Newbee question - about color change in females

[Andys-Python]

We only feed our chondros mice....you might want to go back on a mouse diet as they are much better for chondros than rats

For simplicity here, I'm going to assume Puffers is a girl...

Gosh, I thought I was doing right by her by feeding rats. I've been told (and read) that rats were better for Ball Pythons so I assumed this would be the case for Puffers. Mice won't be a problem though. I have plenty of those too. How many mice should I be feeding it? Is three per week enough? Doesn't seem like much given the size of this snake.

You can post a photo (or email it to me if you don't know how to post a photo, tikigator@gmail.com) and I can give you more insight to age, etc.

Puffers is in shed right now, so I hate to disturb her for a photo shoot. I'll see if I can find a photo I took when I first got her, but they were all taken while she was coiled up on her perch.

Chondros make great display snakes and prefer not to be handled.....they are not "play with" snakes and it can stress them out tremendously. Their spines are very fragile, they should never be taken off the perch and if you insist on handling yours always make sure you are very careful when doing so. Biaks are known to be more aggressive, I don't know anyone who ever wants to handle their biak.

Once out of it's enclosure, Puffers seems to like being out. She doesn't strike or anything and likes to explore and look out the window. I enjoy handling her but I never pull on her to get her out or off her perch. I just tickle her along the neck and body encouraging her to crawl out on my arm or into my hands. I'm VERY gentle with her because I've read/heard they have very brittle bones and shouldn't even be handled until they are a year old.

Do you know its weight?

I haven't weighed puffers. I'm not sure how I would do that. She's too active out of her cage and there's no way to weigh it, inside the cage. Maybe I can figure out a way to make a perch that will set on the scale or something.

If you are new to chondros a great tool for you would be to purchase the book by greg maxwell, the more complete chondro. in the book you will find answers to all of your questions including husbandry, color morphing, sexual development, and more. every chondro owner should have that book. he is coming out with a reprint in the next couple weeks so if you cannot find one, check amazon soon! good luck and let me know if there is anything else i can help you with!

Someone in another thread suggested this book and I ordered it straight away from eBay for only $60.00. It arrived in the mail today and I can't wait to get home tonight and start reading it.

Thanks to BOTH of you for your help and insight into the care of Puffers. I want only the best for my snakes. I've been thinking of getting a Neo. to keep Puffers company when it grows up, but I'd better make sure I'm doing things right with Puffers first.




Andy-