Wiggles, the Children's Python

[Homebody]

According to Serpwidgets, Wiggles shrank 0.08 inches last quarter. On 10/4/23, he measured 2', 11.53". Tonight, he measured 2', 11.45".


While I'm a Serpwidgets booster, even I wouldn't say it's accurate to within a tenth of an inch. So, I'm going to conclude that the change in Wiggles's length this quarter was negligible. He's still under 3 feet.

[Bogertophis]

He's doing great, that's obvious, & I wouldn't worry about that fraction either.

[Homebody]

Dodged a bullet, or, at least, I think I did. Wiggles managed to squeeze himself between his RHP and the ceiling of his enclosure.

The RHP was on. I know the temperature on the surface of the RHP can get as high as 145F. It's usually safe because the snake isn't supposed to be able to lay on it. Wiggles was able because the screw that secures that side of the RHP to the ceiling fell out, and I neglected to replace it. I've replaced the screw and the RHP is, now, secure.

Wiggles isn't showing any signs of injury. No sign of a burn. I've been watching him all evening. He's been moving and behaving normally. Looks like I got lucky.

[Bogertophis]

Yikes! I hope he's okay- Never underestimate a snake. They have nothing better to do than test the limits of whatever they're in.

[Homebody]

I added some cardboard tubes to the walls of Wiggles's enclosure. Just something different for him to climb on or through.
[IMG][/IMG]
I really like these tubes. I collect them from the recycling bins in the commercial district. They're really thick, like wood. To this one I added dowel rods to make climbing through it more dynamic.
[IMG][/IMG]
Now, I wait to see whether he likes them.

[Homebody]

Wiggles says, "Don't let the fact that your keeper provides you with hides of every shape and size stop you from creating your own, even if it means ruining expensive heating elements essential to your well being."

Silly snek.

[Homebody]

Today, I swapped the screws that held on the RHP for bolts threaded into brass inserts.

Hopefully, this will be more secure.

One of the reasons, the screws didn't work is that the top of my enclosure is warped. This prevents the RHP from fitting flush against the ceiling. I tried to counter that by screwing them in really hard, but that put a lot of pressure on the screws. Add Wiggles trying to worm his way in there and it was too much for them. Hopefully, this does the trick.

[Homebody]

This year, I'll continue with his target training. I'd like to teach him to target over greater distances. I'd also like to introduce non-food reinforcers, because I'd like target him more often than I can feed him. I'd also like to add foraging exercises to his enrichment activities. It'll be fun to hide a mouse and a Reptilink and see which he goes for first. I'll likely also start desensitization training. I don't handle him much. It's just not my favorite thing, but other people like handling him, so I don't want him to be stressed.

Wiggles's 2nd gotcha date (3/5/22) came and went without note. Looking back at my plans from last year is a bit embarrassing. I've continued with his target training but he hasn't made any great strides. I tried foraging only once. It didn't go great. When someone pointed out to me that pythons are ambush predators, and so, not natural foragers, I decided against it. I value natural behaviors, not unnatural ones. I haven't worked on desensitization at all. I realized that I'm the only person that handles him and I'm the only person that wants to. And, as I've said before, handling is not my favorite thing. I prefer to watch him explore on his own. That's just more entertaining to me. If he's going to be desensitized, it'll be gradually owing to the little handling I do.

So, what did I accomplish? I crafted a bunch of enclosure furnishings. Some of which he seems to appreciate. I kept him healthy and I had a lot of fun. This next year will probably be more of the same.

[Homebody]

Wiggles weighed in at 297g, 10g more than he weighed on 1/7/24.


I also started charting his length. He measured 35.83 inches on 3/30/24. That's 0.38 inches more than he measured on 1/11/24.

Seems like healthy growth to me.