Adelita - 2019 Hypo Sonoran

I can't get over how beautiful and sweet-tempered this boa is!! Lovely girl

She looks more amazing with every post.


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Originally Posted by Kam

She looks more amazing with every post.

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Agreed

She's beautiful, and those eyes, wow! Someone needs to paint that face.

She's a beauty for sure! Great photos too!

Adelita says "thank you" for all the compliments. She thinks y'all are wonderful too. :)

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You're welcome Adelita :D

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Somebody's hungry! She went right back into "ambush mode" immediately after I fed her last week, and flops out like this everyday around 2:30-3:00, like clockwork.

I will start putting both of the boas through a winter cool down/fasting period starting this year. From what I understand, Sonorans tend to do most of their feeding late summer to late fall, so I'll up her feeding then. Whether I'll up the size of her feeders, feed two small mice a meal, or increase the frequency of her feeding, IDK.

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Baby got blush! She definitely seems to have some pinks and new facial markings coming in as she ages, and measures in at 179g and a hair over 28" now. I have a feeling she'll hit 2.5' by the time she turns one in August. That seems like a smidge too much growth for a locality boa of her size -- she was a about 20" when I got her -- but it's not terrible. Her body condition seems to be where it should be and she has some muscle coming in, so that's good.

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She’s looking good. I wouldn’t worry too much about her growth rate. She looks fantastic.

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... and the fixation of the season is... burrowing! Glad I gave her that deep substrate layer now, LOL.

Bonus picture of her realigning her jaw after striking the paper towel roll I gave her. Alas, she has never been thrilled with one of the cheapest "snake toys" out there. Perhaps my spoiled little princess desires a branch instead...

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Looking great.
My gomez still like burrow now and he's nearly 3

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Finally got Adelita back out in the full sun today. She's coming along quite well! The UV light in her tank seems to wash out her true colors -- I may talk to my lighting guy and see if there's a way to balance the colors out when bulb replacement time comes. She really enjoys flopping out under her light, though, so she'll get to keep it either way.

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Adelita looks beautiful! She looks like she is doing great!

Looking great [emoji106][emoji106]

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Got a couple of nice photos of Adelita today. She's long overdue for some "business" and will have to wait a few extra days for her food. I want to see some active hunting and movement, little lady! She definitely seems to be fueling a growth spurt -- I wonder how much she'll have grown once I can get an empty weight for her.

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That background is beautiful.

Universal Rocks by chance?

I should add the more important compliment.

The snake is very pretty.

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Originally Posted by Gio

Universal Rocks by chance?

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Yeah, the background and the ledges are Universal Rocks. The background is the Rocky Background in classic brown while the ledges are from the DIY medium ledge kit #001. The ledges don't always line up flush with the background, but it wasn't something a little bit of repositioning and silicon couldn't fix in my case. I'd probably order the same things again if I did another desert- or rocky-type build.

And Adelita thanks you for the complement. ;)

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Somebody got a rare soak today to address her sausage butt and she wasn't entirely thrilled. She took a few minutes to warm back up and it was right back into her favorite hide.

I've noticed that she's developed a habit of rubbing her muzzle on the inside of her cork log and she crawls back into it after handling sessions. The same part of her muzzle where she rubbed some of the snake-safe neosporin I had to dress her old rub with. Hmm. She also hasn't been using her basking spot recently. Part of me wonders if her summer ambients are too high and she's a little uncomfortable -- I may cut back the amount of time her lights are on and lower her temps to see. She does seem to like things on the cooler side.

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My boas are usually on the cooler side most of the time unless digesting.

I wouldn't worry if your hot temps are a) consistent and b) under 90-91F AS LONG as she has a cool side that's about 78-80F she can go to cool down.

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... because the hungriest snake is the one that just ate. "Are you going to feed me again or not?"

She ended up doing her business the day after my last post and is back to her old self. Seems she was just uncomfortably stuffed. The "present" she left me was far larger than any one she left me before, so it seems she just needed a little help to move things along.

In case you're curious, dakski: her daytime ambients have been around 81-82F during the high summer. I'd imagine things are a little cooler in her hides. Ambients dip down to 78F during the night drop, so she does have a nice, long cool period outside of that.

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Looking GREAT!!

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Adelita finally turned one! I don't know her actual birthday -- she was from one of several litters born in early August -- so I've arbitrarily chosen 8/8 as her birthday. Her birthday present was an adult mouse that snuck in to the bag of smalls. Hopefully it'll be enough to hold my little piggy over until after our move later this month.

I'll also add reason #365 why I love this snake. While I was giving her the aforementioned mouse, she accidentally wrapped up and bit the paper towel I offered it on as well (I've taken to feeding my boas over paper towels as of late, as it helps keeps the EcoEarth off the mice and out of the snakes' teeth). Not only did she allow me to mess with her mid-feed to remove the paper towel before she ingested it, but she allowed me to reach into her mouth to unhook the last stuck bit as well. No hiss, no fuss, no snap. Just a very well-mannered girl. Who says all baby Mexican boas are snappy!

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Awesome!!

i was getting ready to ask you if you took it to the pet store to pick out a meal! Lol

Excellent photos and beautiful animal!

Great photos [emoji106][emoji106]

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Finally, a place to take outside pics! Hopefully I'll have time to get her out under full sunlight soon.

Adelita settled in quite nicely. It wasn't a particularly distant move, so I was able to move the snakes and their enclosures down ahead of everything else. I think that and careful planning helped them settle in as quickly as they did. I'm not sure if I'll be able to repeat such a snakes-first move again, though, and the actual reality of moving with snakes -- two yearlings, at that! -- has made me reconsider my expansion plans.

Folks: if you think you'll be moving a fair bit and are planning on expanding your collection, you may want to reconsider. The logistics might not be as simple as you think. If you already have a large collection, definitely plan ahead! It's a wonderful feeling when things go according to plan, and your reptiles will thank you when that happens.

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She's looking great.

Also, I am NEVER moving! Or if I do, the 12 reptiles stay with the house!

Of course, I am kidding. If I move, my babies come too. However, I am not looking forward to that if it happens.

Having said that, Katie and I are settled in a nice house and we are happy here with no intent on moving anytime soon. I agree, people should think about getting animals when unsure of their near-term living plans.

Also, having moved a large number of reptiles before (just not 12), it takes planning, (hopefully) good weather, planning, effort, and also planning. That was also a short distance. Not sure how much extra planning and effort it would take to handle a long-distance move.

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People-watching habit CONFIRMED! Had some peeps over and she immediately came out of her hide, staked out a position, and started spying on us. [emoji14] She just secured herself a spot in the living room for life -- I'd hate to relegate her to a snake room and deprive her of her (apparently) favorite hobby.

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My little mope rope. She turns into the saddest looking little puddle of snake when she's in blue. Knowing her, it'll probably take the rest of the week for her to shed out.

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She's just beautiful - more so with every photo, it seems - and so expressive! I LOVE her people-watching hobby and I think it's fantastic that you'll be keeping her in the living room so that she's always entertained. You really got yourself a special lady there.

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That "I made Mom give up her morning coffee break to get stuck shed off my face" look.

Adelita shed yesterday and while it wasn't perfect, it wasn't all that bad. Just a little stuck shed on and around her right eye that came off with a quick soak. Given that this is her first shed since I had to apply Neosporin to her nose to treat the rub she started a few months ago, it was expected. Otherwise, she's looking great!

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Very nice!

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M'lady must stretch and realign her jaws after every meal. Even if it causes her to make the most ridiculous faces.

On a side note: the boas really, really like feeding after lights out. I think I'll have to keep indulging them.

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Originally Posted by WrongPython

On a side note: the boas really, really like feeding after lights out. I think I'll have to keep indulging them.

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I agree w/ the lights out for feeding. I have my lights on a timer and it's amazing how a switch goes off in my BOAs head when they turn off.

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Originally Posted by WrongPython

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M'lady must stretch and realign her jaws after every meal. Even if it causes her to make the most ridiculous faces.

On a side note: the boas really, really like feeding after lights out. I think I'll have to keep indulging them.

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Looking great, so we'll camouflaged against the log

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Somebody was feeling the need to climb today! This was her first time climbing a vertical "branch" like this, and yet she knew just what to do. Chalk another win up for snake instincts.

I think I'll have to get her and her brother some new out-of-enclosure climbing structures. Both of them have a keen interest in climbing and poking around outside of their enclosures, so it would be a great way for them to have a safe place for supervised playtime while working their muscles. A coat rack, laundry drying rack, or ideally a faux tree should do the trick.

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Looking good! CLIMB Adelita, CLIMB!

I got this for the snakes to climb on. It's not too heavy for me, but heavy duty enough for even a full grown BI for sure. It also folds up really thin and has wheels.

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I can also use it to stand on when I clean the top tanks, although I usually just use a step stool.

The one criticism I have is the "shelf" piece has two holes in it, a small one and a bigger one. I watch the snakes when they climb, but they could conceivably get stuck. I plan to remove that piece ASAP.

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My little piggy. You'd never knew she ate last night given how much she's begging. Not even lying in ambush -- just flopped out in the open and giving the "feed me" face!

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Hah! That’s exactly what my two boas do regardless of feeding frequency.

3 weeks=good god, human! I’m starving!
3 days=good god, human! I’m starving!


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Hah! That’s exactly what my two boas do regardless of feeding frequency.

3 weeks=good god, human! I’m starving!
3 days=good god, human! I’m starving!


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This is soooooooo true!!!!!

Also, Wrongpython, Adelita is looking great!

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Well, it looks like there's a reason she's been so hungry lately. Fall growth spurt time!

And now for some classy boa portraits. Featuring one of the books her breeder wrote!

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So scholarly looking in those last two pics. [emoji1818]
Great looking critter you’re raising up there!


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That last picture is amazing. Looking great as always.


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You can tell it was peak feed season recently, because someone has been very pushy and hunt-y! It actually got to the point that I had to leave her door open for some supervised "hang time" the other day -- she was full-on rubbing and shoving her face against the support beam by the little gap between the sliding doors, and I decided I'd rather not have to treat another nose rub. At least I now where that rub really came from, now.

On a side note: I feel like I saw some sort of abscess on her gum while she was eating the other day. I couldn't get a good look at it, so I'm trying to find a way to gently coax her jaws open so I can get a better look. Any advice on this front would be greatly appreciated! I wouldn't be surprised if she scratched her gum on a mouse claw or piece of substrate a while ago, and all this is is that scrape healing up (if anything).

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I’d just grab her neck firmly but gently just behind the jaws and use a q-tip or something similar to open her mouth. If you just press gently but firmly against the front of her lips she’ll open up and you can take a look. Hopefully it’s nothing


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Thanks!

Your tip worked like a charm. I was able to take a good look and there wasn't anything there -- what I saw the other day may have just been an odd-looking clump of mouse fur. All's well!

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Adelita's overly active hunting and pushing hasn't let up. She's been leaning and rubbing her face on her door every night for the past week, and it looks like she's given herself a nose rub again. I'm also keeping an eye on her bottom right lip to make sure she hasn't rubbed that too hard as well. I jury-rigged some "crib bumpers" for her door for now, and plan on getting her some new perches/decor/etc to see if some new enrichment could draw her attention away from the door.

In the meantime, I've taken to allowing her some extra "sniff time" outside her enclosure to satisfy her need to poke around. She certainly seems to be enjoying herself!

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She's so beautiful. With the rubbing, I don't know if this will help but will share just in case. I know some folks who run a rescue/rehab for unwanted large snakes, and it isn't unusual for some of them to nose rub because of stress.

Their solution, which works in many cases, is to add several big balls of crumpled-up paper to the snake's enclosure. It seems to give them something else to push on and to do. No guarantee that it will work for you, but I thought I'd let you know about it.

She is gorgeous!!!!


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