New Checkered Baby ♥

[kimbosaur]

Thought I'd finally post a pic of the new girl. I bought her from a local-ish breeder about a week and a half ago.

She had me nervous when I first brought her because she's not at all like my first girl. She's much jumpier and a lot harder to hold. She took a lot of encouragement to eat, which she did three days later. She then continued to refuse food until earlier this week when she took two tiny pieces of silverside and that was it. Even though I knew she was (and still is) new and adapting, I was getting a little antsy - especially since my first girl took food from my fingers the first day. Yesterday afternoon, I found a fresh shed in her hide! She eagerly took a pretty big meal yesterday so I hope it's just the whole shed thing that had her hesitating.

I've recently also noticed that this side of her face is a little dented in. If you compare it to the other side of her face, there's definitely a difference. Looks maybe like a scar or a birth defect? I love her regardless.







Also, you can't really see it in this pic, but I think my first girly is getting ready to shed.
Hehehe, she's really getting fat.

So, the newbie is currently living in the old little 2.5 gallon because it already has a lid & light. How long do I have to wait before I can put them together? If it's going to be an excessive amount of time, then I will see if I can go out and purchase a light and lid for my other 5 gallon, but I'd really prefer not to spend money on a temporary set up. I was kind of hoping 6 weeks would be enough...

[RedSidedSPR]

Awesome! If you mean the overall shape of the head, a little flatter looking? That's checkereds. Mine has that look too.

[guidofatherof5]

Good looking albino Checkered. Keep a very close eye on her sheds. I've had many albinos with shed troubles, especially young snakes.
Her jumpiness may also be an eyesight issue. Albinos are much more light sensitive than normals.

I know many keeper/breeders that quarantine anywhere from 3-6 months.
I do 3 months unless I see signs of trouble then it's longer.
Please keep us posted on her progress.

[RedSidedSPR]

Which is why I have always felt albinos are defective. but I like em.

I'll post a pic of my checkereds head when I have a computer and you'll see what I mean

[kimbosaur]

Thanks guys.

Jesse: I don't mean the overall shape. I mean right in between her eye and her nose, there's like this vertical dent/line and it's only on the left side. See it? Or...it might be one of things that's perfectly normal and it's just me again. Lol!

Steve: I was very hesitant to bring home an albino! I examined her shed and it seems to be all in one piece, eyes and all! I was surprised, especially because there aren't really any rough surfaces for her to rub up on. Also, it appears that she shed completely in her hide because it was coiled up in a circle underneath it! I didn't know they were more light sensitive. I will try to pay attention to this the next time I handle/observe her. She seems to be calming down a bit more, especially after her shed.

As for the whole quarantine thing, I guess I will have to either make her current home more interesting/comfortable or go out and buy a lid and light for my other 5 gallon since it takes a lot longer than I originally thought. 3 months seems like foreverrr! I want to see them together now!

[RedSidedSPR]

See it?

No.

I thought you mean that because that's the first thing I noticed about my checkered, and other baby checkered I've seen... The heads are different. Flatter...

[dieselbaby]

I just found this thread. Awesome snakes. Congrats on your two checkereds!

[kimbosaur]

Took her outside after her shed for some photos. Even decided to bust out the camera instead of the celly.

As for my albino, I have a little story about her. Yesterday I was bringing her upstairs from her feeding (I sometimes feed them in the kitchen) and out of nowhere, BAM, she bit me! She just staid latched on, occasionally biting down harder as I sat on the floor, holding her above the tank. She even managed to DRAW BLOOD when her head is like smaller than my pinky nail! Lol! The little brat.

[kibakiba]

You should see Hades, he's a year old, probably smaller than your checkered... And he drawls more blood than any other snake I've had.

[Char361979]

Your albino baby looks like a mini version of our Binky, also an albino checkered. She was skittish for a while but has developed into the sweetest snake. she loves being handled, is very sociable, growing like a weed and has, to date, been the most problem free of all our animals. She's fab and I'm sure your little one will be as well.