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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Not gonna lie, I doubted for a moment whether he would have enough sense not to drown himself [emoji849]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4964e6e38e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1a506aded9.jpg
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
And he might be the very best periscoper[emoji23]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...21aec6341c.jpg
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
This poor guy got moved cross country again and he was NOT happy about it. He’s finally settled back in after a couple months. He’s getting SO big! I mean, not compared to a Papuan scrub, but still. Mostly it’s in girth. He’s not a scrawny worm anymore! I should try and wrestle him onto a scale. He was 484 grams last time I weighed him and now he’s topped 7 feet!
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Wow he's getting big. The picture of him eating is pretty cool; it looks really close to how green tree pythons eat. Does he always eat like that or was it just a one time thing?
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reptile$ 4 Life
Wow he's getting big. The picture of him eating is pretty cool; it looks really close to how green tree pythons eat. Does he always eat like that or was it just a one time thing?
Mine always eats like that. Because they'll generally choose the higher hides, so they're eating with most of their body above them.
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reptile$ 4 Life
Wow he's getting big. The picture of him eating is pretty cool; it looks really close to how green tree pythons eat. Does he always eat like that or was it just a one time thing?
Haha, yep! He’s like a kraken. He barely let me get it through the door before he smashed it...which is I guess why he tumbled out like a psycho![emoji1787]
The interesting thing is, he almost has to take his prey from a high vantage point. I have a bad hand injury and it’s sometimes (often) hard for me to keep the prey gripped on the tongs. If I drop the prey item on the ground, it’s like he can’t find it! It’s disastrous. He always looks confused and gets coco husk in his mouth. I wish we could upload videos on here because it’s hilarious. Like...you’re supposed to be this smart, savage hunter. And you can’t see the rat if it’s on the ground? If I’m dangling it high and then drop it, he usually comes towards me as if he thinks I played a trick on him. It’s not even an aggressive move. It’s more frantic, like “MOM, WHAT HAPPENED I’M STARVING!!”
It feels like such a short time ago when I was so afraid to feed him chicks because I thought for sure he’d die. I used to trim their beaks because his neck was so skinny I just new every feeding day was his last![emoji1787] To my horror, he smashed a medium rat, small rat, and a chick in one sitting the other night and it barely left a bulge. And he fully expected more food. I am sooooo lucky he’s such a freaking angel lamb.
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
The strength of this guy is an actual marvel. He has no idea that just the casual grip of his tail cal turn my hand purple in seconds! This is what makes scrubs incredible climbers, even if they’re 20 feet long! But it makes him the world’s worst hugger. And he just does not understand why he isn’t allowed neck hugs anymore ;)
I have a whole new respect for scrub keepers now that my little squeak is becoming a big squeak. I am extremely fortunate that he is so good-tempered because I can’t imagine having to dodge teeth and an ever-knotting dragon’s tail!
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Wow he eats a lot! How big is he? If I remember correctly Tanimbars are the smallest locality of scrub python. He must be a very active noodle.
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reptile$ 4 Life
Wow he eats a lot! How big is he? If I remember correctly Tanimbars are the smallest locality of scrub python. He must be a very active noodle.
Yeah, I will switch him to large rats when I get the next batch. I think he’s just over 7 feet now! He’s definitely a big boy. We honestly don’t know that much about Nautas in the wild. Though people often refer to them as a “dwarf” species (it is common that species from small, isolated islands grow smaller than mainland cousins due to food supply), I have personally heard from at least 3 keepers who owned 5 Nautas that exceeded 8 feet. Two exceeded 9 and at least half of those animals must have been wild caught (as I believe mine likely is).
I think only time will tell! Of course, most snakes grow larger in captivity because of food supply. I believe Nick Mutton was the first to breed them in the US between 2001-2004; I can’t remember precisely. But he said he’s bred males at 400 grams and never had one exceed 5.5 feet. I know males of this species grow larger than females. Apophis has not been sexed, nor do I know his exact age, as I suspect he is WC...but I’ve got multiple very educated opinions estimating he is around 4 years old. 4 years means he’s still growing and already 7 feet, so I guess we’ll find out in the next couple years how big they get ;)
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Team Slytherin
Yeah, I will switch him to large rats when I get the next batch. I think he’s just over 7 feet now! He’s definitely a big boy. We honestly don’t know that much about Nautas in the wild. Though people often refer to them as a “dwarf” species (it is common that species from small, isolated islands grow smaller than mainland cousins due to food supply), I have personally heard from at least 3 keepers who owned 5 Nautas that exceeded 8 feet. Two exceeded 9 and at least half of those animals must have been wild caught (as I believe mine likely is).
I think only time will tell! Of course, most snakes grow larger in captivity because of food supply. I believe Nick Mutton was the first to breed them in the US between 2001-2004; I can’t remember precisely. But he said he’s bred males at 400 grams and never had one exceed 5.5 feet. I know males of this species grow larger than females. Apophis has not been sexed, nor do I know his exact age, as I suspect he is WC...but I’ve got multiple very educated opinions estimating he is around 4 years old. 4 years means he’s still growing and already 7 feet, so I guess we’ll find out in the next couple years how big they get ;)
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Very true. There are a lot of unknowns with at play. It will be interesting to see how big he gets.
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
He looks amazing for sure. Happy to see him.
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Pops is a stud and that enclosure is incredible! How’s he doing with the pushing these days?
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Quote:
Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy
Pops is a stud and that enclosure is incredible! How’s he doing with the pushing these days?
Thank you! It’s been super fun to work on! It’s hard to say *just* yet because there have been some special circumstances the last couple weeks…but it seems a lot better! I lowered his temperature 2-2.5 degrees, but added a halogen bulb on the opposite side. That definitely seems to be better, as far as I can tell so far, so THANK YOU!!
I also wanted to work on his enclosure a couple weeks ago, but he was being a stubborn crab. So, I decided to lure him out with food[emoji38] I took the opportunity to also introduce the target for training. I did 3 small prey items so that we’d have more chances. I figured that the only way I was going to be able to work on his enclosure for a few hours (to let foam dry, carve, and paint) was to switch him and Nagini. She is so chill, you can wrap her in a blanket and leave her in the same spot for 12 hours without a problem[emoji1787]
I made a spot for her to entertain herself, then opened both enclosures, and put a gerbil in hers (the top one). I showed him the target and let him hunt. He did SUCH a good job!! I mean, this was definitely a reckless idea for a more wiley scrub…but I was really proud. There was a time when I wouldn’t think of being near him during feeding time, much less letting him come out and hunt [emoji1787][emoji1787] He started to go the wrong way, so I had to quickly hop in, grab his body, and sort of steer him in the right direction (and away from the lights on top of her cage). I thought for SURE I was going to get bloodied, but he allowed it and paid me no mind at all! In FULL hunting mode, with pupils so dilated, they were just black holes! He was on a mission and I didn’t even exist in that moment…he did so great.
But anyway, all that was basically to tell you that he ate, then immediately retreated behind the background. He stayed back there for almost a week, so I just let them switch until he was in a convenient position for me to grab him [emoji2370] I mounted a bunch of branches in her enclosure, so the background is no longer removable without cutting the branches. If he wants to be an 8 foot snake in a 4 foot cage, who am I to argue? They both went blue shortly after that and he always takes a long time to shed. So, fingers crossed…. But it does *seem* like he has way chilled out on the pushing. And his face looks SO much better after this shed.
I’ve been jury-rigging the curtain I bought and covering half his cage at night to give him some privacy. I will actually install it as soon as he stops being stubborn and comes out for me! I just don’t want to use a drill on the cage while he’s in there [emoji849] He’s so big now that I don’t even bother trying to get him out when he says no. Unless he is curled up on the ground, which is very seldom. It always turns into a fight that I lose [emoji1787] I do think the curtain will really help the pushing. I didn’t realize that he never really gets complete darkness, you know? My roommate and I are both night owls and she actually works a graveyard shift from home 8pm to 5am. So there’s just too much action going on and too many lights at odd hours…he needs the option to have darkness and not have to look at people stomping by him obliviously or gawking at him all the time. He’s a shy boy[emoji3526]
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
Well, I guess I spoke too soon. Breeding season is here [emoji24][emoji24]. The only way I’m gonna live through this is by finding him a girlfriend, isn’t it? His face JUST healed so beautifully with this shed! I left his cage open just a crack while I ran downstairs to grab the pizza, and he’s already made a b-line for the Dumeril’s lair[emoji849]. He’s so desperate to get to her, but all she wants is to eat him. He just doesn’t get it.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4507da2bb5.jpg
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Re: Introducing Apophis (pic heavy)
He also seems to have found the flowers I am seeding for him. He carefully sniffed them, one at a time[emoji3590]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a8424fefcc.jpg
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What a character he is! :rofl:
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