New arrivals

[kibakiba]

Here's Mama's babies. Lets see of you can find the unique one of the group ;)

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Group1.jpg

This little one has more spots than anyone and is also a bit smaller than the others
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/extraspots.jpg

This guy is a silvery colour and didn't want a picture taken... So I took one through the plastic.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/hiding.jpg

One of the biggest babies...
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/baby3.jpg

[kibakiba]

And the brown baby. The flash drained his colour a little bit.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Brown3.jpg

Aren't they adorable? :D

[guidofatherof5]

Beautiful little scrubs. Congrats.
Keep us posted on their progress.;)

[kibakiba]

Of course. I'm totally going to update everyone each time one so much as moves! Not really. But I will keep everyone posted :D

[kibakiba]

The little brown guy is probably the calmest of all of them, and the most curious. I was changing their water and he came up and slithered around on my hand. I like him. Not only is he the "odd" one, he's also the sweetest. :D

[i_heart_sneakie_snakes]

Oh they are so cute!!! I didn't realize it was baby season. It's exciting :)

[kibakiba]

Mama chose a weird time to give birth, but that's okay since she gave me 5 adorable babies ;)

[EasternGirl]

Oh Chantel...Mama had her babies!!! That is so exciting. They are adorable. Are you going to keep all of the babies?

[kibakiba]

I wish I could keep them... I can only keep 2 of them, my mom doesn't want more snakes in the house ;) The others are going to be adopted out. If Steve wants them all they'll probably go to him since he's not too far from me and I know they'll have the best life they could ever have. I'm going to keep them all for at least for a few months to see that they'll turn out like. I really like the silvery one and the brown one... I kind of hope that they'll stay pretty like that :D

[PINJOHN]

well done chantel they look great, we will all be looking out for your updates, so we can follow these little fella's through adolescence
couldn't be more happy for you;)

[guidofatherof5]

The others are going to be adopted out. If Steve wants them all they'll probably go to him since he's not too far from me and I know they'll have the best life they could ever have.

Please keep other in mind also. There may be people closer than me and that would be less stress on the little ones.:)

[gregmonsta]

Very nice :D

[kibakiba]

Perhaps, I still have a couple months before I have to choose what I do with them, so we'll see what happens.

Everyone is looking good today and the little runt is very tough... I was changing their water and he slithered up to me quick and bit me. It's kind of cute, something so tiny acting so tough. I like him! :D

[kibakiba]

The brown baby's name is now Pumpkin seed.For some reason when I was holding him earlier to show my boyfriend the babies, he smelt like pumpkin seeds to me. He's such a tame little guy and he's big and cute, I might just keep him. He even slithers up to me when I have my hand in the tank, he's just like the snakes I've had for a year or more. I love the little guy. :D

[guidofatherof5]

The brown baby's name is now Pumpkin seed.

Glad he smelled like that and not something else:D

[ConcinusMan]

Oh they are so cute!!! I didn't realize it was baby season. It's exciting :)

When in they're in captivity and mate in January it's "baby season". Captive snakes don't need a season. Besides that, it's March. Most breeders begin having litters as early as February.


Mama chose a weird time to give birth, but that's okay since she gave me 5 adorable babies ;)

It's not a weird time, it's approximately 60 days from the day of mating isn't it?

They look awesome Chantel. That big one is bigger than my 7 month old! They were born very tiny and are slow growing.

[RicMartin]

Congratulations!
Ric

[kibakiba]

It was a weird time for me, Richard. :p And somewhat of a bad time, all my worms died and my salmon was freezer burnt. But luckily, there was a sale on salmon and my mom bought some and she grabbed a can of worms. It's not much for the amount of snakes I have, but it'll last us at least... Oh, two days. :D

[Mommy2many]

Awesome looking babies, Chantel. I really like the name Pumpkin. Good luck with them!

[kibakiba]

Thanks, Le Ann!

I already know know what one I'm going to keep, pumpkin and one other. Pumpkin is so easy to pick out from the others, he's lost most of his brown already but he's not as flighty as the others and he's the biggest of them all. And of course his little eyes are so bright. Little guy makes me smile. The other ones are so cute too. I normally find them all coiled up together. If I spook them on accident, they scatter and leave little Pumpkin looking up at me. The little extra spotted baby is a bit more tame too.
I offered them food today since I was going to feed Mama and the other babies today and had no takers. Pumpkin did coil up and strike at the food, though.

[Mommy2many]

Chantel, I also think you should keep the little nipper as well. He sounds feisty and that's just what's needed to survive this world. So tiny and already being all big and cobra like! What's not to love? Him a chewin on your finger:D

More pics, please!!!:)

[kibakiba]

Haha, I do like him. He's definitely got an attitude.
Here's a picture of the nippy one today, there were two nipping me last night, this little guy seems to be angry with me about something... but it's so cute.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Nippy.jpg

This little guy was a slivery colour at birth and is getting colour on his sides already :D
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Silver.jpg

And another picture of pumpkin, he was sleeping on my belly and when I moved my hand he fell over on his back and looked at me like "hey! I was having a good dream!"
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Upsidedown_pumkin.jpg

[kibakiba]

Pumpkin is already almost 4 inches long! He's not as vibrantly coloured as he was at birth, he's just a very slightly orange-y brown. He's definitely dominating the others in terms of size and strength. My one silver baby is getting larger, his belly is almost pure white with a little grey speckle and he's almost the size of Pumpkin. My other silver one is getting a little light minty colour on his sides, and little extra spots is starting to turn a taupe like colour and his spots are more defined. The two others are also developing a brown colour, the little runt hasn't grown at all. He's the shyest of the babies.
They've all tamed down a lot and don't bite anymore but they are still skittish. They still haven't eaten, I offer them worms every day and since they don't take them, Big Mama ends up eating them instead. It's almost been 10 days... How much longer should I wait to be worried? They still look nice and plump, aside from the little runt. He's starting to look oddly thin. It could just be his size though.

I can't wait to see what they'll look like in a month or two. :D They bring me so much happiness!

[ConcinusMan]

Just keep offering Chantel. It hasn't been "too long" just yet. These guys (northwesterns & sometimes concinnus' too) in most cases absorb quite a nice little yolk reserve in the few days right before they are born. It can sustain them for a while before they are ready to eat. Then one day, they suddenly start eating and you can't stop them. Just make sure they have easy access to water, some will only drink from "dew" collected from misting at first. When they're ready, they'll eat.

Don't worry just yet.;)

[kibakiba]

My only worry is the little runt since he's so small. The others seem fine enough to last another week. I know how northwesterns are, Thumbelina and Squirt both went almost a month without food and based on their size, they weren't more than a month old. Being my first ever time having a snake give birth in my presence and getting to keep the babies for a couple months before sending them to someone, I want everything to go right. In fact, I had to refuse the fish my mom bought, some salmon type I had never heard of because she bought it for the babies. I would hate for them to eat anything harmful to them.
Figures, I'll ask my mom for coho salmon, or some other specific type of salmon and she'll come home with something completely different that I cant find anything about:rolleyes:

[ConcinusMan]

Well what is it? I think most of what you will find where you are is WC WA salmon, farmed salmon, or wild alaskan. The Alaskan is the best choice(lowest levels of contaminants) but also the most expensive. Second cleanest is anything "farmed". Just about anything else, including coho, is equal so it doesn't really matter what kind it is.

If they have any kind of trout (or steelhead) take that over salmon any day.

Chantel, my ordinoides litter last year didn't take food until about day 16 (some held out a bit longer) and they did fine. You might want to try putting them in a small container for about an hour, once a day, with some chopped worms in there. Eventually they'll eat when they're ready.

[kibakiba]

I ate it... Haha I don't really know. I asked her to get either Alaskan or coho but it was neither. Right now we have a bit of sockeye, but I cant seem to find out whether that is safe either. When it comes to fish, if we get the wrong kind, I'll eat it. My mom doesn't like fish and there's no point in wasting it since it costs quite a bit.

It's kind of funny, I have never seen any sort of trout in our fish market area. We have asked if they had any once and the kid didn't know what a trout was. I think my mom scared the kid with the stories of my ravenous snakes, though ;)

I took one of my lipgloss/balm containers (never used) and stuck some worms in there for now. Kept an eye on them for a while. They came up, sniffed it, slithered in it, then freaked out like it was eating them. After about 2 hours Pumpkin looked a tiny bit bigger, but I didn't want to bother them. I could only see part of him.

[ConcinusMan]

Any wild caught salmon or steelhead(a rainbow trout that has been out to sea) you find at your store is going to be from WA unless it says otherwise. Any of those fish shouldn't be used long term or as a main food. Wild WA fish is contaminated with PCB's and to a lesser degree, methyl mercury. It's so bad in CA and other places that the fish are inedible. For an adult human, more than 8oz a month of wild WA salmon is considered unhealthy. Alaskan and farmed salmon is cleaner. Tilapia is cleaner still. Before I knew this, I fed my adult concinnus' on wild coho for a month straight. One developed tremors which subsided after a week or two of no fish. That snake eventually died.

I don't want you to panic though. You can still feed them this stuff, just not a lot over a long term. You can even cook it before you feed it to them and that cuts down on contaminants.

Well here's a suggestion for the babies. Make sure the worm pieces are no bigger than their heads, completely dead, and count them. Perhaps put one piece per snake in there. If any are missing later, you'll know they're eating.

If you get the wrong kind of worms, do you eat those too?:p

[kibakiba]

I use fish as just a tiny bit of a treat and to mix up their diet every once in a while. The lack of money lately has me feeding them only worms. Snakey hasn't eaten in about 3 weeks because of it. I'll admit this, he's really overweight... Haha. Even without eating for 3 weeks he still looks kind of pudgy. I'm sure he'll be okay. I should be able to buy a box of pinkies or fuzzies in a few days. If not, he'll have to get used to eating worms.
Snap usually wont take anything that doesn't have the texture of fish, unless I "starve" her for a week. Tilapia is safe to feed on a normal basis, right? That's the only other thing she'll eat without the "starving" treatment. She also likes unscented pinkies, but I can't afford pampering her with that right now.

I cut the worm pieces a lot smaller than their heads because I know with Thumbelina and Squirt, it was hard for them to eat what I usually cut up. The pieces they got were completely dead, not even moving. It was mostly the skin and intestines that fell out while I was cutting them ;)


Oh yes, I love eating worms! They are totally delicious and good on salad. :D

[ConcinusMan]

Well my snakes lately haven't been giving me much of a choice. Everyone except for ms. preggo (Big Bertha) have been refusing to eat anything but worms. They do this every now and then, then one day they'll refuse to eat worms and want something else. My supply of pinkies has been sitting in the freezer untouched for several weeks. Nobody seems to want them right now.

[kibakiba]

Well.... you could always send them to me... ;) Haha. I'm kidding. Mama was like that when she was gravid. (it's gravid Richard, not preggo! :p you said something like that to me before ;)) She would only really eat pinkies, with the occasional left over worm, and would reject the fish I had left.
I kind of want to raise some slugs, Snap actually went crazy for the one I fed before. Maybe the babies would like some baby slugs. :D

[mustang]

And another picture of pumpkin, he was sleeping on my belly and when I moved my hand he fell over on his back and looked at me like "hey! I was having a good dream!"
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Upsidedown_pumkin.jpg
isert MANLY "awwwww"

[kibakiba]

They ate!! I figured tonight, like every night they would act like the food is going to kill them, but they were all giving me some sort of "I'm starving.. please give me a little scrap" kind of look. Sooo... not being able to know what they wanted or resist a cute face, I stuck the hemostats in with a chunk of salmon (the only thing I have for food right now..) and to my surprise, they acted scared and hid, then popped their heads out... And when I stuck it in ones face he did this little vicious latch and shake thing before gobbling it down. Every single one of them took it after I pushed it in their faces, even little frail silver. I'm worried about him. He's been getting a little weak looking... But I cant make myself think I'll lose him cause that's just not how I am. Gotta think positive and things will be positive. He did eat pretty ravenously, didn't even hesitate to steal from his brothers/sisters when I was trying to cut another piece for them.
Each of them got 3 pieces, with the exception of Pumpkin, who got 4 due to being very large and didn't have any sort of bulge before the last piece, and the runt, who got 2, because he's so tiny and had to eat pieces meant for the bigger guys since I couldn't grip the smaller pieces.

I kept getting "the look" from Pumpkin and the runt, I almost couldn't even resist giving them more, but I didn't want to do anything bad... But those little faces! I keep looking back at their tank and they keep staring at me.

[PINJOHN]

really enjoying these updates on the little ones, keep them coming Chantel:)

[kibakiba]

Thanks, I got some video of some of them eating and begging, but I'll have to edit it a bit and upload it later, it's 4 am right now ;)

[ConcinusMan]

Don't worry about getting a bulge right now Chantel, go easy on them. If you can get them to take a little bit each day or a bite or two twice a day that will be good. Meals that are big and make them buldge too much can be deadly this early in the game. They need to build their strength gradually and get their systems growing and strong before going to big bulging meals.

Glad they ate for you. That's good news.

[Mommy2many]

Hi Chantel,

I've fed my crew the sock-eye salmon. I only buy it fresh from the fish dept. of my supermarket though. I don't buy anything frozen ('cept pinkies):D

Great news on the little guys eating finally! They have the cutest little faces, don't they? It's like they are all eyes:rolleyes:

[kibakiba]

It didn't make a huge bulge, just a small one. I'm not worried about feeding them a lot for their size, 3-4 pieces doesn't seem like much. They're all thin right now and seem like they're wanting more, all five of them were slithering on top of each other and giving me that little begging look. I'm assuming they really like the salmon. That said, I'm going to try to get them on pinky parts on Friday or Saturday. I have some pinkies coming to my house on Friday, so I'll be scenting some parts heavily with the salmon. It'll be nice being able to feed them again, I enjoyed spending time with them :D

Le Ann, I also buy from the fish dept. of our supermarket 100% fresh. Since my worms all died off and Mama doesn't like fish, I gave her my last mouse, so fish was all I have until Friday. I'd prefer them eating mice or worms instead.
Their little eyes are so big and sad, too, when you say feeding time is over. These little guys have really dark eyes, so it's hard to see anything, but Pumpkin actually has really bright eyes and a little white line in front of his eyes, so when he looks up... It makes him look so innocent and sad. I almost couldn't resist feeding him more.

[ConcinusMan]

Hi Chantel,

I've fed my crew the sock-eye salmon. I only buy it fresh from the fish dept. of my supermarket though. I don't buy anything frozen

99% of that, if not all of it, was frozen at some point. That stuff simply doesn't keep more than a day or two at most if not frozen. It takes them that long to get it to the market. I asked them about that. The stuff is frozen at the time they catch it, until it gets to the market. Some of it stays frozen until they lay it out in the case, all fresh-caught looking.;) Nothing wrong with that. It's just that once thawed, if it doesn't sell that day, it's thrown out. You end up paying for that through their pricing.

You know what's funny about that, is the price of tilapia fresh thawed in the case cost a lot more than the tilapia fillets I found in their freezer which were vacuum sealed and packaged. The price was much lower for the same thing, just because I pulled it from the freezer instead of buying it thawed. Seriously. Well heck, I would have had to freeze it anyway!

Don't scent the pinky parts Chantel. These guys are an open book right now. They'll likely eat anything scented or not. This is the best time to get them on eating food that's new to them. Once they get stuck and used to fish only, then it takes scenting. But these are babies. They will be willing to try just about anything. You shouldn't have to scent. The more things they're willing to try and eat, the better off they are if it comes down to releasing them or making them easy to get food for if they are kept in captivity. Once my northwestern babies start eating well like that, they'll eat just about anything offered.

This reputation for only eating worms and slugs comes from wild ones. That's what is available, they get used to it, and won't eat much else.

[kibakiba]

For starters, I really doubt I could ever put them outside to die. I'd rather send them to a good home. At least I would know they'd be alive and well.
I know the slugs and worms come from wild ones, but if they don't want the pinky parts I think it would be easier to just scent them. Besides, I only have one cutting board that's the size of my hand. They're going to smell like fish anyways.

[kibakiba]

Here's some updated pictures. Extra spots and his/her twin without extra spots didn't want anything to do with me today, so I only got pictures of the runt, Pumpkin and the silver baby.

Silver, once frail... Now, nice and strong. I don't worry about him as much now
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Lil_Silver.jpg

Pumpkin, who's almost 6 inches now!!! He's growing so fast it's not even funny. Almost 2 inches bigger than the others
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Big_Pumpkin.jpg

The runt, he's staying relatively tiny. He's only 2.5 inches long. Look at that innocent, tiny, little face! Makes my heart melt!
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Runty.jpg

Here's a couple of the runt and pumpkin. It's hard to see the size difference exactly. The runt was slithering sideways, oddly enough.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Lilruntnpumpkin.jpg

The runt will never sit still, while pumpkin likes to slowly check everything out.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Lilruntnpumpkin2.jpg

[kibakiba]

And now, the proud parents that made everything possible ;)
Snakey might not have been the dad (call Jerry Springer!) but Mama was pretty young when I got her, so I don't thing she had mated with any others before I got her.


The lovely lady who lovingly endured 3 months of vigorous eating and weight gain.... ;)
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Bigmama1.jpg

And Mr. Nakey Snakey. The ever so lovable, clingy and... Well... Horny, garter snake. He's so skinny looking. He lost a lot of his weight after 2 months without food.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Snakey1.jpg

(Finally got him to eat... Mom finally let me put him in with Mama and they locked up 3 days ago)

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Nice snakes.

[guidofatherof5]

Beautiful.

[PINJOHN]

enjoying the updates Chantel keep em comin:)

[gregmonsta]

Looking good ;)

[NikkiSixx]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Snakey1.jpg

(Finally got him to eat... Mom finally let me put him in with Mama and they locked up 3 days ago)


I really like your nail polish... It is very bright... My friend Jeanette likes it too... :-) Oh and the snake is just as beautiful... :-)

[kibakiba]

Haha thank you. Flash made it look a lot brighter than it is. It's sort of a slightly dark sky blue. :)

[sawmane 1]

That is the same size as my little guy. Shouldn't he be bigger by now? (he's I've had him for 2 months)

[RicMartin]

Cool!

[kibakiba]

Depends. I have one of the smallest species of garter snakes. They grow extremely slowly. My 8 month old ones just hit 9 inches. My 1 year old hit 13 inches 3 weeks ago. When they were born, they were two and a half inches long, the runt was two inches and Pumpkin was 3.5 inches. He's also the best eater and the fattest baby. They were born on March 5th. I'd say they're growing pretty well. Yours looks a lot older than mine. At least, on your avatar it looks to be about the size of my 1 year old, Runt.

[RicMartin]

Congrats!

[kibakiba]

Who's ever heard of a northwestern that was scared of worms? I wanted to add some variety to my babies diets... gave some worms and they all did a threat display and I got some hisses out of extra spots (now no spots) and Dots. Never seen any of them do that before. I've given them worms before and they wouldn't take it, but now they really wont.

[Mommy2many]

Those worms can be terrifying!!! Poor babies; traumatizing them like that:eek:

[kibakiba]

I know, I'm such a mean grandma to them. Maybe it's the equivalent of getting s kid to eat their veggies... They want nothing to do with it. A couple ate a piece about half the size of their heads, one spat it out after biting it.

Here's a little update on what I'm calling them... Pumpkin is obviously staying pumpkin, and the one with a silvery colour is Silver... Then there's the 2 normal babies, Spots and and NoSpots and the runt of the bunch is Dots. They're just names I use to identify them, I'm not keeping all of them, and my holdback is likely Pumpkin and maybe one of the others.
Nospots was "extra spots" but he's starting to get so dark that you cant see that extra row of spots anymore. The others are developing very small spots, like extra spots had... Only not so noticeable.

[Sonya610]

99% of that, if not all of it, was frozen at some point. That stuff simply doesn't keep more than a day or two at most if not frozen.

I didn't read the whole thread but this is something I wondered about. Salmon is a very very parasite ridden fish, I believe trout is too.

As a sushi lover I know the rule about that type of fish (or really most all fish) is have it frozen in an INDUSTRIAL freezer for at least 2 days to kill off all the parasites before eating raw. Raw salmon and trout can be very bad for canines as well due to all the worms and such.

Are garters immune to those parasites? I am thinking I would prefer frozen just to be on the safe side.

[kibakiba]

Garters aren't really immune to parasites, I haven't heard of them being immune to anything. Why would a canine eat salmon or trout? You have to freeze the fish anyways, you cant just keep it in the fridge. It'd go bad in a matter of days. I keep my fish in the freezer for 2 weeks before feeding it to my snakes... If I don't get a hold of it and eat it myself ;)

[Sonya610]

Garters aren't really immune to parasites, I haven't heard of them being immune to anything. Why would a canine eat salmon or trout? You have to freeze the fish anyways, you cant just keep it in the fridge. It'd go bad in a matter of days. I keep my fish in the freezer for 2 weeks before feeding it to my snakes... If I don't get a hold of it and eat it myself ;)

Just saw the comment about some choosing to feed fresh (not frozen) fish, and ConcinnusMan saying most all fish is frozen. And yeah canines will eat all sorts of things, especially if you left the fish on the counter and turned your back for a moment and it became the "prize" of the day.

I suppose some parasites are more likely to infect specific animals, however if a parasite can infect salmon/trout/human/canine i would bet it can infect garter snakes. I agree that most fish bought at the grocery store was already frozen, but if it wasn't, using a home freezer won't drop the temps low enough to kill all parasites the same way an industrial freezer will. At least that is what I read regarding safe sushi, and seeing as how I don't want a massive tapeworm infection I believed it.

(PS very very cute garter babies.)

[kibakiba]

Thanks. They are my pride and joy. :D
They're my first litter of... anything actually (except hamsters), in my life.

I'd keep them if I had the room, but since I still live with my mom, she makes the rules and I can keep a max of 2. I guess I technically could disobey and keep them... But I'd run the risk of getting kicked out of having all of my snakes thrown out.

[ConcinusMan]

I didn't read the whole thread but this is something I wondered about. Salmon is a very very parasite ridden fish, I believe trout is too.

As a sushi lover I know the rule about that type of fish (or really most all fish) is have it frozen in an INDUSTRIAL freezer for at least 2 days to kill off all the parasites before eating raw. Raw salmon and trout can be very bad for canines as well due to all the worms and such.

Are garters immune to those parasites? I am thinking I would prefer frozen just to be on the safe side.

The kind of worms from fish, that infect reptiles and birds go through a larval stage in the guts of a fish or frog first. And yes, it's true. Just about any caught fish is going to have parasites. If you ever bother to gut a fish and look inside it's guts you'll find all kinds of worms. Even farmed or aquarium fish can have them. But the kind of worms you and your dog get are not the same thing that reptiles get. You and your dog can get infected simply by swallowing the egg of the right kind of parasite so raw fish, even without the guts can infect you since all it takes is the worm egg. This same egg would not likely effect a snake at all. Snakes get infected by swallowing whole fish or amphibians which have a larval worm inside them.

No, snakes are not immune to parasites although they can live long lives with parasites inside them. It's just that the kind of parasites that target reptiles, fish, and birds as the final host, are not the same ones that infect people and dogs. Your "massive tape worm infection" from eating raw fish, would be from swallowing the egg of a tapeworm that does not infect reptiles. The worm a reptile would get from the fish, is already hatched, in larval stage, and living inside the fishes guts.

At any rate, this is why I do not feed live fish to my snakes. Whole fish is great, but I always freeze solid for 60 days first. All fish meat from the store(no guts) could only contain eggs, and those eggs might infect you or your dog, but they won't infect a snake. It takes an intermediate host and larval stage worm to infect the snake. I am learning that even though the "fresh" fish at the grocery store may have froze on the way to market, it was only briefly, and not sufficiently frozen enough to make it safe.

It boils down to this. Human eating fish meat, or snake eating meat or whole fish, FREEZE AT 0 DEGREES F for at least 60 days and there is no chance that you or your snake will get infected by eating the raw fish. You can also feed your snakes cooked fish. Seriously. Just nuke it 'till it's cooked. That will kill parasites.

[Didymus20X6]

And that, my friend, is why I don't do sashimi.

[ConcinusMan]

There aren't very many types of fish I will eat at all when it is cooked, and even then, I don't eat it very often. It isn't because I don't love it, but for other (health) reasons. Forget about eating it raw. That's just nuts.

[kibakiba]

I had my first food fight. They're all relatively smart about what is food and what isn't. Pumpkin was more prone to being chased around when she had food due to her being more shy. This time she turned into a shark and bit the first thing in front of her, which happened to be Specks (Nospots, who is developing some slight spots again). Both are okay and no blood was drawn, Specks had just finished a rather bloody piece of pinky. Both of them are being monitored closely for right now.

By the way, since I'm new to babies... When should I start feeding them more? I started going one extra piece per baby since they started getting bigger, but they always seem to be hungry. Dots is the only one who hasn't gotten an extra piece, he's so tiny and has trouble with pieces smaller than his head.

[kibakiba]

Here's a picture of the babies, taken about 5 minutes ago. They just got done eating.
They're getting so big! I cant tell the difference between Dots(the runt) and Spots anymore

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SDC13054.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

Nice looking crew.;)

[kibakiba]

Indeed they are.They're growing so quickly. I have to start getting rid of them soon, unfortunately. I have my two keepers chosen. It's going to be hard sending them off.

Silver is very unlike any of the garters here. I don't mean just this litter, either. Almost all of the garters I've caught in my lifetime had some sort of brown or red on them, never had a pure white baby before. His eyes are also really weird. My northwesterns eyes are almost always a deep golden brown. If it's not golden brown, it's a darker brown. They're eyes almost look black unless your holding them up to some light. Silver's eyes are an off white colour with a little bit of gold flecking. He's such a pretty little guy.

[ConcinusMan]

Eye color is really nearly as variable as stripe color in northwesterns. Miss piggy's eyes are red like her stripe. With this pair, the stripeless gray one has golden yellow eyes, and the one with the faint stripe has red eyes like miss piggy.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/6659/eating014large.jpg

[kibakiba]

Well, all of mine, except my concinnus and Silver, have golden brown eyes. Mama has nearly black eyes.

[kibakiba]

Guess which little monster shed? Pumpkin! She is so huge compared to everyone else. I knew she was going to shed before the others ;) She looks so much like Mama and she is just the sweetest little thing.

Here's what she looked like when she was starting to leave the opaque phase
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SDC13066.jpg

And look at this pretty little lady, you can't not love her!
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SDC13073.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

Pumpkin is looking good.

[RdubSnider]

Looking good

[kibakiba]

She is quite the porker ;) She loves her food. And she's very well mannered! She doesn't usually chase after her siblings or the hemostats, she just sits there and waits. She knows that looking cute might score her one extra piece.

[kibakiba]

I just realized she's missing. I really hope i find her before she gets outside or my cat eats her. My cat loves to kill snakes and bring them to me. I really hope this doesn't happen...

[guidofatherof5]

Who's missing?

[kibakiba]

Pumpkin. She's not in the tank, I took out the long and plant and looked all through the bedding. She's nowhere to be found. I'm hoping I'll find her on my desk, the snakes I've had that got out seem to go for my pc wires all the time.

[guidofatherof5]

Best of luck finding her.
Anyway you can put the cats away for a few years:D

[kibakiba]

Hah, the cat wouldn't live to see another day if she killed or hurt pumpkin. I already hate her, because she gets under my feet at night and she's one of the reasons my foot isn't healed yet, she tripped me last week. I was joking about her not seeing another day , I wouldn't hurt her... But, sometimes I wish we could give her to someone who could afford to feed her expensive tuna and cream like my mom does... But I hope little pumpkin will turn up soon.

[guidofatherof5]

Lets go Pumpkin, the joke is over. Moms not laughing.
Time to come home.

[kibakiba]

Indeed. I'm kind of scared to move my chair, in case she gets behind me. I cant turn around without the wheels moving.

Just gotta stay positive and everything should turn out fine.

[kibakiba]

Still no sign of her. Today is feeding day for everyone, do you think the scent of snail and pinky might draw her out? We took apart my room, looked under everything and looked in the warmer areas, cooler areas, the corners and around the walls. I'm getting a little bit desperate right now. She's my best friend, so I'm willing to try anything to find her.

[kibakiba]

Still no Pumpkin. I've given up on finding her. I really hope she's still alive and that she'll show up, but I cant sit here waiting for her to appear on my desk.

The babies all did something totally cute. All 4 of them were cuddled up around the plant, Specks did a small yawn, then Silver, then Dots and finally Spots. Spots had the biggest yawn. They saw me and all slithered around, Specks was rubbing his nose on the plastic where I was standing, immediately stopped and yawned the biggest yawn I had ever seen a little snake do! So cute.

[guidofatherof5]

Pumpkin may still show up. They have a habit of doing that when and where you least expect it.

[snakehill]

One of my snakes escaped in the reptile room and I thought she had gotten outside somehow and was gone. She showed up almost three months later acting as if she'd never been gone! She didn't appear to be that hungry either!

[kibakiba]

Yeah, but I really cant sit here all day and think she'll just pop up on my desk. It really depresses me.

Snakehill, Pumpkin is only a couple months old. I kind of doubt she'd go 3 months without food, even if I had stuffed her up with food before she went missing.

[ConcinusMan]

9 out of 10 escaped snakes eventually show up in my house. It could take a month or more for her to get dehydrated and hungry enough to venture out of her hiding place out of the need to survive. If she doesn't get outside, she'll show up eventually, looking for water and food.

I've had babies do this too, Chantel. Even showing up two months later. Severely dehydrated and malnourished, but they recover quickly once they are found. One things for sure, Pumpkin can't stay hidden forever. Thirst and hunger will drive her out into the open.

[kibakiba]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/pumpkin1.jpg

She's weak, extremely skinny, slightly bony and very scared. She looks a bit chubby in this picture only because she had just drank a ton of water.

[guidofatherof5]

Is this Pumpkin?

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, what gives? you found her? Anyway, if that's her, she looks fine! I've seen a lot worse, and they recovered quickly.

[Bart]

OMG, she's so cute!!!!!! I want one and I want it now!!

[kibakiba]

Yeah. I didn't even recognize her when I picked her up, I thought my cat brought in another half dead baby. Her personality shows otherwise, she's starting to get a little more active now that she's had a drink and 3 pinky pieces.

Edit:
Richard, she looked 20 times worse when I picked her up. You can see her ribs. She literally looked like she was going to die within the next hour. Spider webs all over her etc. I caught her out of my eye while grabbing a drink, in the usual place my cat leaves dead snakes.

[guidofatherof5]

Great news.

[Bart]

How long she was missing?

[kibakiba]

About a week, I didn't think a week would make he that skinny, but it's also very hot in my house, with tons of spiders and killer mice.

[Bart]

I was reading all those stories about missing garters and I'm wondering is this even possible, that they eat something like wild mice living in the house or those spiders? I mean, never heard about snakes eating spiders, but...?

[kibakiba]

With how bony she was I doubt she ate anything ate all. I don't know about others though.

[Bart]

She's so tiny I doubt she would be able to eat even pinkie. O my gosh, Kleo looks next to her like a python!

[kibakiba]

Nope, she's only 5 inches long, and smaller than my pinky finger. Between my 5 babies, she's the biggest and they all split a pinky between themselves.

[Bart]

Kleo just ate one, so we both have a reason to celebrate. :D

[kibakiba]

Indeed. I'm just happy to see her in the tank coiled up near the water. She's my baby...

[guidofatherof5]

Grounded. I hope you grounded her:D

[kibakiba]

I'm making sure I don't have any drinks with my mom and I'm making sure that I keep the top on tight. Despite being angry with her for scaring the poop out of me and making me cry my eyes out for a week straight, she's going to get a lot of love. She really does need some tlc to make sure she's all okay since she is bony. I'm hoping a few pinky butts will change that... ;)

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah. I didn't even recognize her when I picked her up.

Richard, she looked 20 times worse when I picked her up. You can see her ribs.

I'm sure that was mostly dehydration. It doesn't take much for babies to look all sucked up and bony. She'll be fine and back to her old self in a matter of days/a few meals. Great news Chantel. Glad you got her back.:)

[snakehill]

GREAT NEWS! What a cutie!:D

[kibakiba]

She is quite the cutie. I'm glad to have her back.


I found her limp by the water dish when I got up, she was still breathing, but she's still really weak. She perked up after I touched her and I put her face in the water in case she was thirsty. She took a long drink and she's now sleeping in my bra. Haha. I was scared I lost her when I saw her laying all limp like that, and not in a sleeping way. I want to put her in with Runt, Mama and Thumbelina, just so I know she can't get out... But at the same time, she is very tiny. I do want to see if we have enough money after I dye my hair platinum and blue, if we can afford a 5 gallon with a snap top, like the ones I have from Zilla. The pet shop we go to only has 10 gallons for 30-40 dollars. I'm not going to even bother paying anywhere near that much for something so small.

[d_virginiana]

Glad to hear you got her back! :D

Have you tried looking on Craigslist for tanks? Usually you never have to may more than about a dollar per gallon.

[snakehill]

$30-$40 for a TEN GALLON!!!!:eek:

[guidofatherof5]

$30-$40 for a TEN GALLON!!!!:eek:

Our local Walmart gets $12 and my pet shop get $10.

[snakehill]

That's more like it!!!!!!!!!!;)

[kibakiba]

I can't use craig's list, I'm out in the boonies without a car or way of getting it home (I have agoraphobia, so I can't go by bus)

[ConcinusMan]

$30-$40 for a TEN GALLON!!!!:eek:

Flag it.:cool: That's ridiculous. There's even stores around here that sell used slide-lock tanks and even they don't charge more than $1 per gallon.

[RedSidedSPR]

Craigslist, walmart. Period.

[kibakiba]

Like I have said. Craigslist is a no-go for me. Our "local" walmart doesn't carry tanks.

[RedSidedSPR]

I didn't think mine did either. It's in the fish section, just back in a shelf. Only one or two at a time. Always 10gals. Lids are next to it. But i guess not all carry them

[ConcinusMan]

As expensive as petco usually is, even they sell new 10 gal tanks for 10 bucks. A screen lid for one is the same. 10 bucks. If somebody was charging 30 or 40 bucks for just the tank, even if it was a slide-lock one, that's rather high. Ads like that usually get flagged and eventually removed.

[RedSidedSPR]

Petco is 30 or so bucks for a 10gal

[ConcinusMan]

Not at the store by my house. They got tons of them stacked up. Always $9.99

[RedSidedSPR]

Really?! Petsmart/petco?

[ConcinusMan]

Petco. Huge store. They have everything including a grooming shop and a very large aquarium section which includes aquatic turtles.

[RedSidedSPR]

Bigger than most, or just big?

Still, that's weird how they charge less..

[ConcinusMan]

Biggest one around my area.

[RedSidedSPR]

dang... can't believe it's so much cheaper

[kibakiba]

Usually I'd say that I'd skip on some necessities to pay for the d.a.r.t. bus fare, but I'm already thinking about ditching my hair for another month or two (except for some white toner, it looks like I dyed my hair with pee) and then do some shopping, but I push myself already just getting to the other pet store, and a lot of money. 7.50 per ride, there and back, is a lot for us and we can barely afford doing that to get to the grocery store throughout the month.

[guidofatherof5]

How is Pumpkin doing? Update time, please.

[kibakiba]

She got out again, luckily I caught her as she was squeezing herself though the top. I decided that, while it might not be the best decision, to put her in with the "girls" (Mama, Runt and Thumbelina [he's not a girl, but he wants to be! :D]) They've been doing good together. Pumpkin is shy, so she's usually found lounging under a log or on some sticks away from the others.

[guidofatherof5]

Eating yet?

[kibakiba]

She ate a couple pinky pieces, but rejected this last time (it was before I moved her) she's exploring and seems to enjoy the company of Thumbelina. They went swimming together :D

[guidofatherof5]

Eating after being gone is a good thing.
Hope she makes a full recovery.

[kibakiba]

I hope she does, too. She's a sweetie. I love how she's content to sit coiled up in my hand and just look around at her surroundings before slithering around. It's so cute.

[guidofatherof5]

The little scrubs do grow on ya.:D

[kibakiba]

Indeed they do. I love them so much.

[kibakiba]

My mom found (possibly) a 15 gallon at a goodwill for 5 dollars. I don't really care if it's beat up, we got another one from a thrift store that is beaten up and doesn't always properly lock, but even then it closes tight enough to keep a super mutant ninja snake, like Mama, from getting out. If we get it before someone else does (have to wait until the 6th), the babies can stay in it and I can put Pumpkin with them. Mama doesn't seem to like having Pumpkin around, but with her getting out of the other tank, I cant keep her in there. It's just a matter of time.

[guidofatherof5]

I don't think I could take another Pumpkin escape and she's not even mine.:D

[kibakiba]

I couldn't either. She is such the lovable snake. She might steal your soul and melt your heart if you owned her, just by looking at her short, pudgy face and beautiful big eyes.

She also ate again, she had some brain/head and pinky butts and a pinky heart.

[guidofatherof5]

A meal fit for Queen Pumpkin. Glad to hear she's eating and recovering.;)
Does she still show signs of being gone or has she filled out?

[kibakiba]

She's still a bit scrawny, and aside from being stuffed with food, she was still a little caved in, but not much. It's a large improvement.

[guidofatherof5]

That's good. Daily feeding may be called for over the next week or so.

[kibakiba]

So far she's rejected every other feeding, I tend to feed them a bit more just in case I have a moment and it takes some time for the little bulge to go down. I'll see what happens tomorrow though, hopefully she'll want some more brains :p She's a zombie snake.

[flickerfriend]

Wait.. does your mom mean keep All of the scrubs if you get the 15 gal? or just the 2?

[kibakiba]

All of them, until I choose to get rid of them. None of them are more than 5 inches, so there is more than enough room. They'll get a larger tank as they get older, which won't matter for about 2 years, because at 2, they'll only be a foot long. Northwesterns are tiny snakes. I think they can easily live in a 15 gallon without being cramped. Mama and snakey have for over a year.

[flickerfriend]

Awesome! i hope you get it!!! (I myself would hate to be in the position of having to give cute little snakies away :()

[kibakiba]

Well, the person I plan to give them to, would give them a perfect home, so I'm not too worried. I know they'll be in good hands. It makes it easier to say goodbye to them.

[flickerfriend]

Still. im sure (very) that you (and the rest of us) would prefer to keep 'em :)

[kibakiba]

Pumpkin ate her first worm today. I like to keep their diet varied and offer worm, fish, snail and pinkies to them all the time. Pumpkin will only eat pinkies. While some people might think that there isn't anything wrong with it, I really prefer them eating as many healthy food items possible. But, I got her to eat fish and worm! Yay! She took the fish first, but when I offered an unscented worm piece she flattened her head and did a false strike at it and hid. She ate a scented piece after that. These babies are weird. :D I got them started on fish, but the first few offerings were worm, their natural food, but they all acted as if it were a predator.

I also pulled some strings with my mom and I'll be keeping the runt of the bunch, Dots. I've also decided to rename him to Azul, because of his blue colouring. He eats really well and is active and tame, but he's also really frail and has continued to get worse as time goes on. It makes me sad, but I'm hoping a little tlc might help him.

[guidofatherof5]

Glad Pumpkin is eating and I hope Azul keeps thriving.

[kibakiba]

I do too, he gets fed more often (but in less amounts because of size) and I try not to handle him too much. He's a sweet little guy though. He's the kind of baby that's happy to explore your hand a little before curling up and sleeping.

He rejected food this last feeding, but he was fed yesterday, so I'm hoping he's just not hungry. He's lasted a few months already so he better start getting healthy!

[kibakiba]

Speckles shed today, yay! But, the only problem is he still has the head part of his shed stuck on him. I put him in a container with a warm damp cloth for 30 minutes, misted the tank and put him back before I went to bed, but he hasn't gotten it off, so I'm going to do it. The only problem is, I cant find where to start it. The only area where I can tell there is shed, is on his neck and I cant pull it from the back, that would hurt him. What should I do?

[kibakiba]

I got Speckles' shed off the day after, I just didn't update it. Now, his twin, Spots has retained his shed. The little guy wasn't eating today, so I picked him up and looked him over and noticed the wrinkles. He's in a humid box right now. He's really scared. I feel bad for him.

[RedSidedSPR]

Hope he gets it off.

[kibakiba]

I do too. Spots is one of the best eaters in the bunch. Him and Speckles are the big piggies.


Azur hasn't grown at all, I still have to cut the "baby sized" pieces in half just for him to be able o grab them. He's a good eater, though.

[kibakiba]

I got part of the shed off his nose and lips. He isn't agreeing with my method of getting the shed off, but it has to... Poor little guy. He's exhausted.

[kibakiba]

-4cl0lWXHm4

That 2 liter soda bottle is what I full with filtered water for my snakes. I don't drink that much... :D :p

[ConcinusMan]

I don't drink that much... :D :p


In the words of Betty Boop, "Sure, sure.":rolleyes:

But seriously, good job. This is how it should be done.

I would have put the snake back to finish the job once it got started on its own, but still, good job.

[kibakiba]

I do keep 2 liter bottles from the soda we get. Good for making your own soda, or using it for the snakes. Reusing instead of just throwing it away. I'm frugal and eco-friendly.

[kibakiba]

I got a video of Azul eating from my hand at my desk. I cant feed him with the other babies due to his size and weakness. He's really good at looking cute for the camera. ;) I'll post the video when it's done uploading.

[Mrs N1ntndo]

Awsome cant wait. :)

[kibakiba]

BNB8cysJHjg


Well, here it is! My sweet little Azul munching. :D While that was uploading, I got a video of Pumpkin munching on his leftovers. I might upload that tonight, too.

[guidofatherof5]

Nice video.
You do a great job with those fingers but using hemostats would make life a whole lot easier for you and the snakes.
I used to feed babies that way but once I tried hemostats I never looked back.
I'd be glad to send you a pair.

[kibakiba]

I know, when it comes to feeding in the tank, I use the hemostats. With Azul or anyone I'm feeding while they're in my hand, I use my fingers. I don't have much room on my desk, so fingers were just easier in this case. ;)
You've already sent me a very nice pair, I don't think I need another. :) Save them for another member who needs them.

[katach]

Great vid Chantel! He is so cute!

[kibakiba]

Isn't he? He loves getting a tad bit more attention than the others. He needs it, though. I'm worried that his frailness will take him from me some day, so I try to keep him healthy and as plump as possible. He's been getting stronger and growing a bit more. He actually started a little growth spurt since I feed him every day to ever two days.

[RedSidedSPR]

Cool video! I love his blue!

[jitami]

Azul is too cute! Loved the feeding video!

[kibakiba]

I love his blue too. He usually looks more blue in natural light and when he's really warm.

[RedSidedSPR]

I can tell. Ive made enough videos and taken enough photos to know how it messes with their colors.

[kibakiba]

Yeah. He's a beautiful baby. I just hope he survives until he's an adult. :) I'm very happy that he is actually starting to get stronger and more brave and less frail. It helps me to believe that he'll make it to adulthood without too many problems... He might just stay on the tiny side, though. (not that it would be a problem at all.)

[guidofatherof5]

You've already sent me a very nice pair, I don't think I need another. :) Save them for another member who needs them.

Sorry, I didn't remember sending one.

[kibakiba]

That's okay Steve ;) I use them every feeding, it's just with the ones that cant eat with the group, they get special treatment. :)

[RedSidedSPR]

I use my hemostats every feeding, except sometimes sometimes when I'm feeding one desk/floor, so I get it.

[kibakiba]

Yeah, it adds a little more of a bonding experience in a way... Either that or I'm just getting mushy... :D

[RedSidedSPR]

Well, hand feeding helped my WC adult calm down, but I don't think the 'stats would have.

[kibakiba]

Yeah, I hand fed all of my babies after the first feeding (with the hemostats) and they're all a bit more trusting. Spots and Speckles really don't like me, though... Which is unfortunate cause it makes me seem like a bad person for giving them away, it makes it seem like I'm giving away the little misfits of the group and keeping the well behaved ones.

[kibakiba]

I noticed something weird with Azul. He has a little line all around his body, it looks kind of like the scales have been crushed or bitten. I thought it might have been a retained shed, but I put him in a shed box earlier today but nothing really happened and there is no area where I can see a retained shed.

Here are some pictures I got, I hope someone can tell me what this may be?
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SDC13784.JPG
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SDC13783.JPG

[RedSidedSPR]

I can't see it that well, so i have no idea... How long has it been there?

[kibakiba]

Just noticed it today. I might try to get some better pictures or maybe keep them larger.

He's very active and curious, flicking his tongue and exploring in my shirt, but that area almost looks kind of swollen.

[RedSidedSPR]

I'm can't say what it is... i probably wouldn't know anyway, but i just can't tell from the pictures. (which aren't bad, just too far back for me to tell)

I can say he's tiny!:eek:

[kibakiba]

Yeah, he's double the size he was at birth though. My camera cant take any closer pictures.

[ConcinusMan]

I can't really see anything.

[kibakiba]

I'm going to post some more pictures, but I'm not going to resize them... I cba, so sorry if you don't like that... :p

[ConcinusMan]

It's no skin off my snake.:p

[jitami]

He is sooo tiny. I think I love him :)

[kibakiba]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SDC137862.JPG
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SDC137872.JPG
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SDC137892.JPG

[jitami]

Oh, ouchie... looks like he could have gotten caught in something? Perhaps the lid of his enclosure trying to escape? I'd check the enclosure really well for anywhere he could get stuck. He's a lucky little guy as it looks like it could have been so much worse...

[guidofatherof5]

Looks like the one I had when the umbilical cord was wrapped around it.

[kibakiba]

There isn't anything he could really get stuck on. If he had tried escaping, his head would have been crushed.

It couldn't be that in this case, Steve. He was born in March, so he's pretty old to have his umbilical cord wrapped around him ;)

[guidofatherof5]

Very strange indeed.

[jitami]

Hmmm.... I would say that something could have fallen on him, but with the indention on both sides, I don't think that's the case. Check all cage furnishings, hides, etc. Does any one other than you get him out of his tank?

[kibakiba]

I'm the only one who handles him, my mom compulsively changes around their tank at times. I don't know if she has lately, but I did end up yelling at her when I sound her doing it and she dropped a stick on one of the snakes. I told her never to do it again, but you know, she does stuff while I'm sleeping so I really don't know. She never remembers it when I confront her about it.

[RedSidedSPR]

That's weird... I have no idea...

Much better pics though.

[kibakiba]

Azul just has a handful of problems it seems! He retained his shed and is spending time in a shed box. I'm not looking forward to the possibility of having to peel off all the shed myself. He's the size of a q-tip. I hope he can do it himself, I don't want to hurt him.

[kibakiba]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/azulshed.JPG
Here's his shed. You can see the scabby area where he was cut. I actually sound out what it was. Mama has been climbing on a certain stick, and she's so heavy that she makes the stick topple over. When she falls off of the stick, it slams back into place. One of the pieces of the stick matches his cut. I've taken that stick out and plan on tossing it.

And here's pretty little azul after a huge struggle.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/azulshed2.JPG

You can see the cut, it's starting to heal. It's nice that he's getting better.

[guidofatherof5]

He's looking good.

[katach]

So cute! Glad he got his shed off. He's looking great!

[kibakiba]

He needed a bit of help, ended up playing dead on me while I was getting the eyecaps off. Silly little guy. He's so sweet, though. I let him sleep in my shirt for a while, so he could relax after having that terrible shed taken off!

[guidofatherof5]

Glad to hear it's off.
Good job Chantel.;)

[kibakiba]

Thanks ;) I'd do anything for little Azul. He's the cutest little guy ever. I've already invested a lot of time in keeping him healthy despite his misfortune.

[RedSidedSPR]

He's tiny!!!

[kibakiba]

Yeah, he was the little runt. He's a little sweetie, though. He just lets me examine him when I'm checking the cut. He actually musked me for the first time when I was helping him get the shed off. None of the babies have musked me before, either... I think.

[RedSidedSPR]

It's hard to tell when they're small.:D Im sure my checkered musks me bu I don't smell it.

[kibakiba]

You'd be surprised. That stuff smelt like hot rotting onions!

[katach]

Yeah. Baby #4 musked me while I was doing pics of the vent. Little snake musk still stinks.

[RedSidedSPR]

I guess he doesn't musk me. Just bites, squirms, whips his tail, and poops.:rolleyes:

[kibakiba]

He could have a little musk in the poop. Snap poops and musks at the same time it seems. I know the different smells between her poop and her musk... Sometimes there's both. Ick.

[RedSidedSPR]

But it doesn't smell.

[kibakiba]

Poop normally does smell.... How dare you have a poopy snake that doesn't smell! :p

[RedSidedSPR]

Poop that doesn't go in the water bowl OR smell! I love my snakes.:D

[kibakiba]

Speckles is dying. I found her upside down in the tank, she's all sunken in and can't slither, her head is really weak and there's very little tongue flicking. She was my most beautiful baby, she was turning blue-green. I think she might be dehydrated, so I have her in a dish with warm water... But I have little hope for her.

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/4117/sdc14162.jpg

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/8379/sdc14161w.jpg

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6968/sdc14163q.jpg

[kibakiba]

She just took her last breath... goodbye Speckles.

[kibakiba]

Looks like she was impacted, I noticed a large-ish lump near her cloaca. Cutting her open in that area showed a very small piece of carefresh and lots of poop(for a baby).

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry to hear little Speckle passed.

[kibakiba]

Its hard to believe that she was impacted, because I haven't fed them on their substrate for 2 months, same with all the other snakes.

[snakehill]

So Sorry!!!:(

[katach]

Oh Chantel, I'm so sorry. Are you ok?

[kibakiba]

Yeah, I'm really upset, though. I really cant figure out why she got so bad in one day, she was perfectly fine the day before. Or so it seemed.

[jitami]

I'm so sorry, Chantel. I can't imagine how hard it would be to go through that with a baby. RIP Speckles - you were so loved...

[PINJOHN]

Sorry to hear your news Chantel, you go to a lot of trouble to give us frequent updates of your snakes, so a lot of the members will feel they know the little one personally

[kibakiba]

Thanks guys.

I didn't really think of it that way, John. I figured most people just read the updates and get on with their life without giving it much of a thought.

[RedSidedSPR]

I'm really sorry Chantel.:( that sucks


I figured most people just read the updates and get on with their life without giving it much of a thought.

Pfft. I feel like I know all your snakes.