Anyone into herps?

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He bites them on the butt? Heh. That is funny.

It confuses me when people say that snakes are oblivious to who is who, voice recognition or whatnot. Our snakes are like yours... they know who is who. The first snake we brought home will come to the lid of her tank to come out if you call her. We also have snakes that are ours, respectively... for example... the carpet python is my snake. She tolerates other people only for while then she starts trying to get back on me. The youngest ball python is my husbands. If she hears him speak, she tries to get down and go to him.

Vladdy's name is Vlad. My husband likened him to Vlad Tepes back when we got him. It was either going to be Vlad or Severus Snake. I thought he was to grouchy to tolerate a comical name.

Morelia... the way snakes are classified and grouped seem to be in constant flux... according to some morelia is a genus under python consisting of the basic 'carpet' python, which includes diamonds, inlands, costals, common carpets, jungle, what else... southern? I don't know. I don't think jungle has any business being there as it is just a color phase... it's like saying an albino ball is a different kind of ball, me thinks... but the more people there are buying these guys, the more the breeders seem to be tweaking definitions to help distinguish between things that seem to me to be only superficial differences. That is one thought on what morelia is... Some people consider morelia distinct from python because morelia (in theory) are located round Australia, have prehensile tails that are somewhat blunt to the tip, they have diagonal labial pits up on the rostral and at least one on the supralabils... They also tend to have big heads. Heh. In that broader sense, morelia follows several technical names for several snakes, for example, morelia amethistina (the amethystine python)... but some people call the amethystine 'python amethistinus. Really the way things re set up, there is no difference between morelia and python... structurally. If they classify them as different based on those things, retics would have to go there and that shoots the whole theory that morelia are Austrlian. I find it confusing and compelling... I'm talking too much... I'll move on now...

You have a wild caught? I am jealous. Was it a challenge to get him comfortable being handled? I hear it takes some serious work to gain their trust. Sorry to hear the guy is missing part of his tail. Did his scarring lessen after a few sheds? If you have a pic to post of bali, I would love to see him.

I'm not sure how long I have been into herps... I had a snake encounter as a small child and always found them interesting... I started to become more infatuated with them about seven years ago... thanks to our beardie and our first ball. I thought they were interesting, but I got hooked once the beardie fell into our laps, so to speak. Heh... your boy beardie laid eggs? That's a comical way to discover he is a she. I love it. A gender confused dragon. Heh heh heh. It's great that you have someone around who will hook you up and bring you reptiles. Did the beardie manage the trip fine enough? They're pretty mellow, I imagine it did alright... It's shame that you cannot find many reptiles around though. Will you be ordering the boa online then or do you have a store around that carries some snakes?


And here is Vladdy... I wish he was more cooperative about having his picture taken. He has a black line through his eyes that you just cannot see here. The camera seems to annoy him though, so we settle for what he will tolerate.

yeah. XD hes a silly snakey.

me too. i say they are smarter than you think. XD mine seems to like veryone in my family fine. maybe my mom and me the best. btu he doesnt like strangers much at all. he gets all tight and tries to get back to someone he's familiar with. i dont think mines ever responded to speech, though! that's pretty neat

ah, ok. whos Vlad Tepes?? lol, i like severus snake. XD. might i use that one, sometime? XD

and phwew! that was a lot of information. i can tell i think i forgot a lot about classifying snakes.... oh well. but thats sorta stupid that they would classify a morph as a different subspecies. trying to make more money, or something?
its all very confusing, i must admit. would you consider morelia pythons? btw do prehensile tails move in ALL directions? my python uses his to hold on to stuff, i figured thats all it meant?

lol, he was all i could manage to get in turkey. in fact, its a miracle i found him at all! there is NO herp culture in turkey, whatsoever. he actually was quite tame to begin with. the pet shop guy held him occasionally. but i got him very head tame, before that he was quite head shy and he also had difficulty eating, but now he's a healthy eater. im really glad he didnt have parasites or anything, he's never been sick. just has a mauled tail, so thats good! i think the scarring has lessened a bit. and yes, i have pics ill put a pic of my bearded when he was younger, too.

yeah, my first encounters started very young...and id always been obsessed. XD. i really only got less obsessed a few years ago. were you into herping? i LOVED it and still do!
yeah. XD. hes very cute. XD i was pretty shocked when he layed them, to say the least! :O the guy actually hasent really seen my dad since, so it was a very generous favour of him to do for us. XD. the bearded handled it well. he wouldnt eat for a few days, but he was fine after a while.
well, im moving to the states most probably when i turn 18. so i will wait until i'm moved out to get my boa. i cant wait! there are very few stores that carry snakes. mostly they are WC natives or imports...darned expensive, too!

Vladdy is beautiful! i love how fat they are. . they look so huggable, although im sure he wouldnt appreciate that. my snake is pretty camera-fine. sometimes the flash startles him. dont you love the head stripes?

heres mine:

Vlad Tepes... he was the guy that some people say Dracula was based on. He was this ruler who would put people's heads on stakes... not a great guy. But yeah, feel free to use Severus. It's amusing, isn't it? We have six people in our house, so we always have a lot of funny name ideas thrown into the snake name pool. Monty Python is still my favorite, though we have yet to name a snake that... it just hasn't fit a personality right yet.

I go overboard with the information... sorry. I don't know why I get hung up on classifications. They revisit that stuff every ten years or so anyway. Meh. I think they do classify jungle separately for money. The kicker with those guys is that their vivid yellow fades as they age anyway. I think morelia are pythons because they do things like lay eggs, have vertically slit eyes, premaxillary teeth... they fit the basic requirements. But I'm no herpetologist... so it's just my opinion. Yeah, prehensile tails do move all around, and I do believe that prehensile does just mean that they use it to hold onto things.

Good to hear Bali came with a clean bill of health. He's an adorable snake! Too cute. His in the camera's 'face' picture has me cracking up. He' a very nice looking snake. I look at these guys and wonder how anyone can be afraid of them, they're sweet, curious, gentle... how can anyone not love these guys? I don't know. That is a great shot of the beardie as well. He has a nice face... beautiful coloration. Good to hear he manged the trip well.

When you get to the states, you should check out reptile exhibits in your area. They are pretty common here and you get breeders, reptile rescue people... all kinds of people attend and they bring with them the most amazing animals. It's a fun experience even if you don't buy anything. But if you do, it's not very expensive anyway.

The bloods are neat with their thickness. My daughter always chimes in for Vladdy that he is not fat, rather big boned. It amuses me. He's fat and he loves it. He actually prefers to be, not necessarily hugged, but held in a firm manner. He'll dig himself into folded arms, pant legs, sleeves... if he is on my lap he likes a pillow on him. He'll get comfy, stick his head out and go to sleep. He's funny.

Ohhhh! right! HIM! how could i forget? i didnt know his real name was Vlad, though. and i heard he also DID drink blood with bread? i dont know if that's true, however. and thanks . it IS amusing. i love silly snake names. Monty Python is great, but so many people use it, lol. you know what name is great? my sister's boyfriend used to have a ball python named Lillith. . i always thought it was so befitting.

it's fine! i dont mind at all, i just dont really know enough about the subject to be able to reply very well, is all.
really, it does? so it's sort of like the green tree pythons babies, of vivid red. pay extra for the same snake in the end!

i know, i am too happy. they dont have vets here. so if he had been a sickly snake i wouldnt have been able to help him, much. and thank you, i agree. . he is such a sweet little guy. i totally agree with you on that. whenever i see him, or any snake, i just notice how amazing it is! it's blue sheeny scales....heat pits.....just how it works is so amazing. and they are sure gentle, as you say. they never make any sudden scary movements. i always love showing Bali to whomever is interested.

*sigh*....that's a reptile expo, isnt it? ive been to one. it was sheer heaven! i got to interact with a boa, and talk to its owner for a while. one of the things that made me love red tailed boas! and they ARE cheap. i remember seeing bearded dragons for 25$ each.

XD. i love the thickness. my snake is fun, but bloods are just...like little sausages or something. it's really cute. i bet it feels neat, as well. how long is vladdy, by the way?
i dont know if bali likes pressure like that, but he does like taking naps in crevices....he enjoys the sofa cushions, or on my belly under my shirt...or sometimes under my hands. . in fact after i got home from school today, i fell asleep on the couch with him equally as asleep. i woke up and he was cutely snuggled underneath my hands, right on my lap. i know it probably isnt smart of me to fall asleep like that, but he didnt go anywhere. it was really cute! ive dozed off with him before. they are just as good as cats, arent they?

Lilith is most fitting and appropriate. One of our balls is Ayida-Weddo, we thought of naming another Damballah... heh. We opted against it as that seemed to be an open invite for trouble.

The green tree pythons have always confused me like that as well. I just do not see the difference... but I tend to go for the animal's personality over anything else. Sure, the colors and patterns that pop up now and then are cool to look at, but if I'm going to pay an outrageous amount of money for a snake, I want it to be for one that is an unusual type of snake, not just a surface variation.

They are great to show off, right? I work with a non profit organization, and one of the things I do is take a couple of snakes to local schools. It is so much fun. You start off with these little kids who are shy and by the end of the half hour I am there, they are lining up to hold the burmese. It is always good when you can get someone to see that there is no need to be afraid, me thinks.

Right right... it is an expo. Aren't they great? I haven't been to one in awhile. I try to make a point of going to them when they come around. The last one I went to had this giant blue lizard... for the life of me I cannot remember what it was... there was also a fellow from a local rescue with a burmese python and a very large, female, red tail boa.

Bloods do have a cool texture, Vlad is still a sub adult, so he is very soft and smooth... I think he is about two feet long now... perhaps a little less. He sheds in his water bowl and will not let me even use a string to try to measure him, so I have nothing to go by except a guess.

Yeah, people frown on it when you nap with snakes, but I do that with one of mine to. Heh. I'm notorious for dozing off with our burmese (Na'as is his name)... he has a spot on the couch and he'll get wedged in and stay there until you make him go back to his tank. He rarely tries to leave the couch. I'll leave him there all day and just go about my business in other rooms. Now that he is bigger (he's over 6 feet now), I make sure I'm not alone when I'm feeling sleepy because I will eventually pass out next to him and wake up with him all over me... or me all over him. Agreed... they are as good as cats.

reply please?

? I'm confused.... Heh... But it really does not take much with me. What did I miss here?

haha, sorry. i just wanted you to reply so the thread would be bumped into my inbox again, cause when i read it i didnt have time to reply.

you name your snakes very interestingly! may i ask, why was damballah asking for trouble?

yeah. the difference goes away after maturity, ugh. i love the colours, but i find the "normals" are the best. . natural and beautiful as intended. and indeed personality is important, i wouldnt want to have a snake simply to look at, lol, it's got to be tame!

yes! it's so fun. i got to show them both to some guests we had over. they're always a big hit. that's neat you actually get to do it like, almost professionally. i know that satisfaction that you mean. making someone like snakes a bit more is worth it! i love when people finally get up the nerve to touch the snake...then cant stop afterwards!

they ARE great. i havent either...like 6 years. i've only ever gone to one. maybe the blue lizard was a blue iguana? do the rescuers have their snakes up for adoption?

oh, he is tiny! he looked a lot bigger. that's great he's tame now, then. don't they get up to 9 feet long? like, the really jumbo ones...i think ive heard of one reaching that size. measuring snakes is hard. XD. i'm glad mine's pretty relaxed cause i always have to hold him down somewhat.

that's really cute! lol, snakes are so cuddly ^_^...i'm glad someone else understands. ive left my snake alone a few times....one time i forgot him! and he was behind the kitchen counter X/. i might be irresponsible at times. XD.
i like the boids, how calm they are. i had a cornsnake once, and he would never sit still!

Ayida and Damballah are Voodoo references... Ayida is Damballah' wife. They are both represented by snakes and seemed fitting enough, but it did seem to be inviting trouble to have a bunch of snakes named after voodoo lwa/loa. Heh. Too much of the gris gris in the house, you know... We try to find some kind of unique name that does their personality justice. The name selecting process is always fun.

For sure. I would not want a snake that was just for looking at... but I also do not mind if they are not tame. I have a lot of time, so I never fuss if we get a crabby one... we had a few that came to us that we had to collect and bag ourselves because the people who were helping us in the adoption process refused to go near them. Our newest snake (the rat snake) was the funniest of them. He's this skinny thing with a little head and a huge attitude. He had everyone there scared. When he hisses, it sounds like he's going, "pssssst" you expect him to say "come here" next. He's about as scary as a pencil. But he will try to bite and he will rattle his tail, and if you annoy him he will spray you. He' my challenge. He was to a point where he would not bite when you got him out, he's biting again. But once he is out, he is okay. He just relaxes in your arms. I don't know if he will ever be calm though. Rat snakes can be like that regardless of how they were treated. I wasn't going to get him, because they are moody and high strung, but he was in this pitiful, dirty tank with no hide or climb. I felt really bad for him... He is smart and curious... The way he inspects things is very different from our pythons. He seems more analytical... He's alright.

That's it too. There is this little boy who lives right next to our neighborhood corner store. The kid was terrified at first, then he wanted to touch the snake, then he wanted to pet it, then he was asking if he could hold him. I love it. Every time he sees me walking up to the store he run out, "Where' the snake?" Heh heh heh. I love how people do that.

An iguana sounds right. It likely was. It was pretty cool. Yeah, the rescue people always have some up for adoption. The last one I went to had that burm and boa both for sale, along with more burms and red tails, retics, carpet and ball pythons... there were a lot of them for sale. The adoption price is cheap, and they make you sign a form saying you won't use the snake for breeding. I think it's great. So many people here get snakes and think it will be swell, then the snake gets over five feet long and eats two large rats a week (or rabbits) and they freak out and abandon it. You can always adopt large snakes here. The down side of having easy access to them, I suppose...

Bloods usually max out around four to six feet long... I have heard about those nine foot bloods, but I do not know how common that it. It would be interesting to see. I wonder how much they weigh. That would be a lot of snake. I do not know if Vladdy will get to be too large. I wonder if his early health troubles played a part in that. But he is a male to, so he might just be petite due to that. I know he is small for his age, but he eats well, and the vet agrees that he seems to be in good health, so is good. If he gets bigger than four feet, I'll be amazed.

Oh yeah, it's not just you. Snakes are cuddly. They are relaxing and calming... Na'as is like a sedative for me when I'm having an off day. Did you freak right out when Bali was in hiding? One of our ball pythons got out of her tank on us once and I found her in the speaker. Heh. I had to take the speaker apart (I tore up the house looking for her) and there she was curled up in the woofer. She's a sneaky one. She's always trying to go explore. Most of our other ones you can let rest on a chair or coat rack or something, but not that one. I tend to be too relaxed with some of ours, but they are mostly big and lazy so if I go to kitchen and leave one in the living room for a minute, it's not a problem. Even if one of them tries to get down and be sneaky it's like, oh yeah stealth snake, no one is going to notice the six foot python trying to get on the floor. Heh. I have to laugh at them when they do that.

oooh, i understand. . i never give my pet's names much meaning. it all just matters on how it sounds, for me. like, i had a grass snake, once, and i named him Speedwell. after this little flower...he just really seemed like a Speedwell.

yeah, then they get boring. i think an untame snake might bug me, personally. i really dont like being sprayed! and i feel like i'm stressing the snake out.
the rat snake sounds a lot like Speedwell was. i was amazed by how curious he was! he had these huge, bautiful eyes, and excellent vision. whenever you went to his cage, he would come right up to the glass and look at you, and try and flick you with his tongue. but he understood the barrier, and he hide if you opened up the cage. he had a voracious appetite, as well. i feel bad because he passed away. . he never was relaxed though. so i tried not to hold him too much.

me too. . whenever i go to the school supplies store, the owner asks me how my python is doing. . because once i brought him into the store, and the owner really liked that. XD. i also remember once when i lived in america, we were having a garage sail, this little girl was in her car, she saw my cornsnake in my hand and started freaking out! so i went up to her, and told her he was a really nice snake, and she could pet him. she suddenly decided she loved him, and cried when she had to leave! it was sweet. .

yeah, because i think theres a sort of morph of iguana that's blue. and theres an actual species that's naturally bluish.
maybe i should consider adopting a boa. i think it's great that they are making sure the animals get good homes. i hate how people neglect these beautiful creatures. why do they make you promise not to breed them, however?
i hate how irresponsible people figure they will just get rid of it when it gets too big. grr.

yeah, i thought they averaged around 6, maybe. i saw a picture of a massive one, once. it was SO thick. like, as thick as an anaconda. it was pretty amazing looking. perhaps Vlad's health troubles were the cause. my snake had eating problems at first, he is very small for his size. i just figured it was because he's a w/c male, but that might have played a role in it, as well.

i feel the same! every time i am feeling sad, or if i cry, i just go hold my snake, i let him crawl on me and stuff. it's so soothing and slow paced. . i did freak out! my uncle helped me find him. how did she get into the speaker??? that's very interesting. and how did you know to look in the speaker?
yeah, mines usually very calm. sometimes ill just leave him on the table or something when i do chores, that or he stays around my neck. people say you shouldnt hold them very often, but it's never had any bad effects with my snakes. Bali eats fine, and he sheds and poos normally.
lol, it's funny. XD and the snake is so slow anyways, he isnt exactly fooling anyone. XD
does your snake ever get into something he's to fat to get through? Bali has gone through a hoop earring, and once a coffee mug handle. he was too fat to get through, so i had to soap him up! now i'm very careful to watch where he sticks his head in. XD

here's pics of Speedy, i just thought you might like to see him, grass snakes are beautiful.

He is adorable! His eyes and facial markings are amazing. I love how he looks like he is smiling. That cracks me up with snakes. Heh.

They make you sign to not breed due to overpopulation and abandonment and such. The pet rescue people here think that there are enough critters in need of homes already and that adoption is the way to go. There is a place about half an hour away from me that is severely overcrowded with reptiles all of the time. They rarely have the room to take in rescues anymore. Our local pet store has rescues sometimes. I like to buy them when I can. They need good homes. I'm with you on that... I'm easily upset by people who just abandon their pets when they grow. I do not understand how they could do that to their animal. It is rather heart breaking.

I am glad you had help finding Bali. The whole ordeal is easier with help. We have holes in the backs of our speakers and when Sophie got out, she was small enough to squeeze in there. I was looking for her behind the entertainment stand and moved the speaker to get a better look and saw a line in the dust from her. Heh.

I never did understand that whole bit about not handling snakes all that often. I can see it for some kinds... Vladdy needs higher humidity, so he can dry out in the winter so we have to be mindful of his out time... But for the rest of ours, we keep them out for long amounts of time and get them out regularly. We have no problems either.

Oh yeah, we have two that are notorious for trying to squeeze through things they cannot fit through. Ayida and Na'as are good for that. Ayida took a shine to this afghan we had and got caught up in it before we could stop her... had to cut the blanket... She got stuck in a handle on a kitchen cabinet once. We had to unscrew the thing. One second she was on my shoulder, the next she was stuck. It was crazy. Na'as got caught up in this strap thing I had on this shirt... had to cut that up to get him out. Na'as was really bad about it when he was younger, he is getting better now. I wonder if it was from him growing so fast so quickly and just not being aware of himself and his size. He used to try to go up pant legs to nap after he was too big to do so anymore. I felt bad for him. He loved to nap in pant legs when he was small...

I have to say, I am glad to hear you are thinking of adopting a boa. There are so many who need people to care for them. I am curious, do you plan to build the tank yourself, or are you going to buy one? We have been toying with the notion of redoing Nola's (our carpet) tank. Now she only has an upright with some pvc piping we put together for her. She likes it fine enough, but I think it would be fun to hook her up with more climbs and such. I found this old entertainment stand and want to drill some holes in it and give her some dowels and platforms and whatnot. She enjoys climbing. There are some great sites out there to get ideas from. It seems like a fun project, me thinks.

Do boas eat from the ground? Nola likes to snatch her food up from where she is hanging. It is something to watch. She does this yoyo thing with her food. It is so different from the rest of our ground loving snakes. I am usually not fascinated by watching them eat... we feed live so I make sure they are eating and not being pestered by their food and such, but I get a kick out of watching Nola eat. It is surreal.

thank you! i really love the markings of grass snakes.

oh, right. that makes sense. do those agreements have any power, however? that's nice you rescue the animals. how many do you have, currently?

indeedly agreed. finding a snake can be daunting, cant it? they just fit into stuff too easily. that's really funny about the dust trail, though. snake trying to be sneaky again, eh?

yeah. vladdy can dry out like that? i didnt know that, it makes sense i suppose though, if the snake is out more than he is in or for considerably lengthy times. bali doesnt get dry, sometimes his cage gets too humid, actually. but i have the hydrometer to watch it. it's annoying.

wow! it sounds like your snakes have done a lot of damage, lol. . they dont seem very aware of their body masses. that's cute about the pant legs. i liek to put my python under my shirt, he feels cold and usually falls asleep curled up. it's cute.

yeah. i think it would be better. i hope i can adopt a younger one however, so i can tame it to my taste.
i dont know. i was planning on buying one. but building is possible, too! if you do Nola's cage, i would like to see a picture thread! lol. it sounds like it would be very nice.

yes, they do normally. i thought carpet pythons were ground snakes? that sounds really neat about her feeding, though! like these snakes i saw on tv, they would wait in trees and snatch bats. it's cool. my snake eats live, too. they dont sell fozen feeders here, so i just buy him a pet grade hamster. he snatches the thing so eagerly!