# Other Pythons > Giant Pythons >  Rainbow is my new SunTiger female reticulated python progression.

## Skyrivers

Sweet. Active. Beautiful iridescent. Going to name her Rainbow. 

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_67temp_ (03-22-2018),_Aedryan Methyus_ (03-21-2018),*Bogertophis* (06-12-2018),C.Marie (03-21-2018),c0r3yr0s3 (03-21-2018),_dakski_ (03-21-2018),Gio (03-21-2018),_hilabeans_ (03-21-2018),_jmcrook_ (03-21-2018),_Prognathodon_ (03-22-2018),_Sauzo_ (03-21-2018),_ShaneSilva_ (03-21-2018),Valyrian (03-21-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Unboxing. My local pet store wanted help me check her out no signs of any parasites. She has one eye a little swollen. 

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c0r3yr0s3 (03-21-2018),Gio (03-21-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-06-2018)

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## cchardwick

Sweet! I love the Tiger gene, it's one of my favorites.

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Gio (03-21-2018),_Skyrivers_ (03-21-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Sweet! I love the Tiger gene, it's one of my favorites.


Mine as well. 

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## C.Marie

What a lovely lady congratulations super jelly tiger reticulated pythons are gorgeous 😊 Rainbow is a pretty name too one of my favorite cartoons growing up was Rainbow Bright ( I think she would approve of your magnificent new noodle)

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_Skyrivers_ (03-21-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> What a lovely lady congratulations super jelly tiger reticulated pythons are gorgeous  Rainbow is a pretty name too one of my favorite cartoons growing up was Rainbow Bright ( I think she would approve of your magnificent new noodle)


Thank you 

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C.Marie (03-21-2018)

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## hilabeans

She's a stunner!  Well worth the wait!!  Congratulations 🎉

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_Skyrivers_ (03-21-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> She's a stunner!  Well worth the wait!!  Congratulations


I agree. Thanks. 

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## Godzilla78

That is going to be a seriously big bad ginormous mama snake one day.

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*Bogertophis* (06-12-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> That is going to be a seriously big bad ginormous mama snake one day.


I know. Hope to keep her happy and use her for education 

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*Bogertophis* (06-12-2018),C.Marie (03-23-2018),_Godzilla78_ (03-22-2018)

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## Aedryan Methyus

Congrats! Glad to see you got her safe and sound!  :Smile:

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_Skyrivers_ (03-21-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Congrats! Glad to see you got her safe and sound!


Me as well. She seams to have a great personality that I was told she had. The breeder that sold her to me said she had always been super mellow.

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## Skyrivers

Feeding. 

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## Skyrivers

A little small for her but she was hungry. Feeding FT

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## Sauzo

...and that is why i hate ground up substrate lol.

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C.Marie (03-23-2018),c0r3yr0s3 (03-22-2018)

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## Sauzo

Oh, something you can do which i do for all mine is after they grab and wrap the food, just use tongs or if you're brave, your fingers and lift the food along with the snake up and slide a piece of cardboard under them. Only down side, is you have to wait a while to retrieve the cardboard after feeding unless you like to tempt fate like i do and distract with one hand while using super ninja skills to snatch the pebble from the hand......err i mean the cardboard from the cage floor  :Razz:  Havent been bit yet but if i ever do i will probably scream like a schoolgirl, pee myself and cry  :Very Happy:

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C.Marie (03-23-2018),c0r3yr0s3 (03-22-2018),Craiga 01453 (03-26-2018)

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## Scherf

is it just me or is something going on with that right eye? looks like its full of fluid....

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## Tigerhawk

I saw that to. Maybe its just a bad picture, however it doesnt look good.

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## Skyrivers

> is it just me or is something going on with that right eye? looks like its full of fluid....


I don't think her right eye is doing good. We have a vet visit this weekend to look at that. She might be suffering from stuck shed. There is another place where he scales are lifted away like she is getting ready to shed. I am just being overly safe taking her to the vet. I raised her humidity a little.

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## Phillydubs

I believe he said in another post there was an eye issue. Not sure what they are doing for it but he thinks it happened during shipping

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## Skyrivers

What amazes me so far about her is how gentle she can be with me and yet so fierce she can be with prey. Even with prey she had a daintiness to her. I think her eye had some suck shed on it. Several layers actually. At this point she has dented the eye cap and hope it resolves now that the stuck shed is off, with next shed. She is so amazing. Have only had her for 2 days and love her so much.

I turned a humidifier on and she hissed at it several times. I was startled at first. The increased humidity helped the stuck shed on her eye to come off.

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## Ax01

i love the name Rainbow! congrats! she's pretty cool!

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## Skyrivers

> i love the name Rainbow! congrats! she's pretty cool!


She makes rainbows as she moves in the light. Photos don't do her justice.

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## Ax01

> i love the name Rainbow! congrats! she's pretty cool!





> She makes rainbows as she moves in the light. Photos don't do her justice.


yes she looks great but whatsups w/ her right eye? looks like a stuck eyecap from a bad shed? of just bad pix?

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## Skyrivers

> yes she looks great but whatsups w/ her right eye? looks like a stuck eyecap from a bad shed? of just bad pix?


After seeing it, I bumped up the humidity in her enclosure last night to 85% for a few min, their was stuck shed on her eye. Now the eye cap has a dent in it. I think if she sheds again it will be ok. I do have a vet appointment for her Saturday morning. Looks like the eye underneath is ok and normal. Just bad scale over it. She also has another patch of skin that looks like loose scales. About a 2 inch by 2 inch patch. I am not sure if that is getting ready to shed or post shed problem. Doesn't look like stuck shed to me. Doesn't photograph well. Just looks like loose scales.

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## Skyrivers

The vet says she was dehydrated. The eye is already looking better. Will post pictures next week. Giving her time to digest. 

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## Skyrivers

> ...and that is why i hate ground up substrate lol.


I ditched the substrate. Was to fine and causing her issues. Did not take long to learn that lesson. I like the wood chips better.

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## Skyrivers

Reticulated python urinate I suppose. Easy cleaning in the water bowl. 

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## Skyrivers

Quick picture and weight. 

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## Skyrivers

I wanted a second opinion about Rainbows eye. Found a second local herp vet. She said her eye problem was a deformed scale below her eye causing her eye cap to be deformed. When she was checking it out Rainbow decided to empty out in protest. It was rather impressive how much piss and poop that she squirted out rather quickly. :Surprised:  I wish I had a video of it! I think I will give Rainbow time to shed and look at the eye again. Her eye moves as it should under the deformed eye cap. I will post more photos tonight.

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## Sauzo

Not exactly sure about the eye as i am no vet and cant see it but i have found dented eyecaps on my BPs over the years and it was due to low humidity. Once they shed, it was fine.

And my beardie pooped all over the nurses shoes and the vets table when i first took her in. She then jumped on me and ran up my shirt and hung on for life under my chin while peeking at the vet and nurse. Rosey also put the death grip on me when i took her to the same vet and wouldnt let them take her off me and when they did, she would bulldoze through them to get back to me lol. The vet made a joke, that i must take good care of my reptiles as they seem to love dad lol.

But anyways, not to sound like a jerk but you need to relax with the snake lol. You are just nitpicking it to death. It's good that you are checking it over, dont get me wrong but you need to let the snake be and settle in and relax and eat and be a snake. I generally just mess with all my snakes probably 2 maybe 3 times a week. I do change water and check for poops and stir substrate and stuff every 3 days or so and always look in on them but i give them time to just be snakes and have their own personal time. Some snakes dont like to be messed with too much and it will stress them. And depending how high their stress level goes, it can manifest itself into them becoming defensive whenever you open the door, or they quit eating, or regurgitate.

Personally, if your snake is eating, pooping, peeing and doing snake things fine, then i wouldnt worry. Take em out every few days, give them a check over, let them enjoy some exploring and enrichment and then let them be snakes in their cages. Some enjoy interaction more. Like Caesar for some weird reason LOVES interaction at night and will sit there by me while i pet him or will climb half on me and sit there. But during the day, i leave him alone. The boas seem to really care less if i bug them or not. You dont need to worry, you will have that snake for 20+ years so you will get plenty of time to interact with it lol.

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_Godzilla78_ (04-02-2018)

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## MD_Pythons

> Quick picture and weight. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Hopefully someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're going to put a CHE inside of the enclosure like that don't you need a guard for it? I've seen some gnarly stuff from using CHEs similarly in enclosures. Definitely something you should look into.

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_Sauzo_ (04-02-2018)

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## Sauzo

> Hopefully someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're going to put a CHE inside of the enclosure like that don't you need a guard for it? I've seen some gnarly stuff from using CHEs similarly in enclosures. Definitely something you should look into.


Wow i feel stupid that I didnt catch that lol. Yeah, you need to either lose it or put a guard on it asap. If that snakes touches that CHE, it is going to be in a world of hurt. And retics are very curious and love to see if stuff can hold them. At least Caesar is like that to my dismay most of the time lol.

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_MD_Pythons_ (04-02-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Wow i feel stupid that I didnt catch that lol. Yeah, you need to either lose it or put a guard on it asap. If that snakes touches that CHE, it is going to be in a world of hurt. And retics are very curious and love to see if stuff can hold them. At least Caesar is like that to my dismay most of the time lol.


Installation is in progress. Can't believe I missed that also. 

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## Sauzo

> Installation is in progress. Can't believe I missed that also. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Words of wisdom, retics are sometimes not the sharpest tool in the shed. You gotta reticproof everything. Make sure there is nothing they can get stuck in too. I had Caesar get stuck in a loop on a plastic plant when he was a baby. I have since learned anything with a closed circle in it is a no no. Just like tape in the cage or exposed heat sources or unregulated heat sources. I swear, retics just look for ways to break or destroy stuff lol. Caesar also shoved his Acurite gauge in his water bowl 2 times. I am surprised it still works after just letting it air dry on top of the cage for a few days. Ironically, the Acurite in Rangos cage took a dump and the display is half gone and Rango doesnt even touch his gauge  :Confused:

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## AbsoluteApril

You can see in the photos that it's an overgrown scale or some sort of deformity. I didn't understand from the beginning how OP and the vet thought this was a shed issue? It's a scale that covers 1/4 of the eye. 
I sound like a jerk which is why I didn't say anything before, thought maybe the photos were just bad or weird or something but I'm glad you finally found a better vet.
 :Good Job:

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## Skyrivers

> You can see in the photos that it's an overgrown scale or some sort of deformity. I didn't understand from the beginning how OP and the vet thought this was a shed issue? It's a scale that covers 1/4 of the eye. 
> I sound like a jerk which is why I didn't say anything before, thought maybe the photos were just bad or weird or something but I'm glad you finally found a better vet.


I took her because I have no experience with the issue. The herp vet I took her and my girlfriends RTB to seams to know her stuff. I wonder if the scale will correct itself with a good shed? Anyone have wisdom here?

I would post photos but she is still in food coma after eating 2 quail chicks and a medium rat. She hasn't moved out of her hide in a couple of days except to drink. I am holding off on handling her till she becomes more active again. If I had my guess, this is the first time she is not hungry. I don't plan on feeding her that much all the time but was a nice treat for her.

Thanks everyone! Hope to have more photos this weekend.

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## Skyrivers

> Words of wisdom, retics are sometimes not the sharpest tool in the shed. You gotta reticproof everything. Make sure there is nothing they can get stuck in too. I had Caesar get stuck in a loop on a plastic plant when he was a baby. I have since learned anything with a closed circle in it is a no no. Just like tape in the cage or exposed heat sources or unregulated heat sources. I swear, retics just look for ways to break or destroy stuff lol. Caesar also shoved his Acurite gauge in his water bowl 2 times. I am surprised it still works after just letting it air dry on top of the cage for a few days. Ironically, the Acurite in Rangos cage took a dump and the display is half gone and Rango doesnt even touch his gauge


They are more active than all the others I have. My girlfriends RTB is not as active. Love her so much though.

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## Skyrivers

New paint job after shedding. Her hide is getting to small already. She lifts it up when she curls up inside of it. Then she sticks her head out to look. I took an oil pan and made her hide out of that. It's time for something bigger though. She's had two feeding sessions with me. One right after I got her and then I was on last week. I have a feeling now that she's being fed properly she's going to grow quickly. 7 more weeks before I put her in her enclosure. After that she'll be out of quarantine. I did notice her looking for food this morning as she rearranged her enclosure last night.



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## Skyrivers

Tried to get photos today. She is just so fast. 

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## Skyrivers

Several photos of inside her mouth. 

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## Skyrivers

Forgot to post this.


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Gio (04-10-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Was epic. Happy was not on me. 

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## Skyrivers

I put her in the tub while cleaning her enclosure. When I put her back in her enclosure she climbed into her water bowl. I guess she enjoys a good swim. 

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## Skyrivers

Feeding day

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_Avsha531_ (04-27-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Yummmm

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_Avsha531_ (04-27-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Some vidshttps://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5ae27128...426_191212.mp4https://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5ae27158...426_190928.mp4https://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5ae27177...426_190131.mp4

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## Skyrivers

Getting ready to shed again. 

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## Skyrivers

Am I posting to often? Is everyone bored with her? Just let me know. She is now 8ft and 8lbs. Got her a month ago at 7ft and 5lbs. Going to try to make her wait 7 days this time. Greedy girl!

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## tttaylorrr

> Am I posting to often? Is everyone bored with her?


heck no!!!
EDIT: how's her eye been?

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_Skyrivers_ (04-27-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> heck no!!!
> EDIT: how's her eye been?


In blue again. The scale deformed below the eye might be permanently enlarged. The eye is no longer dimpled though. She drinks a lot and been injecting water in her prey. I think eventually she's going to need a kitty pool to swim in. After she eats she likes to get in her water bowl. How often should she be shedding? 

EDIT...  She ripped the chickens head off after flopping it around for 5 min or so. It was an event to see. Blood everywhere in her enclosure. Not sure why she was so angry at it.

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## Skyrivers

I weighed her today. 9 feet 18lbs. I think she needs to slow down a little. Going to push her to 7 days feeding now. Last night she poops and peed and destroyed her cage so today I cleaned it all out. It was a good thing too because it's chicken massacre left blood and lot of places. Summers time for construction of her new enclosure but I'm trying to wait till we move.

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## Skyrivers

> heck no!!!
> EDIT: how's her eye been?


Here is the eye post shed. I think is some better. 

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_tttaylorrr_ (04-30-2018)

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## tttaylorrr

> Here is the eye post shed. I think is some better. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


this is the clearest photo i've seen of it (i can see it in others but idk much about retics so it was hard to make stuff out). you can tell there's something blocking the eye, but it looks good. as long as it doesn't bother her, it's just a lil beauty mark.

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## jmcrook

> I weighed her today. 9 feet 18lbs. I think she needs to slow down a little. Going to push her to 7 days feeding now. Last night she poops and peed and destroyed her cage so today I cleaned it all out. It was a good thing too because it's chicken massacre left blood and lot of places. Summers time for construction of her new enclosure but I'm trying to wait till we move.
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Gained 2 and 11lbs in just over a month?! Wasnt she 7 and like 3100grams at the end of March when you got her?


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_Skyrivers_ (04-30-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Gained 2 and 11lbs in just over a month?! Wasnt she 7 and like 3100grams at the end of March when you got her?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Was told when I got her she was 5lbs and 7feet. I have to look at the date but had someone help measure her and she is 9feet give or take an inch or 2. And she is 18 lbs as of today. 

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## Sauzo

If that gain is correct, she blows Caesar out of the water and that boy had the market cornered on eating bar Phyllis who no one can beat on eating.......5 day pushing....dang lol

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C.Marie (05-03-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> If that gain is correct, she blows Caesar out of the water and that boy had the market cornered on eating bar Phyllis who no one can beat on eating.......5 day pushing....dang lol


Yep. 5 days. Food is the only thing that calms her. I think she is worried about food constantly because of 2 years of starvation. 

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## Sauzo

> Yep. 5 days. Food is the only thing that calms her. I think she is worried about food constantly because of 2 years of starvation. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


I dont think the 2 years of starvation has anything to do with it. I think its just the fact its a retic lol. Caesar has never been starved and that boy still acted like the world was running out of rats tomorrow....for the past 1.5 years. He finally has calmed down. So either he is slowing down on growing and isnt so food driven or breeding season being over and he isnt so girlfriend driven or he is just saving energy for the mother of all pushes where he pushes out the door tracks and screams 'freeeeeedommmmm' and poops on the floor and pisses on my foot again lol.

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C.Marie (05-03-2018),_Skyrivers_ (04-30-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> I dont think the 2 years of starvation has anything to do with it. I think its just the fact its a retic lol. Caesar has never been starved and that boy still acted like the world was running out of rats tomorrow....for the past 1.5 years. He finally has calmed down. So either he is slowing down on growing and isnt so food driven or breeding season being over and he isnt so girlfriend driven or he is just saving energy for the mother of all pushes where he pushes out the door tracks and screams 'freeeeeedommmmm' and poops on the floor and pisses on my foot again lol.


I looked back. Got her on March 21st. On the 27th she was 3191 grams which is about 7lbs. Today she is 9 feet and 18 lbs. 2 feet and 11 lbs in 6 and half weeks. Wow! She is growing fast. 



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## Skyrivers

Does she look fat to you? I think she looks healthy but not fat.

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## AnnieHeart

Perfect name for her!  :Sweeet:

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## Skyrivers

Feeding today was kind of scary. She struck the grass before I could get the rat in her cage. I fed her two medium rats. The second rat she caught in mid-air. Both of them are pre killed so they couldn't hurt her. 

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## Skyrivers

She is always wanting more

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## Sauzo

Is there a reason you fed 2 mediums over a single large? Usually its easier to just feed one appropriately sized food item.

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## Skyrivers

They were out of large today and my frozen order is not in yet. 


> Is there a reason you fed 2 mediums over a single large? Usually its easier to just feed one appropriately sized food item.


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## Sauzo

> They were out of large today and my frozen order is not in yet. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Makes sense.

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## Skyrivers

She would not have been happy waiting another 3 days


> Makes sense.


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## Sauzo

Most retics are not happy about waiting for food it seems haha. Louie my BCL is the same. He really LOVES food, more than any of my other boas.

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_jmcrook_ (05-10-2018)

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## jmcrook

That animal can take something substantially bigger than a large rat. You said shes 9 and like 18lbs right? A large rat is like a tic tac for her hahah. Even Gerald who is 7 and ~7lbs takes jumbo size rats with ease and could easily take down a colossal rat. Those mainland retics can eat like nobodys business. Phyllis is about the same size and a colossal rat from big cheese doesnt even leave a lump anymore 


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## Skyrivers

She is about as big around as a softball. Next week I might try something larger


> That animal can take something substantially bigger than a large rat. You said shes 9 and like 18lbs right? A large rat is like a tic tac for her hahah. Even Gerald who is 7 and ~7lbs takes jumbo size rats with ease and could easily take down a colossal rat. Those mainland retics can eat like nobodys business. Phyllis is about the same size and a colossal rat from big cheese doesnt even leave a lump anymore 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Sauzo

> She is about as big around as a softball. Next week I might try something larger
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Ohhhh if she is as big around as a softball, a large rat is a tic tac lol. Caesar is as thick as a coke can and he easily eats 2XL guinea pigs and even those leave a noticeable lump but nothing him or i see as big as he still cruises around after eating one. You want to feed it something at least as thick as itself or up to 1.5 times as thick. I mean you can go bigger. I had fed Caesar stuff that made him look like he ate a football. Those were the only times when you could clearly see he was full and he waddled off behind a hide lol.

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_jmcrook_ (05-10-2018)

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## Skyrivers

OK. Will go up in size


> Ohhhh if she is as big around as a softball, a large rat is a tic tac lol. Caesar is as thick as a coke can and he easily eats 2XL guinea pigs and even those leave a noticeable lump but nothing him or i see as big as he still cruises around after eating one. You want to feed it something at least as thick as itself or up to 1.5 times as thick. I mean you can go bigger. I had fed Caesar stuff that made him look like he ate a football. Those were the only times when you could clearly see he was full and he waddled off behind a hide lol.


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## Skyrivers

> Ohhhh if she is as big around as a softball, a large rat is a tic tac lol. Caesar is as thick as a coke can and he easily eats 2XL guinea pigs and even those leave a noticeable lump but nothing him or i see as big as he still cruises around after eating one. You want to feed it something at least as thick as itself or up to 1.5 times as thick. I mean you can go bigger. I had fed Caesar stuff that made him look like he ate a football. Those were the only times when you could clearly see he was full and he waddled off behind a hide lol.


I laid a coke can beside her this morning. Her head is as big as the can and her body is larger. I think you are right about going up in size. I fed her yesterday and can not see the lump. Keep in mind that she eat 2 mediums because the large and xl large were out at the store. They have my weekly list of feeding needs so they try to keep it in stock for me. 

*Items in your shopping cart:* 
*qty.* 
*description* 
*unit* 
*total* 
* % of box 
                                                        space taken* 


  
4
Rabbits - Extra Small
$8.00
   $32.00
                                                            10%                                                                                                                                                                                           


  
4
Rats - Double Extra Large (2XL) (Discounted price applied for hot item special)
$2.99
   $11.96
                                                            12%                                                                                                                                                                                           


  
6
Guinea Pigs - Extra Large (XL)
$4.00
   $24.00
                                                            14%                                                                                                                                                                                           













This is what I ordered from rodent pro 2 days ago. Should be here today.

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## Skyrivers

She was sleeping out in the open this morning. She pushed her hide aside. I guess she didn't want to hide. 

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## Skyrivers

First picture is when I got her. Second was this morning. Growing fast. 

Does her but look big? I think she looks healthy. Don't you?



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## jmcrook

I think youre going to be surprised how small xsmall rabbits and xl guinea pigs are. Phyllis eats xxxxl guinea pigs like its nothing and shes the same size as rainbow. Let us know what you think of rodent pro rabbits though. Kinda spendy but I might try em out if the look ok. Im just not a huge fan of their packaging and some of the feeders were kinda stinky and look like they were covered in piss last order I got


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_EL-Ziggy_ (05-11-2018),_Sauzo_ (05-11-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

She's a beautiful critter sky! I think the Tiger retics are my favorite too. Besides those gnarly teeth and pictures of bites from those gnarly teeth, the things that concern me most about getting a retic are the pushing, the pee/poop tsunamis, and the vast amounts of food they consume. All of the snakes I have eat every 10-14 days sometimes longer. You retic keepers seem to have to feed large meals every 5-10 days even for adults.

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_jmcrook_ (05-11-2018)

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## Gio

> First picture is when I got her. Second was this morning. Growing fast. 
> 
> Does her but look big? I think she looks healthy. Don't you?
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Very pretty!

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_Skyrivers_ (05-11-2018)

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## Skyrivers

They are worth it. 


> She's a beautiful critter sky! I think the Tiger retics are my favorite too. Besides those gnarly teeth and pictures of bites from those gnarly teeth, the things that concern me most about getting a retic are the pushing, the pee/poop tsunamis, and the vast amounts of food they consume. All of the snakes I have eat every 10-14 days sometimes longer. You retic keepers seem to have to feed large meals every 5-10 days even for adults.


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_EL-Ziggy_ (05-11-2018)

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## Sauzo

I agree with JM. If your retics head is as big as a softball, you will be surprised how small XS rabbits and XL guinea pigs are compared to her. Caesar's head isnt nearly the size of a softball or even half that and he eats 2XL guinea pigs like my baby boas eat weaned rats lol. You need to look at the middle of the snake to judge the food size, not the head. The owner of the reptile shop i go to has a bunch of mainland retics and she feeds them adult rabbits. She showed me a few of them and let me tell you, an adult rabbit is pretty big lol. These are for her 14+ foot retics.

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## Skyrivers

> I agree with JM. If your retics head is as big as a softball, you will be surprised how small XS rabbits and XL guinea pigs are compared to her. Caesar's head isnt nearly the size of a softball or even half that and he eats 2XL guinea pigs like my baby boas eat weaned rats lol. You need to look at the middle of the snake to judge the food size, not the head. The owner of the reptile shop i go to has a bunch of mainland retics and she feeds them adult rabbits. She showed me a few of them and let me tell you, an adult rabbit is pretty big lol. These are for her 14+ foot retics.


Her body is softball size and head is coke can size. 

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## Skyrivers

So I have a question. I know I need to go up in size but a friend of mine has a ASF farm exploding at the seams and a few of her BPs are off food right now. She asked me if I would like to take some and give them to Rainbow and Lucy (my 5' boa) and feed a hand full off a week to them both (free snake food). Is this a good idea? What is the down side to feeding multiples? How many should I feed and it be ok for Rainbow? ASFs don't get very large.  Should I just decline the offer and feed larger prey?

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## 350z

> So I have a question. I know I need to go up in size but a friend of mine has a ASF farm exploding at the seams and a few of her BPs are off food right now. She asked me if I would like to take some and give them to Rainbow and Lucy (my 5' boa) and feed a hand full off a week to them both (free snake food). Is this a good idea? What is the down side to feeding multiples? How many should I feed and it be ok for Rainbow? ASFs don't get very large.  Should I just decline the offer and feed larger prey?


An adult ASF is what...50, 60 grams? and you want to feed these to your 11lb retic? There is a reason people scale the size of the prey, and do not feed 10 prey items at once. 

Also wouldn't give a prey item that will never satiate your animal when talking about a mainland female. Talk to some of the people with burms over 10 ft who only eat on quail and what they have to deal with. Huge step back. Go rabbits not ASF's.

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## Skyrivers

She is 18lbs. I know she needs larger normally. My friend just asked if she would eat them and being new to retics I ask questions to educate myself. I know one would barely be a snack. 10 would be more than a snack. Her rabbits, guinea pigs are in the freezer. If feeding multiple is bad practice like this, I won't do it. 


> An adult ASF is what...50, 60 grams? and you want to feed these to your 11lb retic? There is a reason people scale the size of the prey, and do not feed 10 prey items at once. 
> 
> Also wouldn't give a prey item that will never satiate your animal when talking about a mainland female. Talk to some of the people with burms over 10 ft who only eat on quail and what they have to deal with. Huge step back. Go rabbits not ASF's.


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## Skyrivers

Nice lump today after eating a 3lb rabbit. 

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_Stearns84_ (05-23-2018)

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## Skyrivers

I just love this girl. Me and a friend of mine took her out to our small locally owned pet store last Saturday along with Lucy. Everyone fell in love with her instantly. She was so calm until I went to put her back in her travel box. She did not want back in. This was a test run to see how she would do. I know I am still learning about retics myself but I want to share the love I have for herps with others and help educate people about them. I herd several people say "Aren't they the snakes reeking havoc in Florida?". My response was, "No. It is the irresponsible owners that are causing the issue in Florida by releasing them into the wild. The snakes are just hungry and doing what they are meant to do. Eat and make babies." 

So many people enjoyed being so close to a large python. I was careful to keep an eye on her and watch her demeanor to make sure she was not getting defensive or stressed to much by it. I was also ready to take a bite if needed to keep everyone safe. She showed no signs of aggression at all. She seamed almost happy to be out of her enclosure getting some exercise. She pooped a nice big one along with a puddle of piss right before leaving the house so no accidents at the store. Once home she did not want to go back into her enclosure so I held her for almost half an hour. At that point she was showing signs of being tired and slowly crawled into her enclosure.  She took a look back on the feeding side and took a drink of water when she realize food was not coming then curled up inside her hide.

I will try to post photos later.

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_Stearns84_ (05-23-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Some new photos. Let her enjoy the tub during cage cleaning. 

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C.Marie (06-01-2018)

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## Gio

Sweet looking pattern! I'm a Tiger lover so that's a comment I would say about any tiger retic, and really a nice natural pattern is awesome too.

Do you know all the genetics behind your girl? I can't remember if you do. I see the eyes are the same color as my boy's eyes.

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_Skyrivers_ (06-01-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Sweet looking pattern! I'm a Tiger lover so that's a comment I would say about any tiger retic, and really a nice natural pattern is awesome too.
> 
> Do you know all the genetics behind your girl? I can't remember if you do. I see the eyes are the same color as my boy's eyes.


Sunfire gene and tiger gene. Don't know if het for any of the albinos. She was in shed in the tub photo is why she is greyed out there.

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## C.Marie

She is getting to be such a large and in charge beauty. Very lovely eyes too :Wink:

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_Skyrivers_ (06-01-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> She is getting to be such a large and in charge beauty. Very lovely eyes too


Thank you. I took her out Saturday and we went to a local pet store along with Shiva and Bob. Everyone had fun seeing and holding her. One person who was terrified 4 weeks ago walked right up and asked to hold her again. She has gotten so she doesn't want to go back in the box and tries to run out before you get the lid on. I know all her tricks but spend most of the 2 hours holding her. she would wrap around my arm a few times and lap over my shoulder and try to go to sleep. I think one guy spooked her. She tensed up when he wanted to try to hold her and I refused to let him. He was cool with that considering her reaction. After he left she relaxed. No clue as to why? I always keep a close eye on her. It is so amazing to share my love of herps with people and toss some education out there. I get asked about feeding her a lot. Mostly what she eats and if it is live or pre-killed. I let them know the dangers of feeding live and I get the "I didn't think about that!" a lot. I also get the question "What do I think is a great starter snake?" a lot. My usual answer is corn snakes or king snakes. I love BPs but I think they are not as active and most people who want an interesting pet, loose interest over time with their pet rock. I love my BPs very much. 

I am so happy she has such a great personality. I love the fact that she expresses her feelings so well. All you have to do is pay attention. Not sure why she runs to some people and refuses others? I just respect it when it happens. The kids that come by all love her.  :Very Happy:

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*Bogertophis* (06-12-2018)

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## C.Marie

Could it be something about their scent? Maybe heavy perfumed or too much after shave or maybe not enough  :ROFL: , just a guess but like people some will just rub you wrong maybe? So glad to hear that people are interested in learning about retics verse being frightened and believe they are all human eating monsters, maybe you could do some things like Brian Gundy  :Wink:

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_Skyrivers_ (06-07-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Could it be something about their scent? Maybe heavy perfumed or too much after shave or maybe not enough , just a guess but like people some will just rub you wrong maybe? So glad to hear that people are interested in learning about retics verse being frightened and believe they are all human eating monsters, maybe you could do some things like Brian Gundy


I will look him up when I get off work.

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C.Marie (06-10-2018)

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## AbsoluteApril

> I will look him up when I get off work.


here you go: http://www.for-goodness-snakes.com/a...res/index.html

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*Bogertophis* (06-12-2018),C.Marie (06-10-2018),_Skyrivers_ (06-08-2018)

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## Skyrivers

So last night I was going to take Rainbow out to handle her before feeding day which is today. She was in a bad mood. She did not strike but she was pushing my hand away telling me she wanted me to leave her alone. I reached in and spot cleaned with her in the enclosure and she watched me but tried to ignore me in hopes I would do the same. Guess she was not in the mood to be bothered. I have her a nice rabbit defrosting. I know she is hungry.

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C.Marie (06-10-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Took her out last night. You can see how she got her name. She is as big around as a softball. 9' 8" as best I could measure. 20lbs. She does have a rabbit digesting though. Did not handle her much. Fed her Friday. I think she will have no issue waiting the full 7 days this week (I hope). I did let her explore the house a little on her own. She went back home after about 30 min and curled up in her hide. Here is the photo. 

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*Bogertophis* (06-12-2018),Gio (06-11-2018)

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## Gio

Looks very nice.

Tiger,,,,, its my favorite !!

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## Skyrivers

Enclosure all clean. No more blood till Friday and cleaned all the piss and poop up. She looks so comfy. June 1st her new 9' X 4' X 3' enclosure will be ready. 

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*Bogertophis* (06-12-2018),_Sauzo_ (06-13-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Is it a hide or hat? I will be building her a larger one tomorrow after work. 

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_jmcrook_ (06-14-2018)

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## Sauzo

Honestly, just go to Home Depot or Lowes and look at cement mixing tubs. Can also go to a restaurant supply store and look at bus tubs. Both of those flipped over with a door cut in the side would work. Plus being plastic, they are easy to just wipe down with F10SC when the retic decides to play in the poop lol.

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C.Marie (06-19-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-14-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Sounds great.


> Honestly, just go to Home Depot or Lowes and look at cement mixing tubs. Can also go to a restaurant supply store and look at bus tubs. Both of those flipped over with a door cut in the side would work. Plus being plastic, they are easy to just wipe down with F10SC when the retic decides to play in the poop lol.


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## Skyrivers

Looked back at when I got her to now. She has grown so much in such a short time. Love my girl. 

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C.Marie (06-19-2018),_Stearns84_ (06-14-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Is it just me or is she smiling in the 6th photo? LOL. Was a yawn but fun.

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## EL-Ziggy

Awesome animal, great growth, and cool pics!

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_Skyrivers_ (06-14-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Took some pictures during play time today. 

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C.Marie (06-19-2018),_Stearns84_ (06-20-2018)

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## C.Marie

She is so gorgeous and only getting better , super jelly of you , one day I hope to have a fabulous retic of my own  :Very Happy:  one day for sure , thank you for sharing

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_Skyrivers_ (06-19-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> She is so gorgeous and only getting better , super jelly of you , one day I hope to have a fabulous retic of my own  one day for sure , thank you for sharing


Thanks. Do your research. They are great pets if you get one with a good attitude. They are work with all the pee and poop but worth it. Just make sure you can afford to feed and house it. They require room as adults.

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C.Marie (06-29-2018)

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## Skyrivers

After I took the photos she began to shed last night. I have been keeping her humidity up around 70% but she still rips it all to pieces. None of it was stuck on her. Is it more difficult to get a solid, 1 piece shed out of them? Is she just growing so fast that the shed layer is thin? She seams to shed every 15 to 20 days. Man she is growing. Love her so much though.

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C.Marie (06-29-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Guinea pig yum!

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C.Marie (06-29-2018),_Stearns84_ (07-01-2018)

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## Skyrivers

After getting it down she visited the water bowl and then went in her new hide. 

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C.Marie (06-29-2018)

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## Skyrivers

2 days later and that guinea pig is still leaving a noticeable bump inside of her. She came out to grab a quick drink. I'm beginning to think it was a little big for her?

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C.Marie (07-13-2018)

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## Stearns84

> 2 days later and that guinea pig is still leaving a noticeable bump inside of her. She came out to grab a quick drink. I'm beginning to think it was a little big for her?
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


She'll be fine, I'd just give it a few extra days between feedings.

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## Skyrivers

Checked on her this morning. Still in a food coma. Just made sure she was still breathing. She popped her head out and then went back into her hide. I have seen her drink a couple of times yesterday. I am sure she is working on making a heck of a poop. I think the next time I feed her will be something smaller. This is day 4 after feeding her. Still a sizeable lump inside her. She seams to be growing longer than bigger around. I wonder how much length she is putting on? She has already hit the 10' mark.

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C.Marie (07-13-2018)

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## Skyrivers

So I tried to feed yesterday. She showed no interest. Today is day 14. I offered another guanine pig and after an hour still no interest. Then offered a small rabbit and after an hour no interest. I then broke down and offered her a jumbo rat. No interest. This was over the course of 4 hours. She is simply not hungry is my only guess. Will wait till next Friday to offer again unless she destroys her cage. She has already pooped out the fur of the guanine pig so I know that she is empty. The fur is the last thing that comes out. I only handled her once this week and that was Tuesday. Might let her alone a few more days and see what happens then. She might be slowing down on growing? IDK. Not stressed about it yet. If she doesn't eat next week I will offer her a chicken. I know she loves chickens. I consider chickens more of a treat than a meal and don't offer them often. My fear is that the guanine pig was to big and made her feel bad and now not wanting to eat as a result. That is just me being silly though. LOL. Tell me your thoughts.

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C.Marie (07-13-2018)

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## Craiga 01453

Is the guinea pig you're offering as big as the previous one you were concerned was too big?

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C.Marie (07-13-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Is the guinea pig you're offering as big as the previous one you were concerned was too big?


Almost a pound and half smaller. Also offered smaller end on the other prey items. She did not even investigate the prey. No food response at all.

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C.Marie (07-13-2018)

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## Craiga 01453

> Almost a pound and half smaller. Also offered smaller end on the other prey items. She did not even investigate the prey. No food response at all.


Ok, I kinda figured, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask. 
My best guess (although I don't have retic experience) is she's simply not hungry yet. A lump that large, and still noticeable 4 days later should be enough to sustain the snake for longer than 14 days. 
I'd just wait her out. Also, offering multiple prey items over 4 hours could be more of a hindrance than help.

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C.Marie (07-13-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Ok, I kinda figured, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask. 
> My best guess (although I don't have retic experience) is she's simply not hungry yet. A lump that large, and still noticeable 4 days later should be enough to sustain the snake for longer than 14 days. 
> I'd just wait her out. Also, offering multiple prey items over 4 hours could be more of a hindrance than help.


Yeah, not freaked out. She is healthy. She will get hungry again eventually. At almost 11 feet now she might also be slowing down growing also. 22 lbs was her last recorded weight. Just documenting her progress and eating habits. Trust me, when she is hungry you know! LOL.

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C.Marie (07-13-2018),Craiga 01453 (07-13-2018)

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## C.Marie

> Yeah, not freaked out. She is healthy. She will get hungry again eventually. At almost 11 feet now she might also be slowing down growing also. 22 lbs was her last recorded weight. Just documenting her progress and eating habits. Trust me, when she is hungry you know! LOL.


A lady after my own heart :Wink:  she is getting to be one big lady just more to cuddle I guess :Razz:

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## Skyrivers

I guess she is slowing down on eating. On 6/29 I fed her a huge guanine pig. On 7/20 she eat l jumbo rat (no noticeable lump but was hungry). She was moving around the night before last like she was hungry and offered her a jumbo rat. No interest at all. She almost went 21 days on the Guanine pig. and now already at 12 days on a jumbo fallowing it. My guess is that she is not hungry and might be slowing down some. I was guiding her into her enclosure after cleaning her enclosure last night and I noticed about 2/3 down her body were some lumps inside her. I am assuming follicles forming? She is pooping and peeing as she should and she is almost 3 now so it would make since. No I am not breeding but was a cool thing to notice. She is not breeding size as of yet IMO. If I was planning on doing it I would want her to be 4 and 70lbs minimum. I do believe she is mature enough to make the them but no expert. What are your thoughts? Could this be follicles or do I need to plan a vet visit to make sure? She is 10.5 feet and 26.5 lbs empty and almost 3 years old.

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## Skyrivers

> A lady after my own heart she is getting to be one big lady just more to cuddle I guess


She loves cuddling. What an amazing animal she is. 

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_Dxw425_ (08-02-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Little stuck shed on her back near her head but after a nice swim, all better. 

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## PiperPython

What a stunning patten.  Seeing it rolled up like that makes it look almost like a mandala.

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_Skyrivers_ (08-04-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Sun tigers are awesome for sure. Thanks. 


> What a stunning patten.  Seeing it rolled up like that makes it look almost like a mandala.


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## AbsoluteApril

> Could this be follicles or do I need to plan a vet visit to make sure? She is 10.5 feet and 26.5 lbs empty and almost 3 years old.


Could be follicles or could just be more poop. As long as she's acting and feeding fine, I wouldn't worry about it.

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_jmcrook_ (08-05-2018)

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## Tigerhawk

I really like that picture she looks great.

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## Skyrivers

16 days after her last feeding, she eat a a large guinea pig. 

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## Gio

> 16 days after her last feeding, she eat a a large guinea pig. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Love that tiger pattern.  Cant really say why, its just something I like👍😎

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_Skyrivers_ (08-06-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Love that tiger pattern.  Cant really say why, its just something I like


Yeah. That is one reason why I choose her. Just like my new girl. Only one reason someone would pay 2k for an animal and have no intention of breeding. Just love for the awesome!

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## Skyrivers

Does your reticulated python take a bath after eating? I fed rainbow today and she has a ritual it seams. First the drinks. Then the eats. Then she takes a bath and washes her face all the way to her tail using her head to scrub her body one section at a time then curls up on the warm side. Then looks out and yawns looking so smug and happy. Love my girl. 

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_Dxw425_ (08-17-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-17-2018)

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## Dxw425

Ive been trying to get a yawning picture of sonny for so long! Awesome shot

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## Skyrivers

Is one of my favorite photos as well. 


> Ive been trying to get a yawning picture of sonny for so long! Awesome shot


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## Skyrivers

Rainbow updated photos the tub is 2 feet by 18inches 8 inches deep.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (08-19-2018),Gio (08-23-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

She's coming along beautifully Sky! Very pretty girl.

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## Skyrivers

> She's coming along beautifully Sky! Very pretty girl.


Thank you. I have had so much fun getting to know her and now just enjoying every time I handle her. She is amazing. Love her so much.

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## Skyrivers

She loves to eat! Came home her cage was destroyed everything upside down moved around all the substrate was moved around. I fed her a full size guinea pig. Then she decided she wanted more and stared at me through the cage. After about 45 minutes of this and her pacing back and forth she finally climbed in her water dish to take a bath. These pictures were taken before she ate. The water dishes 4 inches tall. She is almost as tall as the water dish. No she is curled up in her hide sleeping it off.

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## Skyrivers

Rainbow looking all lovely this morning. 

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## Skyrivers

Now that Rainbow is nice and healthy, I have some questions about feeding schedule. To be honest I have let her pick and choose a little based on what was fed and how long it last. She is growing so fast so don't want to stunt her growth by not feeding but also want her healthy. Going to feed today about a week after she eat a XL gueanie pig. She is looking for food and empty. I think this is a bit much IMO but she is asking for food. 

Should I....

1) try to make her wait 2 weeks between feedings?
2) let her eat when she is looking for food (Moving things around, flipping things around, giving you that look like "Yo where is my stinking food?"
3) move her back down to smaller prey and feed weekly still? (I think this will only make her more hungry quicker)
4) Other suggestions by you guys?

Keep in mind I feed rats, baby rabbits, and chickens also from time to time. 

Is she starting to look fat or just healthy?

Thanks.

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## Skyrivers

I am waiting on help to unload her new cage. 8ft by 3 ft by 4 ft. Shelf half way up. Still a few modifications till ready. Have to get it up a flight of stairs now. Comes apart in 2 pieces. 

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## Dxw425

Thats gunna be awesome. As soon as i own my own place something along those lines will be in the works. Keep us updated!

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## Skyrivers

> Thats gunna be awesome. As soon as i own my own place something along those lines will be in the works. Keep us updated!


Will do

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## Skyrivers

Is in the living room now. Time to wire the lights. Slap a new coat of paint. Put some guards around lights and heating. Seal it up. 8ft 3ft 4ft.

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_rufretic_ (09-02-2018)

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## Skyrivers

I let rainbow get a good swim in. I kept the drain unpluged and let the shower fall on one side. She put her entire body on the side that was raining down. I tried twice to take her out and she went right back in. She must be enjoying it. Giving her a few more minutes before I make her get out if the tub. She is bathing herself. I will need to put a large water based on the bottom level of her new enclosure so she can swim when she likes. Anyone else have a retic that likes to take showers or baths?

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C.Marie (09-06-2018),_Dxw425_ (09-03-2018)

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## rufretic

Mine used to love bath time!

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## AbsoluteApril

that'll be a mansion for her, looking forward to seeing it set up. good job

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## Skyrivers

> that'll be a mansion for her, looking forward to seeing it set up. good job


Thanks. I wanted her to have a large home to move around in more. Lots of work to go yet though.

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## Skyrivers

Bath time again. She is in blue and really hoping for a complete shed out of her. The down side is that she wants to stay in the tub. She hissed at me when I went to take her out. First time ever. She earned another half hour in the tub. I think she enjoys bath time. I have been thinking about making the bottom of the new cage an aquatic side large enough she can get in from time to time. 

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C.Marie (09-11-2018)

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## Skyrivers

First layer of sealant down on the top level. The first photo is what the top level originally looked like. The rest is what it looks like now. Long way to go yet and out of paint till payday. 

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C.Marie (09-11-2018),_Stearns84_ (09-05-2018)

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## Stearns84

> First layer of sealant down on the top level. The first photo is what the top level originally looked like. The rest is what it looks like now. Long way to go yet and out of paint till payday. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


It's looking really good. Where did you source your glass? That's the only thing holding me back from building my own. Glass is way expensive. 

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## Skyrivers

I purchased the entire thing for 100 on Craigslist. Just transforming to my desires and needs. 


> It's looking really good. Where did you source your glass? That's the only thing holding me back from building my own. Glass is way expensive. 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Jnksnakes

That's awesome. Nice pick. I have a Tiger Platinum Retic. They are Gorgeous. However my White Albino is starting to win my heart over as she grows.

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C.Marie (09-11-2018)

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## Skyrivers

I love all retic patterns and colors. 


> That's awesome. Nice pick. I have a Tiger Platinum Retic. They are Gorgeous. However my White Albino is starting to win my heart over as she grows.


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## Skyrivers

Rainbow enjoying her cave. 

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_EL-Ziggy_ (10-01-2018),_Godzilla78_ (10-04-2018),Tessellate (10-01-2018)

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## Skyrivers

I put a concrete mixing tub in her enclosure last night and put about 10 gallons of water in it. She didn't even wait for me to finish putting water in it. She dove right in. She spend about 4 hours in there then peed in it. Had to work another hour removing the water and cleaning it and refilling it again. LOL. I guess that was a "thank you" present? Love my girl. She likes to swim. Always has. Now she has something large enough to get into again.

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## Snakeboyaz

Can't wait to see everything finished up and her enjoying her mansion. I wish mine enjoyed taking a swim a little more. My female doesn't like soaking and my male will get in his tub after eating for maybe 5 minutes.

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## Skyrivers

> Can't wait to see everything finished up and her enjoying her mansion. I wish mine enjoyed taking a swim a little more. My female doesn't like soaking and my male will get in his tub after eating for maybe 5 minutes.


She is almost ritualistic about her eating process. She drinks. Eats. Then takes a bath and cleans off the blood or scent left on her. Then she curls up on the warm side. She is awesome animal for sure. I think some see it like something touching them and some don't like the sensation. She just dives right in. She also likes to poop and pee in there. Sure makes cleanup easier but yuck.  Monty never gets in his water either. He drinks but no swimming. I have to admit that out of all my animals Rainbow and Zelda are my 2 favorite. Love them all but those 2 seam to speak to me more as a person.

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## Skyrivers

She was in her tub this morning. Came home and she was back in her cave. She pooped in her tub again. Lol. Cleaned it up. Easy cleaning. All the worry about the foam and she poops and pees in her tub every time

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## Skyrivers

Caught her shedding and swimming. 

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## Skyrivers

Was looking back on my journey that led up to me getting Rainbow all the way to today having this majestic animal in my care. I do realize that I am very lucky to have a retic with such a great demeanor and personality. She seams to be putting weight on instead of getting longer. Getting ready for winter? Hope she dumps some of that size into length come spring when she realizes that she is not going to breed. She is such an amazing animal. Thank you everyone who had put up with all the silly questions and giving words of advice and or caution along my way of learning so much about these animals. Saturday morning I stopped by the vets office with her and they were so impressed at how healthy she is and how easy she is to handle. I love all my animals but she is a real prize. I can only hope Aurora is as great of an animal as she is.

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## Snakeboyaz

They truly are amazing animals. Retics were the one species I was obsessed with but never had growing up and after becoming and adult and being by out of the hobby for 12 years my wife suprised  me with my platinum as an early birthday present last year. They are by far my favorite animals I've ever had. I like seeing your pictures of rainbow, tigers have always been my favorite.

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## Skyrivers

> They truly are amazing animals. Retics were the one species I was obsessed with but never had growing up and after becoming and adult and being by out of the hobby for 12 years my wife suprised  me with my platinum as an early birthday present last year. They are by far my favorite animals I've ever had. I like seeing your pictures of rainbow, tigers have always been my favorite.


They are one of my favorite species to work with as well. I love the big personalities they have. I also love that it requires continued interaction to maintain that bond. They not only require respect but demand it every day every time but can also be a rewarding and fun experience. They also have so many amazing morphs and the normal looks amazing as well. 

Fed her last night because she was hungry and I had a rat defrosted for the boa I rescued but the rescue did not eat. Guess she will be on a 2 week feeding from now on. I reached in to pet Rainbow this morning to check on he and she pushed my hand away, politely saying, "I AM DIGESTING!". I was not going to take her out but just checking on her. She loves her new home and uses every inch of it. The part with the cave on it is on the top level and beside the couch. She knows when I get home I open it and she can come out and interact some. She is so intelligent. She knows how to ask for food. Tell you no, leave me alone. She also sees me as safety if she doesn't like someone. Not sure if it is just me putting out calm vibes or her knowing that I would protect her, but I love that about her. She is majestic, powerful, and wonderful. Love my girl.

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## Skyrivers

Some love for my girl. 

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## Skyrivers

Do you think she is getting fat? Or is she bulking up for winter and will dump into length come spring. 12 feet 33lbs.

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_Dianne_ (11-19-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-03-2018)

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## Skyrivers

So I got Rainbow Jan 15, 2018 at 5 lbs and 7 feet..... This weekend at the pet store we took a string to measure her length she is now 12 feet 3 inches with some margin of error. She weighs 33.5 lbs.  She is such a amazing animal. Do the math. Almost 1 year of growth for a Mainland from age 2 to 3, 28.5lbs and 5 feet and 3 inches. Shedding every month and half still. Her poop rivals my Great Dane's poop in size. Super friendly and amazing. I am so lucky and thankful. I can only hope Aurora turns out this nicely. I love this girl.

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_Justin83_ (12-04-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-03-2018)

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## MR Snakes

> So I got Rainbow Jan 15, 2018 at 5 lbs and 7 feet..... This weekend at the pet store we took a string to measure her length she is now 12 feet 3 inches with some margin of error. She weighs 33.5 lbs.  She is such a amazing animal. Do the math. *Almost 1 year of growth for a Mainland from age 2 to 3, 28.5lbs and 5 feet and 3 inches.* Shedding every month and half still. Her poop rivals my Great Dane's poop in size. Super friendly and amazing. I am so lucky and thankful. I can only hope Aurora turns out this nicely. I love this girl.


Holy @#^*%! Is that normal? My wife would shoot me if I had a snake like that!

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## Skyrivers

> Holy @#^*%! Is that normal? My wife would shoot me if I had a snake like that!


IDK just keeping track of my girl. She is amazing and I am sure by next year she will be leveling out, or I hope she will be.

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## Justin83

Wow, that's some serious growth.
Do you still manage to handle her alone? Must be a bit dodgy at that size?

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## Skyrivers

> Wow, that's some serious growth.
> Do you still manage to handle her alone? Must be a bit dodgy at that size?


She is easy to handle alone. She is so calm and easy going. I do reptile shows with her with no fear as kids and adults alike handle her. People brag about how easy going she is.

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_Justin83_ (02-12-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Photos from last night. Opened her door and out she came. Climbed on top of her enclosure to look around. 30 to 45 min of exploring then back home she went. Was right there with her the entire time. 

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_Ashley96_ (12-19-2018),_Godzilla78_ (12-23-2018),_zina10_ (12-19-2018)

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## Ashley96

Rainbow is looking absolutely glamorous lately  :Smile:  


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## Skyrivers

> Rainbow is looking absolutely glamorous lately  
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Well thank you. She is so wonderful. I have so many great looking snakes now that picking one on looks alone is hard for me. Rainbow is a favorite because of her BIG size, personality, and looks. With Aurora soon to be here and the BRB, and don't forget Oreo, do many to choose from. Even Bob and Shiva are cool looking BPs. So many cool morphs and looks amongst my collection.

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_Ashley96_ (12-24-2018),_zina10_ (12-19-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Fed a 4lb rabbit to rainbow. She hit it hard. Then she acted confused for a minute. She hit a moment where it was like she said screw it and chowed down. 

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_Dianne_ (12-23-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (01-18-2019)

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## Godzilla78

She looks great!  Looks thick for her length, so maybe she is just a bit overweight?  She looks healthy though, Im just accustomed to see thinner bodied retics.

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## Skyrivers

> She looks great!  Looks thick for her length, so maybe she is just a bit overweight?  She looks healthy though, Im just accustomed to see thinner bodied retics.


I try to get her to wait 2 weeks between feedings but she starts destroying her cage at day 10. LOL. After eating the 4lb rabbit a week ago, she is still digesting. Saw her swimming this morning so she might be getting ready to poop out the rabbit. Going to try to push her to next Saturday for her next feeding (14 day schedule) The issue is she is growing so quickly still. I am not aggressively feeding at all. I feed when she (at this point asks for food) is clearly hungry and visits that side of her enclosure. This is the only time she sits there. I moved to rabbits from guanine pigs because it was taking 2 a week to keep her happy. Her growth rate is impressive and so is her metabolism. I take her outside for exercising often and play with her almost daily. She is confident, intelligent, easy going, and fearless at this point. I don't feel handling stresses her at all. I think she enjoys it actually. I agree that she is getting thick. I wonder if this is a winter thing? Is she storing up fat for winter? Getting her body ready to make follicles? IDK. My entire snake project is a learning one and boy am I getting an education. I am a biologist at heart so is a great learning and fun for me. Love her so much!

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## RickyNY

Oh yeah, she's a big girl. Ate that bunny like a boss!!

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## Skyrivers

> Oh yeah, she's a big girl. Ate that bunny like a boss!!


Yeah but has not eaten in 3 weeks now. It was like she chomped it hungry and then said I am good for a while now. She shows signs of being hungry but is not eating. I let her out on top of her enclosure to explore last night while I cleaned up a little. She was her usual inquisitive self and clam as she could be.

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## Skyrivers

This morning she was on the hunt again. Guessing spring is on the way. Been left alone a couple of days after the attack on Monty. Love her tons. If you want a length reference, her cage is 4 feet deep. 



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_EL-Ziggy_ (01-18-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Still doing great. Love my Rrainbow. Such a wonderful animal.

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## Treeman

What kind of enclosure is she in? Looks like a spray foam box from the last picture.

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## Skyrivers

> What kind of enclosure is she in? Looks like a spray foam box from the last picture.


Is a custom built by me. Yes I used spray foam and other things to give her a cool looking home and is all sealed up properly.

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## Justin83

She's a beast, great job pal:-)

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## Snakeboyaz

Do you have any recent pictures of her out and about? I'd love to see her stretched out, especially with something for a size reference. they really become an experience once they start getting larger, my male is about 10ft and 30lbs and such a joy to work with.

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## Skyrivers

> Do you have any recent pictures of her out and about? I'd love to see her stretched out, especially with something for a size reference. they really become an experience once they start getting larger, my male is about 10ft and 30lbs and such a joy to work with.


I will get her out this weekend for pictures. She packed on the weight during the winter and hope she dumps it into length once summer hits. After the last feeding I hope she will be happy for 3 to 4 weeks. As of Saturday the bird she chowed down on was still digesting. I just took her out to check on her. That was 6 days after eating prey that was almost to large for her. I check on her daily but she gets taken out 2 to 3 times a week when not digesting. She is great to deal with and is loved by most that meet her.

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## Skyrivers

Size reference. 

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_Dianne_ (02-17-2019),Sanyassin (11-04-2019)

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## MarkL1561

Wow thats an awesome snake!


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## zina10

Oh my..

Is that a optical illusion or is that actually a indentation above the spine and lumps and bumps along her side from FAT ?

If so...I would dial it way back. I know that can be tricky with Retics, because of the pushing issue, but boy, that is NOT healthy and will not make for a long life. 

And that meal was not slightly to large, that was quite a bit to big  :Wink:  While true, in the wild they can take down some pretty large stuff if they get their teeth on it, but in the wild they have to travel long distances in between meals and there may also be months in between meals. In captivity they spend 98% of the time laying around in a cage and food comes every week or 2. 

Fat animals of any kind and species will have health problems.

But then, it may just be a optical illusion  :Razz:

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_WhompingWillow_ (02-17-2019)

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## WhompingWillow

> Oh my..
> 
> Is that a optical illusion or is that actually a indentation above the spine and lumps and bumps along her side from FAT ?


I was honestly wondering the same thing. But based on photos of Rainbow from a little less than a year ago compared to the most recent, along with post history, I don't think there's any question that this is a snake that is being power fed (both in terms of prey size and frequency) and is well on her way to being obese, if she's not obese already. 

I really don't understand the allure of forcing a snake to grow more quickly, especially when you're dealing with something like a retic.

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_MissterDog_ (02-17-2019),_zina10_ (02-17-2019)

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## zina10

Since retics seem to be rather high strung snakes that like to move around, perhaps it IS one way to keep them more quiet/docile and keep them from pushing? To let them eat as much as they want until they become rather overweight and somewhat "lazy" ?

I'm the first one to admit, I have NO personal experience with Retics, never owned one. So I do not pretend to be some expert and don't want to come across as one. 

I have always admired them, though, and precariously lived through others that did/do own them. Followed many of them throughout many years. 
But no, no personal experience at all. 

Just going by the pictures, of the snake and the meal that was spoken about. 

There is no doubt in my mind Skyrivers loves his snake, and perhaps it may help him if some other pairs of eyes see something that he may not, being so close to her emotionally. I don't mean to criticize, but boy, she does look rather chunky  :Wink:

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## Skyrivers

To answer everyone's questions. 

1. I don't power feed. Normally feed on the smaller end of size prey. Her last meal was huge and should last her a month or more easily with a very small meal offered at the month mark. 

2. She is not fat. Not lumpy.  Is the way her pattern looks in the photo. Some underfed them to keep them smaller in size. This is as unhealthy as over feeding. When compared to other 3 year old mainland relics other friends of mine have,  she is smaller and shorter. I only have 3 other animals that are in the area that are same age to use for comparison. Her thickest part of her body is only slightly larger than her head when empty. Her head is the size of my hand. Her body the size of my arm in thickness. 

3. She has always been easy to handle with no pushing even when very hungry. The only thing she does is move things around when younger. Now she goes to the feeding part of the cage when hungry and looks out asking for food. Even then she is easy to deal with. I have even made her wait an extra couple of days to eat with no issue.  I am both lucky and grateful she is as nice and easy going as she is. Everyone in the area that owns reticulated pythons is amazed by how calm and good she is. 

4. She sees me as safety and we have a great relationship as a result. I have built and customized her enclosure to give her a place to swim, climb, hide,  and she uses every inch of it at different times. She is out often and we'll cared for. Yes she is wild. She is intelligent and we have an understanding. If she says no I leave her alone. Is about respect and understanding. 

Don't believe me? Meet her in person and judge for yourself. 



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_MarkL1561_ (02-18-2019)

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## Skyrivers

> Oh my..
> 
> Is that a optical illusion or is that actually a indentation above the spine and lumps and bumps along her side from FAT ?
> 
> If so...I would dial it way back. I know that can be tricky with Retics, because of the pushing issue, but boy, that is NOT healthy and will not make for a long life. 
> 
> And that meal was not slightly to large, that was quite a bit to big  While true, in the wild they can take down some pretty large stuff if they get their teeth on it, but in the wild they have to travel long distances in between meals and there may also be months in between meals. In captivity they spend 98% of the time laying around in a cage and food comes every week or 2. 
> 
> Fat animals of any kind and species will have health problems.
> ...





> I was honestly wondering the same thing. But based on photos of Rainbow from a little less than a year ago compared to the most recent, along with post history, I don't think there's any question that this is a snake that is being power fed (both in terms of prey size and frequency) and is well on her way to being obese, if she's not obese already. 
> 
> I really don't understand the allure of forcing a snake to grow more quickly, especially when you're dealing with something like a retic.





> Since retics seem to be rather high strung snakes that like to move around, perhaps it IS one way to keep them more quiet/docile and keep them from pushing? To let them eat as much as they want until they become rather overweight and somewhat "lazy" ?
> 
> I'm the first one to admit, I have NO personal experience with Retics, never owned one. So I do not pretend to be some expert and don't want to come across as one. 
> 
> I have always admired them, though, and precariously lived through others that did/do own them. Followed many of them throughout many years. 
> But no, no personal experience at all. 
> 
> Just going by the pictures, of the snake and the meal that was spoken about. 
> 
> There is no doubt in my mind Skyrivers loves his snake, and perhaps it may help him if some other pairs of eyes see something that he may not, being so close to her emotionally. I don't mean to criticize, but boy, she does look rather chunky



With all the talk about her being large and lumpy I visited my friend that breeds them with her and we had a talk. He held her a few moments and then said, "She is not fat. She is gravid." He said that she is making eggs and with her being a virgin that the eggs should be all slugs or reabsorbed. He said she looks healthy but not fat. After a quick ultra sound he estimated around 60 or so developing eggs inside her. All around 4cm in diameter. He could not get over how gentle she was and amazing to handle and how tolerant of being examined she was. She is a good girl. It was suggested to build her an egg laying box. I will this weekend coming up. I don't expect pathogenesis. I expect slugs. I asked him about her appetite.  She went off food for 4 weeks during winter and then started eating after attacking Monty. After eating the big bird I gave her 3-4 weeks before offering again. He said she will most likely not eat again till she drops the eggs. Who knows. She is amazing. I do have a plan if anything viable comes out but no expectations there. 

I am sure the trolls will be coming my way but I don't care. I am raising her right.

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## Snakeboyaz

I've always been under the impression that a female would ovulate and start forming eggs but if unfertilized they would simply reobsorb. Is it a normal or common to go full term and just lay slugs? I have no desire to ever breed my retics, I hope I don't have to go through all the same process's including having to take eggs from a new mother.

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## Treeman

Thats an interesting enclosure, is it a spray foam type of background?


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## Skyrivers

> I've always been under the impression that a female would ovulate and start forming eggs but if unfertilized they would simply reobsorb. Is it a normal or common to go full term and just lay slugs? I have no desire to ever breed my retics, I hope I don't have to go through all the same process's including having to take eggs from a new mother.


Normal? I have no clue. My friend did not act surprised at all to see them developing. He did say she might absorb them. I think each animal is different and the possibilities are out there for almost anything.





> Thats an interesting enclosure, is it a spray foam type of background?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks. Yes it is a spray foam type. I put a lot of work building it and getting it ready for her. Sealing everything up is critical to success with the foam.

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## Skyrivers

Saw Rainbow moving around her enclosure this morning. Then she went into her pool and took a drink right before taking a huge dump in the water. Guess work for me when I get off work today. Love that she makes cage cleaning easy.  :Very Happy:  Her enclosure has 3 temperature zones. Hot is 91. Medium is 80 and cool spot is 70ish. She has been hanging out on the cooler spot a lot here as of late.

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## Skyrivers

Quick photo after cleaning her pool out. She is not behaving hungry yet. The big bird was the 4th. 2 weeks and 3 d\ys and still not hungry. 

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## Skyrivers

Saturday Rainbow decided it was time to eat! She went nuts tearing her enclosure apart and dumped her pool over. I fed her 2 baby ducks. Was almost a month after eating the last bird that was to big. They were not over size at all. She pounded them and then was happy again. Sunday nigh I took her out and cleaned up everything. No way I was going to bother her while she was hungry and boy was she hungry. I am not sure what to think. The US showed follicles/eggs developing but she is chowing down when offered. She is happy again, for now. Sunday she did not want to be bothered but I had to dry things up some and do a full clean up. She was pushing my hand away when I reached in. She was digesting so I understand why she wanted to be left alone. All cleaned up and dry now. She looks happy again. Love that girl.

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## Skyrivers

Rainbow is doing well in my care. She is getting a major overhaul on the bottom portion of her enclosure. 2/3 of it will be swimming area. That is 6ft X 4ft x 5in of water she can swim and move around in. The water will be heater to around 85 F. The heating of the water will be done by circulating the water in tubes through a chamber with a heating pad that is regulated. I will be working on this all weekend. Cant wait to see the final product. Will post photos once done as well is materials list.

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## pretends2bnormal

> Rainbow is doing well in my care. She is getting a major overhaul on the bottom portion of her enclosure. 2/3 of it will be swimming area. That is 6ft X 4ft x 5in of water she can swim and move around in. The water will be heater to around 85 F. The heating of the water will be done by circulating the water in tubes through a chamber with a heating pad that is regulated. I will be working on this all weekend. Cant wait to see the final product. Will post photos once done as well is materials list.


Just a slightly different idea I had while reading your post that you may want to consider:  

You could connect the tubes to an in-line aquarium heater with adjustable thermostat like is done sometimes with ponds or very large aquariums.  It may work out more electrically efficient or even less bulky to set up that way.

I feel like it would take more electricity to run the heat pad enough that the water heats in tubes (especially if they are plastic as it does insulate a bit) compared to the more direct heat the in-line heater would provide.  From how I picture it, it would probably need less space outside the enclosure to set up that way as well, though that may not be true.

Looking forward to seeing the result regardless, large water areas aren't commonly posted for reptiles, much less retics. 

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## Snakeboyaz

Excited to see the end result and rainbow enjoying her pond. It’s funny how different individual animals can be, neither of mine have ever seemed to care for being in water.

BTW, glad to see you back here. I enjoy your enthusiasm for retics, your posts usually make me want to go enjoy mine

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## Skyrivers

> Just a slightly different idea I had while reading your post that you may want to consider:  
> 
> You could connect the tubes to an in-line aquarium heater with adjustable thermostat like is done sometimes with ponds or very large aquariums.  It may work out more electrically efficient or even less bulky to set up that way.
> 
> I feel like it would take more electricity to run the heat pad enough that the water heats in tubes (especially if they are plastic as it does insulate a bit) compared to the more direct heat the in-line heater would provide.  From how I picture it, it would probably need less space outside the enclosure to set up that way as well, though that may not be true.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing the result regardless, large water areas aren't commonly posted for reptiles, much less retics. 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Thank you for the suggestion. I have already been considering this as an option. Will look more into it. I know my girl and I also know she loves the water. Will be great to get it all done. Just want it done right. Taking my time building it out and getting it ready. Want something that will last a long time.

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## Skyrivers

> Excited to see the end result and rainbow enjoying her pond. Its funny how different individual animals can be, neither of mine have ever seemed to care for being in water.
> 
> BTW, glad to see you back here. I enjoy your enthusiasm for retics, your posts usually make me want to go enjoy mine


Thanks,

I will not be around as much. Had enough of bad juju to last me a lifetime. I feel as if I shared to much. Will not be as open with my experiences from here on out. Here's to hoping the trolls stay away. 

Everyone of my animals enjoys different things and their own personalities. My larger animals enjoys water more than my smaller ones. I try to give everyone a choice of different things till I find out what they like and how it effects humidity and husbandry in general. 

Once done will be no water on the top level, only on the bottom level. Will make adjustments in water temperature till I find the sweet spot in humidity. The build is taking longer that I expected. I was able to get the structure built up this past weekend but that was about it. Next will be to make the bottom parts that will have water so they will hold it. Then comes the paint and epoxy again. I learned a lot from doing the top.

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## Craiga 01453

> Here's to hoping the trolls stay away. 
> .


The "trolls" or the people who call you out on your bullplop?

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_Alter-Echo_ (04-22-2019),*Bogertophis* (04-24-2019),_jmcrook_ (04-22-2019),_Kira_ (04-22-2019),_MissterDog_ (04-22-2019)

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## Stewart_Reptiles

> Thanks,
> 
> I will not be around as much. Had enough of bad juju to last me a lifetime. I feel as if I shared to much. Will not be as open with my experiences from here on out. *Here's to hoping the trolls stay away.* 
> 
> Everyone of my animals enjoys different things and their own personalities. My larger animals enjoys water more than my smaller ones. I try to give everyone a choice of different things till I find out what they like and how it effects humidity and husbandry in general. 
> 
> Once done will be no water on the top level, only on the bottom level. Will make adjustments in water temperature till I find the sweet spot in humidity. The build is taking longer that I expected. I was able to get the structure built up this past weekend but that was about it. Next will be to make the bottom parts that will have water so they will hold it. Then comes the paint and epoxy again. I learned a lot from doing the top.


*Great way to make a come back , if you make that kind of statement (the one I have highlighted) don't be surprised of the outcomes, you are bringing it on yourself. After everything had settled down (thanks to the staff's warnings locked threads), you could have simply come back quietly, instead YOU chose to come back and start stirring the pot with a choice of words that is completely unfounded.......I will let that sink in 

It's been  24 Hours the thread is now re-opened and hopefully everyone can play nice
*

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*Bogertophis* (04-24-2019),_Dianne_ (04-24-2019),Gio (04-22-2019),_jmcrook_ (04-22-2019),_Kira_ (04-22-2019),_MissterDog_ (04-22-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Question for those who have building experience out there. I have been toying around with the idea of using fiberglass sheets with resin to seal up the water part of the bottom level. What safety concerns do I need to worry about if I go that rout? Would clearly seal everything up with epoxy in the end after applying a sealing coat, paint and epoxy. Want my girl safe above all.

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## Snakeboyaz

As long as you use epoxy suitable for potable water youll be fine, really shouldnt have to fiberglass anything other than the corners. Google how to build plywood aquariums, youll find everything youll need to do what your wanting.

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## Craiga 01453

If you use PVC sheets you'll be able to dado cut or router out grooves to lock the sides and bottom together. Then screwing them in place would make it good and strong. 

I'm sure you've already considered this, but the water will add a lot of weight. And when the snake is in the water that'll be even more weight. And the weight of all that water will put a lot of pressure on those seams. So make sure those sides and corners are super tight and strong. You definitely dont want to come home to a mess and a snake on the loose if it gives out.

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_Danger noodles_ (04-24-2019),_Dianne_ (04-24-2019)

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## Skyrivers

> As long as you use epoxy suitable for potable water youll be fine, really shouldnt have to fiberglass anything other than the corners. Google how to build plywood aquariums, youll find everything youll need to do what your wanting.





> If you use PVC sheets you'll be able to dado cut or router out grooves to lock the sides and bottom together. Then screwing them in place would make it good and strong. 
> 
> I'm sure you've already considered this, but the water will add a lot of weight. And when the snake is in the water that'll be even more weight. And the weight of all that water will put a lot of pressure on those seams. So make sure those sides and corners are super tight and strong. You definitely dont want to come home to a mess and a snake on the loose if it gives out.


Thanks guys. Her enclosure is built like a tank. It is heavy as well already. Sitting on the floor because it is so heavy and huge. The water area is ranforced with 4x4s and the sides of the enclosure. The reason I am going to fiber glass most of the bottom is I want to place rocks and other things under the fiber glass to give it shape and contrast. Want to keep it relatively easy to clean as well. I learned a lot from the top part. Spray foam is wonderful but I think this will seal up better and if it does I will redo the top part. I am also making a area where she can go from the top to the bottom and it will be smooth rocks going down under the fiber glass. Just wanted to make sure it was safe to use. So far I haven't heard much negativity and wanted to see if anyone here had any experience actually using it.

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## Skyrivers

Rainbow was swimming after a eating two guinea pigs. Is cool she still washes herself off. Woke up this morning to lots of poop in her water. Still working on the bottom of her enclosure.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (05-02-2019),Gio (05-02-2019)

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## Gio

She looks good!

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## EL-Ziggy

Looking good and getting big! I can't wait for my bigz to get some good size on them.

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## Skyrivers

> She looks good!


Thank you. 




> Looking good and getting big! I can't wait for my bigz to get some good size on them.


So happy she is sweet as she can be as well. Thanks. I need to check out bigz.. is there a progression thread?

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## EL-Ziggy

> Thank you. 
> 
> 
> 
> So happy she is sweet as she can be as well. Thanks. I need to check out bigz.. is there a progression thread?


No progression thread Sky. I was referring to my "so called" giant snakes as bigz. I have a scrub and an olive python and they're still both pretty small. I'm looking forward to seeing them as larger adult critters.

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## sur3fir3

Congrats on getting this unlocked.   :Smile:

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## Skyrivers

> No progression thread Sky. I was referring to my "so called" giant snakes as bigz. I have a scrub and an olive python and they're still both pretty small. I'm looking forward to seeing them as larger adult critters.


Both nice animals for sure. Looking forward to seeing them grow as well.

- - - Updated - - -




> Congrats on getting this unlocked.


Thanks. I little humble pie goes a long way.

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## Skyrivers

Love those eyes

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Bodie (05-05-2019),o.r hill (08-25-2019)

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## Gio

Great looking eyes on that critter. My dude has similar coloring.

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## Skyrivers

> Great looking eyes on that critter. My dude has similar coloring.


Thanks. You have a nice looking critter as well. Love these guys. I will not lie. Rainbow is my favorite. Her mentality is great and she is beautiful. I am so lucky to have her and her being co calm and wonderful.

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## Skyrivers

Some nice outside photos. Bling bling....

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fadingdaylight (05-28-2019),Gio (05-28-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Fresh shed. All curled up and happy.

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## Snakeboyaz

Looking happy and healthy! Do you have a current length and weight for her? What do you normally feed her and how often? Don't know anyone with retics or any snake for that matter so it's nice to see the what's, how's and whys of what you guys do as a reference.

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## Skyrivers

> Looking happy and healthy! Do you have a current length and weight for her? What do you normally feed her and how often? Don't know anyone with retics or any snake for that matter so it's nice to see the what's, how's and whys of what you guys do as a reference.


I think the past couple of months she has dumped some of her weight into length. It's been a couple months since I measured her. When I did she was covering 12 of those 1 foot by 1 foot floor tiles. I think she's had a growth spurt since then. I know she's at least 50 lb. As far as her diet and varies. Rats and guinea pigs are not even a snack at this point. She does like rabbits but they're not her favorite. She prefers Birds such as ducks, guinea fowl, and chicken. She's not very picky. The time she goes in between meals it's completely dependent on the size animal she eats. She's not fat but she is very healthy. That's not just my opinion but a pinion of several others that are breeders. Even at this size when she's out she's full of energy. I've included a couple of photos for reference.

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o.r hill (08-25-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Some out of the cage time.

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Jessibelle (07-16-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Digesting a duck. Happy in food coma. Cant play with her till next week. I am so lucky she is such a good girl. The last photo is without flash. Flash seams to grey her out. 


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Gio (08-23-2019),o.r hill (09-23-2019),_wnateg_ (08-23-2019)

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## Gio

> Digesting a duck. Happy in food coma. Cant play with her till next week. I am so lucky she is such a good girl. The last photo is without flash. Flash seams to grey her out. 
> 
> 
> Sent from my LG-Q710PL using Tapatalk


Looking good!

I'm happy that she's a mellow girl.

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## Skyrivers

> Looking good!
> 
> I'm happy that she's a mellow girl.


Thank you.

I am happy she is mellow also.

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## Skyrivers

She pooped yesterday so will be play time outside this afternoon. Should be fun to get some outside photos. She took time for a bath after cleaning out her water then curled up in her warm cave. Love my girl. 

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## Skyrivers

Rainbow had an adventure Saturday. She managed to push her glass out of place on her enclosure. She managed to make her way into the kitchen knock everything over and was back on top of her enclosure trying to get back home when I noticed her. I quickly modify during the closure to not allow this to happen again. When she was back safely inside her home she seem to sigh of relief. Happy i was home and she was not hurt. Also happy no doggies were eaten.

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Gio (09-03-2019),o.r hill (09-23-2019),Sanyassin (11-04-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Rainbow is 3 now. Happy birthday girl.

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o.r hill (09-23-2019)

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## Gio

You have a good one there!

I wish my boy was that mellow.

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_Skyrivers_ (09-09-2019)

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## Skyrivers

> You have a good one there!
> 
> I wish my boy was that mellow.


Thank you.

I am very lucky for sure.

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## Skyrivers

Yep. It is that time of year again. She last eat 8/22/2019. A full month ago. She eats regularly 14 day cycle. She turned down a nice chicken yesterday. No interest at all. She has been enjoying her cave a little more and been less active here as of late unless out of her enclosure. Still handles great. She seams more active when out. I think the winter months are nearing that she might miss a meal or 2 like she did last year this time. Guess she has the boys on her mind. She did little pushing last year but not bad enough to hurt her face. She is super healthy and seams happy with her behavior. She is deep into blue. This doesn't normally stop her from eating. Going to clean up tonight. She will get some time in the shower and then back home. Love my girl. Might do a wellness check at the vet next Saturday to be safe. Cant wait to get her new enclosure built in the new house. Will be huge but not quite zoo quality. Planning a 15ft X 6ft x 8ft high enclosure for her and another one the same size for aurora. Will be fun to build. The next year building enclosures for them both are a huge priority and will eat up a huge portion of my extra income. I think they both will appreciate the extra room as they grow. Trying to stay focused.

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o.r hill (09-23-2019),_rufretic_ (09-23-2019)

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## Snakeboyaz

The new cage plans sound amazing, cant wait to see the build thread start! Id love to do the same but Im limited to about 7x3 maybe 3.5 feet in my house, unless I can convince my wife to make my daughters share a room so I can put the snakes in the other room haha. Im a little glad to hear that she hasnt been eating, my female hasnt eaten since 7-11 and my male hasnt since 7-30. Both are right about 3 years old and 12ft, been driving me nuts that they havent been interested in food and my female has been doing the occasional pushing the last few months too. Guess its just that time of year?

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## Skyrivers

Rainbow had play time in the living room tonight

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## Skyrivers

> The new cage plans sound amazing, cant wait to see the build thread start! Id love to do the same but Im limited to about 7x3 maybe 3.5 feet in my house, unless I can convince my wife to make my daughters share a room so I can put the snakes in the other room haha. Im a little glad to hear that she hasnt been eating, my female hasnt eaten since 7-11 and my male hasnt since 7-30. Both are right about 3 years old and 12ft, been driving me nuts that they havent been interested in food and my female has been doing the occasional pushing the last few months too. Guess its just that time of year?


She is consistently every other week except the past four weeks she's been in shed and sitting on her hotspot and just absorbing Heat

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## Skyrivers

So last night Rainbow decided she wanted out of her enclosure. I put the dogs up and cleared the room of anything that could hurt her and opened up the door. She paused for a minuet when she realized the glass was open and unsure of what to do. I waited and she eventually came out and then proceeded to explore the entire living room. She explored everything. Once she was tired she went back to her home and curled up on the spot that says she is hungry. Guess it is feeding time again. She seamed to relax a bit after her adventure. Such a good girl.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (11-04-2019)

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## Skyrivers

It was warm enough to take her outside so I did. Still beautiful and easy to manage.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (11-04-2019),Gio (11-04-2019),_rufretic_ (11-04-2019)

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## Gio

Looking good.

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## EL-Ziggy

She looks great Sky!

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## Skyrivers

> Looking good.


Thank you




> She looks great Sky!


She is amazing. Working on building her large house but will not be done for couple of months. I wish I could do Zoo quality but going to do my best within my means. Her and Aurora deserve a good life.

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## Danger noodles

How have u been sky?

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## Skyrivers

> How have u been sky?


Doing well. Just getting settled into the new house. Enjoying having a nice big backyard for my dogs to play in. Loving this fall weather. You?

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## Skyrivers

I think it is almost time for cage upgrade. She is in a 8ft x 4ft x 4ft but she is still growing. Sure she is good for a while but I know she will need more room as she grows. She is thicker than my arms. So gentle yet heavy. Don't know her weight but 5 months ago was 57lbs. Length is over 14 feet. Downing full grown chickens every 2 to 3 weeks. She shed out last night. She gave me an almost full shed. 3 pieces is as close as she has ever given me. 



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_wnateg_ (12-17-2019)

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## Skyrivers

I think I will never use glass in enclosures again. I had to replace the 1/4 inch sheet glass in Rainbows enclosure this weekend because Rainbow got a little excited about a chicken and plopped half her body against the glass and it exploded into a million pieces. She now has 1/2 inch plex-glass to replace it.  So glass was everywhere, Rainbow was in food mode, and she wanted to hang out in her enclosure after eating instead of being removed into her carrying tote. What an adventure. Had to do a full cage cleaning and took 4+ hours to get all the glass out.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (02-10-2020),_wnateg_ (02-10-2020)

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## Zincubus

> I think I will never use glass in enclosures again. I had to replace the 1/4 inch sheet glass in Rainbows enclosure this weekend because Rainbow got a little excited about a chicken and plopped half her body against the glass and it exploded into a million pieces. She now has 1/2 inch plex-glass to replace it.  So glass was everywhere, Rainbow was in food mode, and she wanted to hang out in her enclosure after eating instead of being removed into her carrying tote. What an adventure. Had to do a full cage cleaning and took 4+ hours to get all the glass out.


I used to worry when I had young ( 7 Burms and Retics in glass fronted vivs but thankfully I got away with it .
The Burm used to loosen branches in the middle of the night and the banging woke me up occasionally 


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## Skyrivers

> I used to worry when I had young ( 7’ Burms and Retics in glass fronted vivs but thankfully I got away with it .
> The Burm used to loosen branches in the middle of the night and the banging woke me up occasionally 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


They let you know they are there for sure.

Update photo. Sorry for bad lighting. Still sweet as can be.

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