they just bend too much too easily)

toddnbecka · 03-17-16, 11:51 PM

I've found that pegboard and straps are enough even w/out a screen top. Pegboard is cheap, unlike screen tops for 40 breeders, 55 and 75 gallon tanks. Another nice thing about it, I cut out a bit in the middle and then set a 10 gallon tank on top of it. Adds a bit more space to the encloure, sort of a loft, that the climbing snakes do make use of. I doubt the bull or thayeri kings would be as likely to use it, but the Dominicans certainly do. Also keeps the otherwise unused 10 gallon tanks out of the way, lol.

Tiny Boidae · 03-19-16, 03:58 PM

And eureka! He took a frozen/thawed fuzzy without much fuss (Well minus the fact that I freaked him out when I accidentally tapped him with the tongs). I didn't take any pictures of him feeding, unfortunately, as I really only dropped the mouse in one of his hides and left it there to minimize stress, and when I came back ten minutes later the mouse was gone and he had a little mouse belly on him

For good measure though, I didn't come completely empty handed. I did manage to snap a few pics of him over the course of the week.

**EL Ziggy** · 03-19-16, 04:41 PM

Handsome new critter takes his first meal. That's music to my ears

. Congrats again Tiny.

Tiny Boidae · 03-19-16, 06:05 PM

Thanks, it was music to mine too! I'd accidentally tapped him with my tongs in the process and he shot out of there. He ended up in the corner, rattling his tail oh-so menacingly and I thought I screwed up and he definitely wouldn't eat... Probably ate as soon as I turned my back!

Tiny Boidae · 03-21-16, 02:48 PM

I took Al Capone out for a stroll today and he was on his best behavior (which wasn't really saying a whole lot XP )

I've yet to be bitten or musked on, although he's definitely a tail rattler (which is a blessing). A day doesn't go by without him tail rattling, and he rattled away when I first got him out although after a couple of minutes he settled down and was weaving his way up my arm and around. He was pretty calm except he did NOT tolerate fingers near his face (which I'm pretty okay with). Snapped some pics for the lot of you.

And now I have one of Al Capone's scales, which have a lot more orange to them than I originally thought.

Edit: Also went out and ordered some supplies off E-Bay for him today, most of which are decorations. I'll try to sneak in an updated picture of his enclosure when they get here.

Tiny Boidae · 03-26-16, 11:32 AM

Unfortunate news. I've had him for almost 2 weeks now and he's developed a very mild case of RI. My temps were in the low 90's and high 80's which I suspect to be the culprit and have since boosted them to 95-100. I've also been keeping handling to a minimum regardless and have only been taking him out now just long enough to see if the symptoms are gone or have gotten worse. I noticed it Thursday and it hasn't gotten worse, but it hasn't gotten better either. I've noticed clicking sounds when he breathes sometimes but that's the extent of his symptoms. I'm going to try and see if he'll eat again Wednesday but for now I have noticed absolutely no change in his behavior other than the clicking. He's still highly cage active, and right now is pressed up against the corner of the aquarium trying to find a way out. He's musked a few times and still tail rattles a little bit, but he has calmed down considerably which might be due to him having settled in, or this RI.

Again, it's so mild right now I'm debating on whether or not he's actually sick. I'm trying to do my best to see if I can get it to go away on its own, but if it does get worse I have no quarrels with seeking veterinary treatment (although I'm hoping I can get it to go away on its own). Is there anything else in my husbandry that could've caused this? And is there anything I can do to help him fight this off? Here's a simple bulletin of important notes about his husbandry:

-The hotspot is around 95-100* F right now, but the thermometer only reads in Celsius so my conversion might be a little off. Right now the thermometer reads 35.5* C.
-The cool hide is 21.4* C so about 70* F. It usually is in the high 60's or low 70's.
-Humidity is at 36%
-He has two hides, neither of them are humid hides. I'm getting another hide in the mail to serve as a humid hide though and it'll be here by Tuesday.
-There is very little ambient light in the room. The light bulbs had blown out of that room and I have not fixed it yet. There's also no window in the room so it can't get natural sunlight. I have a small lamp next to his cage which I hope is good enough for now, but I also ordered some lights for his cage and they'll be here tomorrow.
-I've handled him twice so far, once Monday for about 15 minutes and another time Thursday when I noticed. I've taken him out of the enclosure once a day for very brief intervals since Thursday to check up on his RI.
-He is acting otherwise like a very healthy snake. He's eaten with me already, he's drinking, cage active, his poop has been solid.

I feel like I'm overreacting a little bit, but if this is an early RI I want to try and curb it before it gets to the point where a vet visit would be in order. Can anyone give any advice?

Albert Clark · 03-26-16, 12:17 PM

Well TB, glad to hear overall that he is adjusting well. As far as the RI is concerned , are you only hearing clicking noises when you hold him and thats it? Because if that is the only symptom i think you may be overthinking as opposed to overreacting. Its good to be suspicious of abnormal sounds. Certainly i would look for any fluid in the nose and or mouth, any abnormal positioning such that he looks like he is looking straight up into the air? Any sign of him keeping his mouth open for extended periods of time. Sometimes when a reptile is held that stress from being held can cause a increase in the respiratory rate and transmitted sounds of breathing. I would definitely bump up the temps a bit. i dont think it needs to be 100f though. Consider adding a little 100% cypress mulch to the substrate too. And not that garbage from Home Depot. Lol.

Tiny Boidae · 03-26-16, 12:32 PM

It's only the clicking. I haven't noticed any fluid discharge or any behaviors that seem concerning to me, however he has been clicking in his cage as well. It's not something that he does constantly when I have him out either if that helps, just a couple of clicks every now and then that concerned me. His temps are very usually around 94-98* F now that I adjusted the thermostat, although I have seen them reach 100* once so I thought I'd include it. It's an on-and-off thermostat so the temp range varies a lot, I wanted to cover all of my bases. I will dial down the thermostat a little bit though.

But I'll look into adding some cypress mulch and such. I've never really dealt with RI though so I probably panicked myself. Glad to know it probably wasn't that bad, but I'll still keep his heat boosted a few more days just to be safe.