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Found the face rub/pushing issue...
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...ee71109717.jpg
Got it figured out. Moved her into the full T8 from being in the left side of it when it was divided. The gap between the door and front lip of the cage on the right side gives Phyllis enough room to total smash her face in the gap which she didn't have available in the left side only ... I told you guys she's got some of the wild side being first generation captive bred. I think I may try some 1/8" foam weather stripping to fill some of that gap but worried she'll peel it up and get stuck to it. I could stuff something more rigid in there 2"X1/4" strip of wood or plexiglass but then I've got only one functional sliding door as that would act like a door jam. Anyone have another suggestion? Gio? Sauzo? Other SD/D retic folks?
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Dang, your girl is active lol. Caesar is lazy by comparison. He only gets excited when dinner is close lol. I got a lazy retic lol. Anyways, my BP used to do that in her AP cage. I just let her do it and she finally quit. My big boa will try and of it too but her head is way too big to fit in there. I personally wouldn't worry about it unless she starts tearing herself up, then maybe try the strip of wood idea you got.
I'm assuming she has cool and warm hides and the temps and humidity are all good? Also she might need more food to "mellow" her out. I know with Caesar, I've been giving him 2 adult mice every 5-7 days and he's now a lounger lol. I took a picture of him today. I lifted his cool hide and stuck the camera in there and all he did was pull his head out from his coils, slowly turn and then lay his head down facing me lol. Heres a picture of it. But like I said, if everything husbandry is fine, try and feed her more.https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...01ea13_z_d.jpg
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Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Yep about 90* warm, 78-81 cool, 65% humidity, RHP on a Herpstat 2 with acurites in both the BP and the retic cages. Pushing abrasions have gotten a tad worse in the last week but still not awful. I'm going to fill the gap, give her a 100 gram rat and see how it goes. I've got a feeling she'll chill out a bit after that. In retrospect I wish I'd have gotten the swinging doors on her cage so there wasn't any clearance to smash her face between. Maybe for her next upgrade when she's due for it.
Hahaha! If I pulled the hide off of mine like that, assuming she wasn't already at the cage door before it was fully unlocked, I think she would lose it and come flying at the nearest heat signature. Wicked feeding response from her from day one. I swear I ended up with a reticulated honey badger by mistake lol
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Lol. I don't bother to weigh anything. I just give Caesar something that fills him up. I was giving him small rats but I feel those are too big. He got them down but my god, it looked like he ate a football. 2 Adult mice seems to make the perfect lump for him. As for feeding Caesar goes crazy when he gets the food lol. he wraps it and then pushes it around and sniffs its butt a few times and pushes it around more, drags it and then eats it lol. The only time he actually took a shot was after I messed with him 2 times during shed. The third time he had enough and took a half hearted shot at me lol. Your girl probably just needs more food. Try maybe smaller prey but on a faster schedule. Sucks the abrasions are getting worse. Feed her into a food coma!!! She really is going for the gusto in that picture lol. I think I would be more worried about her popping out a door off the tracks lol.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Good lord you should see her pushing at the the doors. It's borderline disturbing. Using every muscle in her body to mash her face against it. I'm thawing a big small/small medium rat for her and we speak. I can't go to sleep knowing she's destroying her face like that all night.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcrook
Good lord you should see her pushing at the the doors. It's borderline disturbing. Using every muscle in her body to mash her face against it. I'm thawing a big small/small medium rat for her and we speak. I can't go to sleep knowing she's destroying her face like that all night.
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Dang man. That's sounds pretty bad. My big boa sometimes flops against the glass doors when she's playing spider snake and crawling upside down on the top of the cage but nothing like what it sounds your girl is doing. I pray Caesar doesn't push like that when he gets older lol. So far I think i'm lucky as I only really see Caesar outside cruising around when he wants food. I just give him food and he is happy to go curl up behind his hides or inside them lol. And wow a small/medium rat? How big is your girl? A small rat for Caesar looks like he ate a football.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Small rat hardly makes an identifiable bulge in her. She's over 800grams and a solid 5' at just over 8 months old. Her last 4 meals were the only time she's moved down in prey size and I suspect that's the issue. Had moved up to 90-100gram rats and then got four 50 gram rats since Oct 5th. Even the 101 gram rat she just ate didn't leave an overly huge bulge in her. Noticeable but by no means football looking. Might be time to bump up to mediums at a minimum from now on. Gonna try to keep her stuffed without being obese and see how things go from there. Wish me luck!
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Dang! My little man is only about 3' and just over 5 months old. Maybe i'll get lucky and he'll top out at 5' lol. And good luck. Hopefully you can get her to quiet down.
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I'm having the same issue with my male boa. He goes about 6.5 - 7 feet and he's been pushing like crazy. I'm in the process of dropping temps now and I'm wondering if he is looking for a meal or two before the season totally changes. My female carpet will do the same now and then, but both snakes have good sized cages. I think you idea of filling in the gap is good. I wedged some paper in the spot my boa was pushing and he seemed to drop his interest level.
They do like to look for gaps and spices to explore and it always seems to be by the glass. I wonder if you cover it for a while if she'll stop.
Keep us posted.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
I'm having the same issue with my male boa. He goes about 6.5 - 7 feet and he's been pushing like crazy. I'm in the process of dropping temps now and I'm wondering if he is looking for a meal or two before the season totally changes. My female carpet will do the same now and then, but both snakes have good sized cages. I think your idea of filling in the gap is good. I wedged some paper in the spot my boa was pushing and he seemed to drop his interest level.
They do like to look for gaps and spices to explore and it always seems to be by the glass. I wonder if you cover it for a while if she'll stop.
Keep us posted
Wallace is too small to push just yet and he hides a lot.
PS.
Cody said adding some height stops a lot of pushing so maybe it's time to get into the 18" or higher caging?? Just a thought if it gets really bad.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Thanks guys! I'm going to keep her feeding increased for a few weeks and see if that helps. I probably will need a taller cage eventually but it's going to have to wait a while. I just got the two T8s set up in June and dropped about a grand between cages, RHPs, lights, Herpstat, shelving unit, etc.
When I do upgrade again I'll probably go for the T13. Most cost efficient of the larger 4' AP cages and has a slightly deeper footprint and 6" more height than my T8s.
Keeping my fingers crossed that it's just her looking for food at the moment. She chilled right out after last nights rat. Hope she stays calm with larger meals every 5-7 days. She's a seemingly bottomless pit
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I had a velvet retic push when I first got her. I kept her in a food coma for 3 weeks, feeding her every 4 days. Her feeding response is nothing like my super dwarf. She eventually stopped.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yodawagon
I had a velvet retic push when I first got her. I kept her in a food coma for 3 weeks, feeding her every 4 days. Her feeding response is nothing like my super dwarf. She eventually stopped.
Thanks yodawagon! I'm pretty certain it was a combination of smaller prey and having the gap between the door and cage lip that did it. Bumping her up to medium rats every 5-7 days and watching her activity. How's your SD doing by the way? If she's still growing like mine/her sister she must be closing in on 900grams and over 5' right?
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we've used a towel between the glass at the bottom to keep the glass tight so they can't try to squeeze in there because oh boy, they love to do that.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril
we've used a towel between the glass at the bottom to keep the glass tight so they can't try to squeeze in there because oh boy, they love to do that.
That's an awesome idea. I'm going to have to remember that one.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril
we've used a towel between the glass at the bottom to keep the glass tight so they can't try to squeeze in there because oh boy, they love to do that.
Not a bad idea. Any correlation that you've found between increased feeding schedules and reducing their face smashing with your Retics?
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcrook
Not a bad idea. Any correlation that you've found between increased feeding schedules and reducing their face smashing with your Retics?
Sorry for the late reply. And nope, have not seen any reduction in it. Have had it where the retic just ate and that same day is still pushing like a madman. Sometimes they are just pushers... :/
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
I think a larger meal calmed my gal down considerably. And I filled the gap between the door and the bottom lip of the cage. No signs of pushing since that I can tell. We'll see if her rubbing abrasions heal up soon. Aside from those she's looking just fine
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Food coma!!! F-O-O-D C-O-M-A !!!
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
I think that last rat put her into a shed cycle. Not quite cloudy yet but getting a faint pink belly and slightly less clear in the eyes. Of course she does this the day before feeding day. She's always eaten in the past during shed but has needed prey offered 3 times every time it's happened. Strikes, coils, then gets distracted and looses interest but if I keep re-offering she gets it down on the third offer. Might just wait til she sheds to feed but she finally stopped pushing and I don't want her to start up again as her rubbed spots on her chin are healing up. Hmmm...
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The food coma is powerful with that one lol. I kept Caesar in a food coma but last night he came out of it and was cruising all over. He went up his shelf, across his shelf, down his shelf, on top of the warm hide, on top of the cold hide. Paced around the front of the cage, stared out the front awhile at me, went back up on top of the shelf and stared at me, then I went to bed lol. Tonight i'm going to re comatose him with a weaned rat since he seems to be growing like a weed. He's long than his T10 now I think lol.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Hahaha! Give him a few months and you'll be wondering who snuck into you house and replaced your tiny little noodle retic with a different snake that's 3 feet longer lol. I still can't believe that when Phyllis was 3 weeks old she was as big around as my pinky, maybe 20-22" and 50ish grams. Well over 800grams now, maybe 900 and probably over 5 feet. Need to get a new serp widgets measurement on her after she sheds.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sauzo
The food coma is powerful with that one lol. I kept Caesar in a food coma but last night he came out of it and was cruising all over. He went up his shelf, across his shelf, down his shelf, on top of the warm hide, on top of the cold hide. Paced around the front of the cage, stared out the front awhile at me, went back up on top of the shelf and stared at me, then I went to bed lol. Tonight i'm going to re comatose him with a weaned rat since he seems to be growing like a weed. He's long than his T10 now I think lol.
Holy smokes!
Longer than his T-10??
You have hit the growth spurt my friend.
Wallace just went blue so I'm sure I'll see some growth shortly.
I think this go round I'm going to wait until he is clear of his shed before I feed him. It will make his interval at least 10 days.
I'm glad you fixed the pushing jmcrook. I think all of my guys here are starting to feel the seasonal changes. Activity is dropping off.
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Oh Caesar has already grown. He is as long as his cage which is 4' and he is upsizing his food. He just ate a weanling rat backwards and then ate a large adult mouse too and then still was wondering what was going on when I was placing his cool side hide back in lol. I had to play peekaboo with him as he kept trying to come around or above the hide to get to me as i'm trying to push his hide back into his cage lol. Now he's upset and sitting behind his hide with his face poking out one side lol. I swear, I cant fill this little worm up. And Rosey was a pain today too. She missed her rat and came flying out of the cage. Well this pissed her off so she came down on the floor and started wandering around. I had to grab her, put her back in her cage and then offer her her rat again which she took and ate finally. Today was just a mess for feeding lol.
And yeah I think Caesar might need to be upgraded to a small rat now. Even the weanlings aren't really leaving that much of a lump now. Growing sooooo much faster than my boas did lol.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gio
Holy smokes!
Longer than his T-10??
You have hit the growth spurt my friend.
Wallace just went blue so I'm sure I'll see some growth shortly.
I think this go round I'm going to wait until he is clear of his shed before I feed him. It will make his interval at least 10 days.
I'm glad you fixed the pushing jmcrook. I think all of my guys here are starting to feel the seasonal changes. Activity is dropping off.
I don't think my guy and gal got the memo lol. They are all just machines at night. The JCP cruises from top to middle levels of her toy all night. Dumerils climbs all over her silk vine and plays around her water dish all night. Rosey is cruising around. The retic is going all over his shelf, hides, front of the cage, everywhere. Even the BP is out and cruising around at night. The only one quiet is the sunglow but that's because she is in shed lol.
Caesar might not be longer, he is pretty close if not already there. I'll have to pay more attention at night when he stretches out in the back of his cage or on his shelf. And yeah, hes a machine. He eats more than a teenage human!!
Ok update lol. I just caught him stretched out in the back floor of the cage after his meals and he is about 1" short of being the length of the T10 cage.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sauzo
I don't think my guy and gal got the memo lol. They are all just machines at night. The JCP cruises from top to middle levels of her toy all night. Dumerils climbs all over her silk vine and plays around her water dish all night. Rosey is cruising around. The retic is going all over his shelf, hides, front of the cage, everywhere. Even the BP is out and cruising around at night. The only one quiet is the sunglow but that's because she is in shed lol.
Caesar might not be longer, he is pretty close if not already there. I'll have to pay more attention at night when he stretches out in the back of his cage or on his shelf. And yeah, hes a machine. He eats more than a teenage human!!
Ok update lol. I just caught him stretched out in the back floor of the cage after his meals and he is about 1" short of being the length of the T10 cage.
OK so he's a 3 footer. That is where we are at. I've been feeding small rats from the start as that is what Kris was recommending.
I drop my temps this time of year and shorten the light cycle.
I'll get some pictures up after the next shed.
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Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gio
OK so he's a 3 footer. That is where we are at. I've been feeding small rats from the start as that is what Kris was recommending.
I drop my temps this time of year and shorten the light cycle.
I'll get some pictures up after the next shed.
T10 is 4x2x15" right? Your guys have to be about 4' then. My gal is the length the front edge and half the side of a T8 so around 5' or more.
I did drop her warm side a couple degrees recently and I think that has helped her calm down a bit as well.
And definitely going to have her on medium rats steadily now. A small is like feeding her a tic tac, makes no noticeable lump at all anymore. Her last meal was 101 gram rat and induced a very effective coma lol
Looking forward to new pics of Wallace! Tigers are some of the best looking snake patterns out there.
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Yeah a T10 is 4x2x15. Caesar is just about an inch short of 4'. I tried small rats when I got him but those looked like such work for him and he was pretty well comatose after so I dropped him down to 2 adult mice every 4 days. They left a decent lump but he was still able to move around and just looked more comfortable lol. Today though I gave him a weaned rat which he ate butt first no problem and then ate an adult mouse on top of it and still was able to play peekaboo with me with his cool side hide lol. He then stretched out in the back of the cage and how is curled up on the warm side in the back corner behind the hide. So I might try a small rat for him in about 4 days.
I have Caesars flexwatt set to 92F. Seems to work good for him. He bounces between the 2 sides and at night, usually sits up on his shelf surveying the area lol.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcrook
Yep about 90* warm, 78-81 cool, 65% humidity, RHP on a Herpstat 2 with acurites in both the BP and the retic cages. Pushing abrasions have gotten a tad worse in the last week but still not awful. I'm going to fill the gap, give her a 100 gram rat and see how it goes. I've got a feeling she'll chill out a bit after that. In retrospect I wish I'd have gotten the swinging doors on her cage so there wasn't any clearance to smash her face between. Maybe for her next upgrade when she's due for it.
Hahaha! If I pulled the hide off of mine like that, assuming she wasn't already at the cage door before it was fully unlocked, I think she would lose it and come flying at the nearest heat signature. Wicked feeding response from her from day one. I swear I ended up with a reticulated honey badger by mistake lol
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This is the second time i've seen a really compelling reason to go for swinging doors over sliding. I forget who, one of the boa folks, mentioned that having half a door to cling to makes getting recalcitrant boas out of their cages even more difficult. I like the clean space-efficient look of sliders, but i think once i upgrade my enclosure i'm definitely going to be grabbing a swinger (did that come out wrong?)
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I have all sliding glass doors and none of my snakes try to grab the center pillar when coming out. You do realize that even with swinging doors, you will still have a center pillar. Its put there for structure to keep the center of the cage from sagging. I like the sliding doors as you can easily remove them when cleaning the cage just by lifting them off the track and setting them aside. They also double as shields when a snake really wants dinner lol. The only downside I see so far is the gap between the from PVC frame and the sliding doors. Also I have heard from a couple people that the swinging doors will sag after a while and to close them and line them up right, you have to lift them a little and then flip the lock tabs around the door. I also personally like glass better as it doesn't scratch like acrylic. My Pro Line has a nice scratch down the front when my boa got extra hungry and tagged the door and somehow scratched it. It also just has scratches from years of wiping it down with paper towels to clean it and stuff.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sauzo
I have all sliding glass doors and none of my snakes try to grab the center pillar when coming out. You do realize that even with swinging doors, you will still have a center pillar. Its put there for structure to keep the center of the cage from sagging. I like the sliding doors as you can easily remove them when cleaning the cage just by lifting them off the track and setting them aside. They also double as shields when a snake really wants dinner lol. The only downside I see so far is the gap between the from PVC frame and the sliding doors. Also I have heard from a couple people that the swinging doors will sag after a while and to close them and line them up right, you have to lift them a little and then flip the lock tabs around the door. I also personally like glass better as it doesn't scratch like acrylic. My Pro Line has a nice scratch down the front when my boa got extra hungry and tagged the door and somehow scratched it. It also just has scratches from years of wiping it down with paper towels to clean it and stuff.
Hmmm... good point re. the center support. Maybe in the post i'm remembering they were talking about a 3 or 4 ft cage (?) I agree that glass is better, I will be building my own custom enclosure (i have some cabinet-maker buddies who will guide and help me for beer/pizza) so hopefully we can come up with a framing solution to support a swinging glass door, although i have to imagine the sagging acrylic would be cured if the acrylic door were framed, the ones i've seen all seem to just be a loos sheet with hinges and clasps bolted directly into them.
Sorry, this is getting into a discussion for the caging forum, I didn't mean to derail the thread, it was super interesting - may i ask a retic feeding and growth question to try and get back on track? This may be a really dumb question (sorry in advance) I dont have a retic, but would love to some day, a high % SD ideally. So in my little retic fantasy, i grow him up quick with lots of food, but then put on the brakes to keep him from ballooning into a monster. Can it work that way? If i feed him hard for, i dont know, 2 years to try and put on size fast, can i then slow down the feedings and his growth rate safely? I worry that the change would negatively impact his health and/or his demeanor - or maybe it just wouldn't work the way i'm envisioning. I've seen in Cody's videos how he got one who had been on a maintenance schedule and accelerated its growth by increasing its meals, i guess i'm asking if the inverse of that would work as well.
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No idea about that dkatz4. I know at 5 months old, Caesar loves to eat. I think I finally found his limit though lol. He hit the lottery for food. He got his weaned rat, then he got 1 mouse after the JCP had her limit of 2. Then tonight, I tried to offer the BP a small rat but as I figured, she is done with food for the year and wont eat again until around Mar/Apr so Caesar got a small rat too. Think i'll go a week now before offering him food again instead of his 4-5 days lol.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkatz4
So in my little retic fantasy, i grow him up quick with lots of food, but then put on the brakes to keep him from ballooning into a monster. Can it work that way?
Generally speaking for most snakes, feeding fast when young is what makes them reach a larger overall size, so no, it won't work that way.
Also most snakes will continue to grow their entire lives.
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Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkatz4
Hmmm... good point re. the center support. Maybe in the post i'm remembering they were talking about a 3 or 4 ft cage (?) I agree that glass is better, I will be building my own custom enclosure (i have some cabinet-maker buddies who will guide and help me for beer/pizza) so hopefully we can come up with a framing solution to support a swinging glass door, although i have to imagine the sagging acrylic would be cured if the acrylic door were framed, the ones i've seen all seem to just be a loos sheet with hinges and clasps bolted directly into them.
Sorry, this is getting into a discussion for the caging forum, I didn't mean to derail the thread, it was super interesting - may i ask a retic feeding and growth question to try and get back on track? This may be a really dumb question (sorry in advance) I dont have a retic, but would love to some day, a high % SD ideally. So in my little retic fantasy, i grow him up quick with lots of food, but then put on the brakes to keep him from ballooning into a monster. Can it work that way? If i feed him hard for, i dont know, 2 years to try and put on size fast, can i then slow down the feedings and his growth rate safely? I worry that the change would negatively impact his health and/or his demeanor - or maybe it just wouldn't work the way i'm envisioning. I've seen in Cody's videos how he got one who had been on a maintenance schedule and accelerated its growth by increasing its meals, i guess i'm asking if the inverse of that would work as well.
No worries about shifting the discussion. It was partially about a habit of a species and partially about the specifics of the cage she is in.
In regards to your SD inquiries, if you want an SD retic to stay manageable size look for a pure SD, male, and don't power feed. Sure, they are somewhat bound by genetics to stay smaller but they are very opportunistic feeders and will eat every time food is offered. Maintenance feeding schedule should generally keep growth in check but each animal is different. My snakes parents are 5' dad, and 6-7' mom who apparently just laid a new clutch of eggs. Daniel Solis is the breeder, might get in touch with him if you're interested. Probably hatching early 2017. I'm expecting mine to grow somewhat larger than its mother, as Phyllis is already at 5' and she's just about 9 months old. 9' is in the realm of possibility if she keeps growing like she has been
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When blood is on your glass you should worry. Pushing is a common thing in retics - some people are open about it - others are just slightly set away from it because they don't want to talk about it or haven't experienced it.
Ambient can be perfect. Space perfect. Hides perfect, and it will still happen. There are two things to try - one has been mentioned, the other I don't believe has been. During pushing increase food. If pushing occurs on the cooler side, drop temperatures a little more. These guys enjoy the cooler end of the spectrum. 70 degrees is comfortable for some of them. Mine only go to heat after a big meal. Otherwise they stay around 72 degrees.
Other thing you can do is a little more proactive - get a two liter bottle and put some warm water in it and seal it tighter. Put the bottle in the enclosure. They like to push. So this is giving them something else to push around. Cage too small for that? use a 1 liter or 20 ounce bottle. This can offer them some preoccupation with the pushing and calms them down overtime.
Hope it helps.
Cheers
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I think the maintenance feeding option is healthy and wise for males, and probably OK for females if you are not going to breed.
At this point, I have a relatively calm snake that seems to be growing slowly and eating a small rat every 7-10 days. It has really been 7 day spaces with an early on 4 day space. The 10 day space is coming this round. I'm going to let him shed.
Without doing anything drastic, you can somewhat put your animal into a slower cycle with feeding if you use some season cues. Less daylight, slightly lower temps and a little longer between meals.
I'm not sure the first year is the time to practice that however. The diet of a growing snake varies a great deal in the wild and they are not as reliant on the migrations, birthing patterns and habits of other animals when young. They tend to have more to choose from year round so I plan to continue the course.
It will be interesting to see how our little group of SD and SD X Dwarf keepers does when we look at growth and size toward adulthood.
I certainly haven't forgotten about my 3 other species, but this is newer ground and I enjoy the company!
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by reptileexperts
When blood is on your glass you should worry. Pushing is a common thing in retics - some people are open about it - others are just slightly set away from it because they don't want to talk about it or haven't experienced it.
Ambient can be perfect. Space perfect. Hides perfect, and it will still happen. There are two things to try - one has been mentioned, the other I don't believe has been. During pushing increase food. If pushing occurs on the cooler side, drop temperatures a little more. These guys enjoy the cooler end of the spectrum. 70 degrees is comfortable for some of them. Mine only go to heat after a big meal. Otherwise they stay around 72 degrees.
Other thing you can do is a little more proactive - get a two liter bottle and put some warm water in it and seal it tighter. Put the bottle in the enclosure. They like to push. So this is giving them something else to push around. Cage too small for that? use a 1 liter or 20 ounce bottle. This can offer them some preoccupation with the pushing and calms them down overtime.
Hope it helps.
Cheers
Thanks reptileexperts! No blood on the glass thankfully. I'm fairly certain it was her way of protesting a few smaller meals in a row. Increased her prey size, dropped temps a few degrees and filled the gap she was jamming her face in. Calmed down noticeably within that day. She's in shed now with a considerable sausage butt, and is due to feed today but I may wait until she sheds, though she will take food when she's cloudy eyed. She usually sheds 4-5 days after going blue but that would be a few days past her set feeding day. Would you recommend offering food as a proactive solution to keeping pushing in check? Thanks for offering your input in this thread, I appreciate it!
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Yeah, I've been feeding Caesar every 4-5 days. Figure i'll do that until hes a year old, then probably stretch it out. I was told the first 2 years is when retics benefit the most from good feedings. After 2 years, then maintenance feeding is good. Not sure if its accurate. Maybe Cody can chime in on it. I do know Caesar is pretty darn mellow now and actually seems to enjoy watching me at night by sitting on his shelf or half on top of a hide lol. After about 4-5 days, he starts cruising around, i'm assuming looking for food.
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Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Offer extra but don't over do it. Sounds like you're on the right track. My bet is on lowering the temps did more than food.
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Re: Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by reptileexperts
Other thing you can do is a little more proactive - get a two liter bottle and put some warm water in it and seal it tighter. Put the bottle in the enclosure. They like to push. So this is giving them something else to push around. Cage too small for that? use a 1 liter or 20 ounce bottle. This can offer them some preoccupation with the pushing and calms them down overtime.
Very novel idea, I will have to give this a try!
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Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Quote:
Originally Posted by reptileexperts
Offer extra but don't over do it. Sounds like you're on the right track. My bet is on lowering the temps did more than food.
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Right on, I may offer her a small rat to hold her over til she sheds and then continue with medium rats. Again, thanks for offering your expertise on this subject. All of you previous posts and videos online have been incredibly helpful and informative in making my decision to work with SD retics and i greatly appreciate your input.
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Found the face rub/pushing issue...
Well, Phyllis shed yesterday and her face abrasions healed up perfectly! The two little raw spots under her chin scabbed and came off with her shed and she's all back to normal. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!
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