Gene finally has a thread!

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Yeah I do a similar thing but I put the card down BEFORE offering the food and then I dangle it over the card .


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I cant do that unless i do it before i even bring their food into the house. The minute they smell food, they go on high alert and any movement gets them worked up and half the time they are already at the front in the 'S' ready for the doors to slide open haha. Feeding day for me is the ability to use sliding glass doors as shield efficiently. They literally will shoot out of the cages as I'm dangling the rats and moving them into the open door. Once they got dinner in their mouths, they really care less what goes on.

Gene went from only wanting out to apparently a home body now in his T10. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...039f54439d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8d7a2d3e75.jpg

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Wow! He's looking great! That is a beautiful animal.

Haha, yeah Caesar actually prefers to sit in his cage and just hang outside while i pet him. Retics seems to really love AP cages lol.

always sleepinghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1b93fb57a6.jpg

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The stink eyehttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bcc263fbca.jpg

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Some poctures from today's cleaning. Gene always just puts himself away. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dbefb6758f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8974593119.jpg

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He looks amazing Stearns!

So today was a strange day with gene. Came home and was going to pick up the wood chips all in the track. He has always been very relaxed. I open the door and tap him on his head with paper towels. Today I slid it open and he flew out 2 feet, bit the paper towel roll, let go and went back in. Wtf

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Did it raise your heart rate? Gene's acting all snaky on you

So we had a mocroburst over our apartment last night and knocked out power. I filled the freezer with ice but it looks like all the rats are shot. FML

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I recall someone saying mice/rats can be refrozen one time?

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Originally Posted by Stearns84

So we had a mocroburst over our apartment last night and knocked out power. I filled the freezer with ice but it looks like all the rats are shot. FML

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Everything totally thawed overnight? Maybe one refreeze at most but that's only if they're immediately refrozen. The refreezing/wasted feeders issue was a very strong rationalization for getting multiple snakes with stronger appetites since Geoffrey generally only eats 6-8 months of the year in the last three years or so. Never had the whole freezer go though. That sucks man :(


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Everything totally thawed overnight? Maybe one refreeze at most but that's only if they're immediately refrozen. The refreezing/wasted feeders issue was a very strong rationalization for getting multiple snakes with stronger appetites since Geoffrey generally only eats 6-8 months of the year in the last three years or so. Never had the whole freezer go though. That sucks man :(


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90% were saved. The inner ones were still frozen, so it looks like I only 10. Stupid non tornado tornado.

So I'm ditching the no float Cypress. Not sure if I can give you an exact reason why, but I don't care for it. Jmcrook, you said you were trying a knock off reptichip? You like it? Where did you guys order your reptichip?

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I just ordered 4 blocks of pro coco from snakemuseum.com. Exactly the same as reptichip but close to half the price. Shipping is a little spendy but I was already ordering a bunch of other stuff so ended up saving some shipping cost in the end.
I recently have been using grow!t coco chips from greenhouse supply online and I'm not a huge fan. Very fibery, shaggy sort of mix, smells weird, and they only sent two of my 4 blocks and never told me the other two were on back order. I mean it serves its purpose but the chips are wildly varying in size, not as absorbent, and very fibery.
Glad you were able to save most of your feeders!


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Feel like Gene is telling himself jokes and laughing at them.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...46193c35d7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4d0f94dde0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...56c8e44e23.jpg

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Yeah I'm not that huge of fan of the GrowIt stuff. Glad i wasnt the only one who thought it smelled kind of weird. Used the last of it now and going to probably just go back to ReptiChips for now for my big cages. The BP, dumerils and the bobsy twins(Gina and Rango) will stay on aspen.

And on a side note, looks like Caesars face is going back to shape lol. Goin to have to feed him a little heavier i think for a couple weeks to let his face fully heal. Might try a small guinea pig this sunday when i buy him dinner. I need something that is more meaty and filling.

So i guess my trade off with Caesar is he doesnt bite or poop or piss on me or overall be a pain but if not kept happy with food, he destroys his face.....

And I'm going to sneak in my new favorite pic of him doing his BP impersonation https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2465db22_h.jpg

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Yeah I'm not that huge of fan of the GrowIt stuff. Glad i wasnt the only one who thought it smelled kind of weird. Used the last of it now and going to probably just go back to ReptiChips for now for my big cages. The BP, dumerils and the bobsy twins(Gina and Rango) will stay on aspen.

And on a side note, looks like Caesars face is going back to shape lol. Goin to have to feed him a little heavier i think for a couple weeks to let his face fully heal. Might try a small guinea pig this sunday when i buy him dinner. I need something that is more meaty and filling.

So i guess my trade off with Caesar is he doesnt bite or poop or piss on me or overall be a pain but if not kept happy with food, he destroys his face.....

And I'm going to sneak in my new favorite pic of him doing his BP impersonation https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2465db22_h.jpg

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Where are you ordering your reptichip?

I love Tina and she is my pet rock, but I'd love to get another retic. Gene is a runt like I wanted, but I wouldn't mind a mainland male.

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Originally Posted by Stearns84

Where are you ordering your reptichip?

I love Tina and she is my pet rock, but I'd love to get another retic. Gene is a runt like I wanted, but I wouldn't mind a mainland male.

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I just ordered mine straight from ReptiChips.com. It's $10 flat shipping so better if you order more obviously.

I want to hear JMs review of Pro Coco. I thought about ordering it but after doing the GrowIt stuff and it being pretty much everything JM said above, I think I'm done with the knockoffs and will just stick with the original stuff.

As for a second retic, I would have to think on that lol. I mean if i didnt have my boas i probably would but retics are definitely a LOT more work than boas. I have to always check on Caesar to make sure he doesnt break his face or anything else and keep his feeding up and keep checking for poops, pisses and stuff. The boas are much easier. They eat 1-2 times a month, poop once a month, piss 1-3 times a month and when hungry, they just crawl around but dont really violently push their face into stuff lol.

But the flip side is Caesar is definitely a much more interactive snake for the most part and he is a lot lighter to carry around than Rosey who is shorter but has a lot more girth to her.

I say break the bank and screw the Jeep or 4runner and go for a Pied retic or Cow retic!! Then i can own one through you :D

Haven't tried out the pro coco yet. Probably after my move once the cages are set up again. I will say that it look exactly like reptichip. Color, density, chip size, we'll see how it performs is the real test. I'll keep y'all posted once I'm relocated.


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Either of you guys notice if your retics seems to prefer lower humidity? I've been noticing with Caesar and Rosey that even with the T10s or the T25s, if i close the doors, they arent very happy. When i open a side and leave it open, they will curl up on that side or just sit there with their heads hanging out for hours. Their humidity in the cage drops to around 56%. Then when i spray the cage down and close the door again, they get upset and search for an opening. It might be it's summer and around 85F in the room so I'm not sure if its that but i wouldnt think so as i close the door they arent happy within 10 mins. I know the cage isnt heating up so the only thing i can think of is Caesar and Rosey dont like high humidity. No one else seems to have a problem with it.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Either of you guys notice if your retics seems to prefer lower humidity? I've been noticing with Caesar and Rosey that even with the T10s or the T25s, if i close the doors, they arent very happy. When i open a side and leave it open, they will curl up on that side or just sit there with their heads hanging out for hours. Their humidity in the cage drops to around 56%. Then when i spray the cage down and close the door again, they get upset and search for an opening. It might be it's summer and around 85F in the room so I'm not sure if its that but i wouldnt think so as i close the door they arent happy within 10 mins. I know the cage isnt heating up so the only thing i can think of is Caesar and Rosey dont like high humidity. No one else seems to have a problem with it.

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Can't say that I've noticed that with Phyllis or Gerald. Phyllis has been oddly calm in her temporary cage/Gerald's cage while I'm getting the regular enclosures set back up after the move. I'm partially attributing her quiet demeanor to the stress of being in a bag for 12ish hours in the cab of a Penske truck on Monday. No pushing, no flying at the door of the cage... hoping she's just as calm in her t25 if/when i ever get the dang thing. That would be a real bummer if she just turned out to be happier in a smaller enclosure.


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Wallace likes it humid but cooler than one would think.
I'll see how the new cage treats him.

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Can't say that I've noticed that with Phyllis or Gerald. Phyllis has been oddly calm in her temporary cage/Gerald's cage while I'm getting the regular enclosures set back up after the move. I'm partially attributing her quiet demeanor to the stress of being in a bag for 12ish hours in the cab of a Penske truck on Monday. No pushing, no flying at the door of the cage... hoping she's just as calm in her t25 if/when i ever get the dang thing. That would be a real bummer if she just turned out to be happier in a smaller enclosure.


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Dang you still havent gotten your T25?

Yeah it might have been because Caesar was hungry and not the humidity lol. It's sitting around 70ish now and Caesar has been quiet since the guinea pig.

He was sitting on his hot spot and i grabbed him to check his face to make sure it looks ok. It looked like it was healing good but he wasnt too happy about being stared at face to face lol. After i was done, instead of him being the social Caesar and coming forward to sit on the litter dam while i pet him, he went over to the cool side and slithered into his hide and poked his head out, looked at me and then went inside lol.

I'm sure Phyllis will like the new house. Caesar seems to have a lot more room to cruise around in it even though he's still longer than the cage lol.

Rosey and Vicky love the 6' caging. Vicky is only about 5.5' so she loves to stretch out at night and Rosey is actually smaller than i thought. She must just be a little over 6' as she can come really close to stretching out in the 6' cage too.

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Originally Posted by Gio

Wallace likes it humid but cooler than one would think.
I'll see how the new cage treats him.

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Caesar seems to like it a little warmer. The boas though, they pretty much like an 86-87F hot spot with 78-80F ambient. 90F to them is like lava lol.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Caesar seems to like it a little warmer. The boas though, they pretty much like an 86-87F hot spot with 78-80F ambient. 90F to them is like lava lol.

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Wallace is awesome these days.
He's hungry but pleasant.

I took him out in the hot humid air here and put him in the grass. He peed and pooped!!

The boy wanted to get back to me rather than crawl in the grass.

Favorite title coming his way LOL!

Stearns, I want to say that Gene is an amazing snake, I went thru all 28 pages just to see his pictures. Also you're a good photographer.
Please please, keep posting pictures of Gene. Thanks

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Either of you guys notice if your retics seems to prefer lower humidity? I've been noticing with Caesar and Rosey that even with the T10s or the T25s, if i close the doors, they arent very happy. When i open a side and leave it open, they will curl up on that side or just sit there with their heads hanging out for hours. Their humidity in the cage drops to around 56%. Then when i spray the cage down and close the door again, they get upset and search for an opening. It might be it's summer and around 85F in the room so I'm not sure if its that but i wouldnt think so as i close the door they arent happy within 10 mins. I know the cage isnt heating up so the only thing i can think of is Caesar and Rosey dont like high humidity. No one else seems to have a problem with it.

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I tried the other day to see how they would react. When I really raised the humidity high Tina was out of her hides (2am) and cruises around. Gene in the other hand looked miserable. He just chilled in his branch / hide and was all sulky. I think he likes his loser than not.

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So I ordered reptichip. The smell of the no float sucks and I found a bug the other day. Is one brick enough for both enclosures?

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Originally Posted by RickyNY

Stearns, I want to say that Gene is an amazing snake, I went thru all 28 pages just to see his pictures. Also you're a good photographer.
Please please, keep posting pictures of Gene. Thanks

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Gene says "Thanks".https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bc579afd85.jpg

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Originally Posted by Stearns84

Gene says "Thanks".https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bc579afd85.jpg

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Gene is a pretty cool dude,, look at that mouth LOL!

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Originally Posted by Stearns84

So I ordered reptichip. The smell of the no float sucks and I found a bug the other day. Is one brick enough for both enclosures?

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Yes, one brick is enough for like 3 or even 4 4x2 cages if you only go about an inch deep. I use 2 bricks for 3 T25s at about almost 2" deep. Regardless, yes 1 brick will easily do 2 4x2 cages.

I love when Gene goes into shed, he us such a baby. You'd think I was his hospice care giver.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3ef2b2530f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b164944134.jpg

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Lol, yeah Caesar is going into shed. He's been in his cool hide and him being albino, i couldnt tell. I bought him another guinea pig and then found out. He didnt care lol. He popped out of that hide at the smell of it and chowed it down, then went back in his hide. He is such a pig, the guy has never refused a meal even in blue. Cant see squat but he gives it 110% and swings at the air until he gets lucky and/or i move it closer to his head lol.

I guess the first 2XL guinea pig pushed Caesar into shed. But at least he has been quiet and his half pushed face and chin is healed up.

Words of wisdom.....dont experiment with how long your retic can go without food...it ends bad lol.

What is everyone's gradient heating levels ? I use RHP and out the probe is on the cool side. I left the living room door open and apparently illinois had a cold front because it was 59* outside. The AP & RHP worked great. I did however have a high hotspot directly below the RHP of 95, bit it was a gradient down to the cool side at 79*.

Was just curious what everyone's was at.

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I dont run a gradient per say. I just have all my cages ambient at room temp which varies from around 78F in winter to 82-84F in summer. And then they have a hot spot set to around 87F with Flexwatt.

He is such a bum. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...168adeeb41.jpg

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My gradient is around 87-90 hot side, 78-81 cool side with probes hanging beneath the RHPs. I get maybe a couple degrees fluctuation on either side depending on the room temp. If the room stays between 73-76 it's pretty stable temps in the enclosures


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Originally Posted by Stearns84

What is everyone's gradient heating levels ? I use RHP and out the probe is on the cool side. I left the living room door open and apparently illinois had a cold front because it was 59* outside. The AP & RHP worked great. I did however have a high hotspot directly below the RHP of 95, bit it was a gradient down to the cool side at 79*.

Was just curious what everyone's was at.

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Same setup I run.

I'll check and let you know but I think 90-91 hot side and usually 10! Degrees cooler on the other. I used a night drop as well so it cools more at night.

Someone finally shed!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f505aa77b2.jpg

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Finally had time to clean out the enclosures. Getting all the old mulch out sucked. Tina was easy, just tossed her hide in a pillow casr and tied a knot. Gene on the other hand free roamed for an hour. I really like the Reptichip. Humidity is really high but I know it'll drop in a day or two. I used one full brick between the two. Gene isn't a fan if overly high humidity and damp mulch, so he'll stamp on top of stuff for a few hours. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...99f5d94c2f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1a5dec6d91.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4cab50bbbe.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...6427d16207.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4d678956f9.jpg

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Wow you went deep. One block of Reptichips is enough to do 3 of my T8s and 2 of my T10s so basically 5 4x2 cages. I only go about 1/2" deep though as i use flexwatt and something i noticed which you can let me know if it is the same for you.

When you go deep with any of the coco stuff, does it start to smell musty or swampy after a few days? For me when i first used the stuff, i went deep on the cool side and shallower on the hot side but after a few days, when i would slide the cage open, it would have that musty/swampy smell.

Since going only deep enough to cover the floor and allow ventilation throughout the substrate, it doesnt have any smell.

Anyways, let me know what you notice.

And on a side note, i had Caesar out today and my god, he has grown and put on girth and weight. Didnt get any pics as I was too busy dealing with Caesar haha.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Wow you went deep. One block of Reptichips is enough to do 3 of my T8s and 2 of my T10s so basically 5 4x2 cages. I only go about 1/2" deep though as i use flexwatt and something i noticed which you can let me know if it is the same for you.

When you go deep with any of the coco stuff, does it start to smell musty or swampy after a few days? For me when i first used the stuff, i went deep on the cool side and shallower on the hot side but after a few days, when i would slide the cage open, it would have that musty/swampy smell.

Since going only deep enough to cover the floor and allow ventilation throughout the substrate, it doesnt have any smell.

Anyways, let me know what you notice.

And on a side note, i had Caesar out today and my god, he has grown and put on girth and weight. Didnt get any pics as I was too busy dealing with Caesar haha.

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Ugh, I have no idea yet, I literally did it today. I wasn't too worried because I use RHP but I guess we will see. I found Gene in the kitchen and he was stretched out to about 7 tiles, so he should have hit the 7' mark now. He's getting girth now so I think he is at his end of growth. He is only a little thicker than my wrist now.

We need updates!

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Originally Posted by Stearns84

Ugh, I have no idea yet, I literally did it today. I wasn't too worried because I use RHP but I guess we will see. I found Gene in the kitchen and he was stretched out to about 7 tiles, so he should have hit the 7' mark now. He's getting girth now so I think he is at his end of growth. He is only a little thicker than my wrist now.

We need updates!

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Yeah the RHP side will probably be fine. The side I had the flexwatt on was fine. It was the cool side and being so deep that it kind of stayed damp and cool under the top layer and then just got that musty/swampy smell haha. Noticed it the most when I would stir the substrate.

And sounds like Gene is getting big. I'll have to get Caesar out and somehow corral him on the floor for a pic lol. He is a busy snake that loves to cruise around. I had him out today and he was using my body like a racetrack haha. Cruising around my leg, my shoulders, my head and then finally took a break and hung down from shoulder down my back and just sat there haha.

Guess gene likes to dig.....https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0ef2a8e379.jpg

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He looks like he's getting big! Great looking critter!


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He looks great.

Good girth but not excessive.

Someone finally realized that at 7' they can reach the top of the cabinets. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...91c97d1eb5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...473bcb7b7a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...81c47265c3.jpg

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Gene has officially started pushing and we are only at day 5 from hid last large rat.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7d951eb6f7.jpg

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Have you tried the tricks of giving him something to push around? (like a half filled (water) 2 liter bottle or a ball or something)

He's coloring up so nicely!