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Silver Nitrate posted:Does anyone have experience with difficult respiratory infections? I got this albino ratsnake from a rescue and he has an RI that two series of shots with different antibiotics haven't helped any. He's going back to the vet on Thursday, is there some sort of test that they can do to figure out what is going on with him? Pretty animal, Eggs! Sounds like quite a case of RI. For RI, I treat with a repti-fogger with 4ml F10 SCXD Veterinary Cleansing-Sanitizer and fill the rest with water. Pipe the fogger into a decent-sized rubbermaid with holes in it. Place the snake in. Run for 20 minutes. Turn it off and let the animal sit for another 20 and repeat daily for 2 weeks. Not sure how effective this would be for advanced RI, but it was effective against a moderate case. Unlike antibiotics, F10 is a disinfectant and mighty potent, so keep the dosage low if you go that route. The method has worked a half dozen times for me with no casualties. Use at your own risk, as some species may be more sensitive than others. But it has worked successfully for me with north american rat snakes, a python, and a rattlesnake. Apparently there are cheaper foggers out there than the ZooMed one, which I use. It's handy to humidify a few of my animals' cages a couple times a week (green rats, rubber and rainbow boas, coxi) in addition to their humid hides. They seem to enjoy the interruption to the dry desert air here. Edit: typos.
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Jan 21, 2015 23:24
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MrConfusedTurkey posted:One time, I had someone ask me at work if our F/T mice are dead or just sleeping (and she was dead serious, because she felt really dumb after asking). I've had variations of that question: "So, do they wake up when they thaw?" Usually I offer that freezing is terminal, and then give the asker an out, or a conversational redirect, as usually the light bulb usually goes on, as folks realize the folly of the question as soon as I start responding. But then I contemplate the potential for Swanson's Cryogenic Mouse Dinners for herps. I'll get to that once I perfect the hognose defibrillator. 
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Feb 4, 2015 21:11
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11-12 weeks sans a meal is a walk in the park for a big corn. It's probably rather healthy to burn off some of its fat reserves. But thumbs up on being attentive and leaving no stone unturned. Three of my everglades rat snake hatchlings, which hatched back in October, only took their first pinks this week, the little loonies. The tiny lightswitch in their brains just turned on finally: "Oh hey! Mouse! This is the best thing ever!" These rodent vacs won't ignore a mouse the rest of their lives now. My big cal king (66+ inches, all whale) used to shut down every September and then resume in mid-February for the first 8 years of her life. During her feeding season her feeding response is certifiably insane. But during her off-season she would actively flee f/t rodents of any size offered, utterly repulsed as if the mouse were kryptonite. "And you wonder why they won't let us into the country club," I'd lecture.
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Feb 16, 2015 20:02
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Rubber boas are fascinating captives. A lot of folks who otherwise wouldn't touch a snake seem drawn to these gummy worms. They are little charmers the way they characteristically wrap around your finger or wrist. The love the humidity and cool temps. I tried cooling mine last year, but my cool room didn't get cool enough (location: S. AZ), so brumation never really occurred to their instincts. Temps only occasionally dipped into the upper 50s. This would be sufficient for most species, but rubber boas are still active into the upper 50s. I've a cooler brumation room this year, so fingers crossed. If that fails to stay cool long enough I'll go with a fridge for brumation next year, which I expect is necessary. Prolonged periods of temps 55F and lower just don't naturally occur in S. AZ. And these require at least 3 months of it. I can see how they could go a long while without food. My males have gone off-feed for a month or two at a time, but the females eat like clockwork, only skipping when in shed.
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Feb 17, 2015 17:41
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MrConfusedTurkey posted:It's funny you mention their tolerance for cold, in the article the author also has a photo of a rubber boa out in the snow, which is the second time they have seen one in the snow. I am very interested in these guys, but I would also have difficulty with brumating, considering I am in NW AZ. I feel the pain. Do you have pictures? I think a fridge is necessary for AZ brumation unless you're up in some of our higher mountains. I read somewhere the magic numbers for brumation is 55F for 3 months. I'm hoping upper 50s/low 60s will work, but am pretty sure it's wishful thinking. One of the males:   Cold-tubbin with his gal (darker boa). Females get notably larger than males.  She's a moose. I'll get photos of my other female when they come out of my attempt at cooling them. She's a big olive lady. And my other male is a small chocolate colored guy.  Here's the lady Tootsie Roll nestled in coconut soil. They love humidity. I offer this in variants to them: coconut soil, a small tupperware container with a hole cut in the lid, filled with moist sphagnum. I also top some of the coconut soil substrate with moist sphagnum to help with humidity retention in this dry climate. And their cage gets a misting every 2-3 days, which they seem to respond to (unless they're just responding to the possibility of food).  These charmers stay in my cool reptile room along with my coxi, lyres, and triaspis. They're great captives worth getting to know.
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Feb 18, 2015 17:25
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Reading a lot of the research and insights of Richard F. Hoyer and his son Ryan hooked me on these. Ryan's site on these beauties: http://www.rubberboas.com/ Interestingly, they are one of the few species that may be kept communally. (Which I don't advise for most species, yet I do for a few species I keep. Do as I say not as I do, etc.) I keep my two females together in an admittedly excessively large Vision 211, and my males each in their own 5 gallon. One did bite me, as I thought I was lifting a faux branch out of the bedding which turned out to be her. She took exception and gave a quick nip. No blood nor resulting superpowers, but it was a bit of an honor. And the classic rubber boa pose of them wrapping around your finger or wrist is their most common go-to position when handled. This species just loves doing that.
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Feb 18, 2015 22:05
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Silver Nitrate posted:FUCKKKKKKKKKK The legislation is a loving joke. Politwerking for votes. See also: The Simpsons' Bear Patrol. I took in a 5.5 foot salmon boa (largely because she's a beauty, a sweetie, and I've plenty of time and space for her) but also because every new tailchaser desperate for votes puts boas on the ban list. And they were initially on this lastest act of "Freedumb!" too. Almost a century ago Will Roger's quipped: Well, prohibition is better than no liquor at all. Indeed.
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Mar 8, 2015 04:28
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j3rkstore posted:Let me know if this isn't the right thread for this but can anyone help me identify this little guy? I'm in North Carolina and want to make sure its not a baby Copperhead. I was thinking maybe Texas Brown? Your ID is spot on. Depending on what range maps say (which vary), as subspecies go, it's probably the Northern Brown Snake, aka "Dekay's Snake" if you're in NC. It's a very harmless slug and worm-eater that tops out at a little over a foot in length. Unlikely to bite, and even then less likely to break the skin. What they can do is musk quite terribly well, a foul cloacal smearing that honestly makes their utterly trivial bite preferable. I have had one (out of several dozens) bite me, but was only impressed that it even bothered trying. Baby copperheads are much more stout, have elliptical pupils, and bear dark hourglass-shaped banded saddles across their backs. Copperheads, like most pit vipers, are quite stout. Think plumpy sausages with noticeably triagulated heads. Dekays/brown snakes are pretty common in backyards. They would turn up frequently when raking leaves as they like to lurk under dead vegetation. In fact raking leaves, I find, is the best way to find that species.
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Mar 27, 2020 10:45
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