Kalatoa 100% Pure SD Retic Progression (Pic heavy...)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmcrook

Congrats! That's a stunning critter you got. What % SD is it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

I asked the breeder . Reckons it's a 37.5% and the dad was 6' , mum was under 8' so he 'should' be a smallish fella hopefully .


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Phyllis shed today! Here you go, Gio, Sauzo, all others following. Incredibly difficult to get good pictures of her but here's a few attempts. I'll update with her latest serp widgets measurement soon, got an overhead pic of her next to a 24" ruler for reference.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...4ac3b18f2a.jpg
One small piece of stuck shed that came right off once I got her out
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...c96e1ce41a.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...f39966cace.jpg
Climbing on the mast of my easel leaned on my flat files
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...8aa5b69de9.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...c37283e09e.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...b14ce74126.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...4e487f604e.jpg
And lastly, to give an idea of her length. I'm only 5'4" so that makes her look bigger by comparison lol. Still getting sizable for a Kalatoa though.
Such a curious thing that absolutely never sits still. Such a joy



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Serp widgets measurement has her length at 5' 9". She's going to be a big girl and sooner than later at this pace. She could be 6.5' by her first bday. Anymore I'm fully expecting an 8-9' snake and will just be pleasantly surprised if she ends up smaller.http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...1b7917fe07.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking great. Love the colors and pattern. Nice and lean too. Thanks for posting those.

Thanks Gio. Very lean and trim indeed. At about 2' longer than my ball python (3' 10") she still weighs 3-400 grams less than Geoffrey who hovers around 1300-1400 grams. She's still got some serious sausage but going on with having eaten two small/medium rats in the last couple weeks, I'll get her on the scale and post an update after she clears her bowels hah. Definitely doesn't feel like like she's nearly 6' when she's in hand which I attribute to her much slighter build compared to other larger constrictors. Certainly will be a lot of snake to handle if/when she tops 8 feet. I Better start saving for a 6' cage!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cool snake. And looks like you already mentioned the sausage butt lol. Was going to say. And all you guys with your lean and trim garbage!! I like my women thick!! I would say I like my men thick too but that would just sound weird and kind of creepy! With that said, Caesar is my power man and eats like a real meat and potato mountain man!! And dang that is a skinny snake at 6'. I'm used to my boa lol. Better slow down on feeding man or that snake will be sizing you up for dinner soon lol. She's already bigger than you :P I love the look of retic heads.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sauzo

Cool snake. And looks like you already mentioned the sausage butt lol. Was going to say. And all you guys with your lean and trim garbage!! I like my women thick!! I would say I like my men thick too but that would just sound weird and kind of creepy! With that said, Caesar is my power man and eats like a real meat and potato mountain man!! And dang that is a skinny snake at 6'. I'm used to my boa lol. Better slow down on feeding man or that snake will be sizing you up for dinner soon lol. She's already bigger than you :P I love the look of retic heads.

---

Lol I just narrowly avoided getting pooped all over by her. Took an epic s**t and then put her on the scales... 978 grams! She's still got some rat in her from her last feeding 4 days ago, so that's not a truly empty weight. Definitely at or above 900 grams though. 16 times her weight when she arrived. You guys just wait... Phyllis was about the same size as your SD/Dwarf tigers at that 5 months. Curious to see how our differing feeding schedules influence their sizes.
Haha I tried cutting back her feeding and she retaliated by smashing the hell out of her face, which is all healed up by the way. I posted in the face rubbing thread earlier. I'd rather have a larger snake that doesn't destroy its face than a smaller one with a jacked up grill lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha, I want to see the projectile poo pictures. And we'll see abut the size. I mean Caesar has definitely grown and I think he is going into his 2nd shed since I've had him which has been almost a month. He freakin loves to eat. Even wth his wrinkly little head last night, he popped his head over his hide when I slide the door open looking at me like "dinner!!??". I was like dang Caesar, you just dropped a deuce,you're going into shed, you just ate a weaned rat, an adult mouse and a small rat all on Thursday, and you want more food again!!?? That didn't please him much so he went back behind his hide lol. So I pulled him out, held him for awhile while I cleaned the deuce with 1 hand and he curled up on my hand/arm and hung out. Then I put him down on the bed and he curled up under the blanket while I F10 the poo spot and put new aspen back in. Then I picked him back up and he curled back up on my arm. When he's in shed, all he really does is curl up on me and sit there lol. Such a lounger. Pretty much like my avatar except elongated so he uses my whole forearm lol.

How often are you feeding Phyllis? Isnt it the same as Gio and I? And good that her face is healed up.

lol I unfortunately already cleaned up the poo mess/flushed it so no pictures. I saw her start to lift her tail while she was out and I aimed her at the toilet hahah! It was huge
Yeah dude, they'll eat in shed, with a full belly, 10 minutes after they just ate, whenever. Phyllis ate a small/medium rat 4 days ago and popped right to attention as soon as I put the key in the sliding door lock. "Human! More rodents at once!!!" Chilled out as soon as I tapped her with the hook and got her out.
I was following about the same schedule as you for feeding. Hopper mice every 4-5 days until she was on adult mice, then small mice at the same rate. then 2 mice every 5 days until she was on small rats. then I moved her to every 5-6 days. Now she's on 90-100ish gram rats every 7 days. Her next batch of rats are a bit bigger so she may get a 7-10 day schedule as she moves on to legit medium sized rats.
Yeah, I was super relieved to see a clean, white underside of her chin when she shed yesterday. Back to her normal self. Even used one of her hides today lol, been a month probably since she had used either of them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lol nice. And no I don't want to see the poop. I want to see her poop on you :P Its always fun to see that stuff on anyone except yourself haha.

Ok so yeah about the same feeding schedule as I do. I think Gio spaces his feedings out like 10 days. I feed Caesar 2 adult mice every 4-5 days. He is graduating to weaned rats every 4-5 days now as the one he ate Thursday, he got so excited he ate it butt first with no problem lol. The small rat he ate after seemed kind of big still as I don't really like to see them stretch that much during feedings even if they can so i'll stick to weaned rats until his next shed, then he might upgrade to small rats.

Good sign for the hide lol. Guess she is mellowing out.

Yeah I don't like seeing them looking like they chugged a nerf ball lol. Though retics do seem to be able to handle much larger meals than most other snakes. Phyllis's next rat on deck is like 130-140 grams. About her upper limits right now in my opinion. I am always surprised how much smaller her food bump is compared to what I expect it to look like.
If she manages to poo bomb again me I'll be sure to snap a pic for you lol [emoji216][emoji90]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hahaha

Phyllis ate her biggest meal yet on Thursday. Took down a 130 gram rat no problem. Left a reasonable sized lump but not too big and three days later it looks as though it never happened. Aside from a slowly growing sausage butt lol. The metabolism of retics is unbelievable. Absolutely a bottomless pit. Here she is around her holding tub (80qt tall sterilite) while cleaning her cage. No noticeable lump at all after three days. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...6585fef713.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmcrook

Phyllis ate her biggest meal yet on Thursday. Took down a 130 gram rat no problem. Left a reasonable sized lump but not too big and three days later it looks as though it never happened. Aside from a slowly growing sausage butt lol. The metabolism of retics is unbelievable. Absolutely a bottomless pit. Here she is around her holding tub (80qt tall sterilite) while cleaning her cage. No noticeable lump at all after three days. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...6585fef713.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

What a great size!

If she stays lean and tops out between 8'-11' you'll have a fun snake.

Dang she looks pretty big. Didn't you get her a couple months ago? And didn't she fit in 1 hand?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gio

What a great size!

If she stays lean and tops out between 8'-11' you'll have a fun snake.

---

She's a blast for sure! 8' is incredibly likely, if she passes 9' she might be among some of the biggest pure Kalatoas out there. I have a buddy that's bred them in the past and says once they hit 7' they tend to start packing on some girth and weight. Time will tell...




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sauzo

Dang she looks pretty big. Didn't you get her a couple months ago? And didn't she fit in 1 hand?

---

I got her March 4th, so just over 8 months ago. She hatched out between February 11-14 so she was about 3 weeks old when I got her. I only started this thread in August I think though. But yeah, she fit in my palm and was maybe as big around as my pinky or ring finger at best and weighed 50ish grams when she got here. She's just shy of 1000 grams now if she hasn't actually reached 1k.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...b6b12c038c.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...8b4ecf8624.jpg
Her looking like a majestic beast lol, and her laying on a large exo terra rock hide for size reference


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haven't updated in a while. Had Phyllis out earlier to do a full cage cleaning and got a pic for a serp widgets measurement. I'm beginning to question the accuracy of that app because I've been using the same ruler every time and today she measured in at 5'6". Three weeks ago she measured 5'10" using the same 24" ruler for reference. No possible way she shrunk 4". http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...a92dba9c95.jpg
Still pushing a bit about 5 days after feeding. She's been metabolizing a medium rat in about 4-5 days now. Absolutely insatiable. Super chill for those first 4-5 days but as soon as she drops a deuce she's pacing the cage and pushing at everything. Digging under her hides, under branches, no abrasions though. I've still got the gap between the door and cage lip filled with foam core and mat board so she can't jam her whole head in there.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...703dbe6127.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...6e4f6910fd.jpg
Side note, broke into my first block of actual reptichip (not an off brand) and I'm sold! Used maybe 1/4-1/3 of the block and covered two T8s and still have a good bit in a tub for spot cleaning. This stuff expands incredibly, has zero dust, and holds great humidity without being wet to the touch. Still my only criticism is that it's really dark so it's hard to see pee messes at a glance, but if you've got bright colored critters they'll look amazing on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent on all fronts. IMO you are taking good care of that snake.

I'm not sold on Serp Wig either. I tried it once and did 3 measurements of the exact same animal with the same reference and got 3 different end results.

Too bad retics are so fast and furious because nothing beats the tape when it comes to getting a measurement.

You have a beautiful LEAN girl and she looks to be progressing just fine.

Well done.

I'm looking forward to spring when and I and Sauzo can shoot some outdoor pictures.

Thank you, Gio. She's the first snake that I've had as a brand new hatchling and as such I tend to treat her like she's my first born.
I'm with you on the serp widgets inaccuracy. Good for getting a ball park measurement but certainly not the best.
I'm really trying to avoid power feeding this gal, but her metabolism is un-freaking-real. If she's getting hungry she'll turn her cage upside down pushing at everything. Weirdly she never did this until I took the divider out of the T8 and gave her the full cage. I may try Cody's suggestion and give her a water bottle to push around and keep her occupied, but I'd definitely need to take out some cage furnishings to give her room to do so. I believe Bcr229 suggested wadding up some balls of brown craft paper for them to push around too. She's got plenty of room to exercise and move about but in hind sight I'm wishing I had gotten her something taller for more climbing options. We'll see how she is size wise around the 1 year mark or more and then try to decide between a 4'x2'x2', 48"x30"x18" or 72"x30"x18. I'm about a 4 hour drive from animal plastics so I could go pick it up if I need to order a T25 and save myself a good deal on the shipping.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmcrook

Haven't updated in a while. Had Phyllis out earlier to do a full cage cleaning and got a pic for a serp widgets measurement. I'm beginning to question the accuracy of that app because I've been using the same ruler every time and today she measured in at 5'6". Three weeks ago she measured 5'10" using the same 24" ruler for reference. No possible way she shrunk 4". https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...a92dba9c95.jpg
Still pushing a bit about 5 days after feeding. She's been metabolizing a medium rat in about 4-5 days now. Absolutely insatiable. Super chill for those first 4-5 days but as soon as she drops a deuce she's pacing the cage and pushing at everything. Digging under her hides, under branches, no abrasions though. I've still got the gap between the door and cage lip filled with foam core and mat board so she can't jam her whole head in there.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...703dbe6127.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...6e4f6910fd.jpg
Side note, broke into my first block of actual reptichip (not an off brand) and I'm sold! Used maybe 1/4-1/3 of the block and covered two T8s and still have a good bit in a tub for spot cleaning. This stuff expands incredibly, has zero dust, and holds great humidity without being wet to the touch. Still my only criticism is that it's really dark so it's hard to see pee messes at a glance, but if you've got bright colored critters they'll look amazing on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

Awesome man. Well the serp widget will give you different measurements if you have the dots at different locations each time if that makes sense. I believe he said it has some fluctuations in accuracy. It gives you a general idea though.

And haha, your Phyllis sounds like Caesar. A saint until the food lump wears off, then its poop time and off to the races for more food lol.

As for the Reptichips, that's awesome. I was wondering how much I would need to all my cages. Looks like 1 block will be enough to do all 6 cages for me. I still got almost 2 bails of aspen left so once they are done, i'll order me up probably like 6 or 7 of those Reptichip blocks.

Haha I see you got the lock on on that last pic. I have yet to actually lock my cages. They haven't learned how to slide the doors open yet lol. I see that F10 also. I love that stuff. And you got the same water dish I got for Caesar lol.

For real, she is an absolute angel with food in her belly and as soon as she takes a dump turns into the devil incarnate. As I'm typing this she is pushing at literally every single item in the cage and with some serious vigor. Might have to plug a rat in her face to chill her out even though she ate a medium rat 5 nights ago. It may also be correlated to doing a full cage clean too. I seem to recall her tossing things about when I moved her into the half T8, anytime I did full cleanings in there, and again when I gave her the full cage 2 months ago. She's going absolutely hulk mode on everything right now. I can only imagine what she'd do to her face if she could cram it in the gap between the glass and the cage lip.
Yeah, I lock them if only for peace of mind. I don't think she could slide it open, but the way she's pushing at things right now I feel like she realistically could. Just started using the F10 SC and SCXD a handful of months back and I love it too! I think your water dish is the next size up though. Pretty sure mine is the large size, and I've got the extra large in the Geoffrey's cage above Phyllis. Great water bowls either way.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmcrook

For real, she is an absolute angel with food in her belly and as soon as she takes a dump turns into the devil incarnate. As I'm typing this she is pushing at literally every single item in the cage and with some serious vigor. Might have to plug a rat in her face to chill her out even though she ate a medium rat 5 nights ago. It may also be correlated to doing a full cage clean too. I seem to recall her tossing things about when I moved her into the half T8, anytime I did full cleanings in there, and again when I gave her the full cage 2 months ago. She's going absolutely hulk mode on everything right now. I can only imagine what she'd do to her face if she could cram it in the gap between the glass and the cage lip.
Yeah, I lock them if only for peace of mind. I don't think she could slide it open, but the way she's pushing at things right now I feel like she realistically could. Just started using the F10 SC and SCXD a handful of months back and I love it too! I think your water dish is the next size up though. Pretty sure mine is the large size, and I've got the extra large in the Geoffrey's cage above Phyllis. Great water bowls either way.

---

Hey, go at least 24" tall and 30" deep.
AP can and will do it for you. 6 wide with the other two dimensions and you'll be set !!

Get the shelf for sure. Caesar likes playing around on his shelf and sitting on top of it.

Lol, Caesar doesn't go hulk mode. He just cruises around all over and stuffs his head around the edges and windshield wipes the glass and then wanders off again. I got the extra large dish. Caesar might go hulk mode though when he gets older lol.

Yeah I'm definitely getting the shelf whenever I make an upgrade. Gotta start saving my pennies, 6' cage is gonna be a doozy with a shelf and RHP and locks, etc... then I'll also have an empty T8 that will tempt me to get another critter lol!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmcrook

Yeah I'm definitely getting the shelf whenever I make an upgrade. Gotta start saving my pennies, 6' cage is gonna be a doozy with a shelf and RHP and locks, etc... then I'll also have an empty T8 that will tempt me to get another critter lol!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

Haha so true. I gotta save my pennies for like 3 of those T25s. Figure i'll get 2 in the spring for the boas as they need it more than Caesar right now. Then probably in the fall, i'll get one for Caesar. And yeah, that's what got me my dumerils, JCP and retic, having extra cages. Luckily for me, once I get the boas and Caesar into the T25s, the T10s will be used for Dottie, Luna and Allison. But then i'll have 2 glass tanks and the Pro Line empty. By then it might be time for another retic lol.

I really want a pied tiger SD but they aren't made yet. Been thinking of maybe a pied tiger mainland male but I cave easy to my animals begging for food lol so the male might turn into some monster. Also might break down and finally get a BCC. Either a Pucallpa or Iquitos which actually might be the better choice so you all don't read about the guy in seattle who got eaten by his retic lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sauzo

Haha so true. I gotta save my pennies for like 3 of those T25s. Figure i'll get 2 in the spring for the boas as they need it more than Caesar right now. Then probably in the fall, i'll get one for Caesar. And yeah, that's what got me my dumerils, JCP and retic, having extra cages. Luckily for me, once I get the boas and Caesar into the T25s, the T10s will be used for Dottie, Luna and Allison. But then i'll have 2 glass tanks and the Pro Line empty. By then it might be time for another retic lol.

I really want a pied tiger SD but they aren't made yet. Been thinking of maybe a pied tiger mainland male but I cave easy to my animals begging for food lol so the male might turn into some monster. Also might break down and finally get a BCC. Either a Pucallpa or Iquitos which actually might be the better choice so you all don't read about the guy in seattle who got eaten by his retic lol.

---

Lol I'll keep my eyes peeled for that news report! I actually have a brother that lives in Seattle so he'd probably hear about it and tell me haha. I also cave easy for snakes begging for food. Thawed a couple rats for Geoffrey and Phyllis a couple hours ago to see if that would calm her down. Geoffrey turned down his meal (Which will probably be the case until March/April/May?) so Phyllis won the lottery and got two rats tonight, small and medium. As I predicted, she promptly chilled the EFF out and is lounging in a hella food coma. With my luck she'll be hungry again by morning...http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...bc0a70ed7e.jpg

Haha. Yeah my BP usually goes on food strike from Nov to Mar but for some odd reason she has eaten 2 meals the past 2 weeks. I stuffed a F/T small rat into her hide and bumped it on her body a few times and all heck broke loose and she slammed them lol. So I have no idea whats up with her. I gave up trying to figure her out a long time ago lol.

And yeah that food coma will last about 4 days lol. Then will come the poop followed by destruction in your case. I so glad Caesar doesn't destroy his cage lol. He just paces all over lol.

Vicky actually dropped a deuce and started pacing the front of her cage. I couldn't understand it as she ate last night but when I looked, sure enough, a deuce. So I pulled her out let her sit on me while I cleaned and F10 the area and added more aspen. Then I put her back and started vacuuming as I dropped aspen all over the floor and guess who shows up to see what the excitement is about.....its Caesar with his head at the door looking at me lol. It's like Caesar you ate last night, wtf you hungry again in 24 hours!!?? lol. When there was no dinner, he went back into his warm hide and just had his nose sticking out lol.

Latest update on queen Phyllis haha. Ate a small and medium rat 11-22, passed both of them in 5 days then promptly went into shed. On day 10 now since she last ate and zero pushing. I attribute that to being in blue but this is marked improvement from pacing the cage every 4-6 days lol. Might see how a smaller size or less frequent meal plan goes over a week or two after she sheds and see if she still pushes all crazy when she gets hungry.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...7b9a94bd3e.jpg
Deep in blue. Wrinkly and lazy and miserable hah. Should have a new coat of paint probably Sunday, maybe Monday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha nice. Yeah I've noticed their activity seems to be food driven lol. Full stomach and they are quiet and just "inspect" things that come by. Empty stomach and they shoot out to the front of the cage when things go by and if that fails, they actively cruise around lol.

Too funny, Caesar is going into shed too.

I'll bet Phyllis goes back to pushing and pacing when you lower her food intake!!

Caught her right as she began shedding this morning!
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...e407a94294.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...60ee57f1f8.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...d6e22ee7ba.jpg
Fresh coat of paint and looking real nice!
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...40a77bb031.jpg
Bring me rats, human!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha nice. And I actually do bet that is what she is thinking at the end picture lol. Caesar hasn't been poking his head out today. I fed him a small rat last night that Dottie didn't want and I think that pushed him into full mode shed. He's quiet and curled up inside his warm hide. Think Vicky is going into shed too as well as Luna and Rosey is almost out of shed. And Allison just shed. its pretty busy around here atm lol.

Well, Phyllis went back to her pushing, rambunctious self only 5 days after eating two small rats in the same sitting. Turned her cage upside down last night and has been pacing and staring at the doors today. Trying to resist power feeding her but that's about the only thing that keeps her relatively calm lol.http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...ef7fee993d.jpg
Smashing her face in the bottom edge of her cage... guess we're going back up to medium rats every 7 days. You called it Sauzo! This snake just needs to be in a persistent food coma. Also, she's reached 1179grams last I got her on the scale. I'd question her genetics if she wasn't from such a reputable breeder. I trust her background, probably should have tried a more maintenance feeding schedule early on. Who knows, that might have got her starting pushing earlier on for all I know.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha funny picture. I'd guess her hunger is just her. Probably nothing you did to promote it. Caesar has kind of mellowed out so far. He did just shed, poop and pee though so who knows. He might go bonkers again. Right now he is relaxing behind a hide looking out front but I did have him out today running all over me while I spot cleaned his cage and then letting him run on the bed so he got his exercise for the day lol.

Yeah after a good poo Phyllis starts climbing the walls lol. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...4ee05a3e96.jpg
Yes, she just went in her hide, dug under it, and then resurfaced at the back of the cage. She's a maniac. She never acted like this until about a month after she was in the full 4'x2' cage footprint. She was in half a T8 for three months before that, and a 20L critter cage for 3ish months to start out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmcrook

Yeah after a good poo Phyllis starts climbing the walls lol. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...4ee05a3e96.jpg
Yes, she just went in her hide, dug under it, and then resurfaced at the back of the cage. She's a maniac. She never acted like this until about a month after she was in the full 4'x2' cage footprint. She was in half a T8 for three months before that, and a 20L critter cage for 3ish months to start out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

Looking good as always.

Have either of you installed actual REAL perches? Not just a shelf but perches. I think with some unique climbing options you'll see less pushing. I let my coastal have horizontal and vertical style perches. She loves using them.

Wallace is pretty much out of quarantine now and just finished his second shed here. I'm guess he's closing in a on 4 feet long, maybe a tad under but I'm going to be moving hime to the 48" x 24" x 14" cage soon. He'll have a lot of fun in there.

I'm very happy with his food schedule. He's already gone 12 days without any urges to eat and now the shed is over he's getting 2 chicks.

His final cage will be 6 feet x 30 inches deep and 24 inches high. I'll have naturalistic branches and a ton of goods to keep him busy. I'm still looking at AP caging but will likely go MONSTER for a lot less $$.

Phyllis is looking great and so is the setup!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gio

Looking good as always.

Have either of you installed actual REAL perches? Not just a shelf but perches. I think with some unique climbing options you'll see less pushing. I let my coastal have horizontal and vertical style perches. She loves using them.

Wallace is pretty much out of quarantine now and just finished his second shed here. I'm guess he's closing in a on 4 feet long, maybe a tad under but I'm going to be moving hime to the 48" x 24" x 14" cage soon. He'll have a lot of fun in there.

I'm very happy with his food schedule. He's already gone 12 days without any urges to eat and now the shed is over he's getting 2 chicks.

His final cage will be 6 feet x 30 inches deep and 24 inches high. I'll have naturalistic branches and a ton of goods to keep him busy. I'm still looking at AP caging but will likely go MONSTER for a lot less $$.

Phyllis is looking great and so is the setup!

---

Thanks Gio! Nah, haven't tried real perches yet as the cage is only 12" tall. Not really any room for shelves or perches of any sort. Her next cage will be at least 18" tall for sure, maybe 24". I just can't let myself drop the money on a 6' wide cage yet and also don't really have the space for one right now. I almost think she'd be good in a 4'x2'x2' or 48"x30"x18" but I don't want to make that investment and then watch her have a 3' growth spurt and be too big for it ya know? But yeah, I agree climbing options will probably deter some pushing. In hindsight I'm wishing I had started her in something taller. I'm fairly handy and could build a good size cage relatively easily but there's something nice about the CNC routered AP cage design and options that I really enjoy. Hmmm... decisions decisions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nah, I just use the shelf. Caesar doesn't push anymore. I think the almost 2 months of aggressive feeding has mellowed him out a lot. He has filled out nicely and is more of the lounge retic now lol. He's shed 3 times now and I figure he is at least as long as his T10 if not a bit longer now.

I've decided to push him out to every 7 days on his feedings now.

I'll end up getting him a T25 like the boas but for right now, the T10 is perfect for him. I personally love the AP cages. I just ordered a stand from them as I stacked my 3 T10s and now the top one I need a chair to clean it lol. So once the stand gets here, i'll be able to set it up and then have a nice spot next to that stack for a stack of 3 T25s.

I think you will need a 6' cage Jmcrook. I mean yours is a female so I would guess she will get around 10'. Kris said my male should live in a T10 his whole life and be fine but I think i'm going to get him the 72x30x18 T25 anyways but unless he makes some monster growth between now and spring time when I order the cages, I will be getting the Vicky one first. Rosey is for sure getting one first and foremost as she is my biggest. Then its a race between who gets the 2nd one and the 3rd one will come end of summer.

As for the pushing, I honestly don't think its a shelf or perch issue. I mean you see all these videos of guys with big retics in 8' cages with no shelf or perch and they are fine and quiet. I think its just food driven or improper cage temps/humidity etc. But I think Jmcrook has his cage set up good. I think his girl just wants food to grow and her pushing is her trying to "find" food since she cant slither all over like in the wild hunting for dinner. Like I said, Caesar went through his phase of going bonkers for food and anything that moved. He also shed 3 times in just under 2 months and close to doubled his size. Now though he is mellowed out like I said and still looks at movement but doesn't come charging it like before. Although last night he did come straight to the glass doors when I wiggled a wadded up white paper towel lol. Think he thought it was a rat haha. Then when he saw it wasn't dinner, he wandered off and sat half on top of his hide.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sauzo

I think you will need a 6' cage Jmcrook. I mean yours is a female so I would guess she will get around 10'. Kris said my male should live in a T10 his whole life and be fine but I think i'm going to get him the 72x30x18 T25 anyways but unless he makes some monster growth between now and spring time when I order the cages, I will be getting the Vicky one first. Rosey is for sure getting one first and foremost as she is my biggest. Then its a race between who gets the 2nd one and the 3rd one will come end of summer.

As for the pushing, I honestly don't think its a shelf or perch issue. I mean you see all these videos of guys with big retics in 8' cages with no shelf or perch and they are fine and quiet. I think its just food driven or improper cage temps/humidity etc. But I think Jmcrook has his cage set up good. I think his girl just wants food to grow and her pushing is her trying to "find" food since she cant slither all over like in the wild hunting for dinner.

---

Yep, I think you and Gio are both totally on point. If she had stayed in her parents size range she could probably live her life in a 4' cage. Technically she probably still could but she's so active I would feel bad doing that to what will eventually/likely be an 8-9'+ snake.
I also think you hit the nail on the head about her hunting. After all she is 1st generation captive bred from wild caught Kalatoa parents and most definitely has a bit of wild instinct in her. A lot of those giant retics staying calm in an 8' cage are pretty deep into captive generations of bloodlines and I'm guessing are much more chill as a result of having some of the wildness bred out of them. Aside from needing more height, Phyllis has a pretty plush pad lol. 65% humidity, 87* warm side, 75-79* cool side, two hides (that she never uses except to push all over the place) a couple branches to crawl around on (and also just bulldozes them all over along with her water bowl while pushing at the cage.)
I may just bite the bullet and order a T20/T25 and then have time to wait for it to be ready. Might also be worth a 4 hour drive from mid Missouri to Iowa to avoid the freight shipping. I'm sorta torn between the T20-25 because the 25 is $40 less but also a half a foot shorter but half a foot deeper. I'm feel like added height would be beneficial but also more air space to heat. I could definitely make a super stimulating and awesome looking display cage with a climbing/perch/jungle gym for her in a 24" tall cage that I feel she would use. I feel like I'm back at square one now trying to accommodate for her crazy growth rate lol. I was prepared to accept an 8-10' adult size snake just not quite this quick haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would definitely go for the floor space vs the height. 18" is a good height, enough room for a shelf and whatever else plus easy enough to heat. You can never have enough floor space though lol.

That was my exact thoughts lol. I could make some cool perches like Gio has going on with that height and have a super slick looking display cage


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You could. While I like looking at display cages, not a fan of having to clean them and as I have my snakes out a lot, I tend to change their substrate fairly often as I don't want a snake who cruised across a turd or a pile a piss crawling all over me lol.

I hear ya on that. I generally try to strike a good balance between decked out display and minimalist aesthetics. Couple hides, a branch or two and a bit of fake vines or plants. Still looks nice but not a huge hassle to clean.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah. I used to do the silk vines from Michaels craft store but my snakes pull the stuff down and then poop or pee on them. And then I am stuck with silk leaves that smell like snake poop. I mean even hanging them in the shower and spraying them down with F10SC, letting them soak and then rinsing them off doesn't really get the smell out lol. I gave up and now just give all my gals and guy hides and a water bowl and of course the shelf. They seem fairly content. All really mellow, eat like horses, poop like horses and growing.

If I had display snakes like GTPs or ETBs, I would definitely set up a sweet cage with tons of perches and vines hanging down and even maybe one of those Zoo Med waterfalls. Give it a total jungle look to it but those snakes I probably wouldn't "play" with as much as my boas or retic. I mean my boas come out with me in the summer at least 3 times a week if not more and the retic will be getting that too so having a really cluttered cage would just make taking them out a pain and trying to find poop and pee a pain. Not to mention, I have enough work cleaning out 6 snake cages every month. Couldn't imagine having to do that as well as washing all the decorations for 6 cages. Would take me a weekend a month to do it lol.

Hanging out with Phyllis earlier today. The flat file drawer is 54" end to end for size reference. So she's still somewhere in the 5 1/2' range at almost 10 1/2 months old now. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...8efa7ea25b.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...e0c37243da.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...692aa1c306.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...1fdb489c53.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awesome looking. She is getting huge.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sauzo

You could. While I like looking at display cages, not a fan of having to clean them and as I have my snakes out a lot, I tend to change their substrate fairly often as I don't want a snake who cruised across a turd or a pile a piss crawling all over me lol.

---

Guess how long it takes to clean these,,,,,,?????

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...tput_3114.jpeg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_3580.jpg

All of those perches pop right out. Bing, bing, bing. Dust pan scoops out substrate when doing a deep clean. Shop vac takes the rest. Scalding, close to boiling water and solution goes on the floor of the cages to remove any traces of urates and the filth. I'll dump a bag of coco husk, cypress or repti-bark in and replace the hides in less than 15 minutes. That is a TOTAL clean/change out.

You can't spot clean news print or paper towels, but natural substrate is easy to scoop and replace, literally minutes is all it takes when just spot cleaning. It actually absorbs waste and minimizes smells, and isolates most defecation.

Really, the only things I need to clean are the hides, water bowls and substrate.

Unless your cages are always ripe with humidity, nothing really happens to the perches and fake plants. My snakes don't defecate on them, at least not in the last 5 years.


Again, each to their own, but don't be turned off from enjoying the beauty of a naturalistic cage based solely on cleaning. Its not that difficult if you think it through.

I draw the line on the number of snakes I have when the work to keep them overshadows the fulfillment of having them.

With four currently, I'm not at all over my head.



That SD you have there sir is absolutely stunning!

Every time you update her pictures she looks better and better!

I'm mostly talking about spot cleaning and trying to find those hidden poops and pisses.

I don't doubt full cleanings are fairly fast.

I'm just saying I do full cage cleanings at least once a month for most of the snakes. The retic is a poop and pee machine so he sometimes gets full cleanings 3 weeks. Also i'm not sure if its just my guy but do either of you guys ever have your retic pee but not leave urates? Caesar sometimes leaves those and I can smell them when I open the door and see the spike in humidity so I have to literally feel around the cage until I find the wet spot haha and then spot clean that area.

Plus I also take my snakes out a lot so I just picture a "full" cage making it harder to get some out.

Also I finally decided to switch substrate. Ordered 3 bricks of ReptiChips to test them out as Jmcrook and some other retic and boa owners I've talked to have said the stuff is awesome. So my boas and retic will be the guinea pigs for it next week. Also finally got my stand put together and set up. So now I got the 3 stack of T10s and later I can put a 3 stack of T25s with stand next to it to make an awesome condo set up haha.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...31a1cf80_b.jpg

I'll have to sell off my normal Herpstat 2 and 1 and get me 2 more Redlines so it all matches lol.

Thanks guys! She really is quite the animal to have the privilege of working with. Very spirited critter as well. I think she must be channeling Allie recently haha. Took a shot at the glass last night and took a half hearted shot at the hook when I just went in to clean up some urates. Which of course she left for me immediately after having her out for an hour after having cleaned up a small pee spot. She then proceeded to smash around everything in the cage and is currently staring at me through the doors lol. Only 3 days since she ate last. I think she's just built up some confidence since her tiny reticulated worm days haha. Really doesn't feel or look like an almost 6' snake until she stretches out along something. Still very trim and lean for her length. She's going to be very impressive at 8'+


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sauzo

I'm mostly talking about spot cleaning and trying to find those hidden poops and pisses.

I don't doubt full cleanings are fairly fast.

I'm just saying I do full cage cleanings at least once a month for most of the snakes. The retic is a poop and pee machine so he sometimes gets full cleanings 3 weeks. Also i'm not sure if its just my guy but do either of you guys ever have your retic pee but not leave urates? Caesar sometimes leaves those and I can smell them when I open the door and see the spike in humidity so I have to literally feel around the cage until I find the wet spot haha and then spot clean that area.

Plus I also take my snakes out a lot so I just picture a "full" cage making it harder to get some out.

Also I finally decided to switch substrate. Ordered 3 bricks of ReptiChips to test them out as Jmcrook and some other retic and boa owners I've talked to have said the stuff is awesome. So my boas and retic will be the guinea pigs for it next week. Also finally got my stand put together and set up. So now I got the 3 stack of T10s and later I can put a 3 stack of T25s with stand next to it to make an awesome condo set up haha.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...31a1cf80_b.jpg

I'll have to sell off my normal Herpstat 2 and 1 and get me 2 more Redlines so it all matches lol.

---

Oh yeah Phyllis leaves straight liquid pee more often than urates by a long shot. She pees probably every other day until she finally drops a deuce. And yeah it stinks worse than any other snake I've worked with, though the reptichip does a good job of soaking up odors but makes it tougher to spot the pee in the cage.
I think next time I order substrate I'm going to try Plant!t/Grow!t coconut chips. Pretty sure it's the exact same stuff as reptichip. Same size brick, same package... http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/p...oil-amendments
About half the price and seemingly identical. If I go that route I'll give a review of it compared to reptichip. Deborah posted in a thread about it recently and said she gets 10 blocks shipped for like $120 total. Pretty good deal in my book
Those stacks of APs are going to look way slick side by side with glowing red Herpstats! I've got the redline too just for the simple fact that it looks awesome haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk