Other pets (pics and discussions)

[guidofatherof5]

Thaddeus has left the building. I guess the wild was too big a call.
Hope he'll come back and visit.

[ProXimuS]

Charis, I have to ask you: What kind of snake is that? Is it a type of garter? It's sooooo beautiful!
I'm slowly working my way back and looking at all the pictures of yall's kids.

IMG_1222.jpg This is my girl Tppy

Snapshot_20120516_1.JPG Here she is the other day at my friend's house with her two best friends: Batman(cat) and Maggie (dog)

[guidofatherof5]

Last month 4/30/12 Tank weighed in at 13.53 lbs.
This evening 5/22/12 he's at 14.30 lbs
Looks like he's having a good growth spurt.

[tress29]

Tank's chilling in his hot tub!

[guidofatherof5]

Tank's chilling in his hot tub!

You are so right. I had just drawn a warm bath for him in that photo.
The was then served warm pinkies........ on a silver platter.

[chris-uk]

One of the things I love about garters is the people who keep them seem to really care about the welfare of their animals. On another general reptile forum I keep reading the argument between RUBs and vivs, and with royal pythons being so popular I frequently hear the argument that royals don't like living in vivs where they have more space. So you hear about people keeping adult royal pythons in 20l RUBs and claiming the snake prefers it.

I don't have any experience of snakes other than garters, but I know a few of you guys do keep other snakes, and I respect your answers more than the ones I'd get on other forums. So, is it complete rubbish to say that a snake doesn't like a larger viv? My instinct is that a royal in a larger viv and provided with adequate hiding places will be quite happy to use the hide, the fact that they spend most of their time in a small hide and not using the full extent of a viv doesn't (IMHO) justify removing their freedom to choose to leave their hide by keeping them in a box that is little bigger than a hide you would put in a larger viv.

Rant over. Feedback from royal/ball python keeper?

[tress29]

I kept a juvenile in a 20 gallon long aquarium, before we decided none of us liked him! What they do like is a sense of security. In the wild, they'd crawl down a burrow, eat the inhabitants, and then snuggle in to nap while they digest. I'd guess a rack setup probably most closely mimics that. Mostly what I've heard is that they appreciate a hide that fits snugly.

[thamneil]

Im not sure if they prefer less space or not but they usually seem to do better when housed this way. When housed in smaller enclosures, I find that picky eaters begin to feed better. They also become less nervous. But for animals that do feed, enclosure choice has never influenced them. I have an adult female in a 55 gallon that feeds weekly. Nothing can stop her! So I guess that it all really depends on the snake. I dont believe that smaller enclosures are always a bad thing but they are no excuse for proper husbandry. Too often, I see snakes kept in bins so small that they cannot thermoregulate. This is not fair or helpful to the snake in any way.

[ScimitarX]

We have a large adult female, that we keep in a large-ish RUB. She does really well in that, the moment you put her in an approriate sized vivarium, she refuses to feed at all. Back in the RUB and shes back to her perfect feeding routine. This is the case with many royals that we have dealt with in the shop, keep them in smaller enlosures/tubs, or failing that make sure they have a very tight hiding cave, as they really do prefer to hide in places that they have to really squeeze into.

[Steveo]

I've never had pythons but it seems like most constrictors are content to remain sedentary as long as they're well fed. I rarely see my kingsnake out in the open, she'll often spend 3 or 4 days after feeding hiding between newspaper layers under the carefresh. I still use newspaper so I can hear her moving around, but she doesn't move around often. Usually when I catch her being active she's staring at her smaller milk snake neighbors, probably plotting to eat them

If my king or milks have a day when they're as active as a garter, that's quite unusual for them.