So excited - finally getting snakes!

[toddnbecka]

I wonder if they were raised together? I'm thinking that may have something to do with it; some breeders separate their babies into individual cages, while others leave them together except at feeding time.

 

[toddnbecka]

Sending out a money order tomorrow for another pair of yearlings from a different breeder in AZ. I'm thinking it will be better to mix the bloodlines than to breed siblings together when they mature in a few more years.
Pix of the parents and 2 of their offspring:






I'm thinking that if these snakes breed true the way my super red BN do their offspring will really be awesome when they mature.

 

[Alyxx]

Those are some gorgeous snakes. How big do they get? Looks like you're going to have some potentially awesome baby snakes. Also, if by super red BN you are referring to plecos I might be in the market for a couple soon...

And even if they weren't raised together by the breeder, the guy I got them from was keeping them together. They seem to like each other.

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[toddnbecka]

The breeder this pair will be coming from says 6', the breeder I got the first pair from said very well-fed (and grown) females can go 9', males max 7'. The smaller size and colors are what I really like about them, as well as their mellow disposition. Everyone says the same thing, they never bite or strike. Worst they'll do is musk like a garter snake if they're not used to being handled or just not in the mood. That's what the male did to me the other night, wasn't actually poop, just clear stinky liquid. It washes off though, and hasn't been repeated. The frozen day-old quail ordered last week will arrive sometime today, and I'll finally be able to feed them. The female was fed a week ago, a bit longer than that for the male, so I know he's hungry anyway. I walked back to the creek Sunday and collected several salamanders to see if he'd take those, but he didn't seem to recognize them as food. A garter or milk snake would have snapped them right up, apparently amphibians aren't part of a mountain boas diet.

Ya, I've been breeding/raising super red bristlenose for several years now. Got 6 unsexed juvies from Germany back when they were still rare, now I have loads of them. Have 2 more adult trios shipping out tomorrow. Along with the line-bred German stock I also have a domestic line of my own now. A few super reds turned up among the offspring of some browns that were also producing a good number of albino and a few calico fry each brood. I separated those, and they also produce all super red offspring. Far as I know they're the only domestic line, all the rest in the US are from German or Czech stock. I haven't sold any of them yet, only have a handful of adults, but there are some juvies large enough to move along now.
Here's a couple old pics of the German line I took when I stripped down a 75 for through cleaning:

 

[Alyxx]

Those are some great plecos. Any long fins? I'm getting my 56 going again and I miss having bn's.

6-9' is a good size for boas. Not too long to be hard to home or handle. That red color is amazing too... I hope they breed well for you. I'm feeding mine right now. Dru jumped on her mouse almost immediately but Spike is keeping me waiting.

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[toddnbecka]

There are a few longfin super reds being bred, but not many yet. I just have mostly super reds, with a few stray brown and albino scattered around various tanks. I do have a couple juvie L-333's growing out, group of 6 I got several years ago produced 2 fry. Have a large group of leopard frog pleco's, hoping they'll start breeding this season.

Huge box from Rodent Pro arrived today, mostly filled with plastic wrapped fiberglass insulation. In the bottom was a bag of 100 1-day-old quail chicks, and a couple large chunks of dry ice. I was surprised that there was so much of it remaining after being shipped out Monday, and most of it was still there when I got home from work tonight. That insulation is really effective.
I woke them up after I thawed out a couple of the chicks, but they weren't too interested and I didn't have much time before work. I put the birds in the fridge, will warm them up and try again tonight after I turn off the lights. That's when they become active. I just hope the other pair will eat the quail too, they're currently being fed rat pinkies, and occasionally those need to be scented with an anole.

 

[Alyxx]

Nice. I love long finned bn plecos... I had a beautiful albino one that got eaten by a crayfish a while back, and a couple brown long fins I lost when I moved. I seriously can't wait to get into my own place so I can start breeding fish again.

Dru ate but Spike did not. But I think that was because he sensed the mouse was sick. It died shortly after I gave up and moved him back into the tank. This is why I'm hoping to get him onto frozen prey or twobreeding my own healthy mice. I don't trust pet store feeders. I will be freezing freshly killed (humanely of course) young mice when mine breed. In the meantime I might check out that feeder site you linked. I've been seeing ads for perfectprey.com recently as well and might check them out.

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[toddnbecka]

Long fins are great if your other fish won't damage them, but I mainly keep cichlids aside from my breeding tanks of pleco's. The regular BN mostly stay under cover to avoid them by day, so I never see them unless I strip down a tank for cleaning. Their fins aren't torn or chewed up, but I suspect long fins wouldn't be as successful at escaping notice. A couple years ago I had a bunch of brown and albino adults that hadn't been sold, and BN fry were everywhere. Fortunately the really small ones don't have spines like larger/older fry, so other fish can eat them safely. There were always a few that made it to cover when they were tossed into other tanks though, so even after I took dozens of brown and albino adults to the lfs there are still some lurking about.

I went with Rodent Pro because they sell quail chicks, which is what the breeder had been feeding my yearlings. Shipping is a flat rate of $35/box, mine was like 92% empty with just one bag of quail chicks, but they'll last for months. I left 2 in the cage last night when I turned off the lights, and they're gone now. Apparently handling them a bit didn't put off their appetites. I'm hoping to get them accustomed to hand feeding soon, will be much easier to manage 4 in the same cage that way.

 

[toddnbecka]

I just ran across another feeder source, bigcheeserodents.com that has $29 flat rate shipping for a limited time. The folks who ordered from them say their quality is great, they just sell mice, rats, and baby chicks. Always good to have several different options, apparently they all run specials according to what they're becoming overstocked with.

 

[Alyxx]

So you're feeding them together in the main cage instead of using feeding cages? Any reason why?

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[Coursair]

I walked back to the creek Sunday and collected several salamanders to see if he'd take those, but he didn't seem to recognize them as food. A garter or milk snake would have snapped them right up, apparently amphibians aren't part of a mountain boas diet.

Please please DO NOT EVER feed wild caught food to your lovely snakes. That is a great way to give them parasites or diseases that they have no immunity for.

With shy snakes especially babies, I will feed them either in a paper bag that I close up and leave them overnight with the food inside the tank , or I will put them into a dark container with air holes that is smaller with the food and leave him overnight.

I always separate snakes before I feed them. And make sure that the tank is the proper temperature and they also need proper humidity as well. I'm sure you already know this

Do they have hiding places in the warm end and cool end of the tank?


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[toddnbecka]

Several reasons actually, they're both the same size/age, but tend to hang out on opposite ends of the tank, so it's easy to place food near them. Worked fine the first feeding, will see how it goes. (First law of mechanics: if it ain't broke don't fix it.) Not a problem to put them into smaller container overnight with food if necessary.
The breeders both stated that they their keep adults together, one said that increases testosterone levels in the males, so more babies/few slugs when the females give birth.
Some debate on the reptile forums over moving into separate enclosures for feeding being stressful. Back when I had the red tail there was never any thought of moving her to another enclosure for feeding, never had any issues with feeding her in her tank.
I'm planning to get them used to hand feeding, particularly since they're eating f/t rather than live, and aren't aggressive snakes in general.
I'm expecting another pair of yearlings, thinking to keep them all together, so hand feeding is the best way to make sure they're all getting their fair share. If necessary I can quickly set up another tank, have a 38 and a 75 gathering dust now, can pick up another UTH and ceramic basking bulb in a day. Eventually I'm thinking to build a much larger enclosure for both pairs with a screen divider. That way they can sense each other to stimulate hormone levels but the 2 pairs will still be separated for breeding. Few years before I need to worry about that though, prefer to keep things as simple as possible.

 

[toddnbecka]

Please please DO NOT EVER feed wild caught food to your lovely snakes. That is a great way to give them parasites or diseases that they have no immunity for.

With shy snakes especially babies, I will feed them either in a paper bag that I close up and leave them overnight with the food inside the tank , or I will put them into a dark container with air holes that is smaller with the food and leave him overnight.

I always separate snakes before I feed them. And make sure that the tank is the proper temperature and they also need proper humidity as well. I'm sure you already know this

Do they have hiding places in the warm end and cool end of the tank?


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They have hiding places directly above the UTH, halfway up the tank above it, on the cool side bottom, and also several inches higher under the ceramic basking heater. The male likes to hang out in the silk plants while the female prefers the hide under the ceramic heater. After the lights and ceramic heater are turned off they both hang out along the top edge of the tank or on the upper levels, don't seem to care for the ground much. I've not yet seen either of them using the lower level hide over the UTH, though the female clearly prefers the foam for cover.







There are also 11 aquariums in the basement, from 30-220 gallons, over 800 gallons of water total, so the average humidity is around 70%. Also a large water bowl in the tank with the snakes.

 

[Alyxx]

I've always heard it is best to feed snakes in a separate tank to keep them from associating their tank (and particularly hands in their tank) with feeding. Then again your snakes do seem extremely docile so maybe it isn't as much of a concern. I love your setup. I hope to get mine into my 40B soon so i can give them a bit more room and more hides and such. A 20 long is plenty room for them at their current size but I want them to have more stuff to explore. I love the different levels you have r them. I want to do something like that.

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[toddnbecka]

I'm setting up a 38 (12 x 36 footprint) for the second pair, those should arrive Thursday. I spoke to the breeder on the phone, and he had just fed them, so will need a few days to digest their food before shipping out. Fortunately the weather looks good on both ends this week, warm enough here and cool enough there. Will set up the 38 essentially the same way, just a little shorter width.

I was somewhat surprised to see them out roaming around last night, expected them to stay under cover while they digested their food. I got the male out for a bit, and while he was stretched out completely straight I was able to get an accurate measurement of 24" length. Female is the same size. I'll be offering them food every 5 days so they should grow pretty quickly. Had the female out for a bit tonight since she mostly stayed in the cage last night. Both are equally relaxed about handling judging by their movement speed, but given the choice they prefer to avoid contact.

 

[toddnbecka]

Caught the male in the act, about 30 minutes after I dropped in the quail chicks, female hadn't found the other one yet. Reminds me of a Nepenthes pitcher plant:

 

[Alyxx]

Been a while since I posted. Both of my babies are doing great. Shedding regularly, eating very well, and nice and friendly. Trying to get them on frozen mice and so far so good. Gave them each a thawed adult mouse tonight and they both struck in seconds.

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[toddnbecka]

Boas are usually easy to switch from live to f/t. We now have a '14 BCI, 66% double het albino and leopard, eagerly eats anything offered. Also got a '14 carpet python and a baby Okeetee corn snake. The carpet refused f/t for several weeks after arrival, so I finally drove 1.5 hours to pick up live feeders. The first one offered was a fuzzy mouse, that was killed, examined for a couple minutes, then abandoned. I had also gotten a hopper mouse, so I tried that next. The hopper was actually eaten after being killed, and after that f/t were accepted without any problems. Now I have a small breeding group of mice producing plenty of offspring for feeders. The corn takes 2 pinkies every 6 days, may move it up to 1 fuzzy after the shed. The carpet took a rather large hopper, if not completely weaned at least partially, I saw the young ones in the food bowl.

Older pic of the Okeetee in the plastic tub, has since been moved into a 20 high:




Carpet python, jungle cross, meaning the mothers lineage wasn't known. Love the colors and irregular pattern, and the disposition is as mellow as the boas:




Don't have any pics of the BCI uploaded, though Becca has some on her phone, he's her baby.

 

[Alyxx]

That is a beautiful python! And I think mine are thoroughly onto f/t. Three weeks straight they have both taken frozen now. I was shocked when Dru took a frozen mouse without even striking it. She just sniffed it and started eating it. She's probably 2 and a half feet long now, with a diameter close to silver dollar size. She passed Spike up, he was slightly bigger than her at first. He's probably 2 feet and about halfway between a quarter and a silver dollar in diameter. Both are on adult mice now.

I'm so happy, soon they will be living with me! I got an apartment and I should be moved in by the end of the month. Going to upgrade them to my 40B when I move them in with me, and will be picking up a second setup soon to get them separated. Not sure how they will like that, though. They spend all their time close to one another.

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[toddnbecka]

Nice, soon you'll get to spend more time enjoying them. The carpet python is the only one that wouldn't take f/t at first, now it doesn't seem to matter. Growing like a weed, and now hanging out on the sticks like a tree boa instead of curling up inside the hide, even after a meal.




We went to a couple more reptile shows last 2 weekends. Picked up a '14 female het albino red tail to go with the male, a yearling everglades rat snake, and a wee baby diamondback water snake. Since the mice are breeding and growing so well now we can support more snakes, and when the water snake outgrows endler's I'll switch it over to rodents too.

Way back in the days before I got my first red tail boa I wanted an everglades rat snake, but back then you pretty much had to go to FL and catch one yourself. Love the sunrise orange color, and the belly is bright yellow. She's around 3', currently housed in a 75, will be swapped into the 30 long after the new boa finishes QT. Great disposition, not defensive or flighty, actually a wee bit calmer than the smaller Okeetee corn snake. Interestingly, the snakes like Cichlid stones much better than the fish:




This little water snake ate what I thought would be a week's supply of fish the same day we brought it home. Not defensive, but a bit flighty when handled, and prone to take off unexpectedly. Hopefully will calm down. The seller said he'd had the wee beast for 4 months, can't be much older than that, only 9" now. The wide body in the first pic is from all the fish it chowed down:

Doesn't hide at all, either out "basking" or in the "pond" from what I've seen so far.


Was actually wanting a Mexican black king, but haven't seen any at the shows yet.
All the pics of the red tails are on Becka's phone. Will get some with the camera after the male sheds, should be any day now.