# Other Pythons > Giant Pythons >  So this happened

## Dxw425

Went to the Sacramento Reptile Expo and came home with this guy, one of my two bucket list snakes

Hes a male purple albino from ESP, weighed in at 155, he's already super tolerant of handling and very inquisitive. The other on my list was/is a hypo granite burm, and there was one at the show, but i just wasnt quite ready to drop $800 on a snake that i will never breed. But anyways here he is, his temporary 4ft boaphile should be on my doorstep any day now, and looks like ill be ordering an 8 foot in a couple months.
Still trying to think of a bad ass name, suggestions are welcome.

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Addiction (10-03-2017),_Aedryan Methyus_ (11-28-2017),_Alter-Echo_ (04-11-2018),_BR8080_ (10-03-2017),C.Marie (11-29-2017),_CALM Pythons_ (10-26-2017),_cletus_ (10-03-2017),_dkatz4_ (10-03-2017),_dylan815_ (11-02-2017),_EL-Ziggy_ (10-03-2017),e_nigma (02-07-2019),_FollowTheSun_ (12-08-2018),_Godzilla78_ (10-04-2017),iLikeSneks (11-13-2017),John1982 (11-28-2017),_Justin83_ (11-06-2018),_Kcl_ (11-13-2017),_MissterDog_ (10-03-2017),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018),_Prognathodon_ (10-03-2017),_RickyNY_ (11-27-2018),_Sauzo_ (10-03-2017),_Stearns84_ (10-03-2017),The-Jame (10-03-2017),_the_rotten1_ (10-03-2017)

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## Alexiel03

Beautiful retic! Purples are my favorite too alongside mocchinos. I want a super dwarf though so I'm waiting to find the perfect one.

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_Dxw425_ (10-03-2017)

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## Joci

Beautiful boy!! I personally think the name Topaz suits him  :Smile:

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_Dxw425_ (10-03-2017),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## The-Jame

That's a good looking snake! I'd have to name him Supernova. Congrats!

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_Dxw425_ (10-03-2017)

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## Sauzo

Name him 'Bottomless Pit' because that is what he will probably become haha. My little super dwarf white albino tiger het snow boy started out little and cute like that and then 2 hours later, he started eating and didnt quit.....now a year later and he's 7' lol.

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C.Marie (04-19-2018),_CALM Pythons_ (10-26-2017),_Dxw425_ (10-03-2017),_dylan815_ (10-04-2017),_Godzilla78_ (10-04-2017),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## dkatz4

Great snake! A purple male is def on my list. I'd always thought I might name him Audrey II.  "Feed Me!!!"

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_Dxw425_ (10-03-2017)

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## EL-Ziggy

Congrats on the very nice Retic! You could name him Rambo, Brutus, John Wick, Shredder, or Stryker. Those are the first badass names that came to my mind.  :Smile:

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_Dxw425_ (10-03-2017)

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## Dxw425

> Congrats on the very nice Retic! You could name him Rambo, Brutus, John Wick, Shredder, or Stryker. Those are the first badass names that came to my mind.


Thanks! Haha ive got a blood named rambo already!

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_EL-Ziggy_ (10-04-2017)

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## Dxw425

> Name him 'Bottomless Pit' because that is what he will probably become haha. My little super dwarf white albino tiger het snow boy started out little and cute like that and then 2 hours later, he started eating and didnt quit.....now a year later and he's 7' lol.


Thats what i figured, ive lurked on quite a few of your threads, caesar looks awesome!

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_Sauzo_ (10-03-2017)

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## cletus

Awesome pickup!!  Gorgeous snake! Congrats!

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_Dxw425_ (10-03-2017)

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## Dxw425

Sonny has been pushing pretty heavily and were at 10 or 11 days since his last feeding. Poor guy is starting to look like rudolph. He's got a meal thawing as we speak, and i just had him out to scrub his enclosure and give him a bit of exercise.

here is his new tub to hang out in while im cleaning his enclosure, its 28"x17" to get an idea of his size in there. 


And here's his face

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_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Dxw425

> Sonny has been pushing pretty heavily and were at 10 or 11 days since his last feeding.


Yeah dunno what day I thought it was just now but that should read 16 - 17 days since his last feeding. We've gone a lot longer than previously when spacing out his meals which i'm happy about. He only started banging his face up the last two nights

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## Dxw425

Okay so i fed Sonny a few hours ago and just peeked at him and at first i was surprised because it appeared as though the redness and swelling on his snout had gone down some, and then was even more surprised to see what look like two large abscesses in his mouth. Im going to post pictures here shortly and schedule a vet visit for as soon as possible. Thoughts once the pictures are up would be greatly appreciated

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## Dxw425

here it is

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_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## jmcrook

That doesnt look bad honestly. Feed him heavier and push him through a shed cycle and it will likely look like it never happened. At this point Id nearly kill to have Phylliss face look that good. I dont know how other folks get their retics to go more than 10 days without food without getting bad push face. Gerald never went past 8-10 days at the very most and Phyllis had always been a weekly feeder until this recent nonsense with her face


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_Dxw425_ (09-13-2018)

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## Dxw425

That honestly makes me feel a whole lot better. You think i should swab him a bit with a Betadine solution just incase? I went full panic mode when i saw it the first thing that came to mind is what you're going through with phyllis. He's behaving normally, he drank some water after he ate and coiled under the heat panel, and got really excited thinking he'd get a second rat when i opened his enclosure to flip the light on.

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## EL-Ziggy

Nice looking retic. Hope he chills out with the pushing for you.

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_Dxw425_ (09-13-2018)

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## jmcrook

I'd just feed him and make him sit still. Pushing that hard is him trying to tell you he's hungry in most cases. Or that something else about his husbandry is bothering him. If temps and humidity are good then feed him and make him be quiet. No reason in my opinion to try for a two week+ feeding interval unless you're trying to keep him smaller or get him to lose weight, and he looks perfectly healthy. Retics are very proactive about telling you when they want to eat.

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_Dxw425_ (09-13-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Dxw425

Well i've got him an appointment at the vet just to be safe, the earliest they had is Tuesday so ill watch him closely until then and hope it begins to clear up. My guess is he must've broken a tooth because the inside of his mouth wasn't swollen at all until after he ate, so maybe that rat caused it to poke his gums. So far it seems like its a little bit more enlarged than the last picture i posted.

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## AbsoluteApril

That doesn't look bad at all, sometimes the gums get inflamed from the pushing but of course, never a bad thing to get it checked out by the vet.
Usually trying to fix the issue (sounds like just hungry in this instance) along with some neo (non pain killing kind) applied to the gums for a few days and a shed will have it back to normal.
best wishes, hope it goes down soon

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_Dxw425_ (09-13-2018)

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## Dxw425

Update: The swelling in his mouth has gone down significantly. Not 100% back to normal but definitely a whole lot better. Looks like it will surely clear up on its own in the next day or two. Thanks a ton Jmcrook and AbsoluteApril for the input, much appreciated.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (09-24-2018),_jmcrook_ (09-14-2018)

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## Dxw425

So Sonny-boy is looking better, he started the shed process a day or two after his last meal and his blue cleared up yesterday so hell be in his fresh paintjob sometime this week. His face looks fine, his mouth looks 90% better. Also a new box with $200 worth of rats and rabbits will be on my doorstep no later than Saturday, all for him. Im also debating just building him an 8x3x19 melamine enclosure to last him until Im ready to throw and extra grand at an AP for him.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (09-24-2018),_jmcrook_ (09-24-2018)

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## Dxw425

Welp Sonny shed sometime last night and woke me up by banging around in his cage and shaking the whole tower. I got him out and cleaned his enclosure but his mouth is a bit swollen again. Im gunna go pick up a rat to hold him over, my shipment will be here Thursday but I dont want to try and make him wait that long. I want his face to look normal again.
heres what it looks like now:

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_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Dxw425

Cleaning day and feeding day for Sonny! I love this snake, he's got such a laid-back personality. I grabbed a few pictures of him during cleaning and after about 20 minutes of handling. Had to keep it short today but he's got a rat thawing so he'll be content. Also snagged him a new bowl from tractor supply, it holds more water and takes up less space than the make-shift one i had before. I also want to try and get an accurate weight on him soon, all i know is when he goes dead weight when i try and pull him out one handed he's heavy as sh*t, haha. 






I've started picking up all of the materials for Sonnys new cage, the only thing i'm waiting on is having enough free time to sit down and build it. It's going to be 6x3x 19 in tall i believe is what i had worked out. As of right now it looks like ill have the weekend two weeks out to get it built. I also still need to order a RHP for it which ill probably order this week.

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_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Dxw425

Just got home from work and the snakes have decided to destroy their enclosures. Sonny is the only one that soaked everything though. Took one look at him and saw that he was bashing his face up while I was at work, so it's feeding day. Ive got his food thawing as we speak. He also had a tooth sticking out, which we got out with ease. I opened up his cage and propped him with his head out, and he let me rest his head on one hand while i grabbed the tooth via tweezers with the other. I didn't think it'd be so easy. His cage is scrubbed now and we're just waiting to feed so I can finally go to sleep.







Even with all the work this guy is, Im so glad I picked him up last year.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (10-07-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## PiperPython

That poor boa.  Noisy upstairs neighbor! I had one of those back in grad school.  :Very Happy: 


Sonny is absolutely gorgeous!

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_Dxw425_ (10-07-2018)

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## Dxw425

Yeah shes always following me when its time to feed sonny, poor girl haha.

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## Dxw425

Finally have a day off so I went to pull Sonny out for some quality enrichment time. I put him back pretty quick though, as he has massive sausage butt going on and without a doubt is going to make a HUGE mess tonight, and Id much rather it stays in his enclosure. Hopefully hes voided tonight so I can get him out for cleaning and pictures/enrichment tomorrow.

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## Dxw425

Sure enough Sonny exploded early this morning. I gave him a nice soak while I scrubbed his enclosure down, and he even hung out in his tub while I petted/rinsed him down. Super cool experience, it's amazing how calm and trusting he is. So after about 30 minutes of scrubbing his enclosure and getting it set up again, and then a bit of handling he decided to try and squeeze into his water bowl, flooding his enclosure. Sooo I changed it out again and decided what the heck and kept him out with me a bit longer. I also cant really get pictures during handling without a second person anymore, he's just too big now. He's prowling his cage at the moment, and i'm really hoping he just settles in and doesnt start pushing. Last feeding which was only 4 days ago he got a 2XL rat AND his 1st 1lb rabbit. It left a pretty good lump, but here we are. He's pretty much a stomach with eyes and sharp teeth.

Heres the sh!t storm:



And some post cleaning shots, flooding the water included:

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Jakethesnake69 (10-11-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Brownspidey

That is a great looking retic right there!!

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_Dxw425_ (10-11-2018)

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## Jakethesnake69

Can't argue that, awsome.

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_Dxw425_ (10-11-2018)

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## Dxw425

Sonny is overdue for a new cage, and with the fact that I have a ton on my plate financially I decided to build him an enclosure, and save almost have the money Id spend on a similar sized AP. The whole idea behind the build is cheap and functional. This wont be a forever home, but hopefully will last him a couple of years. Also I would like to note that I have NEVER built anything, so its by no means going to be a masterpiece, and on top of that the only tools I have are a jigsaw and a cheap drill. Im also not planning on posting a full thread on it because like I said Ive never done anything like this and Im not confident its worth going into extreme detail over. I will post picture updates on Sonnys thread though. The general idea is 6x3x2, with a shelf, radiant heat panel, and sliding glass doors. Ive got pond pro arriving tomorrow to start sealing the wood. All in all it should cost me about $400-$450, but I have enough wood left over to make a 4x2x1 also. 




Ive already run into some minor flaws(measurement errors, some on my part some on Lowes) but nothing that cant be sanded or simply fixed. Hopefully sonny will be all set up in two weeks, thats the goal anyway.

here he is with a fresh shed, though its the usual crap lighting so you cant tell. He almost had a complete shed too.

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_CALM Pythons_ (10-27-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (10-31-2018),_jmcrook_ (10-27-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Dxw425

Comparison picture! First picture is a bit after I got Sonny, and at the time he had already shown significant growth. The second picture was yesterday, Id say hes grown a bit since! 



aaaand also a pic dump:






Bob at pro products ended up having the RHP I needed on hand, and I should have it in 5-6 days. Looks like I should have the new enclosure finished before it gets here also, so he will have a new set up sooner than I had originally planned.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (10-31-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## distaff

SherpaDesigns had a uselfull plywood build video.  I don't know what species of snake "Houdini" is, but the size looks about 4'Wx2'Dx3'H.  He built it to be furniture quality, and I love how he did the glass doors.  White epoxy interior.  I'll be using many of the specifics in his build when I make mine.

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_Dxw425_ (10-31-2018)

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## Dxw425

> SherpaDesigns had a uselfull plywood build video.  I don't know what species of snake "Houdini" is, but the size looks about 4'Wx2'Dx3'H.  He built it to be furniture quality, and I love how he did the glass doors.  White epoxy interior.  I'll be using many of the specifics in his build when I make mine.


Ill check it out, thanks!

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## Dxw425

> SherpaDesigns had a uselfull plywood build video.  I don't know what species of snake "Houdini" is, but the size looks about 4'Wx2'Dx3'H.  He built it to be furniture quality, and I love how he did the glass doors.  White epoxy interior.  I'll be using many of the specifics in his build when I make mine.


Turns out this was one of the videos I was using for ideas haha. Im using the black epoxy and a different general design but took a lot of aspects from his build.

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## Dxw425

Sonny pooped today and once I got his enclosure cleaned he started pushing. Gave home a XXL rat and he derped. This is the second feed in a row that he has grabbed the rat by its tail. Its strange because usually he quickly inspects the rat and lunges for the body or just comes flying out after it, but the past two times he has approached it, opened his mouth and started to bite it, then almost immediately lets go and decides to go after the tail instead. What a weirdo.


excuse the water on the plexiglass, I usually have to dip the rats in warm water after theyve thawed or he wont touch them and I didnt dry it all the way. Also this is just a while after I put new paper in, which he has already destroyed. Hell be on reptichip in his new enclosure

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_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Dxw425

So Sonny decided to be a huge pain in the a** yesterday. It had only been 3 days since feeding, and he had recently peed and started aggressively pushing. I think the pushing may be a combination of too small of an enclosure and looking for food. Anyway I walk by while getting ev rything together to clean his enclosure and he rushes the enclosure, so hes definitely looking for food. I get him out, get his enclosure cleaned and new bedding down, and thaw him a 1lb rabbit, which is about the same size as the rats he gets now thinking maybe the change of prey will last him a couple more days. As Im getting the rabbit out of the freezer I think its odd that hes hunting but hasnt taken his dump, usually his pushing is shortly after he defecates but whatever, I ignore it. Fast forward to later that day his rabbit is ready to go so I try and feed him; he is SUPER interested but for whatever reason doesnt accept the scent of the rabbit so he wont strike it. I decide to let it sit for a few minutes because that has worked in the past when he decided to be finicky. I come check 15 minutes later and he has sh*t EVERYWHERE. So now Ive got to retrieve this damned rabbit, and move this ravenous 8.5 foot retic into his cleaning tub and the lean his boaphile again. On top of this hes in the boaphile with the door that doesnt help to shield his face at all. It takes a few minutes but once I get him out of food mode hes pretty tame, take 2 on cleaning. Fast forward again hes now in his newly scrubbed enclosure waiting on his food. I decided to thaw him the last of the xxl rats, and soaked it with the rabbit to scent the rabbit. I figure he can easily take both, and I dont want to waste a rabbit. Again hes super hungry, immediately on the rat, but wont strike. After a minute or so I realize silly me, he cant see his tail because thats all he attacks lately so I turn the rat so the tail is visible to him and before I can react hes latched onto the tail- right where the tongs are. Hes big enough to man handle (snake handle?) the tongs out of my hands at this point (admittedly its time for an upgrade) and as hes ripping them away I can here and feel his teeth grinding against the metal. It sounded like it had to have damaged his teeth but he gave me a super short glimpse when he reset his jaw after he finished the rat. After he finished I got the rabbit, and he went ballistic striking the plexiglass before I could even open it. Got it open and he struck, coiled, and then deserted the rabbit. After 20 minutes of showing no more interest I snuck in and removed it and gave it to my blood. I havent seen any signs of broken teeth or facial damage, which I was really worried about with how hard he was striking the plexi and how he snatched the tongs. All in all an epic fail of a feeding day, and pretty frustrating all the way around. I will continue to monitor for damage but hopefully hes okay. I managed to get one picture and I was concerned about the interior upper layer of teeth (on our left), but as of 12 hours later he seems to be doing fine.

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_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018),_Stearns84_ (11-06-2018)

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## Dxw425

Aaaaand this is me holding him like the big baby he is. As frustrating as he can be sometimes hes awesome. Usually I pull him out and he stretches and roams but I pulled him out still coiled and he hung out like this for quite some time.

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_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018),_Stearns84_ (11-06-2018)

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## Zincubus

Good illustration of the breathing tube  :Smile: 




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_Dxw425_ (11-06-2018),_Justin83_ (11-06-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Justin83

Wow you've made me want a purple albino... I'm new to retics with my baby sd... These purple albino are amazing...

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_Dxw425_ (11-06-2018)

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## Dxw425

Thanks! I always think, wow I need a normal or a platty tiger or a (insert morph here) but then talk myself out of it. This guy is so much work compared to all my other snakes, I dont think itd be fair to get another quite yet. There are so many cool ones though! And Im going to try and get some outdoor pics of him soon before it gets too cold, he looks literally a million times better in natural light. In most of my pictures he looks dull yellow but in actuality hes far far from it

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## Justin83

Yeah I struggle with pics too, although he is a normal his green saddle edging is almost neon in person and the iridescence is very hard to capture.
I bought a light photo tent the other day so maybe some better pics to come. 
Keep up the good work.

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_Dxw425_ (11-07-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Purple is my favorite albino. Happy you are taking such great care of him. There is no such thing as an ugly retic. Got to love the big personalities to go with it. FOOD and FOOD. LOL. Well keep up the good work.

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_Dxw425_ (11-07-2018)

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## Dxw425

Welp good news is the RHP and remaining pieces for Sonnys wnclosure came in today. Bad news is all my snakes are now in pillowcases in tubs with heat packs, as I live in California and had to evacuate from the Camp Fire. I guess well see how this all plays out. Hopefully I dont have to rehome them because my place burnt down

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_EL-Ziggy_ (11-09-2018)

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## Justin83

:cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: man, good luck.

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_Dxw425_ (11-09-2018)

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## Dianne

> Welp good news is the RHP and remaining pieces for Sonnys wnclosure came in today. Bad news is all my snakes are now in pillowcases in tubs with heat packs, as I live in California and had to evacuate from the Camp Fire. I guess well see how this all plays out. Hopefully I dont have to rehome them because my place burnt down


Wishing you the best.

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_Dxw425_ (11-09-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

Praying for all our Cali brothers and sisters.

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_Dxw425_ (11-09-2018)

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## callen727

Ok, I have a question... what is the difference/is there a difference between purple and lavender? I dont see colors the best, but I recently got a lavender albino retic (mainland, I wondered if you had gotten a sibling to mine, but you said yours is a super dwarf) and my lavender albino looks identical to your purple albino. Also, I thought lavender was another word for purple? Just curious. Thanks in advance. 

-C. 

Btw, there are a couple pictures of my retic Fluffy in my gallery. 


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## jmcrook

> Ok, I have a question... what is the difference/is there a difference between purple and lavender? I dont see colors the best, but I recently got a lavender albino retic (mainland, I wondered if you had gotten a sibling to mine, but you said yours is a super dwarf) and my lavender albino looks identical to your purple albino. Also, I thought lavender was another word for purple? Just curious. Thanks in advance. 
> 
> -C. 
> 
> Btw, there are a couple pictures of my retic Fluffy in my gallery. 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Lavender is het purple and het white expressed visually in the same animal. They can look very similar sometimes 


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callen727 (11-11-2018),_Justin83_ (11-11-2018)

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## Justin83

Any news dude, campfire even hit the news here in the uk along with the other two...

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_Dxw425_ (11-12-2018)

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## Dxw425

They managed to stop the fire from coming through where I live, thank god. After two really stressful days I came back home with the snakes, and I just brought the fiancé and dog/cat back today now that air quality is a little better. I probably wont be updating much for the next two weeks or so, Ive been volunteering to help the firefighters with meals and Im working 16 hour shifts at the hospital because we are so short staffed. Thanks for those following and if you can consider sending donations to those less fortunate than me whove lost everything.

next time you hear from me hopefully I will have finished Sonnys enclosure though.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (12-15-2018)

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## Dxw425

Starting to get pretty frustrated with Sonny during feeding. He's steadily pushing if i dont keep him full; we're now out of the XXL rats and i've been offering 1lb rabbits. He is his usual self and gets really excited when he can smell the rats and rabbit thawing, but shows absolutely zero interest in the rabbits at all. I've had to give one to my blood, I waited a week and tried again with no success. I tried leaving that one for him; he didnt touch it and I had to throw it out. He just refused a third (almost another week) later so im thawing a rat to give him first immediately followed by the rabbit. I really dont want to have to order a million rats to feed, especially when ive got $200 worth of rabbits already stocked in my freezer. Any tips?

Also his new enclosure is coming along, i just need to seal it and get glass or plexi for the sliders and it will be good to go.

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## Dxw425

Cleaning day and Sonny was on his best behavior. I pulled him out without disrupting his coil and he stayed out until I unraveled him when his enclosure was finished

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_Dianne_ (11-25-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Justin83

Looking good.
Great the fire missed pal. 
Have you been scenting the rabbits with some rat smell?

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## Dxw425

Aw man that last picture was a GIF of some good head rubs but looks like it didnt work. Thanks justin, relieved indeed. I haven't tried to feed him again yet, im gunna give it a go at the end of this week. Fingers crossed it works. Going to try and get the new enclosure sealed and finished this weekend also, im so excited for how much space he'll have. The final size of the enclosure ended up being 72 inches long by 39 inches deep, plus there will be a decent length shelf for him to use.

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## Dxw425

So between the Fire and the butt ton of overtime and volunteer work that it brought, and now the constant rain and high winds, its taken longer than Id hoped for Sonnys enclosure to come together. I have the next three days off and Im hoping to get it completely finished in that time. Really all thats left to do is take the back wall off, apply pond shield to the interior, apply pond shield to the back wall, cut the shelf to size, apply pond shield to the shelf, secure the glass tracks which Ive already cut down, get plexiglasscut to size, and for added measure Im going to put Lexel on every edge as an added measure. Also I need to cut the frame for his large water dish so it is tip proof and seal that as well. And then I need to throw the RHP panel and LED strip in, which Ive already drilled mounting holes for so that will be quick and easy. Theres not a ton to do but its taking a bit longer because Im restricted to making it inside the room. Im also not going to seal or paint the outside of the enclosure until spring when I can do it outside. I threw a picture of sonny inside the enclosure in his cleaningtub,  it makes him look so small. Hopefully he loves it.

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_Dianne_ (12-09-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## Dxw425

Welp, Sonnys enclosure will be move-in ready tomorrow. I havent kept exact amounts but for all the trouble this enclosure has given me i shouldve just ordered a 6 foot AP. Oh well, you live and you learn i guess. He's still being an *ss about the rabbits, and im pretty sure now that his pushing is for need of space so im just excited to get him bumped into a bigger enclosure.

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_MR Snakes_ (12-08-2018)

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## MR Snakes

Very entertaining thread.

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_Dxw425_ (12-09-2018)

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## Dxw425

So Sonny is FINALLY in his new enclosure!!! Im super happy that the project is done. It is by no means a visually appealing enclosure, but functionally it is perfect for him. I still need to add the shelf, but thats one cut, some sanding/sealing, and quick and easy install so Ill plan on getting that in the next full cage clean he gets. All in all I will not ever build another enclosure, at least until I have a good amount of tools. Keep in mind the only power tools I have are a cordless drill, cordless circular saw and jigsaw(which stopped working halfway through). So if you see imperfections, dont point them out as Im more than aware lol. But I gave sonny a rinse and let him slither himself on in and he checked out the water bowl, did a full lap, coiled under the heat, and rested his head and hes been hangin out since.
As far as his behavior goes it seems hes getting ready to shed, Im not sure if hes going into blue or coming out of it but hes definitely in some stage of his shed cycle. Ive been working so much its really hard to keep track. His face looks good though and he hasnt been begging for food which is how he acts every shed.
heres the photo dump:









one picture has a gallon water jug to try and show his size better but no luck. In the pictures his size doesnt seem impressive but in person, its a whole different story. Hes got such a good temperament too.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (02-07-2019),_Dianne_ (12-15-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (12-15-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-15-2018)

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## jmcrook

Judging by how he looks next to that concrete tub Id say hes about 10 now, right? Cage looks nice


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_Dxw425_ (12-15-2018)

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## Dxw425

> Judging by how he looks next to that concrete tub Id say hes about 10 now, right? Cage looks nice
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I havent tried to measure in a while but Id say definitely between 9 and 10 based on him stretched out against the inside of the enclosure. Thanks!

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## Dxw425

So after my last post, went to go get a late night donut. Got back and peeked in the snake room to see a nice fresh turd. Shouldve known. 
Does anyone know if that is a sperm plug?

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## Gio

Nice, mature looking head.

Pretty animal for sure.

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_Dxw425_ (12-15-2018)

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## RickyNY

Love that face picture  :Good Job: . What a good looking boy!

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_Dxw425_ (12-16-2018)

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## Dxw425

Well Sonny is doing well in his new enclosure, he shed the night after my last post. He did refuse a rabbit today though, and I noticed hes been pushing still. Im wondering if he hasnt just hit the age where hes ready to breed and maybe thats the reason for his pushing. The new cage has definitely helped at least so far; his face looks completely healed. I was hoping he was pushing for food but thats not the case. Also looks like I need to order some massive rats and figure out what to do with the freezer full of rabbits I have...

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_Dianne_ (12-23-2018),_MR Snakes_ (01-09-2019)

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## Jellybeans

Beautiful !!!!

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_Dxw425_ (12-23-2018)

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## Dxw425

Update:
Sonny has been pushing like a madman. He's got the 72x39 inches of floorspace. His hot spot sits at 90 F and his cool side at 76 F. He has his massive water dish. But he wont stop pushing. I thought it was that he was in too small of an enclosure but that hasnt proven to be the issue. He is back at it and his face swelling is back pretty bad. It also appears that he is damaging the ventral scales on the first foot and a half or so of his body frpm all the pushing; they are flaking/peeling as though he had a bad shed but i know for a fact his last she was perfectly removed. Im going to try and trick him by feeding a rat followed by a rabbit again, he hasnt eaten in three or four weeks know i believe. Can anyone with more retic experience chime in? Could he be wanting to breed? The only thing ive seen that resembled a sperm plug was on one of the last pictures i posted but no one confirmed or denied so im not sure. Also I dont have any female pythons to entice him, though im sure it isnt entirely necessary for them to be around for male instinct to kick in. Advice would be much appreciated! I would love to be able to get Sonnys face back to normal.

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## CALM Pythons

Yes to sperm plug... of course only as far as I can tell from the picture.. being in person to see the consistency/texture would generate a better Positive/Negative. 
Retics are Beautiful but all the horror stories my freind have of pushing abscesses and sickness caused by it has steered me away from them completely. 
For whatever reason the Push for food and Mating like crazy. 


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_Dxw425_ (01-10-2019),_jmcrook_ (01-09-2019),_KevinK_ (01-09-2019)

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## jmcrook

All of this is why I got out of retics. When theyre fun and rewarding, they are beyond fun and rewarding. When they are a terror, they make the fun parts not even worth the effort and I, for the foreseeable future, have determined they just arent the species for me to keep in captivity. Best of luck with sunny


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_CALM Pythons_ (01-09-2019),_Dxw425_ (01-10-2019),_KevinK_ (01-09-2019)

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## KevinK

> All of this is why I got out of retics. When theyre fun and rewarding, they are beyond fun and rewarding. When they are a terror, they make the fun parts not even worth the effort and I, for the foreseeable future, have determined they just arent the species for me to keep in captivity. Best of luck with sunny
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Burms fyi.....they're too lazy to push lol

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_CALM Pythons_ (01-09-2019)

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## Jellybeans

Maybe they are just too big to be kept in captivity, as they cannot be free enough to move around as they need to...

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## CALM Pythons

> Burms fyi.....they're too lazy to push lol


My Burms have always been great and active when I take them out.. when they are in their enclosure they relax.. Best of both worlds...
Also why I laugh when people argue you need a enclosure for Burms that are at least as long as they are... how ridiculous...I always have a few people criticizing me on FB for using 8!foot enclosures like Ive been abusing them.. none of mine ever layed completely stretched out unless they are out loose in the house!!! 


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## Dxw425

Well Ive got rats and a rabbit thawing, hopefully Sonny will eat until hes stuffed to keep him calm for a few days. Admittedly I havent done much for the snakes other than top off the water for the past week or so, Ive worked an obscene amount this past two weeks on top of purchasing a new truck and selling the old car so Ive been pretty busy. I noticed sonny had a chip of his bedding in his mouth a few days back, but didnt think anything of it as its happened before with his pushing and he usually works it out himself. The past two times I stopped in to tend his water he was coiled with his head hidden. Tonight I noticed it was still there and on closer inspection it turned out to be a growth on his gum presumably from pushing. I threw some gloves on to get a closer look and it popped right off when I touched it. Hes now got an open wound on his swollen gum that looks as though it may be the early stages of infection. Im going to clean the location tonight after feeding and take him in to the vet in the morning. Im really hoping this doesnt turn into a behavior that cant be resolved.
heres the growth: 



and heres after:



this sucks.

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## Dxw425

So got sonny into the vet, I was advised to cleanse the wound daily with betadine and monitor for worsening. Sonny took down two 1lb rats and a 1.5 lb rabbit, so he shouldnt be moving for at least a few days. He was also really calm about me swabbing the wound with betadine. Hopefully this will push him into a shed cycle to help with his scales and continue to reduce his activity. Im going to continue with the jumbo rats and keep following with the rabbit, and see if I can keep the pushing down. If the wound does get worse I think Im going to try and travel farther out for a more recognized reptile specialist if possible. But for now, the beast is calm and all is okay.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (02-07-2019),dr del (01-11-2019)

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## MR Snakes

Hope all heals up well.

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_Dxw425_ (01-12-2019)

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## cletus

I hope you are able to get this under control.   It's easy to see how much it's stressing you out.   Best of luck!

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_Dxw425_ (01-12-2019)

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## Dxw425

Update on Sonny. I fed him pretty heavily (finally) a while back, and he immediately went into his shed cycle. I also threw him a 3'x1' box to hide in hopefully to ease his pushing. He has pretty much been coiled in the box since his last meal, and i checked on him today to see a almost complete shed and a nice healed face! now to just keep it that way! we grabbed him out for some enrichment and quick photos since the sun was out.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (02-07-2019),_jmcrook_ (02-04-2019)

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## JTC

He's so gorgeous!  I'm going to pick up a male purple sunfire from Bob Clark next week, this thread is making the waiting worse!   :Very Happy:

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_Dxw425_ (02-06-2019)

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## Dxw425

Hes a lot of work compared to all of my others but Id say so far its been worth it. The pushing has been frustrating but since Ive given him the cardboard box I havent seen any more signs, though its still a bit early to say hes done completely. He is a looker!
looking forward to seeing your pick up. Assuming youre getting a hatchling enjoy the small size while you can, they grow FAST

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## AbsoluteApril

Sonny is looking great!

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_Dxw425_ (02-12-2019)

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## Dxw425

Weighed Sonny the other day for the first time in a while. 16.2 lbs empty. I wouldve guessed a lot more, 16lbs feels a lot heavier when its all muscle and has a mind of its own

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_jmcrook_ (02-16-2019)

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## Dxw425

Sonny update; pushing. Stuffed him a few weeks ago, gonna pick up some big rats monday and hite'm with the old rat rat rabbit combo to ease him for another few weeks. Got him out for some sunlight today, most definitely not going to be pulling him out without anyone home anymore.


This one he decided it was time to explore and squeezed my left leg so hard it fell asleep. Thats when the lightbulb switched that hey; not a great idea. Luckily hes still super calm.



Here he decided the chair was his now


and heres 15 minutes later after giving up on removing him myself. He sat here pretty content for another 10 minutes after i brought him in the house.

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_Dianne_ (03-16-2019),Paddy (03-17-2019)

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## callumdegg

> Went to the Sacramento Reptile Expo and came home with this guy, one of my two bucket list snakes
> 
> Hes a male purple albino from ESP, weighed in at 155, he's already super tolerant of handling and very inquisitive. The other on my list was/is a hypo granite burm, and there was one at the show, but i just wasnt quite ready to drop $800 on a snake that i will never breed. But anyways here he is, his temporary 4ft boaphile should be on my doorstep any day now, and looks like ill be ordering an 8 foot in a couple months.
> Still trying to think of a bad ass name, suggestions are welcome.


$800 for a hypo granite burm wow that is major price in the uk they are £200 -£250 max wow I cannot believe the prices you pay over in states 


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## Dxw425

So Sonny had been looking good, mild push face, and was post meal lounging for the past week. He refused his rabbit and ate two big rats. Checked him yesterday and he was curled under the heat, checked him today and his cage was destroyed from pushing and he managed to damage about 8 inches of his scales on his back pretty badly. It appears that he somehow managed to push a 1/4 gap in his slider open and started to squeeze through, and then realized he couldn’t fit out and scraped his back on the way back in. There was definite bleeding and now I’ve got to treat it daily. At this point I’m not really sure what to do. I’m going to place an order solely of colossal rats and switch him back to weekly feedings. If we can’t tame down the pushing within that period I’m going to have to rehome him. I don’t think it’s fair to him and I’m not sure what else to do at this point. I’m really really hoping it doesn’t come to that because he’s the best snake aside from his constant pushing.
Anyone have any ideas?

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## Dxw425

Also in regards to his latest mishap; I noticed a good amount of substrate jammed in the edge of the slider, and realized that when I last locked the cage the slider lock was one click looser that usual due to the blockage. Typically this would not have been possible. Just goes to show how much diligence is required with these guys. Ive been able to mend everything else hes done so far so we should be okay, but I do feel bad and pretty conflicted at this point.

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## jmcrook

I feel you dude. Rehoming is a tough decision to make but I cant blame you at all. Do right by your animal, theres no judgement here whatever the decision is


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_CALM Pythons_ (04-21-2019),_Dianne_ (04-13-2019),_Dxw425_ (04-13-2019),PartySnake13 (08-09-2019),_tttaylorrr_ (04-13-2019)

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## Dxw425

Hopefully im not jynxing it here, but it appears we have fixed Sonnys pushing problem. Someone told me even though my temperatures seemed alright to try unplugging his heat panel and just give him the ambient room temperatures. It seems to have done the trick. Ive been going every two weeks giving him two large rats and he has'nt been busting his face up at all. Now to just hope his face heals all the way, it looks as though he may have a cyst from the whole ordeal.

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_jmcrook_ (07-23-2019),PartySnake13 (08-09-2019)

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## Mommabear.Yoli

We have one named wick after John wick !  I also have a zodiac after the killer. Lol.

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