First snake/Tiamat update

[OkamiFlautist]

I posted some photos of Tiamat in my Introduction thread, but I figured I should make a seperate post regarding updates for her!

I brought her home on November 11th. It wasn't planned (fiancé and I have chatted about getting a snake but had not firmly decided on one). A friend of mine bought a piebald male and was told she could take a piebald het female of she bought the male. She knew I was interested, offered her to me, and I gladly accepted. I spent the weekend before picking Tia up researching as much as I could and setting her vivarium up (largely creeping this forum for my research as well as reading a couple books I was able to get).

I left her alone for the most part for the first week (I had to fine tune a few things). Once the one week mark hit I eagerly began the process of her first feeding.

I'll admit I was absolutely terrified that she would reject the hopper even though I know this is fairly typical. She had also started to go milky/preparing to shed which made me skeptical that she would eat at all. Boy was I wrong. As soon as I got the hopper in she struck it. She didn't immediately take it though; she missed on her first strike and then hid away. After half an hour I did the zombie dance once more and then left her to it. She ended up grabbing it and 'hunting' it (her version was thrash it around by the tail), and then ate it. The whole endeavour took roughly an hour.

Today I began my first actual day of handling. I took her out for roughly 20 minutes and just sat and let her do her thing. She started to explore and climb all over me. She didn't curl into a ball at all as she did when I had placed her in her vivarium when I first got her.

Little about her:

- Piebald Het
- Roughly 3 months old
- 80 grams at delivery/89 grams as of November 21 (3 days after feeding)
- Currently on f/t hoppers

I'm so excited to continue to discover new things with Tiamat and to also just learn more about reptiles in general. While I don't want another reptile in the immediate future, I do think I want to get an actual piebald BP at some point, or a Retic.

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[Bogertophis]

Beautiful BP & you're off to a good start. There's a world of difference between a BP (of any variety) & a retic..."careful what you wish for".

[OkamiFlautist]

Beautiful BP & you're off to a good start. There's a world of difference between a BP (of any variety) & a retic..."careful what you wish for".

Ohh yes, retics are something I've studied previously just for fun! Big step up I know, but hey it sounds fun!

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[jumpingscxles]

Oh shes adorable!! I remember when I got my boy, Melvin, last February. He's already grown so much and is such a nice snake. Sometimes I even take him outside and take pictures of him, he likes looking around.

[OkamiFlautist]

Update on Tiamat:

Today Tia was given her second mouse hopper since I began raising her. She ate this one much faster than her first (first one took an hour from first strike to confirmed feast, this one took about 45 minutes). However, she seems to still be hunting around even after eating. Is this a sign that she should go up in size for food? I weighed her in at 85 grams the other day.

On an unrelated note, am I unable to update the original post? I cannot for the life of me figure out how to update it

[wnateg]

Update on Tiamat:

Today Tia was given her second mouse hopper since I began raising her. She ate this one much faster than her first (first one took an hour from first strike to confirmed feast, this one took about 45 minutes). However, she seems to still be hunting around even after eating. Is this a sign that she should go up in size for food? I weighed her in at 85 grams the other day.

On an unrelated note, am I unable to update the original post? I cannot for the life of me figure out how to update it

There's a limited amount of time before the ability to edit a post expires. It's like 30 minutes maybe?

[Craiga 01453]

Update on Tiamat:

Today Tia was given her second mouse hopper since I began raising her. She ate this one much faster than her first (first one took an hour from first strike to confirmed feast, this one took about 45 minutes). However, she seems to still be hunting around even after eating. Is this a sign that she should go up in size for food? I weighed her in at 85 grams the other day.

On an unrelated note, am I unable to update the original post? I cannot for the life of me figure out how to update it

Mouse hoppers are too small. They eat hoppers fresh out of the egg for 3-5 meals typically. The switch to small adult mouse or transfer to rats.

[Zincubus]

Mouse hoppers are too small. They eat hoppers fresh out of the egg for 3-5 meals typically. The switch to small adult mouse or transfer to rats.

I’m not sure I’d feed an adult mouse ( around 30g+) to a 12 week old Royal weighing 85g tbh but I’ve very little experience with baby Royals


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[Craiga 01453]

I’m not sure I’d feed an adult mouse ( around 30g+) to a 12 week old Royal weighing 85g tbh but I’ve very little experience with baby Royals


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Yowsers! I definitely wasn't thinking anywhere near 30 grams. Maybe they're defined a bit differently here in the States as opposed to the UK?

I was thinking small adult in the 12-18 gram range, aiming closer to 12 and working up.

[Godzilla78]

I’ve fed adolescent mice to hatchling royals, and it’s a good fit. Full grown breeding mice, might be a bit too large for a hatchling, but I would never feed any mouse smaller than a small adult/adolescent mouse. Pinkies and fuzzies are just too small. I tend to feed whatever diameter the juvenile ball python belly is, I feed a rodent of the same diameter belly, indeed that big or even little larger, since rodents are furry and appear thicker than they really are sometimes.

It still amazes me how large a prey pythons can kill and swallow whole.


Kaos Balls