Other pets (pics and discussions)

[slipknot711]

im very sorry to hear. my cats getting old and ill be lost without him. cats are very dear to me. 18 is a long happy life for a cat tho. im sure you made him happy.

[slipknot711]

just two of my turtles being... well... turtles. turtle1.jpgturtle 2.jpgturtle 3.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

Sweet painted turtles (Chrysemys picta).

[slipknot711]

ty they crack me up sometimes

[guidofatherof5]

ty they crack me up sometimes

Turtles are awesome but aquatic ones are much more labor intensive as you already know.

[slipknot711]

very much so! but its so peaceful watching them swim and search the gravel...

[guidofatherof5]

I've always had a soft spot for the shelled ones.

[kueluck]

My little Oliver had to have bladder stones removed on Monday and is recouping from a rough week. Poor little man.
CIMG1086.jpgOliver 1-26-14.jpg

[ConcinusMan]

Some generic pyros (Sonoran Mt. King) I picked up locally through a craigslist ad. Never had Mt. Kings before. I like their personalities /habits and coloration better than milk snakes. These are out more and take to handling way better than any milks I've tried to keep. I finally found a Lampropeltis species with bright vividly colored bands that isn't hiding 24/7 and getting all pissy if you disturb them.

I love brightly colored red banded Lampropeltis species but all milks I've tried to keep are gorgeous and all but too shy and you never see them. Milks hate being disturbed and I get musked and hassled if I want to see them, so I got rid of them. I had almost given up on ever finding a gorgeous red banded Lampropeltis species with the spectacular looks AND a decent personality. Pretty just isn't enough for me if a snake hides for 2 weeks at a time and musks, squirms, or even bites when you do see them.

I just didn't like milk snakes' secretive habits and fussy attitude. What good is pretty if you never see them out and can't really handle them? Not these! These are out a lot and don't get pissy if I handle them. I think I've finally found my favorite Lampropeltis species. Not only do they have the great looks of a milk (but actually a bit prettier with higher tighter band count) but great personality too. These are more like a large tame kingsnake in their habits/attitude and don't seem to mind handling or laying out in the open unlike milk snakes. They're awesome. Not sure how I overlooked these all these years but when I found them locally advertised at prices much lower than they normally go for, I went for it. I like them. Lampropeltis pyromelana. I highly recommend them.

A big Male:


And a small sub-adult female:



I was originally going to buy this thayer's king (Variable king) from the guy because this individual looks so much like a milk snake but is a king instead and the bands are just flawless and perfect. Well, after I bought his pyros instead, the price on this king has dropped from $100 to $75 and now comes with a 20-gallon zilla tank w/ dome light fixture. Or just $60 for the snake alone. If you can even find one online like this, from the same bloodlines, it's going to cost about $180 shipped. If I can scrape up at least $60 before someone else buys him, I'm going back and getting this snake too.

It's just time for me to keep something nice besides garters and because I found these snakes very low priced, it's turing out that 'something' (besides garters or milk is snakes) is red banded kingsnake species.

Thayer's king I want to get. Lots of red and just look at those flawless even bands:

[slipknot711]

love the patterns on them