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 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.

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.

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!