Jampeas - how big do they really get and what are they like?

Cant overfeed a BP. They self regulate lol. Yeah I read Kris' care sheet and stuff but the 4-5 feeding was for hatchlings. Wasn't sure if hatchling meant 6 month old too but judging by Caesar he seems to want food every 5 days. And he isn't really shy about asking for it lol. When he is hungry and the door slides open he does the peekaboo thing followed by just coming straight out and looking at you lol. And those pictures I posted of last night was him earlier in the I want food demand. later it turned into him doing what Phyllis does and wedging himself between the door and cage followed by windshield wiping the doors lol.

I guess each snake is different and also the growth spurt thing might have him more hungry but if he goes through anymore growth spurt, i'm going to be in trouble lol. He already has gone from about 3' when I got him to now about 4'. He's still skinny as a rail lol.

As for size, I'm fine if he gets 12' I guess. He is really mellow and as long as he stays like that, I should be fine. I mean Rosey, I don't even really notice her size but everyone else does lol. But she is a sweetie. At the vet, she didn't even hiss or even get pissy and that's with all the nurses wanting to see her and hold her and the vet doing her thing and even other patients parents wanting to see her. Only time she got on a mission was when the vet or nurse took her off me. Then she went into "must get back to dad" mode and wouldn't quit trying to get back to me. Once on me, she would let anyone pet her or check her out. The vet and nurses were actually pleasantly surprised how mellow she was.

Anyways, as for temps, he has a hot spot on the flexwatt of 92F and a cool side of 79F. He loves his hot side and usually curls up behind the hide or inside the hide.

Guess we'll see when the one year mark hits lol. If you read an article of "man in seattle eaten by snake", then maybe the 4 day feeding was a bad choice lol :P

Oh and yeah I read Cody's post of SD care. I like his feeding schedule of the 4 days until medium rats, then every 7 days. Then once they were up to rabbits, he dropped males down to every 2 weeks. So far it seems like that will be best for Caesar cause like I said, he is all relaxed and mellow until the 5th day. Then at night, he is all over i'm assuming looking for dinner and also watches any movement like a hawk lol. I love how they turn their head and look at you lol.

Anyways, sorry about hijacking the thread but I want to add one more thing....we need more people to get retics so there is more stuff to read!!! :D

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Anyways, sorry about hijacking the thread but I want to add one more thing....we need more people to get retics so there is more stuff to read!!! :D

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I think the "hijack" here is good.

Your info and other info will give the O/P and idea of what it's all about.

I also forgot that you were not feeding small rats from the start like I have been.

We'll have to take some weights and measurements sometime soon and compare notes.

Although Wallace seems to be my only snake that honestly is not still enough for the time it takes to measure. I can easily weigh him, but putting the tape to him will be another event.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

I think the "hijack" here is good.

Your info and other info will give the O/P and idea of what it's all about.

I also forgot that you were not feeding small rats from the start like I have been.

We'll have to take some weights and measurements sometime soon and compare notes.

Although Wallace seems to be my only snake that honestly is not still enough for the time it takes to measure. I can easily weigh him, but putting the tape to him will be another event.

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True. And yeah, I started Caesar on 2 adult mice every 4 days. Then he went to weaned rats every 4 days and now up to small rats every 4 days, all in the spam of Oct 10th to now lol.

As for measuring, get the Serpwidgets app. It makes it easy.

It seems Caesar and Phyllis are absolutely always hungry! Keep an eye on his smashing of his face in the door gap. I'm fairly certain that's how Phyllis got her jaw abrasions.
Gio, Sauzo, how much do your guys weigh now? Phyllis broke the 1000 gram mark but still is very long and lean. No way I can get a measurement without serp widgets or getting her to crawl along the back of the couch, which she's nearly as long as now. I'm convinced she'll hit 9-10' and she's 100% Kalatoa SD.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Uhh i'm not sure how much Caesar weighs. I'll have to take a weight after he poops as he just ate his small rat and an adult mouse that Allie didn't want to eat since she is in blue.

And yeah, that head wedging between the door and glass made my worry lol. He quit after a little bit though and started windshield wiping the doors lol. Not sure what he did after that as I went to bed. Today he must have known dinner was coming as I opened the door and he shot his head out of his warm hide lol.

He is lean and long too. He seemed to like to perch on the pvc part of the door opening lol all stretched out with his head on top of it. Its like, "ok if this door slides open, I'm going to be right rdy for dinner!!"

Here he after his mouse snack, waiting for the main course to thaw out.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...4a32a5_z_d.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...d4425b_z_d.jpg

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

It seems Caesar and Phyllis are absolutely always hungry! Keep an eye on his smashing of his face in the door gap. I'm fairly certain that's how Phyllis got her jaw abrasions.
Gio, Sauzo, how much do your guys weigh now? Phyllis broke the 1000 gram mark but still is very long and lean. No way I can get a measurement without serp widgets or getting her to crawl along the back of the couch, which she's nearly as long as now. I'm convinced she'll hit 9-10' and she's 100% Kalatoa SD.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Hi,

I have not done any weight checks on Wallace. I will soon, but at his size it seems insignificant because he's so small.

He is not at all aggressive toward food and frequently hides so I'm happy he's fairly mellow and not overly wild on the food front. I have a nice, easy every 7-8 day interval for feeding and haven't had cage roaming issues at all.

I'd guess he's closing in on 4 feet long, probably 3.5 to three and 3/4's long.

Feeding in an hour or so tonight.

Just wait man!! He will turn into a giant bottomless roaming stomach lol. He might just need more time to feel comfortable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Uhh i'm not sure how much Caesar weighs. I'll have to take a weight after he poops as he just ate his small rat and an adult mouse that Allie didn't want to eat since she is in blue.

And yeah, that head wedging between the door and glass made my worry lol. He quit after a little bit though and started windshield wiping the doors lol. Not sure what he did after that as I went to bed. Today he must have known dinner was coming as I opened the door and he shot his head out of his warm hide lol.

He is lean and long too. He seemed to like to perch on the pvc part of the door opening lol all stretched out with his head on top of it. Its like, "ok if this door slides open, I'm going to be right rdy for dinner!!"

Here he after his mouse snack, waiting for the main course to thaw out.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...4a32a5_z_d.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...d4425b_z_d.jpg

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Personally I think this snake is way too thin. That's what my retic looked like when I first got her and I fed her a small to medium rat twice a week until she beefed up. Now she weights in at five pounds and I feed her a large rat once a week. I found that if I fed too small of a food item it really doesn't satisfy, even if I feed several small mice they get really food aggressive and pace the cage. When feeding a larger prey item that gives a nice big noticeable bump in their belly they will sit on the heat for a longer time digesting and will never pace the cage like that. Typically I'll feed a food item big enough to see a pretty big bump in their belly, one that will be noticeable for several days, then once the bump is gone I'll have a few days to handle her before I feed again.

I also found that when they are young like this they metabolize the food much quicker, so the bump is noticeable and then gone and a couple days later they looks super skinny again. I try to feed before they look skinny again. After a few months they will put on enough weight to where they slow down a bit growth wise and can go much longer after a feeding before even starting to look thin. I totally feed based on the body condition of the snake. I have a King snake that I over fed when I first started and realized how fat she was. In the last two months I've only fed two small mice and she is still fat LOL. You can fast your snake for a long time if they are fat, or beef them up quickly if they are thin, especially with retics that have a huge appetite.

It also helps to watch some videos of retics feeding, it's amazing how big of a rodent they can pound down. My five pounder can probably take a jumbo rat.

All you guys with the (relatively) new D and SD influence retics are making this forum the best reading on the internet. Of course with Cody as the editor-in-chief.
:colbert2: