Reptiles - Geckos, Lizards, Snakes, and Turtles!

[kivr & fireflii]

^ 100% to what y'all said about spider ball pythons. Any morph linked to neurological issues should not be bred IMO. It's unethical.
-fireflii

[Targaryen]

I asked this thread for advice in March I believe about some questions on royal pythons before I got my own and I finally got my first in June and second in August. I wrote them a reply in PMs to detail my experience to them but figured Id post it here just in case anyone cared!

At the start of June I got my first ball python - a mojave male - I got him from someone who was working out of the country so couldn't look after him as his fiancee was terrified of the snakes he had and wouldn't go near them. I got him, his 3ft vivarium, his hides, accessories such as multiple heatmats, extra hides, aspen bedding that'll honestly probably last me a year, etc for like... £75? [I know aspen bedding is known for not being the best with humidity like you said, but the humidity for us right now is pretty high so humidity-retaining bedding doesn't seem to be overly necessary. I also mist the enclosure if I feel it's maybe too dry after I notice he's went into blue]

He was pretty healthy for the most part - no mites, no URI. The only thing was that he had some stuck shed. He was also only fed large mice his entire life [around 30-35g] and the guy said he was feeding him once every 10 days and Id estimated at the time he was only around 550g if not less as a 2yr old when we got him. I didn't start actually weighing him until last month, but based on his growth id imagine that's roughly what it would be.

I gave him a bath and got all of it off besides his stubborn eyecaps when we got home and he's been thriving ever since. His last two sheds with me have been pretty flawless - no retained eye caps, no retained shed on the tails. Pretty much all in one piece! I also started feeding him once every seven days and he's up to around 630g at the moment - which isn't a huge increase but he's on mice and it's definitely a lot less than what he should be eating. I've also tried to get him on rats which he was stubborn about - but today!! Three months later - he took his first. I'm hopeful that now he'll start to bulk out some weight and catch up to a more typical size for a sub-adult male.

I did, also, get my second ball python at the start of August. Just a baby normal. I was told he was just under a year old but he was only just over a foot long and weighed 140g when I got him so I very much doubt that. I've gathered over the past two months that this person is an impulse animal buyer and tries to flip boas/ball pythons for profit. lol. I've been feeding him every 5-7 days and he's an amazing feeder - already on rats too. So now he's up to just around 200g. I'm waiting on him to shed for the first time with me, so hopefully that happens tonight as Id like to feed him before I go away for a few days as it's been 7 or 8 or so since he's last eaten. Since he's small, I'm just keeping him in a tub and I definitely do find it holds humidity way better but I think around the end of the year I'll just jump to upgrading him to a 3ft viv.

Honestly, he's such a good little baby. He's not head shy at all like most ball pythons and will sort of allow me to stroke him like a dog. He's also helped my little sister get over her fear of our other ball python and snakes in general since he's so itty bitty and adorable.

[Valac]

Got my leopard gecko a tank upgrade! I'm so excited to move him in. I'm sure he'll appreciate the extra roaming room. <3 <3

[teaparty]

fed nacho superworms today!!

his shed is actually going pretty well as well

i think he may have been in shed before i have gotten him? hopefully this will mean that he'll be less grumpo

[Meoauniaea]

I may be one of the few who doesn't really mind Spiders, if the breeder knows what to look for. Unfortunately, the neuro issues weren't as well known when we got ours, and she's a doll.

I am getting a new Royal Python breeding pair later this year! I'm looking at a bumblebee and an albino piebald pair, though I think I'll truly decide at the convention. I really like Bumblebees, though it's a spider combo. I'm grabbing a piebald no matter what; it's been my dream to own one for about fifteen years now.

http://www.owalreptiles.com/issues.php
https://www.rierareptiles.com/ball-pyth ... anomalies/

There's actually a LOT of genes that cause the wobble, not just spider. Woma is rising in popularity in my region since spider is "bad" but it has the same issues.
Blue-Eyed Lucys are at risk depending on the gene combo used to make the color, as well....

Hey, does anyone have bearded dragons? If so, can you shoot me a PM about their diet? Got offered one with a setup by someone who can't keep it and would like to know more before I consider accepting.

[Targaryen]

I may be one of the few who doesn't really mind Spiders, if the breeder knows what to look for. Unfortunately, the neuro issues weren't as well known when we got ours, and she's a doll.

I am getting a new Royal Python breeding pair later this year! I'm looking at a bumblebee and an albino piebald pair, though I think I'll truly decide at the convention. I really like Bumblebees, though it's a spider combo. I'm grabbing a piebald no matter what; it's been my dream to own one for about fifteen years now.

http://www.owalreptiles.com/issues.php
https://www.rierareptiles.com/ball-pyth ... anomalies/

There's actually a LOT of genes that cause the wobble, not just spider. Woma is rising in popularity in my region since spider is "bad" but it has the same issues.
Blue-Eyed Lucys are at risk depending on the gene combo used to make the color, as well....

Hey, does anyone have bearded dragons? If so, can you shoot me a PM about their diet? Got offered one with a setup by someone who can't keep it and would like to know more before I consider accepting.

Have seen all of these, and I'm not really sure why specifically spider gets the most heat the genetic abnormality - maybe because it's the most common? People don't tend to know about banana residing on sex chromosomes as they don't see it and people probably don't see the super cin/8balls that get culled either so they probably don't realise something's wrong

Although, Id argue comparing BEL bug-eye to spider is false equivalence. I'm not aware of the bug-eye affecting their QOL as much as the wobble defect might. Besides, I'm pretty sure that most breeders opt for pairings like Mojave x Lesser when trying for BEL as it's closer to an entirely white-snake and obviously avoids the strange eyes. The list even puts the fact bananas have male-makers on there as a defect which is obviously minimal if a problem at all, and on the other side - lethal pairings or severe spinal kinking in cin/cin combos which is obviously much more severe. Not all defects are as bad as each other. ^^

I'm not trying to have a dig and understand you might get some heat for considering breeding spiders so please don't take offence to what I'm saying. I don't agree with your [potential] choice to breed spiders but I completely respect that you're making an informed decision.

[WoofyWolfz]

hey guys, what are your thoughts on the spider ball python?

Quality of life > appearance. In every situation! I can agree that they are very pretty but it's just not fair to breed something that you know will have a health issue when there are infinite alternative snakes to breed

[FLYBOY]

Wew this thread is a little inactive, but so am I, so here goes nothing!

Hi, I'm completely obsessed with snakes. Here's my current collection:
2011 1.0 amel corn
Young adult 0.1 normal royal
2019 1.0 mosaic cali king
2019 0.1 stripe KSB
Adult 1.0 sunbeam
Adult 1.0 rough green

I'm heading to a reptile expo next month where I hope to pick up a couple new additions! I'm on the lookout for some nice hognose morphs for sure, and there's a scaleless rat snake sitting at a reptile store near me that I'm really tempted by.
I'd like to get a large PVC/stacking vision style setup going so I can start keeping some larger snakes! Mostly interested in cribos and FWCs (I'm a colubrid guy lol) but I miiight get a dwarf retic or burm at some point as well. Eventually I would like to find a mentor who can help me learn how to care for hots, I'd love to start keeping rattlers at some point but it's definitely not something to rush into!

I'll see if I can post some pics of my snakes/setups later, if anyone's still active in this thread!

[i-m-snek]

hey guys, what are your thoughts on the spider ball python?

Quality of life > appearance. In every situation! I can agree that they are very pretty but it's just not fair to breed something that you know will have a health issue when there are infinite alternative snakes to breed

I am going to say that no morph with any neuro issue or life altering issue should ever be bred. That includes super lessers, super butters(butters are lessers but just a different line), spider, super cinni, champagne, etc etc etc. For BELs there are alternatives that don't have issues (such as lesser/mojave or super mojave combos, and even super fire combos). The ones in existence of course deserve to have the best life they can, but they should be considered pet only. Considering people are selfish though, that is unrealistic. The best we can do is not purchase them, and not breed them ourselves. Its sad to think that people continue to breed these animals just because they are a pretty color when it is well known that they have a neuro issue connected to the gene itself. It is unable to be bred out and every spider/champagne other wobblers have it, even if it is hard to see. Some get better as they age and some get worse, and the ones that get better can not pass that down to their children so no one will ever know if they will get so bad that they need to be put down. Its not fair to them.

[Targaryen]

hey everyone, meet my two new girlies (:

fire morph - 7 weeks old - 100g


normal - 3.5 months old - 180g

I got them five days ago and decided to try the smaller girl on some food as I don't want her to lose too much before she starts eating again - she already took it. Such a huge relief off of my shoulders