My collection is about to explode

My collection of one (pied, Mortimer) is about to explode to FIVE:
adding pinstripe, mojave and 2 normals (from different sources), all are the rejects from Craigslist. Will get some supplies with them too...

I guess this is what normally happens with BP owners, eh?
Bracing myself for the hubby's wrath... :please:

Oh, yeah. Me too. I started with 1.0 pied and now I also have a het pied, a cinnamon het pied, and black pastel. I also got a baby western hognose. The last two were hatchlings for sale on craigslist. A local guy was letting them go for only $40 each! I had to jump on that.

At least your giving them another chance good for you. Also get ready for the possibility of mites.

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Originally Posted by EDR

At least your giving them another chance good for you. Also get ready for the possibility of mites.

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Yeah I'd keep them isolated well away from each other for a few months to be sure they're clean.

I've found some gems on CL though, just have to sift through all of the ads that have you shaking your head.

My addiction start with my bee and fire/spider....they were my first 2 and now I have 12.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

just have to sift through all of the ads that have you shaking your head.

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yes, i know exactly what you mean.:taz:

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Originally Posted by shelpen

My collection of one (pied, Mortimer) is about to explode to FIVE:
adding pinstripe, mojave and 2 normals (from different sources), all are the rejects from Craigslist. Will get some supplies with them too...

I guess this is what normally happens with BP owners, eh?
Bracing myself for the hubby's wrath... :please:

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Just a friendly advice. I know many people here have found deals on Craigslist. Just be sure you're getting what you paid for. I've been int he bobby since 2009 and breeding BPs since 2011. I can't even count the number of people that have been on here with CL horror stories. Sick animals, mites, falsely identified morph etc. I picked up one "female" pastel when I first started building my collection. Yeah, it was a male. Didn't find out until later after time and effort to put into growing to breeding size. So just be careful. I hate seeing people getting screwed on "deals" when they're trying to enjoy these wonderful animals. Get second opinions and definitely QT the animals before having the new ones around your growing collections.

@Bigfish1975 : Thanks for the advice. Both of my snakes are healthy and I'm pretty sure I got the right morph, but what do you guys think?

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...7272016-01.png
Black Pastel

I hadn't checked sex yet, so I popped her tonight. No hemipenes!

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...7272016-04.png

And this is the Western Hognose. The owner said he wasn't sure of the sex, but it doesn't matter much as I don't intend to breed them. He said he thought this one was female.

No problem at all. Looks like a Black Pastel to me. As far as the hog nose....Not a clue. Good looking snakes though.

Thank you everybody! :oops:

I am planning to keep them in another room with all separate supplies for 3 month.

Here is a crappy pic of the 2 females: pinstripe and Mojave. Does Mojave look like a Mojave? :confusd:

http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/...psq0xfjntk.jpg

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Originally Posted by shelpen

Thank you everybody! :oops:

I am planning to keep them in another room with all separate supplies for 3 month.

Here is a crappy pic of the 2 females: pinstripe and Mojave. Does Mojave look like a Mojave? :confusd:

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Yes, looks like a Mojave.

Also, are you planning on keeping these two together like that? I strongly recommend against it if you are.

EDIT: Last thought (for now). Did those two come from the same source? If not, you've already tripped over proper QT practices.

I also suggest separating the snakes. Especially after giving this a read...

http://squamishserpents.ca/care-info...-one-enclosure

It's just not worth the risk.

Sent from my STUDIO ENERGY 2 using Tapatalk

Absolutely! As soon as I get them home.

Before I actually pick them up I'll inspect them (to the best of my ability) for mines etc. Also will listen to them (assuming a terrible case of RI can be heard).

Eric Alan
One more is coming from the same source, male in his own Terra enclosure (3 total) + 1 from another in his own Terra enclosure. They will be in the same room but on the different sides.
*Ah, just got your last edit! No, that picture is from the source. I haven't picked up the snakes yet.

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Originally Posted by shelpen

Before I actually pick them up I'll inspect them (to the best of my ability) for mines etc. Also will listen to them (assuming a terrible case of RI can be heard).

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RI's can also be felt. If you can get the snake to be still, rest it's neck on one of your hands. You can sometimes feel the congestion as the snake breathes, almost like air bubbles in a garden hose.

If the seller sent that picture then those snakes are in dire need of an upgrade.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

RI's can also be felt. If you can get the snake to be still, rest it's neck on one of your hands. You can sometimes feel the congestion as the snake breathes, almost like air bubbles in a garden hose.

If the seller sent that picture then those snakes are in dire need of an upgrade.

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I did not know this. Much better than my stick the snakes nose in my ear method. I've gotten some odd looks doing this. LOL

bcr229
Excellent tip! Thank you! I will try my hardest to do that.
And yes, those poor snakes... Not even a heat lamp or hides.:tears: The conditions are not even a bare minimum.

A very interesting development:

I always meet with the CraigList people on the parking lot of the local police station. Always. Most people have absolutely no problem with it. Legitimate people, anyway.
After I'd mentioned this usual meeting place, the source with 3 snakes just disappeared. Vanished. No answers to my text/emails.

WTF is that...

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Originally Posted by shelpen

A very interesting development:

I always meet with the CraigList people on the parking lot of the local police station. Always. Most people have absolutely no problem with it. Legitimate people, anyway.
After I'd mentioned this usual meeting place, the source with 3 snakes just disappeared. Vanished. No answers to my text/emails.

WTF is that...

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Well, that is just a little bit scary.

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Originally Posted by shelpen

A very interesting development:

I always meet with the CraigList people on the parking lot of the local police station. Always. Most people have absolutely no problem with it. Legitimate people, anyway.
After I'd mentioned this usual meeting place, the source with 3 snakes just disappeared. Vanished. No answers to my text/emails.

WTF is that...

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A clear red flag is what it is... If you still get a meetup or something arranged with them, especially if at a different location, bring along a friend or someone ― better safe than sorry!

@shelpen Looks like a Mojave to me.

@Bigfish1975 Thanks! Now that she's a little bigger I'm starting to see a dip behind her cloaca, which is apparently a thing for female westen hognose snakes. Pretty sure they breeder was right.

I know what you mean about an exploding collection, I started with king snake, then got into the balls, now just picked up a 'dwarf' reticulated python that is going to grow to be over 10 feet!! I'm addicted HA!

FYI, I would probably keep them on white paper towels, spray down the paper towels with water and a spray bottle. Then ball up several paper towels and spray them too for extra humidity. Then cover most of the top so the humidity doesn't escape. Then buy some 'Natural Chemistry Reptile Relief' spray and wet a paper towel and wipe down your snakes. Mites are almost impossible to see, they burrow in between the scales of the snake and look like black dots, nearly impossible to tell it's a mite unless you have an all white snake that has black spots. Once wiped down they will all crawl out and crawl all over the paper towels and you'll see them clearly. I battled mites for a month once I found out I was infested. Just picked up a new snake, wiped him down and one lone mite came crawling out! They reproduce like crazy so you have to catch them early to prevent an all out outbreak.

I bought a vanilla and a fire off craigslist this past weekend. 20 bucks each, got a smoking deal...


as for the whole mites thing, even if you keep them in there own enclosure in the same room it is possible for the mites to spread to the others. I would keep them as far away as possible just to try and limit the chances of spreading if they are present. I keep a setup in my room just for the newly acquired snakes.


Mike