Ponzu the clown

Ponzu is my first (and for now anyway, only) snake - I have been keeping tarantulas in quarantine and wanted something more interactive that could learn to trust me and be handled. I was initially pretty overwhelmed by just how many morphs and options there are in BPs but gravitated to killer clowns, particularly ones with just a very, very thin line of black outlining their white markings. I narrowed it down to 3 ads on morphmarket, sat on it for a month, and checked back and found they were still available so I picked out my favorite of the three. I've had him about 2 months now and he's just great, a happy little guy who eats anything I dangle in front of him.

He's a twin too, a fraternal one - his brother is a different morph, though they came from the same egg (he's the big spoon here):
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...593cea1007.jpg

He started out quite small being a twin, here he is after a few sheds:
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...f1e33cbf35.jpg

And this week with me, he just hit 400g. I have a feeling he's not content being a little guy and is going to wind up pretty big, he's already 30" long and still growing fast
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...027_203946.jpg

He's a killer lesser clown, and both his parents have fire so he may wind up having that too, but I'm not sure. I go back and forth on it looking at comparison pics of superfly clowns. In any case I'm happy having him as a pet for now. He's getting stronger and more active too - when I used to handle him, he'd lay on my forearm like a blob and I had to be careful not to let him slide off - now when I go get him out he wraps his tail firmly around my arm and this lets him extend the rest of his body out to explore. This has the fun side effect of letting him grab ahold of doorknobs, curtains, and anything else I walk by while carrying him, so he's more of a handful but fun to have around :D

Ponzu turns 2 today - Happy Hatchday! :fest:

When I got him he was a shy little guy at 260g and about 30" long, he's beefed up considerably to 550g and just short of 3 feet. As he's settled in and put on size he's gotten more and more calm and confident. He still likes tunneling in blankets and watching tv, but he's much more comfortable just cruising around the house exploring or climbing on me. It took him awhile to be comfortable approaching my face (I think my eyes / direct gaze scared him) but now he comes right up to sniff my forehead. His new thing is climbing up into a high place and then reaching out to me like "I'm stuck, please get me down." His patterns don't really show in pictures so you'll have to take my word that he's not leucistic, but a nice custard yellow with caramel-colored faint markings. (His original name was going to be Flan because of this lol).

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/XzM6tEz.png
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ur.com/XzM6tEz

I couldn't resist ...
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/hbwSYfv.jpg

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Originally Posted by plateOfFlan

...It took him awhile to be comfortable approaching my face (I think my eyes / direct gaze scared him) but now he comes right up to sniff my forehead...https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ur.com/XzM6tEz

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I see I'm not the only one that has noticed this in snakes, & I think it makes total sense that until proven otherwise, most snakes assume we're some sort of scary predator they have to be careful of.

I've known some snakes that allowed me to handle them in my arms or lap, but continued to "eye" MY face & eyes warily until I gave them a chance (carefully!) to get familiar with my face, similar to the way you did. This is not without risk, & the risk of a face bite is certainly there (please, everyone be careful about doing this- it really helps to have enough experience to "read" your snake well before you attempt this, & progress gradually only when your pet is calm), but honestly, I've had good results after doing this- my snakes became visibly more relaxed after they had a chance to check out my face- they no longer looked as if ready to deliver a face bite at a moment's notice, & they do seem to retain this learning.

I've made a point of doing this with nearly all my snakes, in part, because I used to do programs with them now & then (before COVID), and I didn't want to risk ANYONE getting a bite while I was sharing them, often with people who were afraid of snakes & only just then opening up to them. Even if I was the one bitten, it would have shaken their confidence with snakes & drastically lowered their acceptance of them, & of course, the thought of one of my snakes biting anyone else would have been even worse. So I've always been very "chummy" with my snakes at home- & from that, they appear to have learned to relax, & to not be afraid or thinking that humans might be predators; as a result, they've never bitten me or anyone- they've been effective "goodwill ambassadors".

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Originally Posted by plateOfFlan

I couldn't resist ...
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/hbwSYfv.jpg

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:love: He's so cute! :fest2::bday::fest: Happy Hatchday, Ponzu! And many more....

Wow ! What a story about a special clown. Lol. He looks truly amazing. Grats!

Updating an old thread to say this boy turned 3 this year and is now up to 990g. Apparently even a small twin can in fact become a big boy lol!

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Originally Posted by plateOfFlan

Updating an old thread to say this boy turned 3 this year and is now up to 990g. Apparently even a small twin can in fact become a big boy lol!

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They sure can! :cool:

He's been doing a great job of eating lately (at the risk of jinxing it here) - every winter I've had him he goes on a one or two month fast, and according to his baby records he has never eaten in the month of January. This year, instead of waiting for him to start refusing, I pre-emptively reduced his feeder size back to weaned and spread his feedings out a little (he's normally on a 2-week schedule). So far he has yet to refuse and ate for the first time in January this week! I'm hoping keeping him on a slow eating momentum through winter will prevent him from totally stopping eating.
Slowing down his feeding in general might be a good idea this coming year since he's 3 and a half now and should be pushing full grown size. He's gotten calmer and calmer as he's gotten bigger but is still kind of a stubborn pain the butt during handling, so I don't have as many pictures of him as I do of Clemmy - I spend a lot of time untangling him from things or trying to persuade him not to climb on my head and rip my glasses off my face every five seconds.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/HNW1FF3.png

He's awesome & he really adds to that rug's appeal too! :D I think your feeding plan for winter is spot-on, too, btw.

What a cutie pie! My BP does the same to my glasses... Before I cut my hair real short he used to tie my hair into knots and I would have to untie him from my hair, just for him to do it again :rolleyes: so I relate!
Happy early birthday to your gorgeous BP!

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Originally Posted by BeansTheDerp

What a cutie pie! My BP does the same to my glasses... Before I cut my hair real short he used to tie my hair into knots and I would have to untie him from my hair, just for him to do it again :rolleyes: so I relate! ....

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I can sure relate too! My most "dangerous" snake is my 4' Aussie Spotted python, because it's as if she's "magnetically attracted" to my hair, & she loves to do the twist in it, then hang on as hard as she can for as long as she can. :O Evil snake...:D