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Post by johnnybandit on Aug 20, 2024 22:50:08 GMT -5
You need to print color pictures of him. I like to see his colors. That is in color.. but he is dull right now... and the lighting is not the best...... He is about to shed and I will not disturb him. He has been hiding under a big slab of bamboo bark in the warmest part of his enclosure.... That is usually goes and hides when he is about to shed. The only reason I flipped over the bark for a moment was to mist him...
But let me see what I have that shows his colors well.
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Post by johnnybandit on Aug 20, 2024 23:00:57 GMT -5
You need to print color pictures of him. I like to see his colors. What I really want to do is photograph him outside in good light on the ground with one of my good cameras... But I need a very reliable snake wrangler, that I trust, to help me while I photograph... Before I put him down on the ground outside.
But here are a few that show off his colors...
His underlying base color on his body, under his pattern and markings is a pinkish hue. It is hard to catch inside and on a cell phone camera but it pops in person.
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Post by stc1993 on Aug 21, 2024 1:32:47 GMT -5
He’s got some pretty colors and patterns to his skin.
So he loses his colors when he sheds. Do they shed every year?
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Post by johnnybandit on Aug 21, 2024 16:40:37 GMT -5
He’s got some pretty colors and patterns to his skin. So he loses his colors when he sheds. Do they shed every year? They shed as they grow.... younger snakes that are growing faster shed more often than older snakes....
When I got him last August he was about 10 months old... He was eating one medium to large adult mouse every ten days... And shedding after every third meal... The shedding cycle lasts about 15 to 20 days with snakes.. Some are faster some are slower in their cycle... He seems to run about 20 to 22 days... During the shedding cycle most snakes will not eat... And once I notice he is beginning a shedding cycle, I do not offer food. So including the shedding cycle he was shedding about every 7 to 8 weeks.
In the last year he has transitioned from medium to large mice to Jumbo Mice (I probably could have just flipped him to small rats at that time. But I found a reputable reptile food dealer that had what they called colossal mice. So I bought some) Then small Rats. Then medium rats.... As he food size has gone up the time between feedings has gotten longer as well. He is now at feeding every 18 days..... He now seems to be shedding every four meals. But the time between sheds is greater because the time between feedings is greater....
Snakes technically never stop growing... But they slow down a lot.... He is currently a tad over four feet long.... The Locality variety of Red Tail Boa Constrictor he is... (Suriname) Males seldom exceed 6 feet... His father is like 66 inches at about 12 years old. But from hear on out his growth will slow... He will begin adding more girth and weight compared to length... And there will come a time when I only feed him maybe three or four times a year... (back in the 1980's and 1990's when I had some really large pythons, I had a couple that I only fed every 7 to 9 months)
He is now at a size I can easily offer him a greater variety of prey items (food) There is nothing wrong with rats raised on a good diet. But in the wild he would not eat just a single species.... His next meal is going to be an adult Coturnix Quail..... I also have some large adult Gerbils and Hamsters on Hand... As well as some small guinea pigs and some small chickens.
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