My snake log

[snake man]

I dont know how you make him stay mine is everywhere she wont curl into a ball let alone look at the camera.

[Light of Dae]

Its something that all my Mexicans do.. I cannot get any of the other snakes to curl n stay like that.

[EasternGirl]

She sure is a cutie! Great pics. George will always be my favorite too though.

[Invisible Snake]

Nice pics. Do any of your Mexican garters show any aggression towards you when you pick them up?

[ProXimuS]

They're all so cute! I really like the curled up Zacapu:)

[Light of Dae]

Nice pics. Do any of your Mexican garters show any aggression towards you when you pick them up?

AAAAH HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA Ha ha... no. They are the most docile ever. They do one of two things, either run away, or curl into a ball. If they curl into a ball I just roll them into my hand lol and then they stay in a ball n look up at me.

[Light of Dae]

Lol This is how docile the Mexicans are.
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Two Zacapu girls making one ball lol
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Some of the girls, two Zacapu in ball form, one chocolate unraveling the Mexican ball lol
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Just the boys. Mexicans in typical ball formation lol.
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All the boys n the Santa cruze girl
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[guidofatherof5]

Very nice.

[Invisible Snake]

Those Zacapu remind me of ball pythons lol.

[ProXimuS]

Nice! That chocolate looks delicious:)

[Light of Dae]

So almost everyone ate yesterday. George stuffed his face, as did the piggy flames (Fed them with hemostats, they went nuts for it lol) All the boys ate their worms, All but two girls ate both who didn't eat had reasons.

The Chocolate still had a full belly from pinky mouse chunks the other day.

The Santa cruze was still in shed! Slowest shed time I've seen yet!! Although I believe she should have it off this morning.. Because before putting her in the tub I saw the shed started n ripped at her vent. I went ahead n took her tail piece off. Didn't think she'd eat... but had a 'plate' out for her already so. oh well.

My beardie has become the leftover machine! He loves the worms.

[EasternGirl]

Such cute pics! Little curly fry snakies!

[Light of Dae]

I took this picture on Aug 20... She was dull n bluey then. ... Slow shedding girl, hasn't eaten since maybe the 17th. She'll eat when she is done. :)

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[ProXimuS]

I took this picture on Aug 20... She was dull n bluey then. ... Slow shedding girl, hasn't eaten since maybe the 17th. She'll eat when she is done. :)


Wow she really does take her sweet time:p

[guidofatherof5]

Love that wide dorsal stripe. Beautiful.

[Light of Dae]

Wow she really does take her sweet time:p

No kidding! She still hasn't shed, she felt warm moist yet when I picked her up though she was in a moss hide on the heat mat lol Can't be much longer...

[Light of Dae]

... Peeked in. Still NOT shed. I'm going to try n start her shed... Any tips on how to start a shed?

[thamneil]

You sure it's ready to come off? If its nice and moist, I can't imagine she would have too much trouble on her own. Sometimes they just take a long time!

[Light of Dae]

Her tail piece came off easy n was loose n ready..
I hear rustling.. I'm going to peek again..

[thamneil]

Haha good luck!

[Light of Dae]

No such luck... She is opening her mouth n clicking... wonder if its restricting her breathing? She is so skinny her skin is folding...

[guidofatherof5]

Folded skin is not a good sign.
If the end needs to come, I hope it comes quickly.

[Light of Dae]

Shes active n tongue flicking away yet. She just hsn't eaten in forever. because of her long arsse shed.

[Invisible Snake]

Just a suggestion - Maybe you should place her in quarantine with food over night and something to rub against in case she decides to shed. I would be concerned since she has not eaten in 3 weeks. Good luck!

[Light of Dae]

That is a fine idea...

[Light of Dae]

she is eating! ... Slowly.. lol She is a very slow eater... Last time she ate it took her 10-15mins to eat the small worm chunk she bit.

[Invisible Snake]

That's great news! I bet she'll be shedding in no time!

Just out of curiosity did she eat after being placed in quarantine?

[ProXimuS]

Good to hear! Maybe she's just slow at everything:p

[Light of Dae]

I was just going to put her in a feeding tub with food n a 'shedding rock' n placing her on the edge of a heat mat in her tank for awhile(monitoring the temps)

I just had her in there bare while I cut up the 'tail' of a worm n I put it in it was moving alot so That helped.

[Light of Dae]

Good to hear! Maybe she's just slow at everything:p

That's my thinking... hoping. Slow eater, slow shedder... slow minded??

[Light of Dae]

... Still not shed. Looks like her chin is started but she has no will to remove it her self. I'm going to take some pictures, get her shed off even if she hates me for it. Then take more pictures.

[EasternGirl]

I would suggest trying a shed box...maybe that will get it started and then you can help her if she needs it. The shed could be constricting her breathing a bit...or it may just be that the nares are blocked by skin...I have seen this in my snakes before a shed. If her skin is wrinkling...I would try to get that shed off. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Light of Dae]

I got it!!!

This was her yesterday before she ate the small worm chunk, Can see how thin she is n a small fold of skin when she curled little tighter. (oh and yes I bought her with a 'curly tail')
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This picture explains itself lol
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Here I had grabbed hold of the loose skin on top of her neck, she did a 'death roll' lol her head piece came off pretty good just left this...
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Her we got started, I held onto the skin n she did all the work.
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Checking out her old skin. She seemed to feel... free n more flexible... Moved faster after this was off. :)
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Now for the eye cap....

[Light of Dae]

Here I got off the eye cap n the surrounding skin. Was really easy to get off with the little extra skin. I just used my nail after trapping her head in my fingers so she couldn't move... I literally picked her nose as that's where the skin stuck lol then grabbed it n gently pulled it off.
(don't mind the dot on my finger tip... I thought is was a good idea to run a drill into my finger, Its a blood blister)
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[guidofatherof5]

Nice job. The retained cap that is.:D

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Nice one:)

[Invisible Snake]

I'm glad she's doing better! :)

[ProXimuS]

Yay! Good to hear:)

[Light of Dae]

Well I do believe its FEEDING TIME lol Lets see o the menu is... WORMS N MICE!


Little Santa Cruz seems active n wanting to eat now that she has had a day of 'rest' after my pestering her n getting her shed off. :D
Everyone else is cruising around n looking at me like I'm a terrible waitress and they aren't going to leave me a tip. Nope I think for making them wait I'll get poop in water. LOL


Time to chop frozen pinkies, mix in some chopped worms, dash of water.... TAAH DAAAH!!! Goulash is served!

She ate! One small worm n this worm chunk :)
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Haha smiling at a worm.
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Got pictures of everyone with full bellies..
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[Light of Dae]

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This is the girl with the line on her belly, line is still there but shes more active n alert. Eats like horse.
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[Light of Dae]

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[Light of Dae]

Stubby got fed after everyone else... think he wanted to steal their food? lol
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George is doing good, almost ate from the tong but was to wary of me n these shiny things lol Ate when I left him alone.
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[Invisible Snake]

Great pics, thanks for sharing. You should enter 1 in this months forum contest ;)

[snakechick]

Very nice :). Love the melanistic.

[Light of Dae]

Which one should I enter the contest with? I haven't won yet... would like a winner picture this time....

[guidofatherof5]

The theme is "Eating Garter Snakes"

[Light of Dae]

lol I know, but which picture??

[Invisible Snake]

It's a tough call cuz they all look great, lol. I wish you could enter more than 1 :D

[ProXimuS]

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I like this one:p


All great pics though! Thanks for sharing:)

[kibakiba]

I like that one too.

[Light of Dae]

So last night I went to shut off lights n what do I see in with my flames?

Two perfect shed skins! Looks like they shed at the same time, following each other lol
I should have taken a picture before moving the sheds they looked too cute but I wanted to be sure they were intact n that nothing was retained. I knew both were dull at last feeding but I find it kinda cool they shed at the same time :)


These are pictures are from before the shed, Will be feeding again today so I'll take more current pictures :) But these are cute too.


Here in this picture you can see her tongue is in shed too! It is normally dark black n bright red.
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Mmm worms, I like how you can see her glottis open n breathing.
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More worms.. "how do my teeth look today?"
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[snake man]

Awsome pics cant wait to see post shed pics.

[Invisible Snake]

More great feeding pictures!

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Mmmm cream cheese...Great pics :)

[Light of Dae]

Found a few sheds today, looks like the bigger female Zacapu shed perfect. Then in the males tank there was a shed from the mid sized Zacapu missing the tail tip, n chin piece was ripped off but there. As well there was another shed from one of the Easterns missing top head piece n tail, head piece was found on the other side of the tank.

Both stuck tail pieces were easily removed with a warm wet paper towel, works wonders every time :)

Everyone is doing great, George is gone to the blue side again. Flames are happy n fat, all babies are active and doing good.
Oh and everyone poops... a lot lol

All is well.

[ProXimuS]

Glad you were able to help with the slightly problemed sheds, and every one else is good:)

[Light of Dae]

Yea catching a problem shed soon after the shed its really easy to get off, Warm wet paper towels n slight pressure as you let the little one squirm out works like a charm! Haven't had any retained shed issues so far. I've always checked the shed n double checked the snake to be sure. Not sure I'd ever want to deal with a few days old stuck shed... That I think would be way harder to get off.

Always check a shed :)

[Light of Dae]

I DON'T WANNA GO TO WORK!!!!

I want to stay home n take care of my snakes...

[Light of Dae]

Well had another successful feeding day, were everyone ate. No more shortened tails lol Mister Eastern with the tail tip missing wouldn't let me get a good picture lol he sits still when I am applying ointment to his tail but as soon as I pick up my camera he flicks his tail back n forth so fast all I get is a blur. I think he is embarrassed about being shorter then his buddies. lol a joke could be made here...

He hides it well, sitting on top the greenery he tucks it in to hide it. It's kinda funny.
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I think he needs a visit with Stubby. So he can be happy that he didn't lose as much as he did! They can compare stories.
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Here is the female with the line on her belly. She shed the other day and there was a hole in the shed skin but It appears that she got it off separately. I put her in a warm shed box n checked after an hour, nothing, two hours, nothing, left her over night and still nothing to start so... She is so friendly!
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My black baby mamba lol Hiding in her tube.
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Chocolate girl exploring the new arrangement, Zacapu girl in her favorite spot, the corner lol
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[Light of Dae]

Oh and George also shed a few days ago and seeing a few missing scales on the bottom center chin I assumed that they must be stuck on George. So grabbed him n got a paper towel warm n wet, I started rubbing his chin, he wasn't having it lol
He squirmed n squirmed n just started staring at me(with a flattened head) like he was going to bite me(or at least like he'd get me back for this) He stopped fighting n just sat there, looking at me...

I think he stared to enjoy it. He didn't want to get off my hand lol Finally put him back in the viv. I had given up that I couldn't get anything on his chin. Start looking around to where his shed was wrapped around... There the missing scales were attached to the water dish. duh!

Good boy George.

[Light of Dae]

Female Zacapu
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My Chocolate eastern
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... Did someone say Chocolate?
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[guidofatherof5]

Awesome. Good looking group.

[snake man]

They are all looking geat.

[ProXimuS]

Mr. "Broken Tail" has really pretty eyes:) All look great!

[Light of Dae]

Mr. "Broken Tail" has really pretty eyes:) All look great!

I think I may call him Twist-Off, Twist for short... lol

[Light of Dae]

I just picked up a Checkered Garter from a lady who had No clue what she was doing... She bought it for her 9 year old daughter but of course she did all the work for it....
Any one remember my little rant about a Big Al's fish store and me arguing with a employee about the care of Checkered Garters they had for sale?

Anyways This lady bought this little guy there in June(I saw them in late May) and was feeding him a pinkie mouse a week and few minnows in between. Said she was feeding crickets for awhile but stopped cause their chirping was annoying. lol She switched to small fuzzies little while ago cause he still seemed hungry after a small pinkie. She's been keeping him on shredded aspen. Made the mistake of putting a big heavy water dish on top of it... Got lucky he didn't get crushed.

Lol As she was telling me all this I kept shaking my head at each thing you guys just did by reading it over lol.
Every time I shook my head, she'd stop, I'd explain. Minnows are bad etc. Can't digest exoskeleton of any bugs etc. lol She kept telling me the pet store(Fish store now with reptiles Big Al's) told her to feed minnows or goldfish, crickets and the only correct thing was pinkie mice.

Oh well, He seems pretty healthy, he has grown since seeing him in the store. He is very calm, which was almost cause for concern but he is active n tongue flicking lots just chilled out. lol She said when she picked him from the other one at the store was because he sat there n looked at her while the other one was flipping out n jumping around trying to escape lol.

(I'll copy this and post it in my snake log later when I take pictures to add)

[-MARWOLAETH-]

It's a shame that shop continues to spread incorrect and dangerous advice after you told them the proper care.Could you report the plonkers to someone?

[Light of Dae]

Here we are.
He has a lot of brown on his black.
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He isn't quite as squarely checkered as George is.
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Seeing as I'm calling him a he, does any one see female? Or is he just a smaller endowed guy?
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Very little green on his very white belly.
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Held him up to George for a better idea of size comparison... I think after quarantine they will make great roomies!
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[guidofatherof5]

Good looking T.marcianus.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Good looking snake looks a good weight concidering the poor diet.I'd say female but it'd be better to wait for the experts to be sure:)

[Light of Dae]

It's a shame that shop continues to spread incorrect and dangerous advice after you told them the proper care.Could you report the plonkers to someone?

I am currently writing them an email. If I get no proper response I will go to the store and talk with a manager.

[Light of Dae]

I was shocked that he wasn't missing the tip of his tail considering I found pieces of shed in the tank. The lady did try to care for him but was fed such poor info... She had bought the book Garter snakes and ecology or something like it but her kids didn't want to give up the book n hid it on her lol.

Male or female guys? Steve? any Idea?

[kimbosaur]

The last time I was in Big Al's reptile section, there was a baby cornsnake crawling with mites. I find that the quality of care varies greatly between the locations. Still better than some other big chain pet stores by far when it comes to fish though!

[guidofatherof5]

Female, No doubt. Good looking girl.

[Light of Dae]

Female for sure eh?

[Spankenstyne]

Yep definitely female.

[Spankenstyne]

For what it's worth I talked at length over a few beverages to some of the bosses from Big Al's that were in Red Deer at the show Aug 24-25. I filled them with info & gave them some of the care-sheets that I print out for every show on Garter care. I sold a bunch wholesale to them but the conditions for them in the stores should improve, they were really receptive to learning how to better care for them.

[EasternGirl]

Love that pic of George meeting the new checkered. Great pics...all of them. Beautiful snakes. Love that melanistic. The last group of feeding pics you posted...either pic 2 or 3, I would enter in the contest.

[Light of Dae]

Love that pic of George meeting the new checkered. Great pics...all of them. Beautiful snakes. Love that melanistic. The last group of feeding pics you posted...either pic 2 or 3, I would enter in the contest.

lol I like how I could tell you were catching up on my thread lol

Oh 1 notification
wow 4 notifications
lol 6 notifications

[RedSidedSPR]

LOL just did the same thing.. Anyhoo, you've got some awesome snakes thar.

And yeah, female for sure.

[Light of Dae]

So It was yet another good feeding day. I did buy more worms but forgot to check how many pinkies I had... So they got a third a Pinkie each.
New Checkered GIRL enjoyed a chunk of pinkie mouse. Took it from hemostats no problem :)
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She didn't know what to think of the worm at first lol She'd never had worms before. She bit it first then it wrapped around her face that she let go n moved away from it lol I cut it in half and then she tried it again. Worked good for her this time. :)
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I had offered the new girl a thawed Silverside seeing as she had minnows and was said to have loved chasing fish in her bowel. She thought about it and then wouldn't touch it... So Look who got the Fishie! Flame was happy to take the unwanted.
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Twist is doing good, always stuffing his face. Can start to see his reddish orange coming in. He actually looks more pink in real life but I just could get that color in a picture!
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My only concern with his twisted off tip is this little bit of black. It is only on one side. It seems to hurt him it I touch it. Why would it be half black? Could it be a bruise? There is no pus or swelling, no secretions. It has not gotten bigger since I noticed it(3-4 days ago) Any thoughts?
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[snake man]

Awsome snakes!

[guidofatherof5]

I wouldn't be too concerned about that tail. Could be a bruise or damaged scales. Wouldn't hurt a bit to put some biotic ointment or betadine on it.
Keep a eye on it. It will probably clear up after the next shed.
Looks like the group is doing good.;)

[-MARWOLAETH-]

You shouldn't worry to much because you guys find stub tale snakes all the time in the wild and are doing perfectly good without a full tale.Being so thin the tail tip hopefully won't take long to heal over.

[Invisible Snake]

Hey since you happened to get a female marcianus, any plans for her and George to shag?

[Light of Dae]

Yes and Yes. In time though. She is young yet though so I think she may make friends with the Flames for now.
Would it be to stressful to put her in with George? He being about mating age and she is too young to have her own young.... I'd love to put them together but I don't want them to constantly be trying to do the dirty and be all stressed by it.

Any thoughts on keeping them together?

As glad as I am She is a SHE... it would have been nice to have a male for a roommate.

What are the thoughts on keeping adult male n female together for more then just mating season? Still to stressful?

***

On another awesome note, She ate another big worm today... I was trying to get her to come out of a small skull ornament she came with and was talking about her with a friend. Holding the skull I was wiggling my finger she started coming closer n closer then BANG she struck at me and just missed! Jokingly I waved my finger at her giving her crap n that I wasn't food... BANG lunged at me but I was faster.
I took it as a hint she was hungry... She did enjoy the worm. And then was a sweet heart.

[Light of Dae]

These are the honorable mentions that didn't make it to the contest :) Was a hard time choosing.
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[Light of Dae]

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[Light of Dae]

Iffrit wasn't happy about sharing his home for the photo shoot lol

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[Invisible Snake]

Looks like you put a lot of effort into that photo shoot, NICE!

[ProXimuS]

Yea, nice work! Really cool pics:D

[Spankenstyne]

I wouldn't put the new girl in with George, or any other male. He will breed her and she can have babies even before she's a year old which I definitely don't recommend.
I found that one out the hard way, please learn from that mistake.

You can keep mixed adults together year round but he will try to breed her at various intervals and she may end up having multiple litters in a year which can be very tough on her and likely lead to unhealthy babies. For this reason I keep my groups same sex unless they are being bred.

[Light of Dae]

Yup took a little bit of work to do the photo shoot but it was fun. I painted the treasure box, made the 'gold', painted the background (Twice as I wasn't happy with the first one :P ), Cleaned Iffrit's tank, put divider in and added new clean walnut shells, set everything up. :) It was fun.

Yea I decided not to put new girl in with George. But he does need a buddy, I have no one else his size. The Flames are getting close to his size but they are girls so again it won't work. .. :P

[Light of Dae]

Trying to feed everyone in a short time frame is a good challenge. I didn't feel like container feeding all the babies this time. I fed them in tank with a platter full of itty bitty worm chunks. I watched for a while till most of them had eaten n the few who hadn't, had been looking at me, leery of eating with me watching. I walked away n fed Stubby, George and the Flames. Looked back over at the babies... They were all fat, getting along and happily laying in the empty dishes.

That's when I heard it! The rustling! The crinkling of PAPER!!! I turned! I RAN!!
(Well really walked... But it was a fast walk) And there they were... The Flame girls were face to face! Fighting, Tossing each other around the room. All over a worm. I opened the door and picked both of them up With ONE HAND!!! I pulled at their tails and I poked them in the nose.

Then One turned to me and BANG! She showed me her teeth! I had to act fast! I reached around! I grabbed n PULLED!
At Last they were Free!
One Flame remained in my hand.
Victory worm quickly disappearing down her throat.

Crisis avoided. :D

[chris-uk]

Food fights keep you on your toes. That's why I keep an old pair of disection scissors to hand so I can snip the food and let them both take half - I've not had to resort to them yet. :-)
I think my "infernal three" could easily end up eating the same piece of food if I wasn't watching them. Maybe it's something to do with red snakes?

[Light of Dae]

Well at least today everyone was better behaved. Flames took each piece nice and in turn lol the Flame that lost the worm in the fight last time took each piece slowly making sure she got it. It was like an old dog taking treats from a kids fingers, so so careful lol

Babies again did very well, no fighting. The eager ones filled their guts first then watched the shyer ones sneak in n eat. It was a peaceful feeding. Worms n mice.

Stubby ate his worms, George ... For the first time ever!! Didn't care that I watched him eat! He ENGULFED his entire dish of worms! There were a couple times that he grabbed two chunks of worm at once lol

Oh good days. :)

[Light of Dae]

George is again upside down under the paper towel lol He must think he's slithering on the ceiling! Silly George <3

[-MARWOLAETH-]

*In Georges head* ♪♪Spider snake.Spider snake.Does what ever a spider snake does.Can he swing from a web?No he can't hes a snake.Look out he's a spider snake♪♪

[EasternGirl]

Great pics! I love them. That checkered girl looks like a healthy eater! Yeah...I agree that you don't want to put a young female in with a horny male...lol. He will constantly harrass her...and she could end up gravid too soon. I hear you about the food fights...my babies go into feeding frenzies everytime I feed them...and fights do ensue. I'm always yelling at them and saying "Hey leave him alone! Stop that! Go get your own piece!"...and my family laughs at me. I even tried putting boxes in the middle of the tank and separating the easterns from Joe and Bella, since they are such pig snakes...but they all found their way over to each other. I laughed about George being upside down...reminds me of Possum. Of course, Possum does everything upside down or sideways!

[Light of Dae]

Ok so it is yet again time to feed everyone and time to clean some tanks. Thinking this time I'm going to change up the substrate a little... I've got Some Recycled Paper Pellets (As cat litter) Think I'll do a paper towel bottom Then layered with paper pellets and some crinkle cut colored paper on top for color n hide-ability :)

Will take pictures and post them when done. :)

This is the female babies tank right now (for feeding I take out the fake plant wall..) I'm not happy with the set up :P
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This is Checkered females tank(she needs a name yet) Lol Friend of ours kids made a pumpkin for the tank lol Waxy string things.
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[Light of Dae]

Here is my moist moss hide, complete with greenery shade.
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Almost done
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Done with Dinner :)
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Twist is still eating great.
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Happily chubby with a worm n a mouse. :)
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[ProXimuS]

Looks like a fun setup:) And a happy baby!

[Selkielass]

Good looking wet hide. (Mine seem to prefer them opaque and dark, fussbudgets.)
I like the color the paper shreds add.

[ConcinusMan]

That's what I was thinking. Have you ever tried to hide in a glass box? Behind a glass wall perhaps? :p

[Light of Dae]

lol They still use it and hide in plain site lol I do throw some crinkle paper over it,
I'll probably be adding more greenery to each when I find something I like. :P

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Good looking setups.

[Light of Dae]

I found some Tilapia Fillets!!! Currently thawing a fillet out. Will update and see who all will try it :)

[ConcinusMan]

Fresh or frozen in a package? Make darn sure they didn't add trisodium phosphate "to retain moisture" It will kill snakes or any other animal that excretes solid urates instead of urine.

Am I to take it you had a hard time finding tilapia? Not calling you a liar but that's just hard to believe given it's popularity. Just about any grocery store around here has it. If not in the fresh seafood counter, then they at least have frozen in a package. Unfortunately, the tilapia walmart carries will kill your snake, as it contains trisodium phosphate.

[Spankenstyne]

She lives out in the sticks though Richard ;)

Good to hear Michelle. I've used it in my fish rotations & George at the very least should snap it up.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

I never heard of Tilapia before I got into Garters. Are their any benefits to feeding it over trout or salmon? Also What does it taste like?:D

[Light of Dae]

Fresh or frozen in a package? Make darn sure they didn't add trisodium phosphate "to retain moisture" It will kill snakes or any other animal that excretes solid urates instead of urine.

Am I to take it you had a hard time finding tilapia? Not calling you a liar but that's just hard to believe given it's popularity. Just about any grocery store around here has it. If not in the fresh seafood counter, then they at least have frozen in a package. Unfortunately, the tilapia walmart carries will kill your snake, as it contains trisodium phosphate.

Oh I've found lots of Tilapia in stores like coconut encrusted, Lemon herb, or pan fried, or seasoned blah blah blah All sorts of different Fillets n flavors but none just plain. Let alone any that just state Tilapia Fish Fillet as ingredients.
There was cod fillets at a deli counter but they were labeled as unthawed for your convenience and when I asked if there were any additives I was informed they had 'preservatives' so I didn't buy it either.

I did just send off an email to the company asking to confirm there is nothing added.

Flames each ate a piece or three, George ate two chunks, Twist also had two, And about half the babies had a few tiny bits, Stubby had a few as well.

[ConcinusMan]

Dang, that's unfortunate, the tilapia situation. They do seem to tire of it if you use it for too long though. I have two big female concinnus' right now that were eating fairly well on tilapia and the occasional rat pinky but for the past 3, almost 4 weeks, they have refused to eat and even look like they thinned out a bit. Keep in mind they weren't all that thick to begin with since they haven't fully filled out since giving birth. I was getting very worried. Not because of the time without food but because they really need to put on some mass before I would consider them fully "fit".

Well, today I found previously frozen WC Alaskan Copper River Sockeye salmon. Very clean, very good stuff. And the price, outstanding at $8.99 a lb. (normally no less than $12.99 lb) So, I got some. Still refusing tilapia, I offered them the salmon and they gorged themselves and dang took my fingers too.:p

Just saying, even if you did find the tilapia, you still can't rely on that as the only fish you give them. For some reason, they always tire of it and want something more "fishy" smelling.

[RedSidedSPR]

I mix it up with silversides and tilapia. They definately get bored with tilapia. And silversides.

Hell they get bored with anything if that's all you feed. At least, mine do. Especially fish.

[ConcinusMan]

Yep, and I really don't want to feed them a lot of salmon for too long anyway so I'll probably have to switch it up before they tire of the salmon. Hopefully they'll be in the mood for some pinkies by then. Or I could just make the pinkies reek of salmon I suppose. Damn snakes training their owners...:rolleyes:

[Light of Dae]

Lol I was feeding salmon for a bit but my hubby who isn't a fish fan was complaining about the smell lol I do have silversides but I don't like having to chop them up... I worry about the bones penetrating their tiny bodies. I feed the bigger ones like George, the Flames and now Twitch full silversides. Babies just have to deal with Pinkies n Worms n little Tilapia. :)

[RedSidedSPR]

You can always cut them lengthwise

[ConcinusMan]

You can also buy tubs of chicken liver at some stores. Just make sure there's no preservatives. It's very high in B1 and a nice alternative to pinkies. Most snakes I've had will readily eat it, as do I. Love the stuff.

[RedSidedSPR]

I've gotta try some.

As in snake food, and myself

[ConcinusMan]

Dip in scrambled raw egg, then flour, fry in oil. Yummy. Chicken liver is my favorite, and it's super cheap. You either love liver or you hate it though. If it turns out you don't like it, give it to the snakes! (raw of course)

[RedSidedSPR]

Alright. Going out now, I'll see if I can't find some, I'll give that a shot as will my snakes.(but raw)

[ConcinusMan]

I get it at WinCo Foods. Don't know if you have that store.

[RedSidedSPR]

I use a local market.

and Trader Joes, which I'm not sure about but it seems like a good source, no problems yet

[ConcinusMan]

Just mentioned the store because sometimes finding tubs of chicken liver isn't easy.

[Light of Dae]

Well got a reply from Highliner about the frozen tilapia...



Thank you for visiting our High Liner Foods web site, and for your interest in our High Liner Tilapia Fillets.

Tilapia Fillets contain only tilapia; there is no sodium triphosphate used in the processing of this product.


Mrs. Boehlig, again, thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Looks like its good to go :)


eww to liver... snakes might think it is good but not a big fan myself, will see if I can find it.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, that's what it was. I kept saying wrong. At any rate you might as well feed your snake rock salt and expect it to survive. Unless you want your snakes to go into seizures and die an agonizing rapid death, watch out for sodium triphosphate.

[RedSidedSPR]

I use a local market.

and Trader Joes, which I'm not sure about but it seems like a good source, no problems yet

Sorry about that, I was under the impression you were talking about Tilpia. Brain fart.

Didn't find liver today

[ConcinusMan]

This should help you find them: http://www.fosterfarms.com/products/locate.asp

You're looking for a plastic container and when I found them, they were nowhere near the chicken or the beef liver. Go figure.

Foster Farms (http://www.fosterfarms.com/products/product.asp?productcode=813)

[RedSidedSPR]

Looked everywhere, and asked. They didn't have any. I only went Walmart though (although you'd think they'd have it)

[ConcinusMan]

The walmarts (about 6 of them) in this town/county don't even have groceries. At all. Just McDonalds and Starbucks. LoL. But they did in Lewis/Thurston/Pierce counties. Went looking for tilapia one time there. ALL of it had sodium triphosphate in it.:mad:

[RedSidedSPR]

Well there's Walmart, and there's Super Walmart, which has groceries. A lot of them. They don't call it that anymore though.

[Light of Dae]

This here is what I bought Welcome to High Liner (http://www.highliner.com/site/eng/prod_det.asp?product_id_pass=pro0076)

Just fillets, no nothing added.

Walmart SuperCenters :) Jesse

[RedSidedSPR]

Nice. I'll remember that brand.

[kueluck]

According to Whole Foods site, they do not What (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/what%E2%80%99s-so-great-about-our-tilapia-we%E2%80%99ll-tell-you)
The walmarts (about 6 of them) in this town/county don't even have groceries. At all. Just McDonalds and Starbucks. LoL. But they did in Lewis/Thurston/Pierce counties. Went looking for tilapia one time there. ALL of it had sodium triphosphate in it.:mad:

[Spankenstyne]

I've only ever bought fresh fish (or prev frozen for transport) from grocery stores or fish markets & try to get the skin still on or even whole fish when possible. I never use any that are branded & packaged as they can say "unseasoned" but that doesn't mean they haven't added preservatives or other chemicals.

I'm probably just being paranoid but it's not a risk I'm willing to take & so far haven't had a single diet-related issue through several years & working through my 3rd generation of garters *touch wood*.

[ConcinusMan]

You need to ask. They must disclose. If you're unsure if their source is "clean" just ask.

[RedSidedSPR]

Walmart SuperCenters :) Jesse

Yeah that.

[Light of Dae]

Yesterday before I went to work I looked in on all my babies n noted that my little Santa Cruz was looking very silver and her skin was loose and ready to shed. There was a torn spot on her back, I was expecting to come home to shed pieces all over the tank. She was sitting right next to the opening for the moist moss hide where she has spent the past week lol

Came home and she was still there, un-shed. Same spot, and showing no desire to shed herself so yet again I worked at her skin myself. Her chin started easy but it left her head piece on, got her body done no issue except her kinked tail... I think she may always have issues with her tail.

Now came the part where I think she got pissed off... or gave up. lol Rubbing her head with a warm wet paper towel she didn't fight to much but kept her tiny head flat n was eyeballing my fingers lol Got her head piece of in three strips both eye caps also came off just fine.

She is growing, but she is by far the slowest n smallest of all. ... I wonder if she is on the verge of Failure to thrive... She just doesn't seem to have that... that eagerness to eat, or to shed herself. She eats EXTREMELY Slow. Last night she ate a piece of worm smaller then her head and it took at least an hour for her to swallow it!

I think it is time for some rearranging, Stubby can move in with the baby boys(very close in size) and little Santa Cruz can either be put in her own little tank or in with the girls. I think I'll try her on her own n offer food every day and she if she can catch up to the rest of her peers.

Will post pictures after I get home from work today :)

I'm kicking myself I should have gotten pictures of shedding the little Cruz. Oh well, she is shiny n green n tiny n small n slow lol <3

[Lisa4john]

Good luck with her, hopefully she will come around soon. :)

[ConcinusMan]

Walmart SuperCenters :) Jesse

I guess we don't have any of those in Vancouver, WA and yet they do between the little towns of Chehalis and Centralia. Weird. Actually, when I think about it, it does make sense. There's way more options/competition here for grocery shopping. I think walmart would have a hard time competing with the several Winco foods stores around here.

[Light of Dae]

Sometimes when removing a shed it is helpful to have a good camera... Can you spot the stuck scales?
7414

I figured I'd try and see if she would eat after I got the last few scales off...
7415

She was more then happy to take two small bites right outta my hand, Without biting me lol
7416

Dirty face! I think that with a little more one on one feeding this little girl should do good. :)
7417

I hate blurry photos but this will give you an idea how small she is compared to the others. Even with a belly of worms... Look at her tiny head!
7418

[guidofatherof5]

Good looking group. Are some of the head/neck scales retained?

[Light of Dae]

This is one of my male Easterns (Ery/flame het mel/snow) You can see he is going to be bright(I hope) His color is starting at his tail n spreading up his body. His tail is so red in person, the pictures make it look more orangey. In person he looks pink lol with all the red coming in.
7419

Cute ain't he? Eats like a pig too.... All my Easterns do. lol
7422

Twitch didn't want to come out of her favorite hiding spot... So I picked up her skull n put it in her feeding dish.
7420

She could taste the worms in the air... She was more then happy to eat one and a half big worms from the comfort of her own skull. lol
7421

[Light of Dae]

Good looking group. Are some of the head/neck scales retained?

Thank you.

There were just two on the tip of her nose. :) Easily gotten off with wet paper towel n rubbing.

[kueluck]

The Lil' Cruz is tiny, but OH MY GOSH.............sooooo cute. I guess it makes up for the size.

[ConcinusMan]

Love that last photo.

[guidofatherof5]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/consequensces_1.jpg

[Light of Dae]

Caught George playing possum again lol
7444

He is just out of blue phase so will shed very soon, told him he needed to soak for a minute. :) EDIT He shed this morning!
7445

Flame playing peek-a-boo. Seems they are always in blue phase lol growing machines!
7446

Where did they go? lol they are both is blue phase just ones further along.
7447

Stubby is basking and growing great. His tail is fully healed n my hubby says he looks funny cause his tail is blunter then his face lol.
7448

[guidofatherof5]

Very nice. Stubby is looking good.

[Light of Dae]

My mexicans all love the water, this big man has been in the water dish for over a week lol I seen him leave it to go eat then he sat on the heat mat for maybe 30-50 mins then right back to the watering hole lol The other male is always in the humid hide. :P Females do the same. Think they like higher humidity.
7449

Male eastern being cute. All my Easterns are getting very friendly. This one kept trying to climb my camera soon as I'd try to take pictures of the others lol (Think this one got some big eyes on him eh)
7450

Santa Cruz with FIVE little worm bites in her belly! Good girl! Day before she had two tiny bites off a worms butt lol
7451

Twist-Off is fully healed up and no more discoloration on his twisted off tail tip lol He is also a friendly little eating machine. Pictures don't show it much but he really looks kinda baby pink lol
7452

I am really liking this set up. Paper pellets on the bottom and some crinkle cut paper for ground cover hides. Love it, these guys think they are hiding lol I see them :) (this was after eating when the mexicans were over the heat mat n warming up supper filled bellies) :)
7453

[Light of Dae]

Edit: When I say All my Easterns are getting friendly... I don't mean to include the reclusive Mamba lol She is still very unsure of me. Don't like pictures n flees if there isn't food involved. Even with food she will wait till no one is looking(so she thinks) then slowly creep up to the dish... steal one piece and dart off. lol

This is the best picture of her as of late lol

7454

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Nice scrubs:) One of the reasons I love garters is their distinct personality and particular habits.Your scrubs have them in buckets:D

[Light of Dae]

lol yea they sure are different :) Love George playing possum lol he is cute ain't he?

[ProXimuS]

That's so weird that he does that.....:p Very nice looking snakes!

[Light of Dae]

One of my Zacapu girls just bit me three times!!! Brat. Was going to bite me a fourth time but I grabbed her head lol.

[kueluck]

were you playing with worms & forgot to wash your hands? :D

[Light of Dae]

lol no I was giving all the babies a bath since I noticed one with a crusty butt(stuck poop I figure) and I was just taking her out of the water n she i guess wasn't done swimming lol she wrapped right around my fingers n *Snap* *snap snap* lol didn't draw blood but tore some of my skin :P

[kueluck]

I guess that'll teach you. They'll let you know when the pool party is over.

[Light of Dae]

so this is the brat that bit me lol
7505

This is why... she was the one with a crusty bottom. (She also enjoyed musking n pooping on me)
7506

Pretty little brat.
7507

Then there is this sweet heart. She is as calm as can be when in my hands. LOVES chin rubs. She is turning pink :)
7508

Still got this weird line/scar on her belly... Last time she shed it ripped in one spot there but I was able to remove the shed. She is just going into blue phase again here so we will see how this shed turns out. Such a good girl, just stays like this till I put my finger down.
7509

[guidofatherof5]

Looks like the soaking helped that crusty vent.
Just my opinion but I would say that belly problem is a birth defect.
Worth keeping an eye on during shedding.

[Light of Dae]

Sweet heart again. So pink :)
7511

Then there is this guy, he is also a big calm sweetie. turning so orange! I think the Orange will turn to a red but we will see in time.
7510

Can't see it as nice as I thought you could in this picture but all along the side of his belly, the orange is showing up in spots beside the dark on the edge of the scales. (Like how his tail is) Should be a VERY pretty boy.
7512

I think this little girl loves her food... Almost looks in the shape of a heart <3 All covered in worm slime.
7513

[guidofatherof5]

Now there's a snake that is into her food.

[Light of Dae]

Looks like the soaking helped that crusty vent.
Just my opinion but I would say that belly problem is a birth defect.
Worth keeping an eye on during shedding.

I think your right on about it being a birth defect... Scales don't match in numbers on either side and it's just to weird to be a cut. (Plus nothing to cut/scratch herself on in the tank, Anything with wire inside it, like the plants all get a glob of hot glue over the ends JUST in case)

[ProXimuS]

Nice pics:) I like the atratus in the food!

I have noticed that one of my snakes, or maybe it's both, have a little line down the belly kinda like that, but nothng to that extreme. It looks just like if they lost weight it would have a little fold there. So I wonder if it's normal to have a little line on the belly and this one is just has some type of deformity with the line:confused:

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Emily,is it like small dents that goes down the middle of the belly scales?My marcianus has that.very odd

[ProXimuS]

Yea kinda, it goes lengthwise, and it looks like kinda like a piece of paper that was folded and then straightened. It's not very prominent.

[ConcinusMan]

Just my opinion but I would say that belly problem is a birth defect.


I think so too.

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/attachments/general-talk/7506d1353253944-my-snake-log-100_4344.jpg

Looks inflamed. I've dealt with this before. Continue to keep an eye on it and soak/clean it as necessary. After cleaning, wipe some antibiotic ointment on it and keep her on paper towels for a little while. Wipe toward the head so it gets under the cloaca scale.

This serves two purposes. 1, it fights infection and reduces inflamation 2, it also keeps urates/feces from sticking to the area.

[Light of Dae]

Antibiotic ointment sounds like a good idea to me. Didn't seem bad after I cleaned it but I can't see some tender butt care hurting either :)

[Light of Dae]

Ahh I love a good shed(s)

George just shed perfect. Except his eye cap stuck to a stick so before finding it I was looking at George like.. I don't see anything stuck on you... lol

Both flames shed perfect again :) Save for poop in both of them lol I think they are copy-cats...

And my little eastern girl with the birth defect for the first time ever... shed PERFECT!!! No rips, no tears in the shed at all! That is a first for her! YAY. I'll put up pictures after work :D


**Oh and the checkered female is full on blue so we'll see how she does. this will be her first shed with me :)

[kueluck]

Funny how something like a good shed, a healthy poop and eating a meal can make us happy. Ahhh the simple things in life.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Clever snakes:D

[Light of Dae]

The shed in perfect shape.
7531

My pink sweetie.
7530

As much as I love my Melanistic girl she is hard to get a good picture of, here she is about to shed but still is shiny, If I don't use flash though she looks like a black worm lol
7532

Twist-Off is getting some peachy golden orange color.
7533

How many Mexicans does it take to dirty a water bowel? lol Three! (yes they pooped in it n stayed curled up under water after swishing it around lol)
7534

[Light of Dae]

ok so for moving to our new place all the babies will be housed together.
They are big enough n easy enough to tell apart for separating later.
I took all the girls(taking pictures as I did) n put them with the boys while I cleaned the girls tank.... That is when she did it again!
Attacking me...
7535

Threatening me...
7536

Pooping on me...
7537

Attacking again...
7538

And this continued till I put her down.
I'm just happy she didn't clue in that my other hand was holding her and that she could of bit it lol
7539

[guidofatherof5]

Attitude, attitude, attitude.:D

[-MARWOLAETH-]

http://cloggie.org/proggold/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/Vic_Bob_Handbags.jpg

[ProXimuS]

Thats so funny to see her trying to be scary:p

[ConcinusMan]

"My, what scary big fangs you have.... wait, nevermind."

[kueluck]

Maybe she sees the dirt under you nails and that is just NOT up to her standards, and is appalled that you are touching her with unclean hands.

[Light of Dae]

Well my nail scrubby brush got used to wash the bathroom ... so err yea I am not using that any more. lol my hands were clean.. just not under my nails. :P

[Foxrun402]

As much as I love my Melanistic girl she is hard to get a good picture of, here she is about to shed but still is shiny, If I don't use flash though she looks like a black worm lol


I don't use flash I figured maybe it would hurt their eyes... :confused: I didn't want to make her freak out too lol

[Light of Dae]

Mine always seem intrigued by the flash, often coming in for a closer look.

[Light of Dae]

Hand feeding from her favorite spot lol Good Twitch.

7623

[Light of Dae]

Wow, was just bit couple times by my Melanistic eastern, Got pictures! Upload them in the morning lol

[Light of Dae]

So here she is, biting me again, first few times I didn't have my camera. lol It was like she really didn't mean it,
She was slowly pushing the side of her mouth along me then would open up n munch for a second n then be
done, Or she'd hold on till she 'freed' herself into my other hand lol Not biting down hard at all,
7659

Now this is why she was unhappy with me... Not 100% sure what is going on here but I think that with her being in
full blue and about to shed her vent got sealed up, if that's possible? it was all crusty and after cleaning her up, she
looked a lot better. Swollen still, not this bad anymore. Gave her a warm massaging bath then filled her up with ointment.
7660

After getting back to everyone's feeding I see the Tilapia is a huge hit. These two thought they both deserved the
biggest chunk. lol No one was injured and the little girl won out after I shooed the big mean boy away.
7661

Loving the fish!
7662

Resting with a full belly is Twist-Off, Santa Cruz baby is chilling out there too.
7663

[Light of Dae]

Santa Cruz is doing good, still small, but growing n shedding... See the size difference in their heads? lol
Mind you, everyone else is growing good too. Its not like she falling behind... She just ain't catching up!
7664

My Stubby man coming over to say hi.
7665

Now I swear these two are working together to try and escape lol
7666

Aaaand they fail every time, poor guys, trapped in paradise. How I envy them, food served just how they like it,
lots of toys n friends to play n explore with, someone who cleans up after them, fresh pool water all the time...
Man poor, poor kids.
7667

[ConcinusMan]

So here she is, biting me again, first few times I didn't have my camera. lol It was like she really didn't mean it,
She was slowly pushing the side of her mouth along me then would open up n munch for a second n then be
done, Or she'd hold on till she 'freed' herself into my other hand lol Not biting down hard at all,
7659

Now this is why she was unhappy with me... Not 100% sure what is going on here but I think that with her being in
full blue and about to shed her vent got sealed up, if that's possible? it was all crusty and after cleaning her up, she
looked a lot better. Swollen still, not this bad anymore. Gave her a warm massaging bath then filled her up with ointment.
7660



Do you happen to have any metronidazole (Flagyl) ointment around the house? (Prescription only). That cleared up this problem in a northwestern I had, where triple antibiotic ointment helped, but failed to cure it. This problem is likely caused by an infection by anaerobes or protozoan parasites.

[Light of Dae]

I do not have any Flagyl, I've got a cortisone ointment.. and triple anti bacterial ointment, that's about it.

[Light of Dae]

So just the other day I almost freaking had a heart attack.... I could see the two small female albino checkereds
but the big boy was no where to be seen. I emptied the tank double checking everything as I took it out, still couldn't find him!
7716

Did some digging... What a brat!
7717

Got everything put back in place.
7718

Fed everyone :) This little girl just sat in my hand n chowed down.
7719

[guidofatherof5]

They do like to hid. They are looking good.

[Selkielass]

Pretty.
Its so nice when they feel comfortable enough to eat in your hand... but not eat your hand!

[kueluck]

Hide-n-seek. Yup familiar with it, and freaked out over it also.

[ConcinusMan]

I do not have any Flagyl, I've got a cortisone ointment.. and triple anti bacterial ointment, that's about it.

Well that doesn't look very good. Any change? Still a big lump? Looks like a possible infection.

[Dylan Jake]

TRY Victoria seara frozen chicken for the best fresh frozen chicken


https://victoriasearafrozenchicken.com/