What i have been up to lately

[DaCol.]

If you like snakes you guys can come out here in Aug to Okeene, Okla for the Rattle Snake harvest

. Prizes for the largest, most and longest

"OH YEA" they taste like chicken

and are great with BBQ sauce

 

[pward76]

yes, they normally seems docile.

However animal behaviorists’ have discovered that with the red tailed boa constrictor, what is perceived as docile as actually a very cunning ploy while the snake analyzes its food source..

The more docile they become with a person, that person is what is perceived by the snake as a very highly probable future food source when it grows bigger.

You will find the more time you spend with the snake, the more hungry you will seem to be.. This is the snakes pheromones being released that makes you hungry so you will eat more so when it is time for the snake to eat they will have a good meal (same concept as us fatening up pigs)

Nice looking boa.. good luck with that….

to say the least is this snake will be very powerfull when fully grown, and can easily take down a full grown man and swollow him with no prob...and the simple fact is he is an animal like all other animals, we know how they generaly act, but never really know what they are thinking or what they might do.
for e.g. i own and work in a dog kennel, i deal with thousands of dogs, to say the least i can tell what a dog is 'prob' thinking just by lookin at its eyes and understand far more than what other ppl will, at the same time i know that even as sure i am that a dog is a nice one it could change at any sec without warning.
they are animals from the wild and in a perfect world should be left there, but the worlds not perfect and having this snake is a risk like having a dog, yeah dogs are more comman, but i know dogs who have killed for no apperent reason...do we still take the risk...you bet, bec if you have a good dog its one of the best companions you will have your entire life!
i am not saying the snake is as safe as a dog but with the right caution and comman sense they will do no one any harm, most of the time. a risk i am willing to take.
btw i have done a lot of reaserch on this snake and a lot of other snakes recently and have yet to find any info like you say, i am not discrediting you, bec you might very well be right and know a lot more than i do, but if you have a source for it i would be interested!

I think Thrasher is puttin' ya on a bit....

 

[nitrousjunkie]

Very nice snake,I miss mine!

 

[VaBusa]

I've always been fascinated by snakes, but Mike's deathly afraid of 'em, he'd never allow one in the home...he'd stop sleeping! LOL

Beautiful though...interesting to watch grow too...Mike's got an aunt that breeds exotic snakes...she lives in TN, so that doesn't scare Mike too much

 

[thrasherfox]

yes, they normally seems docile.

However animal behaviorists’ have discovered that with the red tailed boa constrictor, what is perceived as docile as actually a very cunning ploy while the snake analyzes its food source..

The more docile they become with a person, that person is what is perceived by the snake as a very highly probable future food source when it grows bigger.

You will find the more time you spend with the snake, the more hungry you will seem to be.. This is the snakes pheromones being released that makes you hungry so you will eat more so when it is time for the snake to eat they will have a good meal (same concept as us fatening up pigs)

Nice looking boa.. good luck with that….

to say the least is this snake will be very powerfull when fully grown, and can easily take down a full grown man and swollow him with no prob...and the simple fact is he is an animal like all other animals, we know how they generaly act, but never really know what they are thinking or what they might do.
for e.g. i own and work in a dog kennel, i deal with thousands of dogs, to say the least i can tell what a dog is 'prob' thinking just by lookin at its eyes and understand far more than what other ppl will, at the same time i know that even as sure i am that a dog is a nice one it could change at any sec without warning.
they are animals from the wild and in a perfect world should be left there, but the worlds not perfect and having this snake is a risk like having a dog, yeah dogs are more comman, but i know dogs who have killed for no apperent reason...do we still take the risk...you bet, bec if you have a good dog its one of the best companions you will have your entire life!
i am not saying the snake is as safe as a dog but with the right caution and comman sense they will do no one any harm, most of the time. a risk i am willing to take.
btw i have done a lot of reaserch on this snake and a lot of other snakes recently and have yet to find any info like you say, i am not discrediting you, bec you might very well be right and know a lot more than i do, but if you have a source for it i would be interested!

I think Thrasher is puttin' ya on a bit....  

Moi?

 

[DAB]

Nice Boa.

I've kept Boas and Pythons in the past and they make interesting pets.

Personally, I never fed live prey to my snakes for two reasons. It's more humane for the prey, and a cornered animal can get vicious and injure your snake. I've seen snakes go off their feed for months because they got bitten by a mouse, and you risk infection from bites and scratches etc. I used to purchase live mice and kill them myself (neck break) just before feeding. You need to start them off early with this though so they get used to accepting dead food. They will still go through the motions of constricting it before swallowing.

Finally, be careful putting your hand in the snake's cage after you've handled food (wash your hands,) constrictors don't have very good eyesight and I got bitten by accident by one of my boas because he saw movement and smelt rat! This freaked him out, he let go immediately, and he wouldn't eat for weeks.

If you end up with several snakes you might consider breeding your own mice/rats for feeding them (a friend of mine did this and I used to share the costs so that we could get cheap food for our reptiles.) If you buy mice from a pet shop, it's advisable to not tell them what their fate will be (some places will refuse to sell them to you.) Also, if you have a local turkey farm, they may sell you bulk bags of dead turkey chicks when they have too many (my snakes loved those, and you could refrigerate them for later use.)

Lots more info if you need it, just ask.

 

[warwgn]

good to hear you have a varying temp range in the enclosure, that is the most important thing to do that is usually overlooked. I would loose the heating pad and just use the lamps, they can burn themselves on the pads. I have a 6 yr old burmese python that used to fit in the palm of my hand, she is 9'3" now and around 40lbs and eats full grown rabbits. She still has around 10 more feet and 150 lbs to reach full grown, I had to build my own cage for her since it's to expensive to buy one the size I needed. I got her house trained too, or she has me trained. when it's time after she has digested long enough I take her outside and let her roam around untill she is done with her buisness. I have only needed to clean up the poop out of the cage a couple times, and belive me when they get big enough you dont want to do that anymore. She can put out a turd about a foot long and 2 inches thick, and it will smell worse than any crap you have smelled before.

They are fairly safe for a grown man up untill around 10 feet and 60-70 lbs after that never handle them without someone else around, and for god sake dont let them roam free around your house, always keep an eye on them. And be sure you have a positive lock on the cage, they will spend alot of time trying to escape from their cage. Have fun, they are great pets and very low maintence, cheaper to feed than a parakeet!!

 

[SPEEDEMON]

thanx for all the tips!
i get my mice from the same place i got the snake, they breed them there for food, really cheap also, i had been told i only needed to stun them/kill them when the mice were bigger, now they are just fuzzies, cant do any harm really.
washing hands i do always, bec i have so many diff animals i have to keep everyone germ free, but i had heard about there bad eyesite and mistaking rat smelling hads for well...rats, ouch!
i thinnk this snake will be my one and only for now, untill he gets big i dont really know what i got myslef into so i want to find out one at a time, haha

thanx for all the tips DAB

 

[rubbersidedown]

Wow. Lots of different pets.

I had a few years back. I was living with my nephew.

He had a red tailed boa,rats,mice,lizards,a half a dozen aquriums,and some others I have forgotten.

I had a mexican red legged tarantula,an iguana,a scorpion,pirahna,6 kinds of sharks,multiple aquariums,etc.

it used to take about 2 hours a day to properly care for everything.

 

[BulletTrain]

If you like snakes you guys can come out here in Aug to Okeene, Okla for the Rattle Snake harvest

. Prizes for the largest, most and longest

"OH YEA" they taste like chicken

and are great with BBQ sauce

I have always wanted to go to a rattler round-up. They have one here in Georgia but I always miss it somehow. For some reason I've always been fascinated with rattlers. Would love to have one in a large, totally sealed indoor habitat. Would NEVER handle one, but would love to watch one move and hunt. I love watching the snake shows on TV. My aunt traveled through S. Africa a month or so ago and took tons of pics. One of my favorites was a close-up shot of a Horned Adder that they stopped to photograph in the road.

I guess I like the vipers the most because they are the most dangerous. The whole adrenaline thing I guess...

 

[DAB]

And be sure you have a positive lock on the cage, they will spend alot of time trying to escape from their cage.

+1 on that, they're like long, thin Houdinis...

 

[SPEEDEMON]

to the snake experts...
i read the humidity level should be above 70%, i am having a real hard time keeping it above 45%, i spray whenever i can and it brings it back up, but it goes back down quickly, what can i do to keep it humid in there??
is it something i really need to worry about, i have a large water dish coming which should help...
any sugestions would be apreciated
thanx



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[MN72Busa]

to the snake experts...
i read the humidity level should be above 70%, i am having a real hard time keeping it above 45%, i spray whenever i can and it brings it back up, but it goes back down quickly, what can i do to keep it humid in there??
is it something i really need to worry about, i have a large water dish coming which should help...
any sugestions would be apreciated
thanx

how about a humidifier

 

[nitrousjunkie]

If you like snakes you guys can come out here in Aug to Okeene, Okla for the Rattle Snake harvest

. Prizes for the largest, most and longest

"OH YEA" they taste like chicken

and are great with BBQ sauce

I have always wanted to go to a rattler round-up. They have one here in Georgia but I always miss it somehow. For some reason I've always been fascinated with rattlers. Would love to have one in a large, totally sealed indoor habitat. Would NEVER handle one, but would love to watch one move and hunt. I love watching the snake shows on TV. My aunt traveled through S. Africa a month or so ago and took tons of pics. One of my favorites was a close-up shot of a Horned Adder that they stopped to photograph in the road.

I guess I like the vipers the most because they are the most dangerous. The whole adrenaline thing I guess...

BT,I've been to the one in Colquit,its pretty cool and a sh.t load of snakes!

 

[nitrousjunkie]

Speedemon,i never made any special habitat creations for mine other than the heated rock in the winter,she was just fine as long as I kept her fed and tank clean,the key is handle the thing alot,they get used to it,mine never bit me,she did however bite a friend of mine,wasnt pretty! Those things have razor sharp teeth! Just handle yours alot,keep the tank clean and dont develop any bad habits like neglect and you should be fine.::

 

[SPEEDEMON]

valium-i thgouth about that but for the cost of a decent one for my size tank it would be costly, i would spend it if it was really important, but i dot think its that important, most of the ppl i know who own snakes dont even have a hygrometer to know how humid it even is...

NJ-yeah i am really craefull about keeping everything clean, like i said i own/run a kennel so it prob the most important thing about keeping any animal.
thanx for the tips, i'm new and dont know how senstive these things are, like my fish aquariums, are really sensetive to diff chemicals/temp changes.

since i live where i work i prob handle my snake, BTW his name is Lucifer

, for quite a few hours everyday and so does my wife so he prob gets more attention then he really wants,

thanx again

 

[SPEEDEMON]

i will keep everyone up-to-date on Lucifer's progress, i didnt think there were so many snake enthusiasts on the board, cool to know!!
man this board just keeps getting better and better

 

[OZZY]

soooooooooooo  im thinking that if i wanted to play with something creepy and crawly that i would just dig up a bunch of worms.....  i am absolutely petrified of snakes......  if one gets close to me or someone is messin with one around me, you will see all 250lbs of me at about mach4 sprinter speed in an instant.

  same applies for spiders......  but hey, if thats what u like then good on ya.  ill jsut be sure to never make a trip to stay at ur house....  (cause of the snake)

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[thrasherfox]

BTW.. just to come clean.. while I am sure MOST of you knew I was BS'ing earlier about the snake an phermones and checking out the food source.. YES I WAS BS'ING EVERYONE!!

Everyone knows only Komodo Dragons do that...

 

[cmc8]

snake the the other other white meat.