Ziggy Ure - 50% Hypo Bredli - Progression Thread

[Bogertophis]

Well, he seems to be settling in quite nicely! I'm thinking about feeding him tomorrow, or maybe Tuesday. Time to brush up on my mouse thawing skills...

Those are GREAT pictures (don't stop) & he's obviously settling in quickly because of all your hard work setting up his home. Providing a sense of security makes all the difference for snakes.

As for thawing mice- I recommend using cold (cool) water until the rodent is totally soft (thawed) throughout, & then warm it quickly using the method of your choice (or a combination thereof). Immersion in very warm water (not boiling hot- you don't want to cook it!) for a few minutes works great, & for the extra fussy snake, a blow dryer can put a finishing touch on the external warmth- happy to say none of MY snakes need their rodents blow-dried, but many BPs seem to. I don't imagine this snake's breeder blow-dried his feeders either, but you'll soon find out. I'm betting this snake eats very easily for you.

[Homebody]

Even more important than the pics are your descriptions of his behavior. These will be very helpful to those considering getting a Bredli of their own.

[OatBoii]

I'm happy to report he took his first meal for me! I gave him a hopper mouse, which still looks like a pretty good size for him. There is a noticeable bulge where the mouse is (was?). I warmed it with some hot water for just a moment, and that was enough for him I suppose. Good for me! We don't even own a blow dryer. If it wasn't warm enough, the back up plan with to lift the DHP and warm the mouse with that for a few seconds.

He was SUPER upset when I first opened the door. I added some weather stripping on the left door to block a small gap between the two doors because I was worried he might find a way to squeeze through. I'm pretty sure even if he could wiggle his head in between the panes that he couldn't get much farther than a squished nose, but still. Just to be safe. If he gets out, there's a very big fall, and my very curious, much bigger than him, cat.

Anyways, the weather stripping means I can't slide the door well, so when I unlock it, I just take the whole door off. Which Ziggy found too surprising of a wake up call apparently. His whole body puffed up and then deflated with how big of a hiss he made xD It reminded me a lot of a balloon. I'm sure if I was a scary bird, I'd be warned off.

Either way, once I set the door aside and brought over the hopper, all that attitude disappeared in an instant. He was interested, but it did take him some tongue flicks and a bit of looking before he decided to strike. Once he did he coiled immediately though. Altogether pretty fast, and he definitely didn't need any convincing once he confirmed it was food. I guess maybe that was him looking for its heat signature?

A pic!


He lowered the mouse onto the ground from here, so that he could eat it better. No pictures of that though, I just watched through the doorway from another room. Ziggy is now in his warm hide, which I shoved a bunch of extra sphagnum moss in, and he's looking nice and cozy now. Happy digestion little buddy!

Also, thank you both for your responses. It means a lot to me, and I do hope my experiences can help others make informed choices. I also like having the descriptions and pictures to look back on myself, sort of like a snake journal? Ziggy is wonderful, and I'm looking forward to many years with him. Sometimes I still get anxious about him being sick or acting strangely or not thriving, but I know that Ziggy comes from a good place, so that helps assuage a lot of my nerves.

I can tell I'm a bit of a helicopter snake parent though

[Bogertophis]

...I can tell I'm a bit of a helicopter snake parent though

Aren't we all? That's way better than not caring enough.

[Caitlin]

He's just beautiful and is doing so well! Please don't slow down with photos and updates.

Given that you have to remove the whole door for feeding time, I wonder if it might reduce the surprise/stress of doing so by signaling in advance that it'll be happening - something like three taps on the door, then waiting a minute, then removing the door, maybe?

I have to say I don't think you are being too cautious at all about the door. If he can shove his nose through the gap, he can shove the rest of himself through. It's really astounding to see how small a space that a determined, curious snake can get through if they put their mind to it. This is why I don't have sliding panels on my enclosures, but I know they can be made secure.

For what it's worth, I've kept snakes for a long time and I think it's fair to say I am still a helicopter parent.

[OatBoii]

That's a great idea! Thank you Caitlin. Hopefully it won't be a forever problem, but since Ziggy seems a bit nervous, I'll happily implement this for cleanings and feedings for now. Once he gets bigger, I can probably remove the weather stripping. I do love the blockiness of older Bredlis, so I'm excited to see him grow into that characteristic head shape

Helicopter snake parents for the win! Snakes are so subtle anyways that I think being overly observant is probably for the best xD

[OatBoii]

Ziggy has come out of his mini food coma tonight. Hooray! He's been in his hot side hide pretty much since he ate, even at night.

Tomorrow marks one full week since his arrival it feels like much longer than that, but also much shorter than that. My partner helps me be patient because he is super impatient- He wishes I had chosen a snake that, and I quote, "Didn't hide so much". Reminding him helps me remind myself that it's only been a week, and that progress takes time. I'm confident that Ziggy will start hanging out on the wood more often when he's ready- he clearly likes it.

A few pics of him hanging out. I might do some rearranging of the back and left side of the enclosure when I clean it for the first time, since I haven't noticed him using any of the back branches. Now that I know him a bit, I think I could rearrange them in a way that is more to his liking. Onto pics though! I'm pretty sure he's so chill with me hovering around the cage front because he's not really awake, but I'll take it.

[OatBoii]

Hello again! It's been about a week, so it's time for more pics of Ziggy Ure

He grows more confident every day that passes. This morning, he was out on his branch when I woke up! It's the first time he hasn't already been in a hide by the time I got out of bed, which is awesome.

I have noticed, however, that he really seems to dislike the tank lighting. I'm not sure if this is because he is nocturnal, or if the light is too bright, or if he simply just doesn't like it? My running theory is that he probably never really had a light until now, being that he was kept in a rack system, so perhaps the light is too much for him? Even if he seems to be relaxed, the second the tank light comes on, he heads for the darkest corner. If the light in the room is on, but not the overhead one, he is much more willing to just come out and relax. I think I'm going to try and experiment with keeping the tank light off, but the room light on, and see if he is more comfortable with that, or if he just doesn't like light at all. Either way, I hope that he will one day feel comfortable enough to stay on his branch during the day. He really, really seems to like it, and I feel a bit bad whenever I find him on it but he runs away from it pretty much as soon as I turn on the light and walk away.

Friday, when I'm a bit more free, I'm going to go in for his first spot cleaning and perhaps rearrange a little. I have been doing my best to try and not enter his space unless absolutely necessary, but he has pooped and even managed to get a urate in the door track, so it's time to get in there for more than a five second water change.

Anyways, pictures! In no particular order.




Looking proud after pulling down the thermometer/hygrometer


The one time he has expressed some interest in looking out. It lasted all of about a minute, before he withdrew. The door is off in this picture.


Exploring


A beautiful tummy



He really likes riding the substrate guard, I've noticed.


Just a variety of close ups now! I really like the face of the bredli- I think they have uniquely beautiful facial structures.







And, finally, one very blurry Blelele! Most of these pictures aren't super great because I'm just taking them with my phone, and a lot of them are zoomed, but they're something at least. I'd love to see what a real camera could do with this guy, the pictures really don't do him justice.

[OatBoii]

He took another meal today! I'm still giving him hoppers for now, perhaps one more, and then I'll see about finding some small adult mice. In all honesty, they seem to be a good size for him as far as I can eyeball it, but I don't think I'm too good at eyeballing xD I've also heard carpets prefer bigger prey, and he was on adult mice before anyways, so once I'm certain he feels comfortable I'll bump him up.

Absolutely no problem striking! He's a great eater.

[Bogertophis]

What a beautiful & FUN snake!