Jeffrey Progression thread

Well I've had Jeffrey for a few years now, but I still want to be able to post pictures of her as time goes on. So it's a progression thread that has started kind of in the middle.

-Jeffrey-

Nicknames: Fluffy, Steve, Pumpkin Python, Aylee N., Karana (the name my kid gave her, and it's her "official name" according to her vet records, but I literally never call her that), Isis, Chubs

Age: 6 (give or take)

Morph: Mojave

Weight: No clue, but she earns the "Chubs" name

We got Jeffrey when she was around 2 (we think). She was in rough shape when we got her. Underweight, dehydrated, listless, and bitey for a BP. The owner was a teenager who originally wanted to breed her with another Mojave to sell BELs. He'd gotten her first to let her get big enough, then planned to get a male.

But, then he lost interest and decided that ball pythons are boring. So she didn't look great when we got her. She didn't even have any kind of humidity (and we live in Las Vegas, mkay. Average humidity is like 4%), and multiple stuck eyecaps.

But surprisingly, no major health issues. We took her to the vet, intending it to be a whole process getting her back to health, but no RI, no mites or parasites, no infected eyecaps (or any infections), nothing.

A few minor issues, shown by the bloodwork we got done, but the vet seemed confident that with proper nutrition and care, those issues would resolve themselves (and she was right).

And I dunno, I don't hate the idea of breeding her eventually (my kid wants a BEL), but now she's already around 6, so I'm not sure how that would go. It's not like I have random incubators and stuff set up (or a male to breed her with). So she'll probably just be a pampered, spoiled pet.

And the kid loves her. This was about 6 months after we got her.

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And watching TV together:

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And some more recent photos, exploring the great outdoors!

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She's not bitey anymore, but she still has an INSANE feeding response. She's never gone on a food strike, and I can count on one hand the number of times she's refused food in the last 4 years.

I took this picture for another thread, talking about the size of her food, and I thought it was funny. Even completely frozen, still sealed in the bag, she could still smell it and started lunging at everything that moved.

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I am going to get a scale soon, though (both hubby and I were laid off, money is tight right now). I'm curious what she weighs. She's definitely the biggest BP I've ever had.

Those are medium rats next to her. She's a thick lady.

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Trying to measure her is always an adventure. I think she's right around 51 inches long, give or take a couple.

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Funny story:

My 8yo daughter is the one who cleans the snake cage. Which is usually quick and easy, but Jeffrey is mad at us now.

She's gotten a little chunky, so we're spacing out her feedings a little more to try and help her slim down.

Jeffrey doesn't like this plan.

So she's been acting extra hungry lately, and the Spawn was a little intimidated.

I happened to be finishing my omelet, but told Spawn to hand Jeffrey to me anyway, I'd hang on to her while she cleaned the cage.

So I was eating with my right hand and Jeffrey was curled around my left wrist. I was eating and chatting with Darling Husband, not paying attention to Jeffrey. So I didn't notice that she was winding up.

Until she suddenly launched herself toward my fork.

It was enough that DH (who doesn't hate snakes, but definitely isn't super comfortable with them) jumped up out of his chair.

It was SO FAST. Luckily she missed. And of course, I immediately put the fork down and covered her head, making her ball up.

It was the funniest thing ever. She's always had a strong feeding response, but she's never done that before (not that I make it a habit to hold her while I'm eating).

I couldn't stop laughing. Not even my retic ever did anything like that before.

And it's only been 11 days since her last feeding! We usually feed her around every 7 to 10 days, depending on how hungry she's acting, so it's been a little longer than she's used to, but it's not like she's starving, by any stretch of the imagination.

I couldn't believe she tried to go after my food while I was holding her. It was so funny, I had to share.

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Hanging out, taking a nap on my arm

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She can be so cute and chill when she's not a psycho monster

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Time for food? Is there food? Can I have some food? You got any food?

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She is a thick girl! She could probably stand to lose a few grams but she sure is purdy! :)

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

She is a thick girl! She could probably stand to lose a few grams but she sure is purdy! :)

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Lol, yeah, she's on a diet, and she's not super happy about it. You'd think I'm starving her, the way she prowls her tank.

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Originally Posted by ApathyAngel

Lol, yeah, she's on a diet, and she's not super happy about it. You'd think I'm starving her, the way she prowls her tank.

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That's actually one of the benefits of feeding less often imo. My snakes are more active too which I love to see. I feed them every 2 weeks on average and even less during the winter.

Are you feeding her mediums and/or large rats? Snakes have different body types just like people. :)

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

That's actually one of the benefits of feeding less often imo. My snakes are more active too which I love to see. I feed them every 2 weeks on average and even less during the winter.

Are you feeding her mediums and/or large rats? Snakes have different body types just like people. :)

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Mediums. I had been feeding her every 7-10 days, but now I'm feeding every 14 days. The only problem is it's made her more bitey. It takes me a few minutes after getting her out to snap her out of food mode, and after that, she's good. But when I first grab her, man, anything warm and within reach is at risk. She tried to eat our 70lb pitbull the other day.

Lol, I used to own a retic, and her feeding response puts his to shame. She's a complete glutton.

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Do you tap her with a hook before taking her out? That generally shuts off their strong food response. Most of my snakes are pretty food crazed too. I don't reach into any of their enclosures without tapping them with a hook first. Like your critter if it's warm and moving they're gonna wanna taste.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Do you tap her with a hook before taking her out? That generally shuts off their strong food response. Most of my snakes are pretty food crazed too. I don't reach into any of their enclosures without tapping them with a hook first. Like your critter if it's warm and moving they're gonna wanna taste.

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Yep, I tap her. It shuts off her feeding response long enough for me to pull her out, but then for the first few minutes that I hold her, she'll still strike at anyone or anything nearby. But after a few minutes, she relaxes and goes into exploring mode. Once that happens, everything is good.

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It's feeding day. I think she knows. Not even 10 am (she gets fed in the evening) and already she was camped out at the opening of her hide, watching and waiting.

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Blue Jeffrey is irritated because I needed to grab her while my daughter refreshed her humidity box.

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I actually kind of like the way she looks in blue. Her colors are a bit grayer and she's got almost a metallic sheen in certain light.

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Oh oh! And I caught her yawning. Super cute!

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I've figured out the perfect social distancing accessory.

Today is one of the like, 4 days out of the year when the temps are mild enough that I can take Jeffrey out, so I brought her with me to the pet store, wrapped around my neck.

They have lines marked off on the floor for social distancing while standing in line at the register. This Karen behind me, who has obviously never been told "no" in her life, decided she's just too good for lines.

She kept inching closer and closer, even after I asked her to back up.

But then, Jeffrey decided Karen was too close. She poked her head out from under my hair, curled up in her S, and gave a loud, long hiss.

And this woman yelped like a little chihuahua, and jumped back.

And suddenly it was much easier for her to stay within those lines.

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And as far as accessories go, she's just so versatile. Her neutral colors and iridescent sheen means she'll go great with any outfit, for any occasion.

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A fiery, feisty temperament ensures that any unwelcome intrusions into your personal space are quickly and effectively addressed.

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And in the right light, her shimmery scales put even the brightest diamond to shame.

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I cannot recommend her highly enough. Everyone should have one.

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lol! Good girl, Jeffrey! I love it - and a good Boa hiss is impossible to ignore. She's really a beautiful snake; I really enjoy your stories about her, and especially like seeing that she is so obviously loved.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

lol! Good girl, Jeffrey! I love it - and a good Boa hiss is impossible to ignore. She's really a beautiful snake; I really enjoy your stories about her, and especially like seeing that she is so obviously loved.

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It really is! I've never had a snake hiss as much as she does.

Basically the opposite of the laid-back, docile temperament usually associated with ball pythons, but I love her all the more for it. She's my sweetie.

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We got Jeffrey a more natural looking hide. I'm worried the opening might be too big for her to feel safe, but so far she seems comfortable. I walked by to see her peeking out, just watching the world go by. We'll see how she likes it over the next week or so.

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If she is acting more stressed you could always get some fake plants to help provide her a little more cover over the opening. What a cutie pie.

Beautiful beautiful beautiful Jeffrey! The stories are great.


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Originally Posted by nikkubus

If she is acting more stressed you could always get some fake plants to help provide her a little more cover over the opening. What a cutie pie.

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Thank you! Yeah I'm thinking of something like that if she seems like she's uncomfortable. She's generally pretty eager to let us know when she's not having a good time. But so far, she seems good.

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Had to pull her out to change her substrate and let it dry out a bit, because the humidity jumped up to 92%. But she was so cute, just resting her head on my hand. She must have fallen asleep because she didn't move for like 20 minutes, and when I finally got up to put her back in her tank, she hissed just like she does when I dare interrupt her naps. Poor upset little girl.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f66e2b43a3.jpg

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Jeffrey bleps. I work out of town now, and every time I come home, she always wants to explore and say hi.

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That's a great pic.

What a pretty noodle.

Jeffrey got too fat for her house, so we had to upgrade to a bigger one. At first she was pissed because it's much bigger and doesn't give her the same "snug" feeling as the old one, but it didn't take her long to get comfortable. And she can still do her favorite thing of lying with her head at the opening, watching us go about our day.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4ba91dbf53.jpg

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She looks like she "got over it" pretty well. :gj:

Recently the temps outside were mild enough to let Jeffrey explore outside. I think she enjoyed her time out.

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It's funny, usually the dog is terrified of the snake. Mostly because the dog is terrified of everything and thinks the world is going to eat her. Its a running joke at the vet that she *looks* like the toughest dog in the room, but she's the biggest little baby. And Jeffrey is enough of a jerk that she's tried to strike at the dog before.

But today, there was actually a (closely supervised) moment of peaceful coexistence.

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I doubt they'll ever be friends, and that's alright, but this was a rare combination of Jeffrey being in an exceptionally good mood and the dog being exceptionally brave.

*And the dog was rescued at 3 years old, her ears came pre-chopped by a jerk with scissors. They're crooked and jagged, but she's still objectively the cutest wonky-eared princess. Objective irrefutable fact.

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Those pics make your snake look SOOOOO long! :rofl:I would not let them sniff noses that way though -yes, I have dogs, & allow sniffs, but never nose to nose. All it takes is one moment of panic to make a very BAD day for all...can you imagine how bad snake teeth embedded in your poor dog's nose would feel? Then picture the dog chomping on the snake. :tears: It won't end well. Please don't allow pet sniffs this way- you were lucky this time. Especially because snakes on the ground are more defensive than usual.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Those pics make your snake look SOOOOO long! :rofl:I would not let them sniff noses that way though -yes, I have dogs, & allow sniffs, but never nose to nose. All it takes is one moment of panic to make a very BAD day for all...can you imagine how bad snake teeth embedded in your poor dog's nose would feel? Then picture the dog chomping on the snake. :tears: It won't end well. Please don't allow pet sniffs this way- you were lucky this time. Especially because snakes on the ground are more defensive than usual.

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Yeah she's a long lady! Next time I'm home, I've got to pull out the tape measure and the scale to see just how big she is now. Her last measure was a few years ago, and she was around 51 inches long and 2,000 grams. But she's definitely grown since then.

You're absolutely right, I was lucky. I'm a big proponent of not anthropomorphizing animals, dogs are incapable of rationalization, and especially with a dog as big and strong as Galaxy, and a 5-ish-foot long ball python with a temperament as spicy as Jeffrey's, anything can happen in the blink of an eye.

I like to think I'm familiar enough with both Galaxy's and Jeffrey's body language to conclude this was a low-risk scenario, but you're absolutely right. All it takes is a split second and things can get ugly.

This was a moment of "aww how cute!" overriding my usual common sense and caution. Usually the dog either runs and hides in the house when the snake is outside, or she sticks to the other side of the yard. I still really love these photos, but even if there's another moment of bravery combined with a calm Jeffrey, I won't be letting them interact this way again. I got my lucky moment and my cute photo, I won't be pushing that luck.

As an aside, I recognize your name. Throughout the entire time I've had Jeffrey, you've been there, answering so many of the questions I've had and giving such amazing advice on how to make sure she has the best life I'm capable of giving her. Jeffrey is not my first snake, but she is an odd weirdo, and you've never made me feel dumb for having questions or wanting input on how to handle a situation. I just wanted to say I really appreciate that. And I know Jeffrey appreciates the improvements that have come about in her quality of life based on answers and advice you've given! Thank you!

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Originally Posted by ApathyAngel

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Great pic. Thanks for sharing. I'm would say the other pics are great too, but looking at them makes me too nervous for reasons already discussed.. They're provocative. I'll say that.

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Originally Posted by ApathyAngel

Yeah she's a long lady! Next time I'm home, I've got to pull out the tape measure and the scale to see just how big she is now. Her last measure was a few years ago, and she was around 51 inches long and 2,000 grams. But she's definitely grown since then.

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She looks like a Burm in those pictures. I think the camera angle has a lot to do with it.