Meet the gang!

[kibakiba]

Kat cant come any time soon duue to money issues. Soonest may be 3 weeks, could be longer if money continues to be tight. I have no snake to let him breed with, otehr than Mama... And I'm not letting her breed anymore.

[EasternGirl]

Hmmm...I don't know what to tell you then. I don't have any experience with breeding issues. Maybe another member can advise you...

[katach]

Hey Chantel, we can make it over on Tuesday 2/21. Brian doesn't have school and I don't have to work (finally). I'll PM you with the details.

[kibakiba]

Hey Kat, I haven't heard back from you yet ;)


It was feeding day today... Snap let me hold her without pooping, musking, hissing or biting.. And she ate from my fingers while I was holding her. She took the pinky very politely.


I'm a little confused with Hades... He's got almost no body mass at all. I feed him often, and one could say I over feed him a bit... but when you hold him, he's got no muscle and his belly is caved in almost. He's been like this since I caught him last year... but you would think that after at least 6 months of eating a ton of food he'd stop being caved in...

[katach]

I'll call you tomorrow after I get off work around 3. I was thinking spring break would be the best time for us. That would be the first week of April.

Could Hades have parasites?

[kibakiba]

It's a possibility. He is wild caught... I can't afford to do any sort of vet care though, and I have no parasite medicine.

[katach]

I talked to my boss and she is making the schedule today. I'll see what she has me down for over the weekend and let you know. I was going to call you, but I have a horrible headache today. :(

[EasternGirl]

Hope you feel better Kat.

[kibakiba]

Oh that's fine Kat. We can talk over email or PM if you want. My sleeping schedule is off, so I'm usually sleeping at 3 pm... I'm always up until 5 am.. haha.

[ConcinusMan]

So jeez. We're so close, yet so far. I know where Chantel and Kat are in WA and you're both so friggen out of the way for a visit.:cool:

[kibakiba]

My mom might be weirded out if a creepyold guy visited our house randomly... :D (I'm kidding, but she would be weirded out over people visiting)

[EasternGirl]

I just wish we all lived closer to each other...sometimes I wish this was a local snake group in my town and we had all met there. Then we could all hang out on a regular basis and have meetings like garter AA...lol. No, seriously like a herp hobbyist group or something. Okay...that's it...you're all moving to Delaware...pack your stuff.

[katach]

Dupont isn't that far away. I think it's about an hour and half to two hours away.

[kibakiba]

I think Snakey poked my head with his hemipenes... He was sitting on my head courting with my hair for a while, while I was cutting some pinkies up for my babies... And then I felt something kind of wet, and I checked and it wasn't poop. I feel mildly grossed out.

[guidofatherof5]

I think Snakey poked my head with his hemipenes... He was sitting on my head courting with my hair for a while, while I was cutting some pinkies up for my babies... And then I felt something kind of wet, and I checked and it wasn't poop. I feel mildly grossed out.

That's more information then I needed.:D

[katach]

I promise we'll get out there soon. Did you explain to him that that was not ok! :D

[EasternGirl]

Okay...that was just disturbing...ha ha...

[kibakiba]

I explained to him that molesting his mother wasn't okay... He's ashamd of himself, I think. He was hiding for a while, but I put him in the tank a little roughly... But you can't blame me! A snake just poked me with something I don't want near me! He's out exploring now, because he knows he didn't get any food.


Snappy retained her shed, but has just eaten a pinky... When she was trying to get her second one, she grabbed me instead...
Snap, that is not the right kind of finger food!
http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/2638/sdc14308s.jpg

[katach]

Sounds like you are having an eventful snake day.

[kibakiba]

Yes, indeed it has... Snakey is rejecting food again... It seems like he's more interested in courting with my head...

Mama ate 3 pinkies! Snap ate 2 and the babies kept rejecting food from me, until I let them sit on the screen and eat.

[EasternGirl]

Ouch...Snap!

[kibakiba]

Yeah, Snap bit me pretty good... she held on for a good 3 minutes... but when I tried to grab the camera, she let go. I watched her teeth cut a pinky wide open!I'm glad she didn't to that with my finger!

[kibakiba]

Snakey shed today while I was napping... He's so pretty! Also, while I was holding him, he rubbed his tongue on my finger and he shed his tongue on me!

Here's his tongue shed
http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/6537/sdc14334.jpg


And the pretty boy himself!
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/2033/sdc14332.jpg
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7407/sdc14330.jpg
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5209/sdc14329h.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

He's a lean, mean looking machine.;)

[kibakiba]

More like a chubby, sweet courting machine! Haha :D

[EasternGirl]

He looks so handsome! I had no idea they shed their tongues too. Wow...you learn something new on here everyday. Seeley shed while I was out tonight...he looks quite dapper himself.

[kibakiba]

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5664/dappersnakey.jpg

[EasternGirl]

You crack me up!

[kibakiba]

I always imagine a dapper fellow having a monocle and a perfect mustache.... So when you said dapper.... I had to make Snakey into the perfect dapper man.

[kibakiba]

Snap has been telling me that I'm treating her very well, and since I had helped her shed... She will grace me with her love. One thing I didn't notice, was she didn't get the shed off of her tail... It's been about a week.. And it's fused... But! She went into shed again, just 3 days after getting the previous shed off.. To clarify(it sounds like I'm confused about the amount of time that passed), she shed a week ago, and I had to help her, but I missed the tail. Then, 3 days after that she turned blue, and now 4 days later she's about to get the skin off..
She's being just the sweetest little thing ever! She even let me kiss the top of her head! These snakes have just been more clingy towards me since spring started. I love my snakies!

[chris-uk]

Interestign when they go into shed again so quickly. It's not happened here yet, but it's almost like Snap knew she needed another attempt to get the extra bit off her tail.

[kibakiba]

Yeah. I'm glad she did, because from what I can see it woul'd have chopped an inch and a half from her 3 (ish) inch tail. I'd still love her stub tail and all.. but dang she is drop dead gorgeous with her body in tact.

[EasternGirl]

That is exactly what I was thinking, Chris...it seems that she knew she needed to shed again to finish the job...amazing. Glad it all worked out, Chantel.

[kibakiba]

Snap retained her shed, but I got it off. She went outside for a little bit, she stayed right by my feet and slithered into my hand when it was time to go inside. She's been really calm and sweet.


Silver died unexpectedly. He was upside down on top of the water dish... I don't know how he died, he wasn't dehydrated, unless he didn't drink from the dish... I think he had just shed, too... Or it was spots. Maybe he retained his shed and Spots happened to shed right next to him. I don't know... But I'm extremely depressed having lost 3 snakes already this year.

[guidofatherof5]

Hang in there Chantel. I found a dead, young radix in a water dish just the other day. No idea what went wrong.

[EasternGirl]

I'm so sorry Chantel. And I am sorry to hear about your little radix too, Steve. Rest in peace little ones. Hang in there, Chantel...we are all here for you.

[kibakiba]

Well I've been having a hard time taking care of my snakes in the first place because of my depression, so finding one of my most beloved babies dead is a big blow. I'm not able to get any medication for a few more weeks, either. I really hate not knowing what killed them, because I don't know whether I did anything wrong, and if I did I need to know what did go wrong to change it, or if there was just something wrong with his body that eventually would have took his life no matter what I did. I hope none of my other babies die... I don't know if I could handle it. Mama might be gravid again, part of me hopes she is so I can have a couple more babies to fill the void... But I think it's just more jellybeans.

[katach]

I'm so sorry Chantel. I'm sending you a hug.

[EasternGirl]

I'm so sorry. I wish there were something I could do for you. It probably wasn't anything you did...you know these things just happen sometimes. I think that when my parents are no longer around and this house is mine...you should come and live with us and you and I can help take care of each other. You would really like Delaware. My parents are getting up there in age and their health is not good...they aren't going to be around for many more years.

[kibakiba]

Delaware is still quite a ways away from Canada, though ;) I promised Kyle that if I move anywhere, it'd be to Michigan to be driving distance from him.

[EasternGirl]

That would make sense. :)

[kibakiba]

I'm changing Thumbelina's name. He's a bit derpy... so Kyle and I decided he's going to be Derpy Scales. It's like Derpy Hooves from MLP: FiM... :D

[kibakiba]

I finished my girls' crocheted blanket just 10 minutes ago... I crumpled it up and stuck it in the tank. Mama raced up to it, but went back into her box when she found out that it wasn't food. Runt can't seem to figure out what it is. She's slithering onto it and tilting her head with her tongue flicking quickly... And then she jumps and hides. It's extremely comical seeing her do that over and over. She probably can't really see it properly, so maybe it's shimmer throws her off when she moves on it, and it ends up scaring her.

[EasternGirl]

Ha Ha! If I put something like that in my snakes' enclosures...they would all back into a corner and hide and stare at it for a week like it was invading their enclosure...refusing to go anywhere near it! Except for the babies...they would think it was interesting and fun...they would be curious and pop in and out of the little holes in it. I think it's really sweet that you made that for them, Chantel. :)

[kibakiba]

Yeah, I have it on the cool side... My snakes never go on the cool side, unless it's for water. I don't want it on the warm side though, just in case. A little dose of paranoia never hurt anyone... Haha.


I like crocheting a whole lot, so making a little snakie blanket was fun. It took me a few months, though.. I ran out of pink yarn. Luckily, I got my birthday money a bit early... So we went to Hobby Lobby and got some more yarn. I'll be up to my eyeballs in yarn soon! :D

[kibakiba]

Snap is dying. I don't know whats wrong with her. II know she stopped eating for 3 weeks, but I thought maybe she was fasting, as she was gaining a lot of weight. When my dad was visiting I was leting him meet all of my snakes, I found snap laying on her back. When I picked her up, she started death rolling. I had to put her back to spend time with my dad, was the first time seeing him in 17 years... When I came back she was limp and her pupils were tiny dot s, like angels were, and speckles when she was a fw minutes from dying. I got her to eat some salmon just now.... She's not death rolling any more, and she flicks her tongue now and then. I want her to live...

[ConcinusMan]

omg. thats terrible chantel. so sorry. i wonder what went wrong with those two.

i know you've had them for quite a while but just say the word, if and when youre ready, and i will "replace" them, no charge.

[kibakiba]

I'm hoping she'll live. I don't know if I can handle having anyy more snakes when 4 of them have passed away in the past 5 months. itll take a long time to get over snap dying if she does.

[EasternGirl]

Oh Chantel...I'm so sorry...you have just lost too many snakes recently...it just isn't fair. I don't know what to say. I wish Cee Cee had more babies so I could send you some. I know it wouldn't replace Snap though. I wish there were something I could do. I will keep you and Snap in my thoughts and prayers.

[kibakiba]

Thanks. She seems to be getting a tad bit stronger. I hope she makes it through the night. She's been having seizures if she starts moving too much, or if I have to pick her up or move her. She has quite a bit more life in her than she did 2 hours ago.I got her to eat a pinky's worth of salmon.

She seems to just want me to hold her. I've tried setting her in my blanket, which she normally likes... But then she uses the last bit of her strength to slither quickly onto my hand... Warm water, back onto my hand. It seems like gently stroking her back has been keeping her from having a seizure, because once I stop for a while, she either gets this weird eyes rolling to the back of her head (kind of) and head twitch, or she does a death roll with other twitchy and locked up movements.

I feel selfish for not putting her down, since she is in pain.. But, I cant handle losing her. She may have been a bit of a jerk, but she's the one I love the most. Her, Snakey and Mama are the ones that would seriously devestate me of they were to pass away...

Also, she did something really cute a little bit ago... After my boyfriend and I got in a really heated fight, she coiled up on the head of my stuffed bear and rested her head on my nose. She's being such a sweet and cute little girl.

[ConcinusMan]

Thanks. She seems to be getting a tad bit stronger. I hope she makes it through the night. She's been having seizures if she starts moving too much, or if I have to pick her up or move her. She has quite a bit more life in her than she did 2 hours ago.I got her to eat a pinky's worth of salmon.

actually, the salmon is the first thing i would suspect. after relying heavily on coho, i had two snake develop similar symptoms. i cut out the salmon. one snake died, the other recovered slowly. i suspect that mercury and / or pcb's as the culprit.

[EasternGirl]

I recently tried to switch mine over to tilapia...but my easterns do not like it...the babies do, but not my adults. I'm currently on the hunt for some trout now so that I can stop giving them so much salmon...although I alternate with pinkies and worms.

[kibakiba]

I haven't been feeding salmon much. Snap has only eaten pinkies. I just for the salmon last month, for myself... And I decided that I'd go ahead and give everyone a small bit of it 2 weeks ago. Snap couldn't even open her mouth enough to swallow a pinky, and wouldn't take a chopped up one. She's been a bit stronger since she ate the fish last night. Like I said, she hasn't been eating. She ate a pencil sized eraser's worth of fish that 2 weeks ago, and then went back to rejecting food.
I had her wrapped up in the blanket I made them and she slept on my bed with me for about an hour... When I woke up, she was trying to poop... But I think she's too weak to get it out. Is there anything I can do for her in that case? She's mostly sleeping wrapped up in the blanket next to me. She occasionally looks up at me and flicks her tongue a little bit. If she's near the end of her life, I'd like to make her as comfortable as possible. She really seems to 'enjoy' having me stroke her back. She kind of snuggles up to my hand when I start stroking her back.

[EasternGirl]

Probably wasn't salmon that caused it then. It sounds like you are doing everything that you can to make her comfortable and to know she is very loved. She is very lucky to have you. I hope she pulls through. My thoughts are with you both. The only thing that I can think of with the pooping is to try to give her a warm soak...maybe massage her vent area very gently. Anything beyond that may be too much for her at this point. You certainly don't want to make her feel worse by trying to give her an enema...I would think that could aggravate things...but that is just my opinion. Maybe someone else could weigh in.

[kibakiba]

Yeah, an enema would be my last resort. There isn't any hard lumps near her vent, so I don't think she's impacted. I have her in the bowl that I normally have them soak in, but right now she's just snuggled up in the blanket while I feed everyone. I keep trying to offer her a small bit of pinky but she just turns her nose up to it. I haven't found any worms around here, oddly enough. I'd give her one if I had some.

[ConcinusMan]

well its entirely possible that she could be trying to pass urates but cant. could be infection, kidney problems, any number of things. could even be a virus causing organ failure. maybe one from the local snakes, one to which they are immune, but the concinnus' are not. all pure speculation however. only a vet exam or necropsy can determine that.

[kibakiba]

Well, I cant take her to a vet, and even if I could, and had the money... No one in a 30 mile radius sees snakes. the one that does, the people are complete idiots who don't know what they are talking about. They called Willy (yellow collared mini macaw) an emaciated conure. There is no way he was emaciated when we took him in. They also called my Norwegian dwarf rabbit, a "German lop" rabbit. I never heard of that before.

[ConcinusMan]

Well, I cant take her to a vet, and even if I could, and had the money... No one in a 30 mile radius sees snakes.

Yeah, i know chantel, i think everyone in WA is pretty much "in the same boat".

[EasternGirl]

That just plain sucks.

[kibakiba]

Earlier today, I'd have said she was doing well. But, I checked on her after my nap and she was weak and hadn't moved from the spot I left her in.
Some good news, though, she passed urates when she was soaking. She needed a little bit of help. I rubbed her belly gently, just before the vent. It looks like she still has a bit to get out, but I'm hoping for the best in this case. I'll be devestated if anything happens to Snap. I love her so much.

[guidofatherof5]

Hang in there Chantel.

[kibakiba]

She just had another seizure. I have her wrapped up in the blanket... It really does seem to help her calm down. She doesn't want to leave the blanket. I feel the same way when I'm sick, my blankets are always comforting. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she's comfortable.

[guidofatherof5]

You're doing the best you can. You are both in my prayers.

[d_virginiana]

I'm sorry to hear Snap isn't doing well. I hope she gets better. :(

It seems like you are doing all you can. She is a very lucky snake.

[kibakiba]

Thanks Lora.

Snap took a nap with me today. Just a little while before I started posting, I wasn't feeling too well and I didn't want to stick her in the tank with Mama, who thinks everything is food if it moves, so I wrapped her up in the blanket and set her on the warmest part of my heated bedspread. She slept with me for a whole hour and a half. The more I do to take care of her, the more I'm seeing that she does (at least) seem to appreciate my care.
She's too weak to drink water on her own, so I use one of my unused syringes that came with my medication and make little droplets of water, which she drinks every once in a while.
I wish she could just tell me how she feels. Her actual body strength is better than yesterday, but I'm not sure if being alive is making er miserable, or if she's just uncomfortable. I don't want to put her down if she has a high chance of making it. Blah. I'm having a really hard time deciding what to do.

[EasternGirl]

I think that if she was in a lot of pain at this point, she wouldn't be lying calmly...she would be doing death rolls or something. If she seems stronger than she was yesterday and she has passed some urates and is taking water from you, then give it a little time...wait it out today and see how she does. If she starts seizing more or doing death rolls...showing any outward signs of pain or discomfort, you may want to put her down to end her suffering. As long as she seems comfortable, you can continue what you are doing...you are taking excellent care of her and it seems to be making her feel better. Keep us posted.

[kibakiba]

She does death roll when she has the seizures. I think she's calm just because she knows I'm trying to help hr. I mean, I'm constantly massaging her belly (I see that she's actually impacted right now) and I rub her back softly when she has a seizure, I make sure she's hydrated, etc. I *really* don't want to put her down... But I am going to have to give her an enema... I'm not looking forward to that.

[ConcinusMan]

snakes do that when they're in severe pain. looks like a seizure / death roll, and sometimes they'll bite themselves.

[kibakiba]

I've been watching her for the past 10 minutes.... I don't think she'll ever recover... So I think I'm going to put her down. I want to wait until Kyle gets home, though... I know he'll want to say goodbye to her too.

[ConcinusMan]

that sucks chantel. so sorry. offer still stands, i can "replace" them for free, and cover shipping, but my concern is, what is the cause. don't want it to happen again, know what i mean?

[kibakiba]

I know. I think she ended up getting some carefresh on a piece of her food. I can see that she is impacted, I don't know what it is that's impacting her... But I can assure you that I'm never feeding on carefresh again. All of my other snakes get fed out of the tank, it was just Snap that didn't like it, and Ember too.I'll be buying a new tank that I plan on using as a feeding tank. I'm not taking any more chances with this.

[ConcinusMan]

i find that if you move them to a feeding tank with a cave type hide but leave them alone and let them settle down an hour or two first, they'll usually eat.

youre a fine snake keeper. **** happens to all of us. I've made plenty of mistakes and lost snakes before. just learn from it and move on.;)

[kibakiba]

Both Snap and Ember would freak out being in a different place no matter how many hides there were. They both acted like everything was trying to eat them, trying to get out and flying around the tank.

[ConcinusMan]

Both Snap and Ember would freak out being in a different place no matter how many hides there were. They both acted like everything was trying to eat them, trying to get out and flying around the tank.

yeah i know, but if you keep trying and eventually succeed they will begin to associate the move with dinner time and stop freaking out so much. takes patience but its worth the effort.

[kibakiba]

Well, I hold all of my snakes while I'm feeding them now. They associate being held with eating, which isn't always good for "special" snakes like Derpy... He's a bit too special. Sits there waving his head around with his mouth open and nibbles all over my hand, just when I try looking him over, or cleaning the poop off of him.

[kibakiba]

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/5779/sdc14440t.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

Love that photo.

[kibakiba]

I do too... He was coming toward the camera... I didn't expect him to roar at me with such ferocity!

[ProXimuS]

Super adorable!

[Invisible Snake]

Awesome pic! Was he yawning or trying to bite something?

[kibakiba]

He's yawning. He'd never bite anything that wasn't food or smelt like food.

[kibakiba]

Also, Mama just ate 10 night crawlers and 2 pinkies. What a fatty. I love her. :D

[ConcinusMan]

He's yawning. He'd never bite anything that wasn't food or smelt like food.

"smelt" hahaha

[kibakiba]

Whoops. Lol. I'm sure he'd like some smelt, too. He eats almost anything I wave in his face.

[kibakiba]

I think Runt might be sick... She's gone from skittish and jumpy to calm and sweet... I'd like to think that its just her trusting me, but this happened overnight. She's not as strong as she normally is and she's a lot slower. She's missed the last 2 feedings and doesn't show interest in food at all. I really hope she just decided to trust me, and that she's perfectly healthy... Cause I'd hate to lose my little beauty!

[katach]

I'm hoping for the best for you and little Runt. Have you tried a warm soak? Maybe she needs to poop.

[guidofatherof5]

Prayers headed your way Chantel.

[kibakiba]

She's pooping quite well... She's one of the noisy poopers... Haha. I'm hoping she's just trusting me more, I had to help her with her shed and she gave up on struggling after I got it off of her head and neck. That doesn't explain the food rejection and weakness, though. She's been spending a lot of time in my arms, though. She's just the sweetest little thing right now.

[ProXimuS]

I hope everything ends up alright *fingers crossed*

Maybe with her being calmer and possibly more trusting, she's just not as hungry, possibly not expending as much energy?

[kibakiba]

Well, she's kind of 'lazy' because she's partially blind, and moving around a lot causes her to bump into everything. It's just when I hold her, she normally freaks out, musks and constricts my fingers. Since she started eating (she was a problem eater when she was a baby) she hasn't ever missed a meal. I figure she could be fasting because she's just slightly overweight. I've never had a snake change from being scared and skittish to calm within hours.... not with a record like hers.

[kibakiba]

While I was cleaning Mama's water dish, she came out of the tank and explored a little bit, so I offered her some water from the water bottle.... She usually takes a few sips from it when I squeeze it, but she seemed more interested in eating it/attacking it. She's never done that before. Though, I did accidentally squirt her in the face with it... Maybe she thought it was attacking her... Haha.

[ProXimuS]

That sounds cute. I didn't know snakes could drink from a bottle. I'd like to see if you could ever get a picture ot video of her doing it:)

[kibakiba]

I don't normally give them water from a bottle, just when I've been busy, if their water dish became dry or was too dirty to drink. I could try to get a video of it, though. Snakey and Mama are the ones who do it the most, pumpkin has done it, too.

[kibakiba]

Runt just are half of a pinky! Yay! Go Runt! :D

[ProXimuS]

Yay I'm glad she got something down:)

[katach]

Awesome news Chantel! Has she perked up?

[guidofatherof5]

Runt just are half of a pinky! Yay! Go Runt! :D

Good news indeed Chantel. Please keep us posted on Runt.

[EasternGirl]

Good news on Runt! Please keep us posted. Love that pic that you posted, btw. Classic!

[kibakiba]

She hasn't perked up at all, she's very lazy with a semi full belly. She normally eats two halves, but one half is good enough... We'll see if she perks up more once it's had some time to digest.

[kibakiba]

Runt isn't eating. She's been having quite a bit of moodiness lately. She bit me for the first time 2 weeks ago. I couldn't even believe it. She's always been the fearful little snake that would never attack for any reason. I've just been leaving her alone... I think that's what she's wanting.

[ProXimuS]

Hope she is back to normal soon! Is it possible she's picking up on what is going on with Derpy? Maybe knowing a friend is stressing out?

[kibakiba]

Well, derpy is a boy, so I keep them separate. She's been out of sorts for a month. I think she's in her little 'teenage' years... ;)
Hades is the same. They're both close to the same age, I'm assuming, from their size. I was thinking , when Runt reaches maturity in 2-3 years (northwesterns are slower at maturing fully) I might breed her with Hades. They're both beautiful and strong, healthy snakes. The only issue for me is Runts partial blindness. I've been told that it shouldn't really be an issue, though.

[ProXimuS]

Teenagers and their raging hormones:p

[kibakiba]

Yeah, my rebelious little teenage snakies. They have their black hair, piercings and weird music!... Haha!

[kibakiba]

Snakey isn't doing so well now.. He's extremelly lethargic and his tongue is stuck together. I'm assuming his tongue is shedding.. But Snakey never acts like this. He hasn't been eating but I didn't think of that as an issue... He's pretty old, I've had him for 4 years and he was at least 2-3 years old when I caught him (basing this on his size).. I'm really worried about him.

[kibakiba]

His tongue is sticking out... Like he can't pull it back into the mouth.

[EasternGirl]

With three of your snakes having problems, I would be wondering if there is something going on that could have been passed to all of them (I understand you keep them separate but it could be something that was passed by you handling them or them sharing anything at all), or if there is something in the environment..perhaps the smoke from the herbs, or the temp or humidity. I'm just guessing here. As far as runt goes...Sadie was the sweetest snake in the world for the first few weeks I had her...now she wants to bite me everytime there is food around. Even if I am feeding another snake clear across the room...she seems to know when food is around. These snakes are smart! Could it be something like that with Runt?

[kibakiba]

I'm not sure about Runt, but Derpy was just dehydrated it seemed. He goes through bouts of being... Well, kind of stupid.. He does have mental issues though, so it's understandable. I talked with Steve, he said it sounds like he's just passing away from old age. I do think that this is the case. He's been showing his age lately. He seems to know that I'm hurting, though... He won't leave my side. He was very weakly clinging to my hands when I was trying to put him down to give him some rest. I put a snake blanket in my bra and he's sleeping in that constantly. He pokes his head out, maybe once every 15 minutes and pushes his head against my cheek. I think, or would like to think, that he knows that his passing will cause me a lot of pain. He's been my best friend through some of the toughest times of my life.

[guidofatherof5]

Keep us posted on this situation. Wishing the best for Derpy.

[Eight]

My thoughts are with you

[ProXimuS]

I'm sorry to hear about little Snakey now. He sounds like a very nice friend! Hopefully soon Blade will have her babies and pass on Snakey's legacy:)

[kibakiba]

Big Mama had some babies of his, I have 3 of them. Little Pumpkin has big eyes just like his dad. I do really hope that Blade has some babies.


I got snakey to take a tiny little sip of water, but now he;s opening his mouh and dragging it on me. I feel so bad for him. I made him a little 'nest' in my bra with a snakie blankie. He's been staying there mos of the time. I kept him in the 1l container right next to me when I was sleeping. I rub his back every oncee in a while, he seems o like it, he stops struggling to slither around. He slithers as if he were drunk.

[kibakiba]

Snakey has passed away. It deemed like he lheld on just long enough for Kyle to say goodbye to him, because shortly after that he let go. I'm going to miss you little buddy.

[Invisible Snake]

I'm sorry for your loss :(

[Steveo]

Sorry Chantel :(

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry for your loss.
I'm so glad you had that time with him at the end. I'm sure he felt comfort/security with you.

[katach]

Oh Chantel, I'm so sorry. Snakie was such a sweet little guy. I'll miss him too. Hopefully Blade will have a mess of babies.

[kibakiba]

Yeah, he was wrapped in a little snakie blankie right on my chest. I'm glad kyle was there too. He really loved little Snakey.

[guidofatherof5]

The little buggers do grow on you don't they.

[kibakiba]

Yeah, they really do. It helps that they're the silet best friend who does nothing but listen. Snakey has always been a wonderful friend.

[Stefan-A]

Sorry to hear it.

[EasternGirl]

I'm so sorry Chantel. But the fact that you kept him close to your body and wrapped in a blankie and gave him so much love is heartwarming. He will be able to rest now knowing he was loved so dearly. You are a true snake lover and I am proud to call you my friend. Rest in peace little Snakey.

[ProXimuS]

I'm truly sorry to hear about little Snakey! I know he had many good years with you, and am glad he' been in good hands. My thoughts are with you and Kyle, and the rest of your scaley family!

[kibakiba]

Thank you guys. He was very special to me. One of my happiest memories of him was when he actually calmed down enough to sleep on me. He let me rub his neck and everything.


Everybody got a large meal in honor of Snakey. I think everyone is happy and full.

Also, I noticed something... I was holding big Mama an hour after I put Snakey in the freezer... She kept sniffing the area where he was and pushing her nose on the desk and shoving her nose on my chest, where he passed away. She seemed lost. After a while she gave up and just looked looked around. It seemed like she truly missed him or wondered where he was.

[kibakiba]

I've noticed something, I started an actual routine of dancing, instead of doing it whenever... When the time comes for me to start with the drills.. the snakes all perk up. The video I use for my usual exercises and drills has some low bassy tones in it, so I assume the snakes notice them... Even when I'm not actually exercising, the snakes all peek their heads out of their hiding and sleeping places. They seem to know the exact times that I start, so their used to hearing it every day.. And even when its not going on (since I'm sick I've been relaxing) they know what usually comes. Its really cute. Maybe they enjoy watching me.
I also use insense when I do, but keep the fan on, door open and have the bathroom fan on to keep it from being stong. Its just an extremely faintly scent insense... You can barely smell it at all. Pumpkin and big Mama are the ones that watch me the most. Snakey would also keep his head sticking out of his box to watch me. They really are more intelligent than you would assume at first glance.

[kueluck]

Chantel, so sorry to read about Snakey. It's just one of the those things you don't think about when a new friend comes along..........they don't live forever except in our hearts.

[kibakiba]

I didn't say it before, but thanks. Snakey is in a good place now.

Snake chow!
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/1365/sdc14603j.jpg

I'm trying to get the snakes to eat from a dish, because it takes me almost 3 hours to feed the snakes by hand... they seem to enjoy the attention.. but my depression gets the better of me and it's hard to keep up for that amount of time. All of the babies took except for Derpy. He's been having a hard time lately. He absolutely loves being held, even when it's really warm... He really seems to take comfort in being fed by hand.. But at the same time he gets all excited about being held, plus having food around... He doesn't get excited until I'm holding him, either. He gets soooo super excited that he cant control his head and waves it everywhere for about 5 minutes before I can get him to latch onto food. Since Snakey passed he doesn't want to eat, whether I'm holding him or not. I feel bad but I cant spend all of my time holding him and trying vvarious foods. He even turned down his favourite meal.. Snails :(
I hope he snaps out of it soon.. and I really hope he's actually drinking water... I'm going to see if he'll drink water a few times during the day... It's hard dealing with a 'special' snake... but he's so cute!

[guidofatherof5]

Good looking garter grub.

[kibakiba]

Its mostly pinkies, some salmon... I'm getting more worms this week.. So hopefully Derpy will take some cut up worms. He's a silly little guy.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

It looks simply divine:)

[kibakiba]

I always thought Azul would always be a weak little runt and that I shouldn't have any high hopes for him. Now, Azul is the strongest and biggest out of the 3 left. Pumpkin was the biggest and strongest at birth, almost double the size of Azul. Pumpkin has been a troubled eater since Snakey passed away. He's rejected most of the meals I've given him.

[katach]

He misses his papa. :(

[kibakiba]

I think he does. His odd behaviour started when Snakey passed away. I know most people think that they don't care about their tank mates... But really, Pumpkin and Snakey were always together. Pumpkin followed Snakey a lot, Snuggled with him and climbed up all the sticks with him. All of the snakes started acting different when he was gone, including Big Mama. The night he passed, she was rubbing her nose all over the glass, she never does that. When I picked her up, she kept trying to go to where he had been laying on my desk and shoing her nose on it. She's never tried shover her nose on my desk before. She even pushed her nose against my chest where he had laid when he really died.

[kibakiba]

Aaaand, Pumpkin is badly impacted. I just worked a small pebble sized bit og hard urates out... He's not happy with the manhandling.

[ProXimuS]

Poor boy:( Is that everything, do you know?

[kibakiba]

I still feel a hard piece in there. The swelling is gone, though. I'm debating giving him an enema, but he's so tiny