Cheeto's First Shed!!!

So it has been 70 days since Cheeto has eaten. She is getting thinner and lighter, although she is still active and in good spirits. I will be honest, I have no clue what has been going on. I have tried a lot of different things to get her to eat, but nothing so far has enticed her enough to eat.

Cheeto was previously in a 20 gallon long tank and is now in a 4 quart tub with the hot side heat at 93 °F. I bought another thermostat so I could control the under-tank-heater, as they are notorious for exceeding 120°F. I gave her some fresh bedding and a bowl of water in this temporary tank that I placed within the 20 gallon long tank.

A few days ago, I noticed skin discoloration and I was overcome with hopefulness that Cheeto would be going into shed soon. I kept a close eye on her and kept her humidity high enough to where her skin would come off in one piece.

Today I went to check on her and she had shed completely! Her colors look more vibrant and I am just overjoyed that this will be a good indicator that she is ready to eat.

Tomorrow will be a trip to get some live mice to try to get her to eat. If she eats I will most likely cry because my baby is getting better.

...if she doesn't eat though we have an appointment with the exotic vet on Friday to examine why she hasn't been eating. The vet will do a full exam, help me feed her by any means necessary so she stops losing weight, and possibly prescribe medicine or give her an appetite stimulant to get her to want to eat again.

All and all I am thrilled with the progress that we're making!

Another update soon!

Feeding Cheeto

My lovely little Kenyan Sand Boa (KSB) named Cheeto (after her gorgeous orange colorations) has been a joy to have!

Cheeto climbing

She has been mine for about two months now! Her favorite activities consist of burrowing, exploring my desk, and, strangely enough, climbing the walls over enclosure and laying on the lip of the lid. She's a weirdo, but she's my weirdo.

Now, one thing that I wish I would have known before getting a KSB is how picky they are.

From all the people I have talked to these are some of the differences in feeding KSBs:

• Type of rodent
• Mouse
• Rat
• Freshness

• Live
• Frozen/Thawed
• Freshly killed
• When
• Day
• Night
• Where
• In a paper bag
• In a feeding tub inside the enclosure
• In a separate feeding tub
• Left in a bowl
• How
• Tong feed
• In a bowl

All these options provide for a wide array of different combinations of how KSBs can be fed and attests to the peculiarity of the animal.

Now, I love my Cheeto, but she is causing major concern. Now it could be her "off feed" season, but I really don't believe in that.

She has only eaten once since I got her. And it isn't for lack of trying on my end - once or twice a week I offer her a frozen/thawed pinky mouse and about twice a month I make a 45 minute drive to Plano to get a live pinky mouse. I have tried every combination possible to get her to eat.

Her husbandry is satisfactory according to the breeder I purchased her from: 20 gallon long tank, 90 degrees on the hot side via an Under-the-Tank heating pad and 80 degrees on the cool side. In my quest to get Cheeto to eat, I have reached out to other owners on social media: some people say she's in too big of an enclosure, some say the hot side isn't hot enough, etc., etc..

This weekend I will be picking up another live pinky and I will see what happens. Worst comes to worst, and I really do not want to do this, but the breeder suggested assisting her with feeding. This would bring stress on both Cheeto and I so I don't want it to come down to that. I just want my snake to eat. 

More to come later.

2019 Update

As we are now almost a month into the new year, I figure I'd post an update on Cheeto and Marbles.

Marbles

I have had Marbles my ball python for about 8 months now and she is doing great. At the end of December I upgraded her from a 20 gallon long enclosure to a 45 gallon enclosure which is is enjoying. She currently weighs 500 grams (about 1 lb.) and measures in at around 2'4" long.

She has been a great eater since the day I got her. Now that she is a bit bigger than when I first got her, I have switched her over to frozen thawed small rat which she seems to be enjoying. Her favorite activity is climbing up her rockwall background, squeezing herself in the two inch space at the top and looking around the room.

Cheeto

Cheeto joined the family a little over a month ago. She is a Kenyan Sand Boa and is absolutely adorable. She is in Marbles' old 20 gallon enclosure and is doing well. She likes to explore- just under her substrate by making tunnel systems to get around. Cheeto weighs 8 grams and is about 7" long. She is so tiny!

Cheeto has somehow learned to climb and wedge herself in the space right under where her enclosure's lid clips on, which is odd because she is a burrowing snake. She is super friendly and is very comfortable with being handled. She is currently eating live pinky mice (even though she can be super picky about her meals).

Going Forward

Goals and events in 2019 that I have to look forward to as far as reptiles go are:

• Getting Cheeto to eat more consistently
• Moving back home
• Possibly getting another Ball Python or venturing out to getting a different reptile

Meet Cheeto!

Now that Marbles is in her new 45 gal enclosure, I have an empty enclosure. Time for a new snake!

After careful research, I decided to get a Kenyan Sand Boa. These snakes are super docile and absolutely adorable. The local reptile expo was in town so I decided to head down there to see if there were any Kenyan Sand Boas (KSB) that I could buy.





I cleaned out Marbles old enclosure with terrarium cleaner and laid down around 3 inches of Aspen. I am not particularly fond of Aspen for Marbles because Marbles doesn't burrow. Also with Aspen, there is a higher chance of impaction, ingestion of substrate. The reason I chose Aspen is because KSBs are snakes are burrowing animals and Aspen is great for making and holding tunnels.




I honestly don't need such a big enclosure right now because KSBs are so small. A mature KSB can live their entire lives in a 20 gal long. I could have used a 10 gal and been just fine but I didn't have one on hand.

I went to the expo and adopted a female KSB who is a few months old. I named her Cheeto due to her natural orange complexion. KSB's natural morph is orange and black, but there are other morphs available. I choose the natural morph because I just fell in love with her color.



Female KSBs get about two feet in length at full maturity. Right now she is about 6 inches long. I don't get to see her much because she is burrowing and hangs out right over the under the tank heater.







Cheeto is so much fun to hang out with because she loves to go in between my fingers. She is a super slow mover and is just really chill. I am super happy with her.


I still love Marbles and she is doing well. Even though I now have two snakes that are two different species I will keep the blog name Python Point because Marbles is the main inspiration for this blog.

Enclosure Upgrade! Part 3

Now that the background is ready to put in, it is time to assemble the new enclosure. I used a terrarium-safe cleaner to wipe down the enclosure. Its previous inhabitant was a turtle, so cleaning before assembly was an absolute must to make sure Marbles stays healthy and happy.

Next I added the substrate. I had previously had Marbles on coconut fiber when she was in the 20 gallon enclosure, so I decided to keep her on the same type of substrate. I added around 3 inches spread around evenly.

 After adding in her hides and plants, Marbles ended up loving her new enclosure! I am super happy with how it turned out! It looks beautiful, it is functional, Marbles is happy, she can stretch out and explore now.










Marbles also is a total drama queen and her new favorite place to hang out is at the top of the rock background.

Enclosure Upgrade! Part 2

Time for the next step! I let the caulk dry overnight to make sure none of the rocks would fall off.


Next step was more messy than I anticipated. I bought some non-sanded grout and followed the instructions on the box and painted it on the Styrofoam rocks.

I applied two coats front and back. This grout ensures than none of the Styrofoam will break off and fall into the enclosure. It took about two days for the grout to dry.

Onto painting! I mixed black and pale gray in a bowl and painted the background. I used Anita's All Purpose paint as it is non-toxic.

Painting took forever because of all the little cracks and crevices. Then I used Mod Podge to seal the paint and grout as a final touch!

Tomorrow I get to add everything and move the enclosure to my apartment!

Enclosure Upgrade! Part 1

As the semester now draws to a close, I've decided it is time for Marbles to get a bigger enclosure. She is currently about 500g and 3' 4" long now.

I am moving Marbles to a 45 gal tank that I got off of Facebook Marketplace (I got a great deal on the tank, lid, lights, and accessories might I add!).

As I did for her current enclosure, I created a custom background. The last one was made with expanding foam, and I enjoyed making it, but for this enclosure I decided to try a new method.

I started out with a base layer of Styrofoam. I then added a few inches to the top to make it to size.

Next, I started carving the rocks out of more Styrofoam into the shapes of different size rocks by pulling out different sized pieces and placing them on the base. To give the rocks a more realistic look, I used sandpaper and a hand file to bevel the Styrofoam.

After I got everything placed where I wanted it, I used caulk to stick the rocks to the base.

The next steps are to cover the background in grout and paint then to clean out the new enclosure and add everything in!

I can't take credit for this idea though. I found a video on YouTube by LizardLandscapes and just modified it a little. You can find their website here to see more of their ideas.

Do I Regret Going Bioactive?

When I first got Marbles, I was excited to make her enclosure bioactive. But, being as frugal as I am, I wanted to do a DIY because I thought it was going to be cheaper- and it was at first. I ended up having to spend lots of money replacing plants and what not.

I actually ordered some springtails to be the decomposers of the enclosure, and the package said to dump the rubber feeling charcoal in there and it'd be fine. Well, my springtailes didn't make it because  I didn't realize you had to feed them things like cucumbers slices. So now I have no clean up crew and just lots of charcoal looking things mixed into the substrate- when I change the substrate here in a few weeks I am gonna get all of it out so the charcoal goes away. It doesn't hurt Marbles and she doesn't eat it, its just annoying and doesn't flow with the aesthetic of the tank.

Before

After

Ball pythons like to bulldoze things. Marbles is four for four on destroying the plants every time I redo her enclosure. I bought some fake vines and put them up high just for now. I really like them because its more green than I have ever put in the pots on the wall and it looks cool hanging down. They're the All Living Things Medium Hanging Terrarium Plants 12". They came with suction cups on them, but I have a dirt and foam background so I just planted them as I would a real vine.




All in all I do not regret trying a bioactive enclosure, I love the idea of it, it is just hard to maintain with a reptile that destroys everything. The next reptile I get in a few years once I am in my own place, most likely a lizard of some kind, I might try going bioactive.

Hooked on a Feelin'

So a tool that I use for keeping Marbles is called a snake hook. The one in particular that I have is the ZooMed Deluxe Collapsible Snake Hook.

Why do I have it?
I feel that because I am a beginner reptile keeper the hook helps me and Marbles get used to handling as I hand-train her. I do not pick her up with it because I feel like the hook would not hold her weight and that Marbles would be uncomfortable having her entire body weight supported by a piece of metal. Additionally, I feel that using the hook more than my hand would hinder progress on hand-training her

How do I use it?
For my comfort:

• Extend the hook's shaft
• Locate Marbles' head
• Put the hook about 1/3 way down her body (to keep her head away from my hand)
• Use my hand to pick her up

Additionally, if I feel like Marbles is curled up too tight in her ball-shape, I will use the hook to kinda loosen up the ball so I can get a better grasp on her.

Also, it can be used for moving small things around in the enclosure. When I am moving a plant or am getting the water bowl, Marbles tends to get get a little curious sometimes so I just kinda move her away.

This one I bought was about $7 and I've used it numerous times and it seems to work well. Its been about two months since I have started using it and it has helped tremendously!

Shedding Layers

Snakes, like most other reptiles, frequently shed their skin. Now, since I have had Marbles she's only shed once back in June. And if I'm being completely honest, I didn't know about how to care for a snake when they're shedding. The first time she shed was about less than a month after I got her and I didn't care for her properly. I didn't keep the humidity high enough which caused Marbles to shed in pieces as opposed to in one long piece.

Came home to a shed today!

Last Monday Marbles didn't eat but yesterday (Tuesday) she did. I was actually quite skeptical on if I should feed her since she is shedding, but I figured since she didn't eat last week she could be hungry and dehydrated (snakes get most of their water from their food they eat as opposed to drinking water).

The other day whenever I noticed that she began shedding, I became determined to do it the correct way so it'd all come out in one piece. To accomplish this, I kept everything the same with Marbles- feeding routine, temperature, enclosure, fresh water refilled often- with the exception of handling and humidity. I did my research and found that I needed to increase the humidity from the normal 60% - 65% to 70% - 80% so she would be comfortable during this time. Also, I refrained from handling her while shedding because that could cause stress and possibly hinder the shedding process.

What a great shed!

I got home from work, saw the shed in the enclosure and was ecstatic when I pulled it out to find it was in one piece. Part of it tore off while I picked it up but it was just a little part so that's alright. I measured it and Marbles is currently 2'10"! Almost 3 ft long! The last time I weighed her she was about 415g (about a pound).

Now that she's shed and everything is good hopefully I can start handling her more!

Apartment Move Update

Alrighty, so it has now been a week since Marbles and I moved here into the apartment. Things are going really well!

The gray over her eye is skin that will be shed

I am having a much easier time keeping humidity here than when we were set up at my house and honestly I have no clue why.

Marbles is doing just fine! I went to go feed her on Monday and she struck at the mouse but didn't eat it. I thought it was because she realizes she is in a relatively new environment and she just got nervous. But it turns out there's another reason.

I took her out to hold her the other day and I noticed that her eyes were fogging up, and in the world of reptiles, that means Marbles is about to shed her skin.

For comparison, here you can see her eyes are black

I am not worried about her as this is normal for ball pythons and they're known to be picky eaters. I will continue to feed her (or attempt to) during the shed. This is only the second time she's refused food in the four months I have had her.

Marbles likes to curl up in her log hide and poke her head off. When one of my roommates comes into my room she peaks out to see what's going on

Moving on Over

Alright, so my next step in life is moving into an apartment near my college. After some discussion with the apartment complex manager, he agreed to let me bring Marbles with no pet fee and rent charge.

So to start this process off, I found this gem on the side of the road. Its a three-tier rolling beverage/snack cart. It looked really rough so I sanded and spray-painted it.

This is going to be the stand for Marbles' enclosure.






Then, I put Marbles in the cloth bag I got her in and put that in a open bucket to make transportation easier. Honestly, I thought she would freak out, but she remained calm actually.

Next, along with some help, I dismantled her enclosure and gathered her supplies and headed to the car. The drive was less than a half hour long and I had her on my lap so she did get some heat. She didn't squirm on the ride. I was careful to make sure the driver knew not to go fast around the corners so Marbles didn't slide and become scared.

We arrived at my apartment soon enough and I had my crew get everything inside. We had to set this up a little different than at my house; at my house the dresser that Marbles' enclosure was on top of was longer and wider than the enclosure itself, but the cart was not. So a piece of particle board was put down to steady the enclosure - I wasn't going to take a chance without it and have the enclosure fall. After that it was just the same set up at home, I just put a towel over the board for aesthetic purposes and the supplies on the shelves underneath the enclosure. Then I just slid her out of the bag (notice I didn't stick my hand in the bag with a snake because my mom didn't raise a fool) and she just started exploring then eventually left to open area to go into her hide over the heat pad because that's just what she does.

I am supposed to feed her today, but I am not going to. She is just now is in a new environment even though her enclosure is the same. I could run the risk of her not eating and me wasting a mouse or she could actually regurgitate it due to nerves and anxiety from the new place and the move. I will probably wait 1-2 days for her to become acclimated before I feed her again.

Perspectives

Having a snake is a lot of fun in my opinion. There are so many aspects of it: the gene types, the food types, the reptile shows, etc. and I absolutely love it!

Now normally when I tell people I have a snake they look at me in horror. And honestly I didn't expect that type of response when I first got Marbles.

Growing up, I had always been fascinated with reptiles. I was never given a reason to fear them because I was taught to respect them.

So when I first started to get these negative responses to my baby, I was shocked! How can someone not be interested in these amazing creatures?!

The funniest (and most often) comment I get is "Don't let her sleep with you. I read this news article once about how this lady let her snake sleep with her and it was just sizing her up to eat her!"

Y'all.

That's ridiculous. I understand fully that being attacked by a snake is a possibility but *if* that story is even true, there are some criteria of that situation that is a tad different than mine (and most reptile keepers):

1. Those snakes in the news are much bigger than the average pet ball python
• Marbles is about two feet long unlike some other breeds of pythons that can be up to fifteen feet long.
2. Those snakes are wild animals
• Marbles was bred in captivity, as are most snakes that are being kept.
3. Mama didn't raise a fool
• I understand that these animals are dangerous, so why would I put myself in a position (sleeping with her) where I am not able to control the situation? The answer is I don't! I have yet to meet someone that sleeps with their snake.

Other concerns that have been voiced to me:

• "What if she bites you?!"
• If we're being honest, my dog's bite hurts more than Marbles.
• On that subject, yes I have been nipped at because I either scared her by moving her too fast or I smelled like mouse. She did not lash out because she is evil.
• "What if she gets out?!"
• This is a perfectly valid concern. Snakes are strong enough to push their enclosure tops off if its just a screen with no latches or locks.
• To alleviate worry about this, I have locks on her enclosure.
• "Snakes are gross."
• All animals are gross. Cats, dogs, fishes, horses, and birds poop and pee, yet they are still kept as pets.
• Just as with all other animals, if you keep their spaces clean, then it won't get dirty.
• "I had a bad experience with X type of snake when I was younger and therefore I don't think you should get one."
• Other people's experiences with snakes does not make me love Marbles any less or regret getting her.

Like, look at my baby. She is absolutely adorable.

      

A common misconception is that pythons look scary. But look! They're not like other venomous snakes that have the pointy eyes, sharp fangs, etc. (those snakes are still beautiful) but pythons have a puppy face that just gets me every time.

Adorable. Not to mention those colors are absolutely beautiful!

*Disclaimer: These are all my opinions and I do not speak for all reptile keepers, just what I have learned by going to reptile shows, talking with reputable breeders, my own research, and my own snake keeping experiences*

Also none of the pictures are mine except the one of Marbles and I give credit to the original artists.

Long Time No See

This summer has been crazy with summer school and moving home and what not, so I apologize for the lack of content lately.

I have had Marbles for about three and a half months, which is crazy because it doesn't feel like its been that long.

Update on Marbles:
She's doing fine but she did nip me because I pulled her back when she was trying to go under my bed when we were just chilling. I accidentally killed the plants due to too much light and I am having issues with keeping the humidity up. She's been kinda feisty lately and I am trying to solve that too.

As summer is winding down I am hoping to begin to post more (school is coming up therefore I will have homework to procrastinate on just like I am now with my summer assignments).

Some future posts will hopefully be over:

1. Perception of Snakes
2. Snake Hooks
3. Enclosure Plants
4. Bonding
5. Updating the Enclosure
6. The Move to the Apartment(!!!)
7. Adjusting to the Apartment

And I am always open to new ideas as well!

First Feeding

Wow so I uh fed Marbles a full grown frozen adult mouse the other day...

Disclaimer: If you're easily grossed out (even though this is super cool) just keep scrolling.

She's Here!

I am over the moon!

Two days ago, I received my first ball python! She's about a year old and is a normal morph. Her name is Marbles and I love her with all my heart!

Ball Python Setup #3

So now that the background is complete, I added some begonias that I bought from the local hardware and garden store and one Pothos plant I bought from Josh's Frogs. I also added some spring tails from there as well so they can be the decomposers of the environment.

It looked beautiful!... for about a week. For some reason the begonias didn't like it and decided to die which was very rude but honestly it's okay because I thought they were ugly. I only bought them because I did not know what I was doing.

Okay take two. I went to a different store that had a much wider variety of plants and chose some that were better suited for higher temperature and higher humidity (the names escape me). But so far they've flourished in the enclosure. I water them twice a day and they seem fine.

(also added this light the guy at the expo I bought it from was kinda mean though)