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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Got some video from the night-vision camera of Maze climbing into her sky-hide, so hopefully they post properly and don't turn into weird links. If they do, sorry about that!
https://i.imgur.com/pMIapv3.gif
https://i.imgur.com/I98hGIc.gif
Edit: direct link in case they're not working: http://imgur.com/a/V4gTo7C
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Hey, :gj: That's really cool! I think she approves too.
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bogertophis
Hey, :gj: That's really cool! I think she approves too.
She definitely does! It is her second most-used hide. And it lets her look down upon the world, which she likes to do when I peek in on her during the day. She's a very curious girl.
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It's so cool to see her climbing up! The sky hide is one of the best ideas for enclosures and wonderful enrichment. I also love how Maze stares at the camera toward the end of the first video as if she knows someone is watching her :D
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luvyna
It's so cool to see her climbing up! The sky hide is one of the best ideas for enclosures and wonderful enrichment. I also love how Maze stares at the camera toward the end of the first video as if she knows someone is watching her :D
Agreed, sky hides are great. I'm honestly tempted to give her a second one.
Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure she can see the IR the camera gives off for night vision. She doesn't seem too disturbed by it, other than occasionally staring at it lol, so I think it's fine? I hope so. She still wanders around at night like it doesn't bother her.
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Maze shed recently, and has been making a few tours around her house during the day. Not frequent, but I did catch her in time to take a few pictures before she decided she had enough and went to back to sleep upstairs lol.https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...a9701f5f5f.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...d48b14de5b.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...28fed82b4c.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...3521dc07e8.jpg
Edit: She also started knocking down the camera so I've since nailed the wire for it into the top of the enclosure as a deterrent. One of the bad things about letting a snake climb -- they will climb literally anything and everything. :rolleyes:
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Unfortunately, the camera-knocking shenanigans became a nightly theme, so I had to move it to an exterior location. Apparently Maze thought it was entertaining and was actively seeking it out just to knock it over, which was scaring the dogs. They didn't like the loud thumping noise from the camera hitting a branch.
As for Maze herself, she's doing pretty well. Turned 4 on the 22nd, and had a rat a week later. Measuring in at 49 inches, so she grew an inch in a year. Stayed about the same weight, too, so I'm satisfied with where she's at. Here are some pictures from the other morning, before she decided to rest for the day.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...602_073804.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...602_074812.jpg
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...881&height=496
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Only updating again so soon because I was rereading my thread a bit, and ran into a portion where people were arguing about the validity of giving ball pythons climbing space, and then Maze did this tonight:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...606_211616.jpg
Two thoughts:
One, Maze doesn't give any hoots what people think about whether or not ball pythons are supposed to climb, she just does it. And to be fair, 3 feet isn't even really that high. Most movement recorded in the wild isn't counted as 'arboreal' until it goes over 6 feet, so 3 feet is pretty short in comparison.
Second thought: This is exactly why light cages are necessary. Even though it's night time and the light is off, and I've never once seen her do this during the day, she very well could've shattered an exposed bulb. She's committed to keeping me on my toes, I'll give her that.
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The phrase "when it rains, it pours" definitely applies here.
For some backstory, my job is a traveling one. Usually, I only travel once a month for a week at a time, but lately I've had to be out every other week. Additionally, our oldest dog passed away at the beginning of the month from cancer. This has caused me to feel a little frazzled, so my attention hasn't been as sharp as usual in regards to the snakes. It's not an excuse, but I feel like it helps explain why I wasn't able to catch this any sooner, and why it didn't occur to me to do things differently until after the fact.
Maze has scale rot. It's a minor case, says her vet. About a month ago, she shed, and a piece of one of her belly scales came with it. At the time, I thought I'd keep an eye on it, but then our dog's health really started to go downhill, and I had to leave the next day for the first of three trips. I now know I should have immediately pulled her out of her bioactive enclosure and put her in a sterile environment, but that's hindsight. It's easy to beat yourself up after the fact, and I can't say I've been entirely easy myself despite the circumstances.
I get back from the trip and she's still fine, however our dog is not. We find out it's cancer 3 days before I leave for the next trip, and I spend all of those mourning. He passed the day after I left. Get back from that trip, check on Maze and I notice her scales are a little rough around the edges, but I'm still so distracted by everything else I again decide to keep an eye on it, which was a mistake. I leave for the third trip.
I come back from the third trip, try to get settled. I pull her out on Saturday and her scales feel awful. Her belly is bright pink and inflamed, and the scales look puffed up and away from her body. There are brown patches dotted up and down her belly. It doesn't look anywhere near as bad as the pictures you find on the internet of scale rot, but I know immediately, this is scale rot. It's Saturday night, probably close to 9pm, so calling a reptile vet is out of the question until Monday. I immediately get her into a diluted betadine solution and let her soak for a bit. After that, I set up a sterile tub from one of her previous enclosures with just two hides and her large water bowl, all scrubbed down to get off any bacteria from her normal setup. Added some fake vines for cover. Sunday, I repeat the soak and show my roommate how to do it so she knows what to do just in case we have to keep this up while I'm gone. This photo is from Sunday night after her second soak:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...725_164809.jpg
Monday, I call the vet. They get me an appointment for Wednesday and tell me to keep soaking her daily.
Tuesday, she goes into shed. This is a good sign, because it means she's trying to heal; however, thanks to the shed, she now looks puffy and inflamed again. We go to the vet the next day and the vet tells me it looks minor, and there's only one darker spot he's concerned about. He prescribed us with Fortaz just in case, and gave her the first injection to show me how to do it. She did not like that at all --- she was pretty huffy when I'd gotten her out for the vet appointment, but by the time we got back and I gave her her daily soak, she was very angry. I'd go to wipe off the betadine and she'd huff immediately and loudly, the poor thing.
We do the antibiotic injections every 3 days, with the last one being on the day I leave for my next trip. This was all entirely preventable, and it really, really sucks to see her in pain like this, but all I can do is make sure she gets better and provide her with better climbing opportunities so she's less likely to break a scale going forwards. I don't know what she broke the original scale on, but I figure giving her wall-mounted branches to catch herself on will hopefully prevent a full hard fall (I'm assuming) like that in the future. I'm also just mentally and emotionally drained between all that's happened, so I'm trying not to be too hard on myself, but I'm not gonna lie, it's hard.
I'll keep y'all posted on her progress going forward.
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Hey, so sorry for the "perfect storm" you're dealing with lately, with too much going on.
On July 14th, I had to say good-bye & 'rest in peace' to my dog of 16 years ("Casey") so I know how bad you feel having just lost yours too. Dogs are more than wonderful companions, they're family, they make our lives interesting & fun, & it's always hard to lose them. Yet as painful as the loss is, our lives were immensely better for having them be part of it, and our dogs wouldn't want us to be forever sad either. Sounds like you have another dog too, & right now, I'm very glad that I do. We both miss our buddy, & together we won't forget her, but we're adjusting.
Back to Maze, don't beat yourself up too much- it sounds like you're getting this scale infection under control. You do want to prevent "hard falls" in a snake's enclosure though- they can do internal damage & you won't necessarily know. Snakes & dogs are both very stoic- it's part of their survival instincts.
Antibiotic injections are no fun- & once you're done with that & she's eating again, it might help to add Bene-Bac (for reptiles) to her food to help replenish what the Fortaz has removed from her gut microbiome.
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bogertophis
Hey, so sorry for the "perfect storm" you're dealing with lately, with too much going on.
On July 14th, I had to say good-bye & 'rest in peace' to my dog of 16 years ("Casey") so I know how bad you feel having just lost yours too. Dogs are more than wonderful companions, they're family, they make our lives interesting & fun, & it's always hard to lose them. Yet as painful as the loss is, our lives were immensely better for having them be part of it, and our dogs wouldn't want us to be forever sad either. Sounds like you have another dog too, & right now, I'm very glad that I do. We both miss our buddy, & together we won't forget her, but we're adjusting.
Back to Maze, don't beat yourself up too much- it sounds like you're getting this scale infection under control. You do want to prevent "hard falls" in a snake's enclosure though- they can do internal damage & you won't necessarily know. Snakes & dogs are both very stoic- it's part of their survival instincts.
Antibiotic injections are no fun- & once you're done with that & she's eating again, it might help to add Bene-Bac (for reptiles) to her food to help replenish what the Fortaz has removed from her gut microbiome.
Thank you for the Bene-Bac recommendation -- it hadn't occurred to me about her gut fauna getting messed with. She hasn't actually technically gone off food yet -- she last ate about two weeks ago, and I only offer once a month, so she'll only be a little overdue by the time I get back from my next trip. Will order some immediately so that when I do offer, she'll have the best chance of getting back on track.
Yeah, I knew if she fell too hard it could potentially hurt something internally, I just didn't think she could fall that far with how I had things set up. Before this all started I'd ordered branches to help her keep her grip, but with all my trips lately and losing our dog and all of the other madness it got put on the back-burner.
So sorry to hear about your buddy! It never gets easier, no matter how many times you go through losing a pet. Part of life and pet ownership, but doesn't mean it's easy.
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Maze shed today. She still has a few spots left, but overall her belly is looking loads better. I plan on keeping her in the sterile tub until at least her antibiotics are done, and I plan to keep soaking her until all the spots I've noticed are completely gone. Nearly all the brown is gone, and it looks like she'll need to regrow the edges on some of her belly scales from the infection. Overall, making progress, and she only has 3 antibiotic shots left.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...803_181752.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...803_180341.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...803_180335.jpg
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Looking pretty good! :gj:
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Thanks, Bogertophis!
She finished with her antibiotics last week. I had to leave on another trip the day of the last shot, so my roommate kept up her soaks while I was gone. She was starting to get antsy a few days ago (probably hungry, as it's been about a month and a half, and she's used to 3 week minimum intervals), and her belly is clean, so yesterday I put her back in her enclosure. Both roommate and I will be keeping a close eye on her, since I'll be leaving on another trip very soon. If she's still fine when I get back, she will be fed at long last lol.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...819_235550.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...821_114618.jpg
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Hey all, it's been a hot minute since I last replied to this thread. Maze is doing okay, though she is back in her quarantine tub for now. I'm pretty sure I found the source of the problem -- when I first made the soil mix for her bioactive, I used a different soil base than I was used to, and I'm pretty now that sure it had manure in it. At the time I was just desperate for dirt, since the brand I usually went with had stopped producing the kind I like. Since then, I've found another brand that's worked pretty well for my Japanese rat snake, and switched over Maze's bioactive to that as well.
Unfortunately, when I got back from the trip mentioned in my last post, Maze had a few new spots on her, so she had to go back into quarantine and resume her soaks. She's been eating fine, and her belly's been clear the past couple sheds, but I want all her scales to finish regrowing before I put her back into her enclosure. I would rather not repeat the last 6 months of struggle.
She did 1 last shed last month and it looked clear, and then a couple weeks ago two scales developed a brown line along the edge, and they don't really look like the scale rot so I'm not entirely sure what they are. It's possible she bent the scales while roaming around at night, so I'm hoping it'll go away after another shed. I'm not going to lie, after 6 months of this, I'm starting to wonder if it'll ever go away completely. Her quarantine cage is cleaned often, and there isn't anything in there beyond her hides, her water bowl, and paper towels, so I'm not sure how it could've come back.
Some pics since August, and two pics of the spots on her belly I mentioned above.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...126_110938.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...224_162057.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...104_115550.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...104_115450.jpg
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I see what you mean but I can't tell what that is either. :confusd: She sure is a robust, good-lookin' snake anyway, though.
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Whatever it was, it went away with her next shed. I couldn't find anything wrong with her belly scales, and her enclosure was growing back together nicely, so I reintroduced her last month.
Thus far there has been no signs of another flare-up, so I'm hopeful that her infection is now behind us. I still feel I'm going to be on guard and watchful about it for some time, but optimistically, if it hasn't returned after a month of sitting on the dirt of her enclosure, I don't see a reason why it would. Last time I put her back before she was ready, the flare-up was immediate.
Here she is from the past few months:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...780806164.jpeg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...316_183407.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...318_213817.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...319_231736.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...319_231925.jpg
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Just a little grunge on her scales- dirt "happens". ;)
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bogertophis
Just a little grunge on her scales- dirt "happens". ;)
I had a similar scare the other day. Had my boy out and saw what looked like "rust" on one side. I feared it was scale rot but just to be sure I wiped it with a damp paper towel and it came right off and was clearly just a smudge from his substrate. :oops:
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Whatever that was in my previous post was not dirt -- it didn't rub off with water, so still uncertain what it was. I could see it on her shed as well, so it was something inside her scales.
After this very long fight with scale rot, I had simply had it up to here with the entire situation lmao.
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Maze is still doing well. Spotted her basking out on one of her shelves the other day. When she noticed me she turned her head away from the glass, so I took that as a sign that she didn't want to be bothered. Too busy :P.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...429_165915.jpg
I introduced a piece of my pothos vine to the enclosure while she was in recovery, and it's grown exponentially. This leaf is larger than my hand!
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...412_074852.jpg
She's still a pretty active girl. Glad she can now get that energy out in constructive ways again, rather than shoving her nose up against a tub lid. (Taken at night, but turned on the light for the pic).
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...415_232926.jpg
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She's looking quite happy. :D
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
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You've done a STELLAR job with this beautiful snake. She has a dream home & every inch of her reflects that. :gj::gj::gj: I'm not surprised that she's doing well. ;)
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Let's try this again.
She did develop some minor scale rot that daily soaks and a shed solved, which I think my depressive slump over losing Inej caused me to neglect her maintenance some (can't catch a break, it seems). Once she's clear she'll go home again. I need to fix her sliding doors anyways, the silicone on the tracks is starting to give.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...126f4d0132.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7ad9cd5ced.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...43d5752208.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...893790f0f8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a15ef77d8a.jpg
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She's looking great- & hey, "stuff happens" -because snakes are living creatures & don't live in a bubble. We do the best we can. ;)
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Mazikeen and her enclosure look great! :gj:
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Ugh I’m eternally jealous of Maze. She is so gorgeous! I love her cheerios. So I’m setting up my very first snake enclosure or “snabitat”, as I prefer to call it, and I want to make a substantial second level. Can you talk about those rock ledges and branches? Are they magnetic? Where did you get them?
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROSIEonFIRE
Ugh I’m eternally jealous of Maze. She is so gorgeous! I love her cheerios. So I’m setting up my very first snake enclosure or “snabitat”, as I prefer to call it, and I want to make a substantial second level. Can you talk about those rock ledges and branches? Are they magnetic? Where did you get them?
The rock ledges I purchased from Universal Rocks as sets of their DIY ledge kits. They're attached with silicone, so that will work with pretty much any type of enclosure. Universal Rocks was also very nice; one of the shelves arrived with a warped back that made it impossible to install without sanding it down, and they sent me a new shelf free of charge.
The branches are ghost wood, which I believe I sourced from Pangea Reptiles or maybe the Serpentarium Inc., whichever was cheapest at the time after shipping. The method I used would only work with wood or maybe PVC if you're willing to drill holes, not glass. I purchased some metal thread and cut it down to 4 inch sections, then used a wood drill bit slightly larger than the size of the thread to drill holes about two inches deep in the base of the branches. Once that was done, I glued the thread into the holes with two-part epoxy (JB Weld works fine) and let it set for a few days. Once done, I drilled holes in the walls of the enclosure itself and then put some washers on either side of those holes, attached the branches through those holes, and then used a nut to screw it into place. My roommate had to hold the branches at the angle I wanted them so I could get them tight enough, but that was the only part that required another person.
If I were to install the branches in glass, I'd probably look to SerpaDesign on Youtube for tips and advice, but since I have a wooden enclosure I get a bit more leeway on how to install additions.
I personally find magnets for something as heavy as a ball python not powerful enough -- even if it isn't a matter of weight, she's VERY strong and could yank something out if given enough time and determination. I'd much rather go for something permanent to reduce the risk of her pulling something off and hurting herself.
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Mazikeen progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream
The rock ledges I purchased from Universal Rocks as sets of their DIY ledge kits. They're attached with silicone, so that will work with pretty much any type of enclosure. Universal Rocks was also very nice; one of the shelves arrived with a warped back that made it impossible to install without sanding it down, and they sent me a new shelf free of charge.
The branches are ghost wood, which I believe I sourced from Pangea Reptiles or maybe the Serpentarium Inc., whichever was cheapest at the time after shipping. The method I used would only work with wood or maybe PVC if you're willing to drill holes, not glass. I purchased some metal thread and cut it down to 4 inch sections, then used a wood drill bit slightly larger than the size of the thread to drill holes about two inches deep in the base of the branches. Once that was done, I glued the thread into the holes with two-part epoxy (JB Weld works fine) and let it set for a few days. Once done, I drilled holes in the walls of the enclosure itself and then put some washers on either side of those holes, attached the branches through those holes, and then used a nut to screw it into place. My roommate had to hold the branches at the angle I wanted them so I could get them tight enough, but that was the only part that required another person.
If I were to install the branches in glass, I'd probably look to SerpaDesign on Youtube for tips and advice, but since I have a wooden enclosure I get a bit more leeway on how to install additions.
I personally find magnets for something as heavy as a ball python not powerful enough -- even if it isn't a matter of weight, she's VERY strong and could yank something out if given enough time and determination. I'd much rather go for something permanent to reduce the risk of her pulling something off and hurting herself.
My tat is PVC so I def could drill but I would prefer not to. I have a magnetic feeding ledge from my crested gecko days that I got from Pangea, the magnets are STRONG. I’m not sure how well they’ll work with PVC though. Homebody suggested peg board for building interior structures and I think that will probably be my route. I’ve seen a bunch of different perches for birds that work the way you’re describing, I’ve also thought about making some of my own like you did as well! Thanks for the suggestions :)
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROSIEonFIRE
My tat is PVC so I def could drill but I would prefer not to. I have a magnetic feeding ledge from my crested gecko days that I got from Pangea, the magnets are STRONG. I’m not sure how well they’ll work with PVC though. Homebody suggested peg board for building interior structures and I think that will probably be my route. I’ve seen a bunch of different perches for birds that work the way you’re describing, I’ve also thought about making some of my own like you did as well! Thanks for the suggestions :)
I did do some DIY ledges for my Japanese Ratsnake enclosure here if you're looking for something more unique, though it's very time consuming. Again attached with silicone. I followed this instructables guide for the process. I would strongly suggest avoiding the magnets and instead securing with silicone. Ball pythons are pure muscle, especially if they're given the chance to climb and use it.
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream
I did do some DIY ledges for my Japanese Ratsnake enclosure here if you're looking for something more unique, though it's very time consuming. Again attached with silicone. I followed this instructables guide for the process. I would strongly suggest avoiding the magnets and instead securing with silicone. Ball pythons are pure muscle, especially if they're given the chance to climb and use it.
Yeah so far the magnet experiment has been a bust anyways haha. I’ll check out those resources!
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Any magnet strong enough to hold a BP accessory though 1/2" PVC is too strong to be safe for hobby use. I've used many neodymium magnets in gecko, frog and aquarium applications. If a human can pull it down, a BP can, and if they dislodge it there's a chance that they'll get some part of themselves between the two magnets.
Silicone will not adhere to PVC. Solvent welding is the only "adhesive" sort of way to attach to it, and that only works if the thing to be adhered is also PVC or a compatible plastic (CPVC or ABS).
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
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Looking good- both snake & her home. :gj:
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Re: Mazikeen progression thread
I LOVE your setup! I'm looking at creating some climbing surfaces and ledges for my own girl, but she's very big and heavy, so that kind of limits what i can use. Will definitely be spending the next little while scrolling through your replies for ideas.
Maze is also absolutely stunning! What a beautiful setup and a lucky girl!
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