Good news and Bad news

Good news is, we're getting new enclosures for the beauties! Either the custom wood ones that are so pretty and we want very much or, if we can't get a hold of them soon, a couple of T20s from Animal Plastics for the Neptune and Ma-tsu. This means... NO MORE TANK for Ma-tsu, which is excellent news for her and even better news for my back. It also means more room for both of them and stackable yay-ness. Neptune's old cage will be on reserve for a young VBB to raise up. :) We've been planning on this for a while and are very excited!

Bad news... Ma-tsu has an RI. :( She's in good hands, we have a great exotics vet, and she'll be okay but this also means putting off breeding plans again. Urgh, we're having a hard time getting started, but Ma-tsu's health is direly important to us and there's no way on earth or heaven we're gonna try breeding her if she isn't at 100%. She's an angel for the vet too, aside from feeling up all the techs.

So, yeah, 6 of one half a dozen of another. Cleo's improved health is definitely a plus though that is helping make up for Ma-tsu's needing meds. She's just on the GIF-tube liquids now, no other meds!! Yay Cleo!

I really really look forward to all our vet trips just being friendly check ups, because this year is rediculous. Thank god we got that car!

:rolleye2:

My best wishes to my lady friend and the beautiful lady snake as well! There is nothing more important as a herper then the health and well being of our animals. The fact that you are willing to delay long awaited breeding for the health of your animal is a testiment to your integrity. Good for you your kindness and concern will be rewarded, :rockon:

Thank you, Jack, my critters herp and otherwise mean the world to me and their health is the #1 priority. I consider them family. Hopefully my special girl Ma-tsu will be her old self again soon!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jjspirko

My best wishes to my lady friend and the beautiful lady snake as well! There is nothing more important as a herper then the health and well being of our animals. The fact that you are willing to delay long awaited breeding for the health of your animal is a testiment to your integrity. Good for you your kindness and concern will be rewarded, :rockon:

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Gotta tag a great big DITTO on this one!!

Hehe....love the mental image of her "feeling up the vet techs"....I can picture that, she's such a lover!

Sending our best wishes that she recovers quickly and completely. You've sure had your runs to the vet this year girl! Hopefully next year will be much less stressful for you and Karen.

Thanks ladies! Ma-tsu IS such a lover! :love: Yes, it has been the year for vetrinary care. In fact, I know pretty much all the techs by name and even hang out with them sometimes now. I've made friends, I'm there so much! Next year better be a healthy one, cause much as I love those guys it is not good on my mental or finanical health for the kids to be sick this much.

:rolleye2:

Next year will rock. We'll have healthy animals *knocks on wood* new cages, Karen will be out of school, we have a car... majorly looking forward to it!

BTW, Jack, I finally took your advice and got a snake hook! Neptune is so digging it. It's just the cheap expandable one from the Bean Farm, but he's very relaxed with it. :sweeet: Should have gotten one ages ago!

Ma-tsu update!

She is doing quite well, however since she's been sick she's decided the only thing she wants to eat are rat pups and pinkies. She ate 30 rat pinkies the other day! I would really like her back on adult rats. Luckily Neptune's lovin her leftovers for now, so no wasted ratties. Any tips guys?

:mouse2:

Thanks!

Try a small adult mouse. I have found my asians all tend to like thinner prey then they are capable of.

I just got Tai (now 14 months and 6+ feet, got to get yall some pics) onto sm/med rats. He would eat 5 mice I bet but just took a while to be willing to do the work for a bigger feed. Poor girl being sick you are going to have to move her up, if small mice rats don't work go to hoppers, etc. Just get off the pinks or you are going to be mortgaging the house to pay for her habit, :rolleye2:

Anyway glad she is doing better,

Thanks Jack! My beauties prefer small rats too, I think I'll alter the caresheet to better reflect that since it seems to be a common thing. Sadly, it's the small adults Ma-tsu has chosen to snub in favor of baby rats. :P

I'll ask for hoppers next time I go down to the feed store! Sadly I'd just ordered from Big Cheese right before she started doing this and I don't want to pay shipping just for her right now. :P I hate getting feeders from a place that lists chickens under appropriate food for a ball python, but I'm kinda stuck for now. They had no idea what a pup was which was why I defaulted to pinks, I hope they know enough to identify hoppers!

Yeash!

If she has developed a rat taste try this, take a standard feeder rat, clip a nice ammount of hair off it and feed it to Neptune, he won't care if there is a bald spot.

Now take your small adult mouse, give it a bath in warm water, dry with a paper towell and then put the rat hair on it.

My experience has been if it smells like a rat, it is a rat, etc. Sometimes that itybitty brain can be an advantage for a keeper. Karl Kaufeld mentions a bull snake that tried to eat a door knob that was under a hen thinking it was an egg, :stupidme: