After Shed - Red Tail

[aaron_cg]

So, I just got home from the pet store and noticed that my Red Tail seems to be in almost a hibernation like sleep. Is this normal? I have decided that I am going to sell the Red Tail and just keep the Ball Python for now, and I don't know what I need to do. Thanks for any advice

[snake man12]

Why are you selling it?

[Kaetlinv]

What do you mean by 'Hibernation like sleep'? Is the snake unresponsive or something similar?

A little confused why you appear to be going through all the effort of separating these two snakes only to decide to sell the red tail without giving it much of a chance.

[Gungirl]

I think you are making a wise choice. One snake is enough for you right now.

[Terranaut]

Slow down. Seperate them and keep them a bit before selling anyone.
You cant be quick to judge a snake.

[aaron_cg]

To answer both questions: She has buried herself in the substrate and when I un-buried her she was responsive to touch, and movement, but I didn't want to pick her up and run a risk of her striking, seeing how she just shed . The reason I am going to sell it, I do not have the availability to care for 2 snakes at this time.

[snake man12]

Then why did you get them in the first place?

[Gungirl]

She was just sleeping.. Shedding is very tiresome to snakes. I am glad you are smart enough to admit that 1 snake is enough for you. I hope you can find Dexter a good home.

[MoreliAddict]

It's perfectly normal for a snake to give you the impression that it's been in the same spot for a week or two.

However separate the Ball Python and Boa immediately. They each need separate enclosures which satisfy the husbandry needs of their particular species...

[Kaetlinv]

Regardless of whether you are selling the red tail or not - you need to separate the two snakes, either for permanent residence or during the interim between your care of her and the care of her next owner.

Not trying to harp on you i swear, but before buying an animal you should try to prepare your set up and research them before hand. :) It makes the transition easier for both you and your pet. I'm guessing that you thought you would be able to care for those two snakes since they were already in the same enclosure and appeared to 'get along' great. It's good that you admit you're only able to care for one in this circumstance.

However I'll say this again, during the interim between your care and her next owner's, you MUST separate them, for their own safety. I know other folks have mentioned this to you in your other thread, I've read it a few times over.

You've only had these two for a day or two now - and it appears that you've been handling them a fair amount by your posts...Perhaps the reason you found your red tail buried is she was seeking a safe place to sleep where she wouldn't feel disturbed (a.k.a, your handling her so much.). I'm no expert, and trust the word of those who are over me. :)

[rmfsnakes32]

I wouldnt give up on her so easily do seperate the ASAP those two should not be together at all good luck

[aaron_cg]

They are separated. We got Dexter (the Red Tail) into a separate tank. It is a little small for her, but it will do for now. I really do not want to sell her or give here to a friend, but I refuse to have a pet that I can not take care of properly. As it is, I feel bad enough that I could not buy (they here out of them) a heating pad and the snake has to stay in the garage for now.

Thanks for all the input, and we figured out why she was like that. Getting her out, we realized she was cold, so she was not on the heating pad as we thought she was.

I will find her a good home, not just anyone can get her from me!

[MoreliAddict]

It is a little small for her, but it will do for now. I really do not want to sell her or give here to a friend, but I refuse to have a pet that I can not take care of properly. As it is, I feel bad enough that I could not buy (they here out of them) a heating pad and the snake has to stay in the garage for now.

I will find her a good home, not just anyone can get her from me!
You really should give it away immediately to someone who could properly take care of it.

It's cruel and selfish to keep a snake like that without a heat source so you can take your time to find someone who will actually buy it for money. That snake will die without heat...

[rmfsnakes32]

Where are you located at I might be interested in taking her off your hands pm me and we can discuss it

[aaron_cg]

I am in Texas and trust me, the garage has plenty of heat in it Moreli, but thank you for the concern. I am trying to get rid of it, but only to the right person. I have several people lined up to come check her out over the next few days. Im about to feed her now.

I am about 30 minutes north of Houston rmfsnakes32

[Gungirl]

aaron.. Make sure he doesn't get over heated as well. Either way can be very bad for him. If people are coming to look at him in less than 72hrs I would skip feeding him. You don't want to cause a regurge due to stress of being handled to soon.

[rmfsnakes32]

Would you be willing to ship if I paid for it if none of the others pan out I have 4 boas so am very experianced with their husbandry and needs I live in Iowa please pm your info and a phone number I can reach you at thanks

[MoreliAddict]

I am in Texas and trust me, the garage has plenty of heat in it Moreli, but thank you for the concern. I am trying to get rid of it, but only to the right person. I have several people lined up to come check her out over the next few days. Im about to feed her now.

I am about 30 minutes north of Houston rmfsnakes32
Your boa need a hot side and a cool side to thermo-regulate. It needs ambient temps above 80 degrees with a hot spot that's up to 95 degrees. This cannot be accomplished in your garage without a heat source. :no:

[aaron_cg]

I know, but that is the best option for now. I took the temp in the garage today and last night, it is roughly 90 in the day, and about 82 at night. I have potential buyers coming by tomorrow, so hopefully she will be in more capable hands.

As far as over heating, she is inside and my gf plays with her, we change her water ever couple of hours, and we are doing the best that we can with her at the moment.

PM sent rmfsnakes32

[Kaetlinv]

Your girlfriend plays with her?

I'm just curious... How often are you holding your snakes? You've had them, from what I can tell, two or three days now, and from reading your posts you interact with them well more than once a day.

I'm just a bit worried that you are over handling and stressing out one or both of your snakes. Until they're on a regular feeding schedule you should handle them as little as possible...Once the snake has adjusted to its new environment and is feeding steadily it's fine to hold them, I try to avoid holding any of my snakes more than once a day, the only time I hold them more than that is if I absolutely need to.

I'm not an expert... but handling can stress out snakes, I've known that since the get-go.

[sherriwat]

ok i am absolutely no expert, but you shouldnt be handling your snakes at all if youv only had them a couple days. plus youv put 2 snakes in the same tank than seperated them. that snake is soo stressed out and now your selling it to someone else which is gonna to give it a whole new place and even more stress.

i'll be very surprised if that snake is not already or will be very soon a very sick snake.

though in your defense i do understand the heating pad issue. my sons lizards he's had for about a yr their heating pad died on me middle of winter (canada) and the pet store was completely out of stock on all sizes for 2 days. him not having a heating source is out of your hands if you can't get him a heating source. though a suggestion for you. my sons lizards i just kept putting in hot water bottles wrapped in towels. i know not ideal but at least than you have a side a bit warmer and a cooler side. thats what i did every couple hours fill hot water bottle with hot water from my tap set a thermometer on bottle until it read 90 (i have really really hot water from tap) than i put it in their tank. i had a 2 bottle cycle going. plus i used the small bottles so the lizards could go close to it without being on top of it.

plus you said your agrage is 90 through day and 80 something at night, but you said your snake felt really really cold. regardless of garage temp something warm has to go in tank. do what you can to improvise until someone else gets it. you dont want to be selling someone a sick snake.

[sherriwat]

ok iv reread my post and please do not take any offense. kudos to you to feel you cant take care of both snakes. you like 100 steps better than alot of people in this world that get pets cant care for them but still keep them and animals die. so super kudos to you.

[aaron_cg]

@sherriwat Thanks, and when the snake was cold, it was when we just moved it out of the old tank. We pulled her out today and she feels just fine and is moving around great. I have actually just secured a buyer, and will be sold pending funds tomorrow. I appreciate the concern everyone

@Kaetlinv I tried telling my girl that,and she just tells me I am being over-protective. They seem to be doing fine. She is moving around when she does hold her, and seems to be curious. Even my little brother held her today and loved her, and he is skittish around snakes. She is getting handled, about once a day. She is held while we sit on the couch or on the floor so she can crawl around for about 30-60 min. There is a good friend of mine who lives close by and he has about 30 snakes, all rescues, and he told me to do this, so that way she gets used to the contact. I plan on taking her to one of my little brothers troop scout meeting in about 6 months. He takes his there and is teaching me how to get the snake ready, all though she is very friendly as of now. Today while resting her head on my hand she "yawned" (don't know if snakes yawn, but thats what it looked like). It was super cool. I wish i could of got a pic of it.

Anyways, thanks for all the concern and info

[snake man12]

You are handling waaaayyy to much.

[Gungirl]

@Kaetlinv I tried telling my girl that,and she just tells me I am being over-protective. They seem to be doing fine. She is moving around when she does hold her, and seems to be curious. Even my little brother held her today and loved her, and he is skittish around snakes. She is getting handled, about once a day. She is held while we sit on the couch or on the floor so she can crawl around for about 30-60 min. There is a good friend of mine who lives close by and he has about 30 snakes, all rescues, and he told me to do this, so that way she gets used to the contact. I plan on taking her to one of my little brothers troop scout meeting in about 6 months. He takes his there and is teaching me how to get the snake ready, all though she is very friendly as of now. Today while resting her head on my hand she "yawned" (don't know if snakes yawn, but thats what it looked like). It was super cool. I wish i could of got a pic of it.

Anyways, thanks for all the concern and info

Don't take the snake out that much.. leave it be to settle. Handling it that much will not get it used to contact it will simply stress the snake out. I also do not think you are in any way shape or forum ready to start thinking about taking your snakes to troop meetings. You don't know nearly enough nor do you seem to catch on to the severity of some of the things you are doing wrong. I have been trying to stay positive but your ignorance is kind of annoying right now.

If your friend has 30 snakes and handles them all the time then I think your friend is clueless as well.... Just like not everything you read online is true remember just because someone has a lot of something doesn't mean they know a lot about it.

End of rant..

[Kaetlinv]

Snakes do in fact yawn. Ball pythons (from what I've read on here) seem to do it for no reason sometimes, I catch all three of mine yawning on occasion! Only ever snapped one picture of it though.

Sorry if it seemed like I was jumping down your throat, I wasn't angry or anything. :) Just concerned, because your posted alluded to either one of them being held upwards of 3 times a day. While it's good to familiarize yourself to them, and them to you, more than once a day can be a bit stressful even if they don't show signs of stress. And you can tell her that no, you're not being over protective, she's being too careless. :)

It's fantastic you plan to take her to a scout meeting! Educating children, or anyone unfamiliar with snakes, is a great thing to do, once you're used to working with snakes. I hope one day to use my big ball python for such purposes if I find the opportunities, as she's very docile and has only ever struck once in her life, and that was when she was 3 months old. Now she's 2. I've already used her to 'influence' my step-dad's grandnephew. He was scared of her from across the room at first, and now if she's out he can't wait to run his fingers over her. Before he knew better he had tried to grab her head... I let him pet her tail and he burst into a fit of giggles.

It's really wonderful to see peoples' reactions when they realize that snakes aren't monsters. :)

[rmfsnakes32]

I'm so excited to get her I can't wait should have her this weekend YAY!

[Kaetlinv]

oh you're the one getting her Rmf? oh that's wonderful :D

[aaron_cg]

Yes, RMF is getting her. I feel much better about where she is going now after talking to her on the phone. As far as taking her to a meeting, that is at minimum 6 months away. I want to be able to familiarize myself with her and be able to know her signs. I know not to handle them too much and as far as his number of snakes, there is more to it than just numbers. There is the years of experience he has (20+), along with his intelligence. I guess this seems like I'm jumping ahead of myself, but in my head it is well thought out... I am just not that good at explaining it.

[rmfsnakes32]

I spent last night getting her enclose set up so I can play with humidity and temps so they will be ready for her! I'm excited to have a new member to the family! ;)

[aaron_cg]

Final update... for now.

The snake was shipped, properly to rmf today and should be on the doorstep by noon her time tomorrow! I can't wait to see her when she gets bigger!

[exwizard]

This is rmf thank you I am so excited to get her I have her enclose up and ready for her arrival

[exwizard]

Ok this is Gary...

This snake just arrived and I have pics of the fedex package being opened.

[exwizard]

She is absolutely beautiful and Rmf is really excited. On her behalf I want to personally thank you for shipping her.

[shaunyboy]

its really good to see things worked out for all concerned :)

all the best shaun

[Jay]

Nice tattoo. To bad it's not a red tail...

[exwizard]

....To bad it's not a red tail... I don't care about her locale. All I care about this is that she is a gorgeous Boa with a very friendly disposition. Add to that the fact that Rmf is very happy and that makes me happy.

[Jay]

I don't care about her locale. All I care about this is that she is a gorgeous Boa with a very friendly disposition. Add to that the fact that Rmf is very happy and that makes me happy.

That's all that matters.

[moshirimon]

beautiful boa! almost looks like a nic

[exwizard]

http://ts2.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4824619078189305&id=9c1f8ad4f8850dca2f7335ead6e57bfa

What do you think? Mosh you piqued my curiosity now.

[aaron_cg]

Glad she made it there safe!

[rmfsnakes32]

Little update! Her new Name is Athena she is doing great did have her out for a few minutes today as she pooped and smeared it down side of her enclosure. She happily wrapped around my wrist while I cleaned her cage and fresh water then I put her back in! She is settling nicely and at night likes to cruise around her cage! Im so happy to have her will be great once she eats and gets settled then I can play with her more! :)

[aaron_cg]

Glad to hear she is doing well. I can't wait to see her once she gets bigger!

[Wildside]

http://ts2.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4824619078189305&id=9c1f8ad4f8850dca2f7335ead6e57bfa

What do you think? Mosh you piqued my curiosity now.

Kinda need a better shot of her for comparison ;)

[rmfsnakes32]

I agree I will try to get some better pics this weekend!