# Colubrids > Ratsnakes >  New snake!

## Ditto

Hi every one, I am so incredibly excited to announce I bought my second snake yesterday! Aaand she's not a corn, as was the plan.
I want to introduce every one to my new (nameless lol) Trans-pecos ratsnake! 
To be honest I kind of always liked these better than corns & have researched them a fair bit, but I eventually decided on a corn because I thought a trans-pecos would be too hard to find. But lo & behold here she was! I got her at the hamburg reptile (which was INSANE btw, very chaotic).
I figured with a few small tweaks to the tank I had set up for a corn it could work well for her.
I was told she's almost a year old, but the guy working there couldn't tell me her exact hatch date, I'm assuming because there were a lot of people working at that booth so it seemed like a big operation, & she's 24g.
She's settling in now, hiding in the cool hide. Ambient temps are low-mid 70s & I have the UTH set to 87* so the glass temp is 86*, is that too high? 
I'm also not sure when I should attempt to feed, if anyone could give any insight on that it'd be appreciated!

And heres some pictures I took of her on the ride home, isn't she just so sweet looking?  :Very Happy: 

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*Bogertophis* (02-24-2019),_Dianne_ (02-24-2019),_EL-Ziggy_ (02-25-2019),_FollowTheSun_ (02-25-2019),_Jus1More_ (02-25-2019),_L.West_ (02-26-2019),_MarkL1561_ (02-24-2019),Maru (02-24-2019),_RickyNY_ (02-26-2019),_Sonny1318_ (02-25-2019),_the_rotten1_ (02-27-2019)

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## Dianne

Congratulations! Shes a beauty.

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_Ditto_ (02-24-2019)

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## Goblin

Shes so cute! Congrats

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_Ditto_ (02-24-2019)

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## Bogertophis

Congratulations Ditto!  She's adorable & will just get more and more so, lol.   I'd wait at least a week before offering food...expos are very stressful...unless 
she really seems to be hungry.  Also, her new cage will be scary for her...just let her settle in for now, with plenty of tight hiding places.  You can use small 
clean cardboard boxes too...with minor modification (cut a doorway, lol) if you can't find plastic hides her size yet or don't want to invest in something she'll 
outgrow.  I love the ones with normal patterns like yours (& all 3 of mine).  Two of my current TPs are hets but I'm no longer into breeding, & I much prefer 
the normals anyway.  Their patterns remind me of Native American weavings & for all we know, they might have taken some inspiration from these snakes?
These are calm snakes once they settle in, & very nosy....I know you'll enjoy your new little one.  I'm excited for you... :Very Happy:   :Dance: 

Did you happen to ask what they've been feeding her?  F/t or live?  mice or rat pinks?  (hopefully mice but you never know, & it's always best to offer what-
ever food is familiar to a snake)  It's not a problem even if you wait 2 weeks to offer, but if you leave her alone (no handling) for at least a week she may 
then be ready.  And remember these are nocturnal, so feed in evening (like BPs & many others).  Later it really won't matter one bit...they waken easily & 
are pretty flexible, in my experience.  This is my second group of them, & years ago, I also bred the first group...but it's just so hard to part with ANY... :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

BTW- if you already have small commercial hides that are too big, you can also shred & toss some paper towel to stuff inside...young snakes love that too.

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_Ditto_ (02-24-2019)

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## Treeman

I was there too.  You ain't kidding about it being very chaotic.  Luckily I got there early and got out right when it seemed to get super congested.  Nice pick up!

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## Ditto

> Congratulations Ditto!  She's adorable & will just get more and more so, lol.   I'd wait at least a week before offering food...expos are very stressful...unless 
> she really seems to be hungry.  Also, her new cage will be scary for her...just let her settle in for now, with plenty of tight hiding places.  You can use small 
> clean cardboard boxes too...with minor modification (cut a doorway, lol) if you can't find plastic hides her size yet or don't want to invest in something she'll 
> outgrow.  I love the ones with normal patterns like yours (& all 3 of mine).  Two of my current TPs are hets but I'm no longer into breeding, & I much prefer 
> the normals anyway.  Their patterns remind me of Native American weavings & for all we know, they might have taken some inspiration from these snakes?
> These are calm snakes once they settle in, & very nosy....I know you'll enjoy your new little one.  I'm excited for you... 
> 
> Did you happen to ask what they've been feeding her?  F/t or live?  mice or rat pinks?  (hopefully mice but you never know, & it's always best to offer what-
> ever food is familiar to a snake)  It's not a problem even if you wait 2 weeks to offer, but if you leave her alone (no handling) for at least a week she may 
> ...


Thanks so much for the advice! I've got her in a 10 gal with some small homemade tupperware hides that have shredded paper towel inside (and clutter outside the hides, of course). Definitely not going to handle her until I've got her eating consistently, I learned that lesson from my bp lol.
And yes I just love the normals! The table I got her at also had some axthanthics & a snow (I didn't even know there were white ones!), and while they were definitely beautiful my little girl was the last normal & she just jumped out to me  :Smile: 
They told me she was on mouse pinkies, in the chaos of the show I completely forgot to ask if they were f/t or live, but they did tell me the last time she ate was Tuesday. I bought some frozen pinkies. Do you  think I should I wait until next saturday to feed?

And a quick sidenote, I almost had a heart attack last night after I went to check on her & thought she escaped. All was well & she was just hiding between the glass & the side of one of the hides but I totally freaked out lol, she's just so tiny!

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*Bogertophis* (02-24-2019)

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## Bogertophis

Oh, & btw, your cage temps are fine.  For substrate I line the cage floor with one thickness of paper towel.  I fold them up about 2" & do like reverse bed sheet 
corners so as to contain the substrate of paper shreds & Carefresh mixed 50:50, about half inch deep on top of the paper towels.  I don't seem to have a problem 
with rat snakes burying under the substrate either, though a hatchling might if the hides aren't adequate.  You can spot-clean this way, & also easily roll up the 
whole substrate when the need arises to clean.   :Wink:   (you could use all paper shreds too, if you like- Carefresh is hygroscopic & good for desert snakes especially,
but it's not essential...our houses are heated in winter & that removes a lot of humidity anyway, along with the UTH)

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_Ditto_ (02-24-2019)

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## Ditto

> I was there too.  You ain't kidding about it being very chaotic.  Luckily I got there early and got out right when it seemed to get super congested.  Nice pick up!


I took waaaay too long in the show, I was there from 11 to 2, it was insane! There was some sort of emergency happening right as I got there, I learned after the fact that someone blew out their ankle! So yeah long story short I will not be going back during tax season lol

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## Ditto

> Oh, & btw, your cage temps are fine.  For substrate I line the cage floor with one thickness of paper towel.  I fold them up about 2" & do like reverse bed sheet 
> corners so as to contain the substrate of paper shreds & Carefresh mixed 50:50, about half inch deep on top of the paper towels.  I don't seem to have a problem 
> with rat snakes burying under the substrate either, though a hatchling might if the hides aren't adequate.  You can spot-clean this way, & also easily roll up the 
> whole substrate when the need arises to clean.    (you could use all paper shreds too, if you like- Carefresh is hygroscopic & good for desert snakes especially,
> but it's not essential...our houses are heated in winter & that removes a lot of humidity anyway, along with the UTH/etc)


Thank you! I've just got paper towels down for now while she's in quarantine, I think I'll definitely add carefresh after a while because I already have it on hand  :Smile:  
It's already so weird having a snake that's fine with room temp, I keep having to remind myself that she's not gonna get too cold like this lol

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*Bogertophis* (02-24-2019)

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## Bogertophis

> Thank you! I've just got paper towels down for now while she's in quarantine, I think I'll definitely add carefresh after a while because I already have it on hand  
> It's already so weird having a snake that's fine with room temp, I keep having to remind myself that she's not gonna get too cold like this lol
> 
> Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk


I'm very spoiled by my colubrids... :Wink:   they're SO much easier to live with.  And they're nosy, that's what I enjoy so much about them.  They're visibly using branches etc.

BPs have a well-deserved reputation for being chill to handle, but so are rat snakes that have settled in.  One of my adult TPs recently went to sleep on my lap for 
about 30 minutes until I, not she, had to get up for something.  I had been watching TV & absent-mindedly gently petting her- next thing I looked down & she was Zzzzz.

Yes, wait until next Saturday to feed, that's fine.

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_Ditto_ (02-24-2019),_FollowTheSun_ (02-25-2019)

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## Ditto

> I'm very spoiled by my colubrids...  they're SO much easier to live with.  And they're nosy, that's what I enjoy so much about them.  They're visibly using branches etc.
> 
> BPs have a well-deserved reputation for being chill to handle, but so are rat snakes that have settled in.  One of my adult TPs recently went to sleep on my lap for 
> about 30 minutes until I, not she, had to get up for something.  I had been watching TV & absent-mindedly gently petting her- next thing I looked down & she was Zzzzz.
> 
> Yes, wait until next Saturday to feed, that's fine.


Aww! How do you tell when they're asleep? 
I'm so excited to watch her grow, I can hardly wait until she's settled in to the point where I can handle her. When I was holding her at the show for just a few minutes it  was so interesting how calm she was while still moving around? Like a reptile show is obviously a very stressful place but she just gives off such a calm energy, if that makes sense lol

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*Bogertophis* (02-24-2019)

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## Bogertophis

> Aww! How do you tell when they're asleep? 
> I'm so excited to watch her grow, I can hardly wait until she's settled in to the point where I can handle her. When I was holding her at the show for just a few minutes it  was so interesting how calm she was while still moving around? Like a reptile show is obviously a very stressful place but she just gives off such a calm energy, if that makes sense lol
> 
> Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk


Easy...but only with snakes that have round pupils.  Their pupils sink to the "6 o'clock" position (like a sunset, lol) when asleep.  Their pupils rise back up to center 
when they awaken.   :Wink:   I'm very much looking forward to your adventures with her.  And yes, a "calm energy" is a good description for a TP.  Very typical of them.
You'll also notice they stick their (pink, did you notice?) tongues way out (-or else they have longer tongues?  I'm not sure).  Too cute, anyway...

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_Ditto_ (02-24-2019)

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## Ditto

> Easy...but only with snakes that have round pupils.  Their pupils sink to the "6 o'clock" position (like a sunset, lol) when asleep.  Their pupils rise back up to center 
> when they awaken.    I'm very much looking forward to your adventures with her.  And yes, a "calm energy" is a good description for a TP.  Very typical of them.
> You'll also notice they stick their (pink, did you notice?) tongues way out (-or else they have longer tongues?  I'm not sure).  Too cute, anyway...


Oh man I have noticed that! I thought maybe I just haven't been around enough snakes but she does have a longer tongue than I'm used to, so sweet!
I'll definitely be posting updates on her here, and probably her own progression thread once she has a name  :Smile:  Thank you so much for all of your help! Without you initially introducing them to me & helping me learn more about their care I probably would have never even known about them, let alone have one for myself <3

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*Bogertophis* (02-24-2019)

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## Jellybeans

So cute love those big eyes :Wuv:

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*Bogertophis* (02-25-2019),_Ditto_ (02-24-2019)

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## FollowTheSun

Congrats! I love my ratsnake! They are so much fun and lots of personality 

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*Bogertophis* (02-25-2019),_Ditto_ (02-25-2019)

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## Jus1More

Ditto... Congrats on your new noodle! The excitement you share reminds me when I got my TP rat snake. Those big eyes looking at you, just melts your heart. Its going on 5 weeks now since he went missing and I miss him each and everyday. Since it is wintertime I just keep telling myself he is hibernating in a tight and warm spot somewhere. Maybe one day we will be reunited, but until then I am glad I can share other peoples joy and happiness with theirs. Thank you Ditto for sharing  :Very Happy:

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*Bogertophis* (02-25-2019),_Ditto_ (02-25-2019)

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## Bogertophis

> ...Since it is wintertime I just keep telling myself he is hibernating in a tight and warm spot somewhere....


No, it would be a nice COOL spot he'd be brumating in... :Wink:   & I hope you stay optimistic & keep looking- my gut feeling says he's there someplace being a brat snake.

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_Jus1More_ (02-25-2019)

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## Neal

Cute little bugger. Congrats.

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_Ditto_ (02-25-2019)

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## Ditto

It seems like she's getting a little more comfortable in her new home, she's been exploring a bunch today & whenever I check on her she pokes her little face out from behind a paper towel, she's just too darn cute!!

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*Bogertophis* (02-26-2019)

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## Bogertophis

I know what you mean...a little shy but always NOSY.  I'm sure that the home you've made for her is way more than she's used to, so this is like Christmas 
morning for her... :Wink:  

She might also be hungry...& btw, you said she's a year old, but still only eating pinkies?  A yearling should be eating fuzzies, unless she was somewhat underfed 
& is smaller than she'd otherwise be.  Do pinkies appear to be the right size for her?

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_Ditto_ (02-27-2019)

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## Ditto

> I know what you mean...a little shy but always NOSY.  I'm sure that the home you've made for her is way more than she's used to, so this is like Christmas 
> morning for her... 
> 
> She might also be hungry...& btw, you said she's a year old, but still only eating pinkies?  A yearling should be eating fuzzies, unless she was somewhat underfed 
> & is smaller than she'd otherwise be.  Do pinkies appear to be the right size for her?


The pinkies are about the same size as her largest circumference, & they couldn't remember her exact hatch date but they said almost a year old. She seems really tiny though, I want to believe she was just a fussy eater but maybe she was underfed

Also, she pooped (possibly peed?) for the first time with me today and it looks really weird to me? Like runny light orange with light yellow hard dry spots. I took a few pictures before throwing it out but didn't want to just spring those on here unprompted. Is this something I should be worried about? The poor baby, I really hope she's not sick  :Sad: 

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*Bogertophis* (02-27-2019)

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## Bogertophis

> The pinkies are about the same size as her largest circumference, & they couldn't remember her exact hatch date but they said almost a year old. She seems really tiny though, I want to believe she was just a fussy eater but maybe she was underfed
> 
> Also, she pooped (possibly peed?) for the first time with me today and it looks really weird to me? Like runny light orange with light yellow hard dry spots. I took a few pictures before throwing it out but didn't want to just spring those on here unprompted. Is this something I should be worried about? The poor baby, I really hope she's not sick 
> 
> Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk


Some sellers do "maintenance feeding" (ie. feeding the minimal amount for a snake to remain alive, so they don't grow, or out-grow their minimal caging & deli-cup to sell).
It's also possible that she was a fussy feeder...time will tell, I guess.  (-so you didn't get a feeding record or hatch date from this seller?  :Confused: )

Please do post the pics you took...we don't all describe colors the same way, & while yellow is normal, orange is not.  Any doubt, save it for a vet.
(I know the colors were discussed here but I don't recall what thread & what orange means in snake poo...but you don't want to see red either-
for obvious reasons- possible bleeding- and since yellow + red = orange, maybe that was the concern with orange poo?)

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_Ditto_ (02-27-2019)

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## Ditto

> Some sellers do "maintenance feeding" (ie. feeding the minimal amount for a snake to remain alive, so they don't grow, or out-grow their minimal caging & deli-cup to sell).
> It's also possible that she was a fussy feeder...time will tell, I guess.  (-so you didn't get a feeding record or hatch date from this seller? )
> 
> Please do post the pics you took...we don't all describe colors the same way, & while yellow is normal, orange is not.  Any doubt, save it for a vet.


I didn't get a feeding record or hatch date, I'm so bad at shows, they're so overwhelming I forget to ask important stuff, I think my next snake might have to be ordered online. Like I said in the original post it seemed like a big operation so the guy who sold her to me wasn't the one who raised her, I probably should have waited until one of the other people were free to talk to, but I unfortunately didn't think of that at the time  :Sad: 

Here's a picture, in real life the lighter bits looked almost powdery & the rest was wet, also the picture makes it look really big, it was about 1/2" in diameter & flat against the paper towel 

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## Bogertophis

> I didn't get a feeding record or hatch date, I'm so bad at shows, they're so overwhelming I forget to ask important stuff, I think my next snake might have to be ordered online. Like I said in the original post it seemed like a big operation so the guy who sold her to me wasn't the one who raised her, I probably should have waited until one of the other people were free to talk to, but I unfortunately didn't think of that at the time 
> 
> Here's a picture, in real life the lighter bits looked almost powdery & the rest was wet, also the picture makes it look really big, it was about 1/2" in diameter & flat against the paper towel 
> 
> Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk


I wouldn't call that orange...just looks like she hasn't eaten in a while.  I wouldn't worry... :Wink: ...see what it looks like after she's eating for you.
BTW, the "light yellow hard spots" are just normal urates...they can vary quite a bit, from white to gray/bluish to yellowish, even greenish, all are OK.
The darker colors in there (above) are probably just a tiny bit of stool residue.  I'd say she needs food...

I know the excitement of finding a snake you want & buying before someone else does sorta takes over your focus...expos are a challenge for buying, especially if busy.

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_Ditto_ (02-27-2019)

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## Ditto

> I wouldn't call that orange...just looks like she hasn't eaten in a while.  I wouldn't worry......see what it looks like after she's eating for you.
> BTW, the "light yellow hard spots" are just normal urates...they can vary quite a bit, from white to gray/bluish to yellowish, even greenish, all are OK.
> The darker colors in there (above) are probably just a tiny bit of stool residue.  I'd say she needs food...
> 
> I know the excitement of finding a snake you want & buying before someone else does sorta takes over your focus...expos are a challenge for buying, especially if busy.


Oh man that's a relief lol, it just looked so different from what I was expecting & I kinda freaked out for a bit there. Do you think I should I still wait to feed her on saturday?

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## Bogertophis

If she seems comfortable, cruising the cage, I'd offer her a pinky now.  No handling of course...see how it goes.  (She wasn't shipped, so that's a big help.)
I really do think she's hungry & has been underfed.

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_Ditto_ (02-27-2019)

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## Ditto

> If she seems comfortable, cruising the cage, I'd offer her a pinky now.  No handling of course...see how it goes.  (She wasn't shipped, so that's a big help.)
> I really do think she's hungry & has been underfed.


Okay, she definitely seems like she's getting more comfortable so I'll offer a pinkie later tonight so the lights can be dim, tonight's also my bp's feeding night so it kinda works out well.
How should I offer it? Should I wait until she's in a hide or does it not matter?

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## Bogertophis

> Okay, she definitely seems like she's getting more comfortable so I'll offer a pinkie later tonight so the lights can be dim, tonight's also my bp's feeding night so it kinda works out well.
> How should I offer it? Should I wait until she's in a hide or does it not matter?
> 
> Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk


Use tongs...shouldn't matter where she is...slight wiggle of the prey, going "past" (away from) her (not AT her); to get more response to f/t pinkie, squeeze the nose 
with tongs to damage slightly, that will release more scent.  I have a gut feeling that you won't need to do this, but just in case.

But if, when you're ready to feed her, she is hiding, or if she won't take the pinkie from tongs, just leave it nearby for her to find 
when you're not there...just in case she is that shy.  (leave pinkie on a flat piece of cardboard or jar lid or similar thing so she won't 
ingest substrate with it)

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_Ditto_ (02-27-2019)

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## Ditto

> Use tongs...shouldn't matter where she is...slight wiggle of the prey, going "past" (away from) her (not AT her); to get more response to f/t pinkie, squeeze the nose 
> with tongs to damage slightly, that will release more scent.  I have a gut feeling that you won't need to do this, but just in case.


Okay, thank you! it's gonna be nice not having to heat it up hah. I'll try feeding her tonight & keep you updated  :Smile:

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*Bogertophis* (02-27-2019)

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## Bogertophis

Your only disadvantage is not knowing what the previous owner (breeder) did with her.  These normally progress pretty boldly to taking f/t food from tongs.

My most "recent" pair was shipped to me & fed openly by the 3rd feeding.  The first time I offered food, they were in their hides & I made sure the scent wafted 
into their hides, then left them just outside...they were taken quickly.  The next time, they had to come all the way out for food, & by the 3rd time, they took it
 from tongs.   :Snake:   But mine were "just out of the egg" hatchlings, while yours is a "year" old.  Hopefully yours wasn't fed only live, would have been nice to know.

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_Ditto_ (02-27-2019)

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