Gerald Super Dwarf Ultra Ivory Retic Progression

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Originally Posted by DLena

I would keep it packed until the move. It's safer that way. Unless... an you get into the apartment a little early? You could get it over there, built and curing before the big move.

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Yeah I think I'll keep it packed and build it up once I get there. I'm moving about 8.5 hours away so definitely won't be getting into an apt earlier than actual move in day lol. Still have to get that secured as well. Moving is my absolute least favorite activity ever by a wide margin


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Little man shed and pooped last night so I got some pics and a weight on him. 807grams! He's put on over 300 grams in 4 months. Got a relatively accurate measurement as well while he was laying along the front of the cage, a little over 4.5', under 5'. Love this little dude as much as he's a total spaz and a little clingy and annoying to handle at times haha. Gets a total death grip on anything he can when I first get him out of the cage as though he could fall to his death at a moments notice lol. Chills out after a bit though.
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Looks good. Btw how is Phyllis doing? Is the swelling down and stuff?

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Looks good. Btw how is Phyllis doing? Is the swelling down and stuff?

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Thanks man and thanks for asking about Phyllis. Swelling has been up and down but no worse than I last posted. I think she's about to go into shed which might be affecting the swelling maybe? Maybe with the old skin being tight it's irritating her push face areas, just a theory. She hasn't pushed at all in 4 days and also hasn't peed since she ate, which she usually does by day three unless she's entering a shed cycle. I think I'll get her an xl/jumbo rat for after she sheds.


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Thanks man and thanks for asking about Phyllis. Swelling has been up and down but no worse than I last posted. I think she's about to go into shed which might be affecting the swelling maybe? Maybe with the old skin being tight it's irritating her push face areas, just a theory. She hasn't pushed at all in 4 days and also hasn't peed since she ate, which she usually does by day three unless she's entering a shed cycle. I think I'll get her an xl/jumbo rat for after she sheds.


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Hmm weird. And yeah Caesar is on jumbos. He eats them fairly fat too haha. Kind of weird but when Caesar was a baby, he used to do that forced exhale when out and about. Now though, he doesnt do it anymore. i had him out today to let him run around while i cleaned his cage and switched him to the ReptiChips knockoff stuff. He was all worked up on me and was in total explorer mode running all over me and i didnt hear that huffing at all. After his workout, i gave him his jumbo rat as its been 12 days since he ate as he was in shed and he went ballistic. Feeding him is always a challenge lol as he literally flies out of his cage for dinner. I have to life him and the food back up and push everything back into his cage haha.

As for the shed and Phyllis, maybe. I mean I've never heard of it but then again, I'm far from a retic pro. Good she hasnt pushed though. Here's to hoping she gets better.

Little dude hanging out, soaking up the nice warm weather. No real updates, he was just sitting still so I seized the photo op hahahttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9779d03061.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8c3242f8f7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...200464397b.jpg


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I don't know what this dude is up to when I'm asleep but apparently he gets wild hahah. Just walked into the snake room to find his warm hide on top of his water bowl, blocking the entrance to his cool hide, with Gerald laying behind the cool hide... squirrelly little noodle. Sorry for the glare from the ceiling light on the cage. Looks like it's in the enclosure
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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I don't know what this dude is up to when I'm asleep but apparently he gets wild hahah. Just walked into the snake room to find his warm hide on top of his water bowl, blocking the entrance to his cool hide, with Gerald laying behind the cool hide... squirrelly little noodle. Sorry for the glare from the ceiling light on the cage. Looks like it's in the enclosure
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They like to make us work a bit and it's always just when we think we have everything squared away and figured out.

Haha wait until they get hungry and start pushing the hides across a bare cage floor. It makes a horrible noise that will make you want to kill your snake lol.

Moved little Gerry into Phyllis's T8 today. As he stretches around the cage I feel like he's closer to 5.5' or longer now. Not quite the length of a long and short side of the cage together but close. Probably between 5.5'-6' but very lean and trim. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...192677dc65.jpg
Excuse the condensation on the doors, I just mixed up new coco chips and they're making it a tad more humid than normal
He's yet to discover his sky hide on the cool side but I think he'll find it by tonight. Was debating giving him one of Phyllis's old branches but opted for a more minimal set up because he's just plain filthy when he evacuates his bowels hah! Cleaning poop out of fake leaves and wooden cage furniture is no fun for me at all and takes a lot of the enjoyment out of keeping this species. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...12cc6b7e1b.jpg


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And as soon as I made that previous post he found the sky hide And went right in hah https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9ee6e6a16d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...12e3be237c.jpg


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How's Gerald doing? Any new updates?

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Originally Posted by Stearns84

How's Gerald doing? Any new updates?

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Still shacked up in his sky hide, deep in shed haha. He should be shedding in the next couple days or so. He's actually about two or three weeks behind his usual schedule, he's been about monthly like Phyllis since I got him but this cycle is about sixish weeks since he last shed.
I feel like he's been pushing cause his nose is a bit squared off but I've never caught him in the act and he's never gotten the swollen lip like Phyllis... we'll see how he acts once he sheds. Still seems to be doing fine with medium rats and they still leave a slight bump in him. Definitely will put up new pics post shed


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Still shacked up in his sky hide, deep in shed haha. He should be shedding in the next couple days or so. He's actually about two or three weeks behind his usual schedule, he's been about monthly like Phyllis since I got him but this cycle is about sixish weeks since he last shed.
I feel like he's been pushing cause his nose is a bit squared off but I've never caught him in the act and he's never gotten the swollen lip like Phyllis... we'll see how he acts once he sheds. Still seems to be doing fine with medium rats and they still leave a slight bump in him. Definitely will put up new pics post shed


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The sky hide pictures are adorable. Look at that cute lil face! Can't wait to see post-shed pictures!

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

All you guys with your starving feeding schedules!!! Feed the snakes!!! They are retics and they eat. Don't try and keep it small by underfeeding it!! Buy a male Hognose if you wanted a small snake!!! My god!!! :D And it's worth testing out his food drive. Caesar ate about 2 hours after being here and hasn't stopped lol.

A 3.5' eating rat pups seems kind of small. I would imagine Bob had him on minimal feeding size and schedule as breeders want to keep them small as long as possible so they are easier to sell. Plus it cuts down on his overhead cost for food. At 3.5' Caesar was easily pounding small rats. Heck, Kris was feeding him small rats at just over 2' when I got him.

Awesome snake though. Be interesting to see what yellowing and patterning he develops with age.

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No kidding! marvin my mainland was terrible when the first day i got him. Constantly striking at me all the darn time the first day i had him. I tried to feed him a small mouse and he took it, in fact, he took two. I gave him two days and went to pick him up and he was just the sweetest little dude. He's very food driven. He gets grumpy if he doesn't get at least two good sized prey items every 4 or 5 days haha! I think hes going to be a BIG boy one day. :)

Fresh shed and packing on some mass! Now weighing in at 1223grams up from 474 in early march. And he's even had a fairly conservative feeding schedule, alternating small or medium rats weekly.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3bf94c691a.jpg
That's a large reptile basics hide for size reference. So tiny for a 50% SD 50% mainland retic at two days shy of 18 months, he hatched 3/15/16. Maybe a little over 5', definitely less than 6' though.


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Fresh shed and packing on some mass! Now weighing in at 1223grams up from 474 in early march. And he's even had a fairly conservative feeding schedule, alternating small or medium rats weekly.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3bf94c691a.jpg
That's a large reptile basics hide for size reference. So tiny for a 50% SD 50% mainland retic at two days shy of 18 months, he hatched 3/15/16. Maybe a little over 5', definitely less than 6' though.


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Wow! He is looking really good! I have had the retic itch again but I can't pull the trigger until I get out of this apartment.

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Gerald loves his sky hide! Stalking and eating in full arboreal fashion.
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Such a hansome dude :D

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Originally Posted by BallPythonWannaBe

Such a hansome dude :D

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Thanks! He should be fresh shed in a day or so, I'll get some new pics up once he changes into a new suit haha

Fresh paint on Gerald this morning! Looking sharp
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He's right at 6' now. Stretches fully along the long and short side of his T8. Also weighing in at right about 1500grams.


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Very different build from your other ones.

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Originally Posted by o.r hill

Very different build from your other ones.

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Yes, he's much more trim and leaner built than Phyllis. He's getting bumped up to large rats after he finishes the 3 medium he has left. I expect he'll put on some additional length and girth but not a ton. I think his maintenance feeding schedule for the first year at Bob Clark's has influenced his smaller size to some degree. I could see him reaching 7-8' but would weigh maybe half of what Phyllis does.


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My SD had been kept on the diet plan on Bob Clarks too.

Gerald just took his first large (220grams) rat right now. Hardly left a lump. Probably should have been on large for a little bit now but I'm in no rush for him to be huge, but also don't want to keep him hungry. We'll see if he hits a growth spurt after being on larges for a while.
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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Gerald just took his first large (220grams) rat right now. Hardly left a lump. Probably should have been on large for a little bit now but I'm in no rush for him to be huge, but also don't want to keep him hungry. We'll see if he hits a growth spurt after being on larges for a while.
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Gerald is looking really good! How big is he now?

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Originally Posted by Stearns84

Gerald is looking really good! How big is he now?

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Thanks dude! He's about 6' now and around 1500grams at the moment. Still very lean though, he's built like a slightly thicker corn snake. Really curious to see how big he ends up. I wouldn't think more than 7'-8' tops.


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Snake looks good. Newspaper looks not so good!!! Cant believe YOU are one of those guys who use newspaper for your snakes :P

And my question is how the heck are you able to weigh him? The only time Caesar sits still outside his cage is when he was taking his first bath and i was sponging him down with a wet paper towel lol. Otherwise, trying to get him to sit still is like trying to break a brick wall with your forehead :(

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Snake looks good. Newspaper looks not so good!!! Cant believe YOU are one of those guys who use newspaper for your snakes :P

And my question is how the heck are you able to weigh him? The only time Caesar sits still outside his cage is when he was taking his first bath and i was sponging him down with a wet paper towel lol. Otherwise, trying to get him to sit still is like trying to break a brick wall with your forehead :(

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lol I just haven't mixed up new coco husk for him since I had he and Phyllis on paper when her mouth was healing. He also pees such a little amount so frequently that I wanted to clearly see when he needed a cleaning and not let his cage get too filthy, kinda hard to tell when he's on mulch. I may actually switch to aspen since the humidity is higher in Mississippi and keeps their cages at a perfect 65% even with paper substrate.
As far as weighing him, he sits perfectly still in his sky hide when I take it out. I just weigh his other empty hide, tare the scale, and then put him in his sky hide on the scale. Works like a charm. Phyllis however... I have to weigh myself on the bathroom scale and then pick her up and see the difference. She's like 13lbs now.[emoji15]


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

lol I just haven't mixed up new coco husk for him since I had he and Phyllis on paper when her mouth was healing. He also pees such a little amount so frequently that I wanted to clearly see when he needed a cleaning and not let his cage get too filthy, kinda hard to tell when he's on mulch. I may actually switch to aspen since the humidity is higher in Mississippi and keeps their cages at a perfect 65% even with paper substrate.
As far as weighing him, he sits perfectly still in his sky hide when I take it out. I just weigh his other empty hide, tare the scale, and then put him in his sky hide on the scale. Works like a charm. Phyllis however... I have to weigh myself on the bathroom scale and then pick her up and see the difference. She's like 13lbs now.[emoji15]


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Haha, good idea about weighing the larger ones. I'll have to keep that in mind.

And as for the peeing, Caesar is the same way which is why Reptichips didnt work well for him. He didnt always pee urates so finding a pee sucked. Aspen works so much better in his case. And yeah, even here in Washington State, aspen keeps everyone around 65-70% which works fine for them. You read these things of people saying boas and retics need high humidity and high temps but what i've found is my snakes all seem to enjoy the temps around 77-80F and humidity around 65-75%. Anything higher with each and they start pushing and trying to get out.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Haha, good idea about weighing the larger ones. I'll have to keep that in mind.

And as for the peeing, Caesar is the same way which is why Reptichips didnt work well for him. He didnt always pee urates so finding a pee sucked. Aspen works so much better in his case. And yeah, even here in Washington State, aspen keeps everyone around 65-70% which works fine for them. You read these things of people saying boas and retics need high humidity and high temps but what i've found is my snakes all seem to enjoy the temps around 77-80F and humidity around 65-75%. Anything higher with each and they start pushing and trying to get out.

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I've seen the same. My retic especially will always be on his cold side except for a few hours after he eats. I think he hates the warmth.


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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e54fa984f2.jpg
Fresh coat of paint on my boy Gerald today!
Looking sharp.
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If I can make time for it I'll (hopefully) be taking Gerald to my buddy's breeding facility in about two weeks to see if he'll make some high %SD baby Geralds with his two pure super dwarf females. He's still young, 21 months, but very well could be ready to go. If we try him and he's successful the clutch(es) will be entirely 75% SD Platinum possible het Anerytheristic. Fingers crossed we can make this work.


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Looks good and dont forget your buddy John!! Hook me up with a deal :D I got Matt hooking me up with a smokin deal on either a snow or moon boa as soon as he has his litter. Think I've more or less decided on a snow or moon boa and a SD ultra ivory as my next 2 snakes.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Looks good and dont forget your buddy John!! Hook me up with a deal :D I got Matt hooking me up with a smokin deal on either a snow or moon boa as soon as he has his litter. Think I've more or less decided on a snow or moon boa and a SD ultra ivory as my next 2 snakes.

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If he fathers a clutch you're definitely gonna get a pick of the snakes if you want. Keep in mind though, they won't be ultra ivory. Just platinum poss het anery but 75% SD


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Breeder loan didn't end up working out for my buddy and me this season so Gerald's just hanging out and packing on weight at home. Just weighed in at 2238grams two days ago. About 6'6" or so now. He always looks so cool when I have his LEDs set to blue
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Wow he's growing fast. He's going to pass up Caesar is size soon. Does he push as much as Phyllis?

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Wow he's growing fast. He's going to pass up Caesar is size soon. Does he push as much as Phyllis?

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He pushes but not nearly as hard it seems. Never gets a swollen lip or anything. Loves to absolutely trash his cage though. Those weights and measurements make him seem bigger than he really is though. He still fits in a large RBI hide


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

He pushes but not nearly as hard it seems. Never gets a swollen lip or anything. Loves to absolutely trash his cage though. Those weights and measurements make him seem bigger than he really is though. He still fits in a large RBI hide


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Lol what is it with our retics......they all push. Everyone elses retics seem to be angels. And yeah, Caesar trashes his cage AND pushes. I got the worst of both worlds in that little monster....but i do love him. He is such a character full of personality. A couple nights ago, i was cleaning up a giant piss while he stat there inspecting my work and when i would bend down to toss soiled aspen in the portable garbage can, he would sit half his body on my back lol. Then i would stand up and he would back into the cage and look at me. Like i've said a million times, I've never seen a snake want attention like Caesar.

Little man shed last night. Got a serp widget measurement on him today, about 6'3"-6'4". Turns two years old a month after Phyllis on march 15th.
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Dude! Gerald is going to outgrow Caesar soon lol.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Dude! Gerald is going to outgrow Caesar soon lol.

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lol Caesar is way bigger than Gerald for sure! He fills at least half of a jumbo RBI hide right? Gerald just now fills out a large RBI hide. For scale reference that last pic of him is in a 35-36" long tub with a large hide in it. He's grown substantially in the last year but he's still a tiny tic for being almost 2 years old haha


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

lol Caesar is way bigger than Gerald for sure! He fills at least half of a jumbo RBI hide right? Gerald just now fills out a large RBI hide. For scale reference that last pic of him is in a 35-36" long tub with a large hide in it. He's grown substantially in the last year but he's still a tiny tic for being almost 2 years old haha


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Ok maybe you're right lol. Yes, Caesar fills half his RBI jumbo hide, maybe even 3/4 as he likes to squish in it and just have his head and neck sitting outside the door haha.

Dude's favorite hobby is absolutely destroying his cage, every single night, starting 3-4 days after feeding and does so without fail until his next meal. Retics... https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c227543bf5.jpg


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Wow! What an amazing progression thread about Gerald. His contrasting head coloration is so cool and definitely contributes to the uniqueness. Grats to you and thanks for all the updates and pics. :gj:

He looks great.
I'm starting to wonder if Wallace is a retic LOL!

I don't have ANY issues with pushing or cage destruction, he's not overly food driven, however he is growing and doesn't like coming out of the cage.

Honestly he doesn't even produce a ton of waste. Somehow I've ended up with the most mellow group of snakes here.

Is Gerald expected to be on the larger or smaller end of the spectrum?

He is very attractive looking!

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Dude's favorite hobby is absolutely destroying his cage, every single night, starting 3-4 days after feeding and does so without fail until his next meal. Retics... https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...c227543bf5.jpg


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Haha, i forgot to write down Caesar's last meal date but i know its gotta be coming up close as he is pushing and destroying his cage too. Like you said.......retics.....

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Haha, i forgot to write down Caesar's last meal date but i know its gotta be coming up close as he is pushing and destroying his cage too. Like you said.......retics.....

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I fed Wallace last night.

Is Caesar at the 8 foot mark yet?

He is 2 years old in May if I'm not mistaken.

Wallace is definitely over 7 feet, but not 8 feet. My guess is 7' 4".

I just can't put tape to him yet.


We should all compare notes again this spring and see what's what.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Wow! What an amazing progression thread about Gerald. His contrasting head coloration is so cool and definitely contributes to the uniqueness. Grats to you and thanks for all the updates and pics. :gj:

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Thanks Albert! Yeah, I love the contrast of his spooky soulless black eyeballs against that grey white and yellow background


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Originally Posted by Gio

He looks great.
I'm starting to wonder if Wallace is a retic LOL!

I don't have ANY issues with pushing or cage destruction, he's not overly food driven, however he is growing and doesn't like coming out of the cage.

Honestly he doesn't even produce a ton of waste. Somehow I've ended up with the most mellow group of snakes here.

Is Gerald expected to be on the larger or smaller end of the spectrum?

He is very attractive looking!

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Thanks brother!
I expect him to get a little bigger but not much. He's 6', maybe barely over 6' and turns two years old in 3 weeks on March 15th.
He's grown probably ~2.5' in the last year and went from 500grams to ~2300-2400grams. Seems he's packing on more mass than length at this point.
Man, I'd give almost anything for Gerald and Phyllis to be as calm as Wallace hahah! They can be something of a nuisance at times. Gerald is squirrelly coming out of the cage as well unless I he's in the sky hide, in which case I can just slide that out and take him right out no problem.
Definitely don't trust him to roam the room like I do with Phyllis though. He moves much more like a colubrid than her, he'd be gone in a sec


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hApPiE bUrPhDaEy, GeRaLd! Little man turned two years old today.
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A year ago when I got him he was about 3’6” and just under 500grams. As of a couple days ago he’s grown to nearly 6’6” and now weighs 2676grams. Large RBI hide for scale reference.


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