Gerald Super Dwarf Ultra Ivory Retic Progression

Happy Bday little dude!! He looks great

Yay! Look at him sitting in his hide! So cute! Happy birthday to him!

Happy B-day. Did you get him a nice juicy b-day rat!!??

Lol he’s not supposed to eat for another two days but I may give him a treat for the occasion


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

hApPiE bUrPhDaEy, GeRaLd! Little man turned two years old today.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7757805c04.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dce24fff50.jpg
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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He looks fantastic! H B D Gerald! :gj::taz::)

Is that a Belgian in the glass next to the hide the first picture?

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Lol he’s not supposed to eat for another two days but I may give him a treat for the occasion


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OMG man!! It's Big G's b-day and you not gonna let him live it up with a nice juicy rat!!!?? The shame of it all!! :P

I always find an excuse to feed the little ones a little extra since they are so cute when they think they are tough and curl the weaned rat and hang onto it in the air while i hold the tail lol. Now the big ones, i find reasons to not feed them as its a blood pressure raising adventure with them every time lol.

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Originally Posted by Gio

He looks fantastic! H B D Gerald! :gj::taz::)

Is that a Belgian in the glass next to the hide the first picture?

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Hahah nah, it’s a single hopped (galaxy) ipa from Terrapin brewing. Wish I could find a nice Belgian farmhouse ale around these parts..


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Originally Posted by Sauzo

OMG man!! It's Big G's b-day and you not gonna let him live it up with a nice juicy rat!!!?? The shame of it all!! :P

I always find an excuse to feed the little ones a little extra since they are so cute when they think they are tough and curl the weaned rat and hang onto it in the air while i hold the tail lol. Now the big ones, i find reasons to not feed them as its a blood pressure raising adventure with them every time lol.

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Lol he can raise my heart rate a bit too! He’s a 6’ spring loaded muscle with teeth!


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Took his first jumbo rat tonight and crawled into his water bowl for the first time ever. Just for a minute and then went in his warm hide. Even a jumbo hardly left a lump. Could probably take a colossal rat now no problem and still be hungry hahahttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b4f4f9fdb0.jpg


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Haha, yeah today was feeding day for Caesar. I gave him a jumbo rat and it barely left a lump and he is out and about just playing. The days of jumbo rats inducing the food coma are gone i guess lol.

Oh, not sure if you have tried cypress yet but the stuff seems pretty awesome for retics. I like it a lot better than the reptichips for Caesar. All his pisses and poops sit on top of it for easy scoop out. A little on the expensive side but luckily Caesar is the only one that i have to change his substrate fairly often and thank god Chewy.com has it and does free 2 day shipping.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Haha, yeah today was feeding day for Caesar. I gave him a jumbo rat and it barely left a lump and he is out and about just playing. The days of jumbo rats inducing the food coma are gone i guess lol.

Oh, not sure if you have tried cypress yet but the stuff seems pretty awesome for retics. I like it a lot better than the reptichips for Caesar. All his pisses and poops sit on top of it for easy scoop out. A little on the expensive side but luckily Caesar is the only one that i have to change his substrate fairly often and thank god Chewy.com has it and does free 2 day shipping.

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I used forest floor with Geoffrey for years. I like it but for the cost I’ll probably stick with pro coco for a while. I haven’t ever had Gerald on cypress though. Could be worth a shot. So far I like the aspen best for him just because his pisses are easiest to spot on it. I do like how he looks on darker substrate though.
Unrelated, he’s lost sky hide privileges because he’s broken the clips from the ceiling three times in the last month. Whenever I finally give in and get him a bigger enclosure I’ll consider installing a bigger sky hide on rails of some sort


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I used forest floor with Geoffrey for years. I like it but for the cost I’ll probably stick with pro coco for a while. I haven’t ever had Gerald on cypress though. Could be worth a shot. So far I like the aspen best for him just because his pisses are easiest to spot on it. I do like how he looks on darker substrate though.
Unrelated, he’s lost sky hide privileges because he’s broken the clips from the ceiling three times in the last month. Whenever I finally give in and get him a bigger enclosure I’ll consider installing a bigger sky hide on rails of some sort


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Yeah the Forest floor is kind of spendy but I'm liking it. And my god, i couldnt even think of how much trouble Caesar would get into with a sky hide haha.

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I used.............

Unrelated, he’s lost sky hide privileges because he’s broken the clips from the ceiling three times in the last month. Whenever I finally give in and get him a bigger enclosure I’ll consider installing a bigger sky hide on rails of some sort


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Wow, sounds like he’s getting heavier and or doing some serious partying in that hide.

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Wow, sounds like he’s getting heavier and or doing some serious partying in that hide.

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He’s around 6-7lbs now. He’s due to upgrade to the RBI xl hides but with the larger mirror mount clips the xl hide would partially cover the led lights in the cage. Kinda silly to have lights in his hide spot, defeats the purpose of the thing haha. I think it’s mostly that he’s too big for the large hides though he does tend to party pretty hard in there at night [emoji216][emoji322][emoji95]


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

He’s around 6-7lbs now. He’s due to upgrade to the RBI xl hides but with the larger mirror mount clips the xl hide would partially cover the led lights in the cage. Kinda silly to have lights in his hide spot, defeats the purpose of the thing haha. I think it’s mostly that he’s too big for the large hides though he does tend to party pretty hard in there at night [emoji216][emoji322][emoji95]


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He may be hitting sexual maturity. Your other pretty girl there may be pumping out some pheromones and he is cuing in on them.

I'd be curious to see if he's arching and roaming. If he's arching in the sky hide, I'm sure he'd rip it right off the mounts.

Gerald might be in stud mode brother!

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Originally Posted by Gio

He may be hitting sexual maturity. Your other pretty girl there may be pumping out some pheromones and he is cuing in on them.

I'd be curious to see if he's arching and roaming. If he's arching in the sky hide, I'm sure he'd rip it right off the mounts.

Gerald might be in stud mode brother!

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Haven’t caught him arching at all but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening when I’m not around. If he’s arching in the hide I’m surprised that’s the only damage he did, he fills an RBI large hide to the gills. Think I’m going to give him Phyllis’s old xl hides when I get home.
Depending on how things are looking with the retics and my own life late this year I may pair them up but we’ll see. Phyllis is still a bit young to pair up being just now 2 years old but she may be influencing Gerald’s squirrelliness.
He is quite a studly looking critter if I do say so myself [emoji57]


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Fresh paint on this guy the other day, not the best pic though. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4e5965b5ef.jpg
He’s been a real spaz anytime I get him out for a while now. Goes straight tot the top of my head, tears my hat and glasses off. Also does this super annoying backwards slithering move and rubs all his scales in the wrong direction. He’s a freak show lol


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That’s funny. :D

He sure is beautiful and healthy looking for a spaz.

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Originally Posted by Reinz

That’s funny. :D

He sure is beautiful and healthy looking for a spaz.

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Thanks Reinz! Yeah, he’s got a pretty good exercise routine that keeps him in shape... completely tossing his entire cage every night about 4-5 days after feeding until his next meal 🤣


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Little dude in a rat coma. I opened the door to get a glare free shot and he just lifted his head and looked at me like “why the hell man?! Can’t you see I’m napping here?!”
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...926f083316.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f9a96659c0.jpg


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Little dude in a rat coma. I opened the door to get a glare free shot and he just lifted his head and looked at me like “why the hell man?! Can’t you see I’m napping here?!”
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...926f083316.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f9a96659c0.jpg


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That's awesome!
I'm hesitant to open the door with Wallace. The last two times I've tried, he's come off his bite, kept the prey in constriction and looked to go at me like there is more coming. He's unapproachable for about a day after he eats unless I really use the hook. I have to use it to the point of him trying to go the other direction. Otherwise he's in food mode for about a day then pulls the Gerald coma LOL!

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Originally Posted by Gio

That's awesome!
I'm hesitant to open the door with Wallace. The last two times I've tried, he's come off his bite, kept the prey in constriction and looked to go at me like there is more coming. He's unapproachable for about a day after he eats unless I really use the hook. I have to use it to the point of him trying to go the other direction. Otherwise he's in food mode for about a day then pulls the Gerald coma LOL!

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Hahaha sounds about like this guy! I have to leave him alone with his prey until he starts to swallow it or he gets distracted by my presence and looks for more food at the doors. He also likes to strike at the heat panel and the doors if I make any fairy sudden movements right after eating. Other than feeding responses he’s never struck at me though. One tap of the hook and he changes his tune pretty quickly. I really need to look into getting him at least a taller cage as trying to get him out of a 12” tall enclosure can be annoying sometimes. Dude moves like a freaking racer more than a retic. Two or three, maybe four days after feeding at the very most is the only time this guy sits still. He’d be quite the entertainer in a tall cage decked out with perches and a sky hide. He’d be fine in a 4’ long cage but if I stay with that length I’d like to go 30” deep and 24” tall. Obviously he’d do great in a 6 footer but I have to wait on hearing back from some job interviews here and in Oregon and such before I can seriously consider pulling the trigger on new large scale enclosures. When I do though I’m probably gonna bite your cage design pretty hard to be honest hahah! [emoji6]


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Hahaha sounds about like this guy! I have to leave him alone with his prey until he starts to swallow it or he gets distracted by my presence and looks for more food at the doors. He also likes to strike at the heat panel and the doors if I make any fairy sudden movements right after eating. Other than feeding responses he’s never struck at me though. One tap of the hook and he changes his tune pretty quickly. I really need to look into getting him at least a taller cage as trying to get him out of a 12” tall enclosure can be annoying sometimes. Dude moves like a freaking racer more than a retic. Two or three, maybe four days after feeding at the very most is the only time this guy sits still. He’d be quite the entertainer in a tall cage decked out with perches and a sky hide. He’d be fine in a 4’ long cage but if I stay with that length I’d like to go 30” deep and 24” tall. Obviously he’d do great in a 6 footer but I have to wait on hearing back from some job interviews here and in Oregon and such before I can seriously consider pulling the trigger on new large scale enclosures. When I do though I’m probably gonna bite your cage design pretty hard to be honest hahah! [emoji6]


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I love the 6 foot by 30 inch deep by 2 feet tall! Reaching in is much, much easier for sure.
http://i.imgur.com/MhOkmxO.jpg

Despite what appears to be very involved and difficult to clean, this cage is probably the most simplistic unit here. Just one hide, and a huge water bowl that occupy the floor. The bowl is giant and really adds humidity to the cage. I really don't feel the need to clean the perches unless they get soiled with waste. I've not once had a mold issue with anything in the cages, or any sanitary issues. I change the water, clean all waste at first sight and change the substrate every 6 months. I spot clean and remove it and add it more frequently but total change outs are twice a year.

I love the Tiger pattern and Wallace, love it, but can't but help thinking what a bright animal like Gerald or Caesar would look like in this cage. My guess is incredible.

For retics on the smaller end, 7-10 feet with SD or Dwarf girth, I think this size cage and setup is really slick. Its very fun to watch them behave like wild snakes, even if the self made environment is only my interpretation of their true habitat.

I get the same colubrid running response from Wallace. I know my carpet has an extra gear, but these SD x Dwarf retics are like lightning.

I look forward to you getting set up the way you want.

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Originally Posted by Gio

I love the 6 foot by 30 inch deep by 2 feet tall! Reaching in is much, much easier for sure.
http://i.imgur.com/MhOkmxO.jpg

Despite what appears to be very involved and difficult to clean, this cage is probably the most simplistic unit here. Just one hide, and a huge water bowl that occupy the floor. The bowl is giant and really adds humidity to the cage. I really don't feel the need to clean the perches unless they get soiled with waste. I've not once had a mold issue with anything in the cages, or any sanitary issues. I change the water, clean all waste at first sight and change the substrate every 6 months. I spot clean and remove it and add it more frequently but total change outs are twice a year.

I love the Tiger pattern and Wallace, love it, but can't but help thinking what a bright animal like Gerald or Caesar would look like in this cage. My guess is incredible.

For retics on the smaller end, 7-10 feet with SD or Dwarf girth, I think this size cage and setup is really slick. Its very fun to watch them behave like wild snakes, even if the self made environment is only my interpretation of their true habitat.

I get the same colubrid running response from Wallace. I know my carpet has an extra gear, but these SD x Dwarf retics are like lightning.

I look forward to you getting set up the way you want.

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That’s one of the things I really like about your enclosures. They look complex and naturalistic but designed in a very manageable, easy to clean fashion. That size cage would be perfect for Gerald but I’d feel guilty about getting him a bigger cage than Phyllis has. Especially considering she’s about 3-4x his body mass. We’ll get things sorted out in time. He’s fine in that T8 for now but I know he would use all the height I can offer him when I get the chance


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Just get Phyllis an AP T65 and give Gerald the T25. Heck i might end up getting Caesar a T65 end of the year.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Just get Phyllis an AP T65 and give Gerald the T25. Heck i might end up getting Caesar a T65 end of the year.

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Man I’d love to but I just don’t have the space for 8’ cages currently. Been eyeing them up on AP website though. If they could do a two part cage like Gio has for Wallace I’d be all over it, so much easier to move and cheaper to ship. Whatever I end up getting for Gerald will land me in some trouble though, because then I’ll have the empty T8 and we all know what happens when we’ve got empty cages sitting around [emoji6]


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Man I’d love to but I just don’t have the space for 8’ cages currently. Been eyeing them up on AP website though. If they could do a two part cage like Gio has for Wallace I’d be all over it, so much easier to move and cheaper to ship. Whatever I end up getting for Gerald will land me in some trouble though, because then I’ll have the empty T8 and we all know what happens when we’ve got empty cages sitting around [emoji6]


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You know i was thinking about that too and was going to talk to Ali about bolting 2 cages together. I was thinking more of bolting 2 T25s to make a 12 foot cage lol. I was going to ask her if they can cut 2 sides mirrored to each other so they bolt to to each cage like they normally do but then they line up with something like a 22x10 inch opening and then just drill 8 holes(1 in each corner and 1 between each corner) and use something like bolts and buts or even wing nuts with bolts to hold them together and then just lexan the gap all the way around. The biggest thing is i was wondering is if AP can make a custom 12 foot stand. If so, they could just order 6 AP 25s and make 3 12 foot cages that are stackable.

This dude just weighed in at like 8-8.5lbs. Had no idea he’d put on that much mass recently. Granted, he’s got some sausage butt from a jumbo rat but those are like 350grams at best.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...26b992b788.jpg
Also has not been too keen on his hide for a week or two. Likes to cram between it and the wall. Such a strange animal


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Lol yeah, Caesar is crammed between the hide and his back wall.

LOL. They do what they like when they like. I think rainbow plays with her hide. She moves it. Lays in it. Lays on it. Flips it over and lays in it. Lays around it and behind it. They are interesting for sure.

This guy is suddenly kind of a decent size snake. Hard to get a measurement but a sturdy 7’6”-8’. Still moves like a 4’ rat snake though
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a29f014dde.jpg


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Wow, he's almost as big as Caesar....

I love how active retics are. Nice that he is doing so well.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

I love how active retics are. Nice that he is doing so well.

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I sometimes hate how active retics are lol. Sometimes i want to just relax at night but needy Caesar will be banging on the door wanting attention so i can either let him bang around or open a door and have him come over to me for petting.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

I sometimes hate how active retics are lol. Sometimes i want to just relax at night but needy Caesar will be banging on the door wanting attention so i can either let him bang around or open a door and have him come over to me for petting.

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Is better than him wanting to try to eat you don't you think? LOL. My great dane is the needy one in the house.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

Is better than him wanting to try to eat you don't you think? LOL. My great dane is the needy one in the house.

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Well yeah but sometimes Caesar is a pain. I get up this morning to him banging on the door. I slide it open, he comes over to the open door, looks at me and plops down so i pet him. Now he is quiet with just his head hanging on the litter dam looking out lol. I give it about 15 mins and he will be curled up in his cool hide going to sleep.

I am glad though that he has more or less quit pushing. He used to push so hard that he would shake the doors and literally stand up and shake his body too lol. But that was his 'i want a gf' fiasco. So better he pushes than becoming a testosterone driven evil biting tube of muscle lol. That was the biggest thing i was worried about when i got a male.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Well yeah but sometimes Caesar is a pain. I get up this morning to him banging on the door. I slide it open, he comes over to the open door, looks at me and plops down so i pet him. Now he is quiet with just his head hanging on the litter dam looking out lol. I give it about 15 mins and he will be curled up in his cool hide going to sleep.

I am glad though that he has more or less quit pushing. He used to push so hard that he would shake the doors and literally stand up and shake his body too lol. But that was his 'i want a gf' fiasco. So better he pushes than becoming a testosterone driven evil biting tube of muscle lol. That was the biggest thing i was worried about when i got a male.

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I think females are less likely to push than males for that reason. I just have to worry about how BIG she is going to get. LOL.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

I think females are less likely to push than males for that reason. I just have to worry about how BIG she is going to get. LOL.

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And thats the other reason i got a male. I wanted something that topped out around 10 feet or so. While i would like an 18 foot snake, i dont want to have to get it a 10+ foot cage. Not to mention also, i dont want to have to fit a bill for food for the thing and most of all, i handle my snakes alone and anything over 10 feet, it's a good idea to have a spotter/helper in case something goes wrong. No matter how tame your snake seems, they can go from sweetie to demon with the flip of a switch.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

And thats the other reason i got a male. I wanted something that topped out around 10 feet or so. While i would like an 18 foot snake, i dont want to have to get it a 10+ foot cage. Not to mention also, i dont want to have to fit a bill for food for the thing and most of all, i handle my snakes alone and anything over 10 feet, it's a good idea to have a spotter/helper in case something goes wrong. No matter how tame your snake seems, they can go from sweetie to demon with the flip of a switch.

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I always make sure I have someone else around when I take her out now. She is approaching 10 (9'4") feet and almost 20lbs.

The metabolism on this animal is ridiculous. Ate a jumbo rat on June 3. Pooped two days later and is now wildly roaming and pushing the cage... freakin retics


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He looks great.

I too love how active retics are as well. My fella is in the canopy every night.

Caught dude in the act for I think the first time.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4f486829a9.jpg
Between he and Phyllis both being in shed and Geoffrey being a ball python I almost forgot what it was like to have pet snakes for a while hahaha. Gerald fixed that by promptly pissing all over my shirt and the wall in the hallway. At least I got him that far instead of on the carpet in the snake room.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1429215aaa.jpg he also does not know how to relax. Even when he’s not moving, which is rare, he has an absolute death grip on whatever he’s touching. Like a vice around my arm here.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1d3349d8a9.jpg
Really need Ali to get back to me about a custom new cage because this dude needs an upgrade and soon




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He is gorgeous :gj: such a sweet little face :D thank you for sharing ;)

Gerald is looking great in his new suit JMC. He's getting sone good size on him too.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Gerald is looking great in his new suit JMC. He's getting sone good size on him too.

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Thanks ziggy, he’s a good 8’ and ~9lbs now and just as bright as he was when I got him, if not brighter


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Originally Posted by C.Marie

He is gorgeous :gj: such a sweet little face :D thank you for sharing ;)

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Thanks C.Marie!


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He looks great. Love his pattern. Love retics!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Caught dude in the act for I think the first time.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4f486829a9.jpg
Between he and Phyllis both being in shed and Geoffrey being a ball python I almost forgot what it was like to have pet snakes for a while hahaha. Gerald fixed that by promptly pissing all over my shirt and the wall in the hallway. At least I got him that far instead of on the carpet in the snake room.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1429215aaa.jpg he also does not know how to relax. Even when he’s not moving, which is rare, he has an absolute death grip on whatever he’s touching. Like a vice around my arm here.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1d3349d8a9.jpg
Really need Ali to get back to me about a custom new cage because this dude needs an upgrade and soon




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Look at the big square head on that bloke in picture 2! He's a smoking hot retic.

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Originally Posted by Gio

Look at the big square head on that bloke in picture 2! He's a smoking hot retic.

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Thank man! He’s definitely getting that mature dinosaur head that I love on retics.
Unrelated, I put him back on coco chips last night. Some of which were from Phyllis’s cage that were clean so I bagged them up when I moved apts a few weeks ago. Put him in there, was noticeably curious checking out the bedding and then later last night I caught him spurring and courting himself hahah! He definitely wants a girlfriend.


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I'm sure someone will or has said it in 20 pages, but feeding for keeping these beauties sm isn't necessarily for cost effectiveness. It's also due to shipping costs and packing requirements.

When I was trying to find a forever home for the two annies I had rehomed, I found out that b/c of their lengths, shipping had to be done alot differently...(Note: this was years before the Lacey Act restrictions were a pain in every hobbiest's _________.)