Cuddles!

[acovert]

I wanted to share some photos of my snake as he changes and grows. He still seems so small to me, but he's almost eight inches long now. He was much shorter when I adopted him four months ago. Still, he seems so tiny compared to all of the wild garters I've caught and handled over the years. I remember catching garters that were three feet long or more back when I was little.

I say Cuddles is a he, but in reality I have no idea what gender he is. I just want him to be male at this point. I probably won't be able to tell until he is older. Five/six months is probably too young to tell those sorts of things.

Cuddles is so polite and so sweet - at least compared to the garters that I've caught wild. He's used me as his own personal bathroom a few times, but otherwise he's only musked me three times (once he musked our table in our dorm as well. the smell was awful!). He's never bitten me - never even tried. In fact, he likes to curl up around my fingers and refuse to let go. He even squeezes them sometimes. I try to socialize him as much as I can because of my brothers. If he bit one of them my mom would force me to get rid of him.

Sometimes I take him out and let him explore my bed. Usually he just curls up next to me. A few times he's tried to hide in my pocket. Other times he sits in my lap and watches me. Of course, if my cell phone us laying on my bed that's the first thing he goes to. I'm not sure why. He likes my camera too. At the moment he has decided that my shorts are the perfect place to hide.

When I first got him I never noticed this, but his underside is covered with these red splotches. Eventually I did notice them, and I had no idea what they were. With his first shed they seem to have gotten a bit more noticeable. They're rusty red. The red stripe on his back has also gotten a bit brighter.SAM_1536.jpgSAM_1555.jpg

I love my snake. Even if he is a picky eater, he's wonderful.

[kibakiba]

Snakey's belly looks like that too. He's a pretty boy.

Show us a picture of his vent area, 5-6 months isn't too young. They stay pretty small, so it's a bit harder but it's not tooo hard.

[acovert]

Getting a picture of his vent area is so hard. All he does is squirm. But I think I have a few decent pictures.

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[kibakiba]

Looks like a boy to me.

[chris-uk]

Looks like a boy to me.

Agreed. Tail stays wide for a bit after the vent, looks male to me.

[mikem]

love the belly coloring!

[Light of Dae]

I'd say he looks like a he. Lol Manly Cuddles Beautiful belly! Should take some pictures of his face n all of him so we can see how he's coloring up!

[guidofatherof5]

Should take some pictures of his face n all of him so we can see how he's coloring up!

Yes you should. Please.

[EasternGirl]

Yep...he's boy alright. Love those red speckles...and love to hear you talk about how much you love the little guy! Yes...we want to see more pics! That little scar a little ways up from the vent...has it always been there?

[acovert]

I wasn't even aware that was a scar. As far as I know it's always been there; if he'd been injured I would have noticed. I handle him as often as possible, unless he's eaten. Something could have happened before I got him. Odd, that I've never noticed anything before.

I'm glad he's really a he. I was hoping for a boy ^_^

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Here are a few recent pictures I have. I need to get some better ones.