Other pets (pics and discussions)

[ConcinusMan]

It was a magnificent lavender like this one. It had the most awesome blue eyes I've ever seen. Yes, BLUE eyes on a snake!

Oh, and I thought of something regarding the blue eye statement. I didn't mean the snake was going into shed. It had bright "blueberry" blue eyes. And I mean, that was the color of the iris. It was so cool.

Mine is a male and I would love to find a female and hopefully I will be able to afford her when I find her. Bosco was wild caught as a baby. He is fine to hold but is shy in the cage. I have to feed him last on feeding day so I don't spook him into not eating by moving around in front of his cage. From what I have read this is atypical of the cribos.

It probably is atypical then. Both these cribos that Nate had acted like inquisitive garters when you approached their enclosure. They came out to greet us. Like I said, he hatched out quite a few babies in early summer and probably still has some. I wouldn't mind having a cribo at all but I don't have that kind of room. Their enclosures were huge.

[guidofatherof5]

Here's a few new photos of our boy/young man Tank. He usually yawns a few times in the morning. I think he's a happy turtle . He lives the life of a king. Here he is sitting on his heated blanket.
In a 5 month period he doubled in size.

[ConcinusMan]

I always thought that the growth happens where the plates of the shell come together.

[guidofatherof5]

I sent that photo to my snapping turtle expert. He called it a growth band and said he's seen them and big as 3/4 on an inch. Snappers in a controlled situation can grow fast.
I'm hoping Tank to be around 6 pounds next year at this time.

[ConcinusMan]

One thing's for sure, he is growing. Probably much faster now that you evicted the nasties that were inside, mooching off of him.

[Floof]

I've never seen growth rings on an aquatic turtle... But here's what they look like on a Russian tortoise...

Each bumpy ridge on the individual scutes (especially visible here on the dorsal (spine) and coastal (side--between the dorsals and the marginals [edge of the shell]) scutes) is a growth ring. Each is a different width and level of "bumpiness," according to how fast the tort grew during that period and how much humidity it was given access to during the growth period.
Between the coastals and the marginals (along the edge of the shell), especially toward the back where, in this picture, it's shaded, you can see a very light beige-colored growth ring immediately between the scutes. This is the area of new growth--indeed, where the "plates" of the shell come together like where ConcinnusMan (sorry, don't know your name!) speculated growth occurs.

Honestly, I'm so used to tortoises and land-dwelling turtles that I didn't recognize your snapper's growth ring as such. Very neat to know how different it looks on an aquatic turtle!

[ConcinusMan]

Those growth ridges remind me of my thumbnails and big toenails. They have ridges like that too.

[guidofatherof5]

We didn't need to hear that, yuk. Poor tortoise

[guidofatherof5]

Here's our little Kenny.
Kenyan Sand Boa.
Kenyan Sand Boa

[ConcinusMan]

oooh, he's pretty. Nice contrast and pattern. So where's the sand?