# For the snake folks update on my boy [pics yay]



## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

Just an update on my lemon pastel Goombay



















And a few more shots with a more of an artistic lend


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## Becky Shilling (Jul 11, 2006)

Very beautiful snake. I used to have a Rainbow Boa years ago, but I got tired of feeding something that had to eat other live things. RAW, I got no problems with. LIVE is a little more hassle! I have never heard the name "Goombay(?) Obviously a python/boa of some sort. Very attractive markings.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

Nice snake, nice photos.

Always loved snakes, sometimes still want one, but can't cope with feeding cute little mousies, though I hate them when they're in my pantry. 

I buy crickets for my frog from a great reptile store here, love going in just to look. He has some cool critters he does shows with. On a good day he gets to talking about them and then starts bringing them out to be admired and petted.


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## Erika Moon (Jul 23, 2008)

Becky Shilling said:


> Very beautiful snake. I used to have a Rainbow Boa years ago, but I got tired of feeding something that had to eat other live things.


 I feed my snakes humanely killed frozen mice, as do most of the other snake folks I know -- except for the "macho cool" 17 year old boys who think it's all bad-ass to watch their snake kill a mouse, anyway. [-X

That is a lovely snake. I prefer my colubrids, but that boy there has a lovely pattern and colour. :smile:


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Beautifull little guy (or girl?). I have quite a few snakes, but mostly colubrids. Only 3 PB's and 2 RTB. I like attitude and the little guys are feistier... I used to rasie my own mice, but it was smelly and messy and as my collection expanded it became easier to buy frozen in bulk. Now I just have a couple mice breeding for when the hatchlings need to be started on live pinkies. Wouldn't feed a live big mouse to anything that couldn't kill it quick and easy - too much chance of the rodent biting one of my prized breeders...


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## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

Sorry i forgot on the other forums that info was in the thread title his name is Goombay (based on a Caribbean festival of the same name) He is a lemon pastel ball python and is only a few months old.

I only feed frozen thawed as i don't agree with feeding live as 95% of snakes even wild caught ones will eat frozen thawed readily. He is currently on f/t small mice and will be switched to fuzzy rat pups as soon as the shipment comes in.


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

I had a couple 8 ft Burmese pythons. I fed them thawed out baby chicks that I got from a local chicken ranch for free. I usually got five, one gallon bags at a time and froze them. The snakes were kept near the kitchen and every time I opened the freezer door they would come to the top of the cage. Almost like marker training. LOL

Howard


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## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

lol nice to see all the other herpers here


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## Becky Shilling (Jul 11, 2006)

These days I'm more of an amphibian kinda gal.


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## Ashley Pugh (Nov 9, 2007)

Amy he's beautiful! One day I'll get to have one too. I missed the reptile expo this weekend, but there will be others.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Howard Knauf said:


> The snakes were kept near the kitchen and every time I opened the freezer door they would come to the top of the cage. Almost like marker training. LOL
> 
> Howard


This habit can get dicey when the burm gets big enough. They are not really agressive, but not all that bright - by the time they figure out you're not food, it could be too late. I had a 12' retic that came from someone else, and that snake had grand ambitions of eating ME every time the cage opened. NOT funny. 

Although, Samba, my first red-tail boa, was smart enough to bird-proof completely. Just a matter of conditioning her to associate bird/parrot scent and movement with predators and dangerous things rather than food. At 2-3ft long, I even used her for rodent control a couple times when mice got in the bird room. Let her out in the evening, picked up in the morning from the favorite warm spot near my fishtank, all fat and happy with a mousy-sized lump in her belly... :smile: The conditioning held surprisingly well, because when I gave her to her to a friend to breed (she was at 8ft or so, then), he called me in a panic saying she was hiding and refusing food. A few questions, and I explained why chicks were not a good thing to try and feed to her... :lol:


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## Kameron Bean (Jun 23, 2008)

Cool...more herp people. My husband's hobby, and my other hobby besides dogs, are reptiles. I have a couple of het albino ball pythons too, and I'm getting a pastel and a spider to make bumblebees...but you can see my husband's real passion are the hots.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

I have had herps before anything else. Everything from a huge collection of various Phelsumas (one of my most fave critters) to a breeding treefrog project (and resulting 500 tadpoles in the bathroom) to my boy Kaaz, a 5.5ft bright orange male iguana who had free roam of the house and yard. He was very personable, although quite an attitude too. By far the smartest herp I've ever had was my blackthroat monitor, Puppy. The name started out as a joke on the "dog-tame" description a lot of guys use, because he was so scared and nasty when I got him, but then he turned out to be quite an interesting companion when he acclimated to life in captivity. He was very, very bright, very predatory, lots of fun to watch hunting in the yard. He was almost as smart as some of my birds.

Unfortunately, hots are illegal where I live. Your tree vipers are stunning. My favorite is the rhinoceros viper, the type with the arrow pattern on the head and blue butterflies down the back... Very pretty animal. Not much for personality though.


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## Ashley Hiebing (Apr 6, 2008)

I used to be afraid of snakes. I work at a pet store and my first week I got nailed by a particularly grumpy ball python that nobody warned me about--eventually my manager had to take him home because he was such a grump and refused to eat frozen, no matter how long it had been since his last meal.

But I can handle the pythons okay, now. It's the little snakes that still freak me out... the corn, milk, and king snakes. They're just so little and fast!

We also have a blue-tongued skink that is such a total brat. He attacks everything in his cage. But I love him anyway!

I, myself, own a red-foot tortoise that I got from work because we didn't have the appropriate habitat to keep her in. She's still a little girl--I'm working on building her a nice turtle table for when she gets bigger.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

I'd like to do a good bit of exotics in my future practice. However...Kameron, no offense to you personally, but no freakin way am I going to mess with ANYTHING that's hot. [-X [-( It doesn't help that herpers are kind of "interesting" people anyways, but the people who keep venemous stuff have always come across to me the wrong way anyways. There's only one hospital in the whole state that even carries antivenin for most of the common species and that's two hours away. Thanks, but no thanks!

But these are my current two (I used to have a lovely Brazilian rainbow boa too...nice attitude too!). Sheila is the jungle carpet python (the first two) and Severus is the anerythristic boa constrictor imperator. They both only eat frozen thawed small rats. I am going to start breeding feeders, as I've kept rats as pets for around 5 years (much less smelly than mice and much smarter and friendlier). I've got a cute little rex black eyed white male with a few spots by his eyes that I have in mind for a stud and I'm waiting for a nice blue female. :smile: Hopefully the babies won't be too cute! :sad:


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Statistics have shown that the average snake bite victim has tattoos and was drunk. Go figure! :grin:
I"ve had dozens of snakes over the years. I prefer natives that I caught myself.


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## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

Those hots ARE hot aren't they ugh they're so pretty. the closest thing i have to a hot is my scorpion LOL. It is a deathstalker however so i never touch it but all in all a LOT safer than the snakes. all i have to do to keep him happy is drop in a cricket.


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## Kameron Bean (Jun 23, 2008)

Well, the hots are more my husband's thing - he has been keeping them since he was 17, and he was a reptile keeper for five years at the zoo where we met (i was a mammal keeper.) The only hots that are "mine" are my pair of gaboons. I also want rhino vipers, but haven't gotten them yet. We're lucky that the zoo here has all the antivenin we need (except for his 100 pace viper, but he may be getting around to selling that one soon) and our connection to the zoo helps - though they would let about anyone use their antivenin if needed. I also have tortoises - five sulcata and one redfoot to be specific. I bred bearded dragons for a while, but have kind of dropped out of it now...don't have time with work and the two dogs now! I'm hoping to eventually go into business for myself - animal education/entertainment - so I may try to aqcuire a couple more specimens - I don't really like iggys, but would like to have a red one...plus I guess I'll have to get a bigger boid, though that's not really my 'thing' either.


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## Michelle Reusser (Mar 29, 2008)

My daughter is quite the pet keeper. Birds, snakes, frogs, lizards and now fish. Fish are too borring and I don't like cleaning tanks. I hated feeding the snakes live but it gave me and axcuse to keep rats again. I had rats when I was a kid and love them as pets. Snakes don't have enough personality, my favorites are the lizards, even just our common blue bellies here that we catch are fun to have. Our Beardies were fun too, my daughter still has an offspring from our first "Chub", she was the sweetest little lizard with a cool personality. I like the veggie diet part and throwing some krickets in is no biggie on the heart. It's much more exciting to watch a Beardie hunt a half dozen crickets at lightening speed than a snake strangle a baby rat. Though trying to "keep" crickets is a grosser stinkier job than any mouse or rat cage. Not to mention I still vacuume up the occasional dried up escapee.


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

Anna Kasho said:


> I had a 12' retic that came from someone else, and that snake had grand ambitions of eating ME every time the cage opened. NOT funny. :lol:


 I've never seen a Retic that wasn't nasty. Anacondas are just as bad. A friend of mine for years kept Gaboon vipers, Egyptian cobras, Rhino vipers and just about every N American poisonous snake. A huge diamondback named Stanley almost did him in. My biggest scar is from a near world record green water snake that was faster than me.

Howard


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Howard Knauf said:


> I've never seen a Retic that wasn't nasty. Anacondas are just as bad.


That silly movie notwithstanding, I've never had an anaconda try to eat me. The biggest one I've met was over 20' and truth be told, kinda dumb. She was also very picky eater, would only take chicks, and only when she was in water. Nasty, yes indeed. But more defensive than aggressive.

The retic was an interesting critter to have, for sure. Reeeally put the whole predator/prey deal in perspective...:-o


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

I agree with the dumb part...as well as the defensive observation but, when those nasty things get hold of you I don't care why he bit me. The ones I've dealt with were unpredictable and quick to bite over the slightest touch. No fun at all.

Some of my favorite snakes a la Bob Scott....Eastern Pine, Florida King, Giant black Hognose, Indigo, Red Bellied Water Snake, Corn Snake, Eastern Hognose, Coachwhip (watching them chase/eat prey), and any type of Bull Snake.

Howard


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Howard Knauf said:


> I agree with the dumb part...as well as the defensive observation but, when those nasty things get hold of you I don't care why he bit me. The ones I've dealt with were unpredictable and quick to bite over the slightest touch. No fun at all.
> 
> Some of my favorite snakes a la Bob Scott....Eastern Pine, Florida King, Giant black Hognose, Indigo, Red Bellied Water Snake, Corn Snake, Eastern Hognose, Coachwhip (watching them chase/eat prey), and any type of Bull Snake.
> 
> Howard


Never had much luck with the Coachwhips and the racers. Way to nervous to settle down. All the Kings are cool. Speckled Kings (Salt and Pepper) and Prarie Kings are the most common one around here. LOVE the Milk Snakes. Hognose are cool but hard to feed. Most eat only toads. 
When my girls were little I hatched out a batch of Prarie Kings with a home made incubator and we kept one for 15 yrs.
If I wanted to get bit on a regular basis (again) it would be a Northern Banded Watersnake.
Scared the crap outa me the first time I ever got bit by one. They have an anti-coagulant in their saliva and I though it'd never stop bleeding. 
Most snaked back off after the first bite. The water snakes (poison and non) seem to loose their heads and keep on wacking at you.


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## Sheena Tarrant (Sep 21, 2008)

Bob Scott said:


> All the Kings are cool.


LOL - I think I've had one-too-many Cal Kings...well, "express" (a little too literally) their opinion on me to be very fond of them. :razz: My husband is a milksnake fan - I seem to have a preference for the more opinionated and toothy snakes - love the scrub pythons, and although I don't keep any snakes at the current time, if I come across some nice CB White-Lipped Pythons, I'll probably be tempted to buy. Fun to see snake people on here!


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

Bob Scott said:


> Most snaked back off after the first bite. The water snakes (poison and non) seem to loose their heads and keep on wacking at you.


 I was hand feeding a large banded water snake small shiner frye when the sucker grabbed my index finger and had the whole thing down to the last knuckle in no time. It was no fun at all getting him off with all those hooked teeth.

The Florida Kings are really rare here now. I've only seen one in the last 30 years. I like the milk snakes and the Cal Kings as well. Hognose are a pain to get food for as you said. I had a black one about 3 1/2 ft long that I used to track toads with for fun. Id let the toad hop about 20 yards and let the snake track him down. Back in the old days you made your own fun.


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## Amber Scott Dyer (Oct 30, 2006)

just adding that i'm a herper, too.... i helped with a rescue and education facility for a few years. i personally prefer colubrids - black rats, everglades rats, and bullsnakes are my faves - for my own pets. 

it's funny that there are so many herp ppl on this board.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

I have mostly colubrids now, too. Thayeri kings are the majority of my collection, but I also have a few honduran milksnakes, cornsnakes, cal kings. I really like racers, coachwhips, vine snakes, etc, but they are too hard to keep happy. Very visual, smart, and super active. They are also too curious for their own good so if you're somewhere where they don't encounter many people, you can walk ahead and stand very still, and they actually come check you out. Neat critters.

Too funny about tracking with snakes. I bet their sense of smell is the same or even better than a dog's...


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Howard said
"I was hand feeding a large banded water snake small shiner frye when the sucker grabbed my index finger and had the whole thing down to the last knuckle in no time. It was no fun at all getting him off with all those hooked teeth."

I learned to use BBQ tongs to feed the agro ones. I ain't as dumb as I look! :grin:
Best way I found to get them off without damaging their teeth (and morer skin) is with a credit card. Slide it between your skin and their mouth. Once the uppers are off you can "usually" swing it away without breaking the bottoms. 
A 18 inch water snake can do more damage then a 5-6 ft black snake. With their natural prey being frogs and fish (slippery) it seems mother nature gave them extra long teeth to hold on with.

If your alone wiith the really big boas, etc.....well............piss your pants, soak their head in it and hope for the best! :lol:


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Sheena Tarrant said:


> LOL - I think I've had one-too-many Cal Kings...well, "express" (a little too literally) their opinion on me to be very fond of them. :razz: My husband is a milksnake fan - I seem to have a preference for the more opinionated and toothy snakes - love the scrub pythons, and although I don't keep any snakes at the current time, if I come across some nice CB White-Lipped Pythons, I'll probably be tempted to buy. Fun to see snake people on here!


 
The Cal Kings always amaized me how you could get two totally different markings in one hatch. 
Either the more commonly seen black and white banded or the brown and white striped.


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## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

i got more responses here than on a ball python specific board >_>


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## Stephanie O'Brien (Sep 11, 2007)

Wow, beautiful shots! I'm a ball morph person. I've had all different reptiles but my favorites are the monitors and ball pythons. I found out VERY quickly that it is impossible to have just one! I have 2 pastels and 2 awesome spiders (they are all w a friend back in NY until I have them sent out here) and I am hoping to add a nice pinstripe (love those spinners!) at some point. One of my fave morphs is the blue eye lucy. Good to see other herp enthuisiasts!


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Amy Swaby said:


> i got more responses here than on a ball python specific board >_>


 
Most of the serious herp folks I know are either a bit shy and introverted, or out and out whack jobs.
Ya gotta remember these are dog folks here. \\/ :wink:


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Bob Scott said:


> If I wanted to get bit on a regular basis (again) it would be a Northern Banded Watersnake.
> Scared the crap outa me the first time I ever got bit by one. They have an anti-coagulant in their saliva and I though it'd never stop bleeding.
> Most snaked back off after the first bite. The water snakes (poison and non) seem to loose their heads and keep on wacking at you.


I learned a lesson about watersnakes the hard way once! My previous snake catiching experience had mostly been with garter snakes on land! I was trying to show off to some friends and family and decided to try to catch a large water snake (northern) that was swimming by while I was swimming in waters above my head. Well I miscalulated the size of the snake (it was bigger than I thought, I could only see the head from my perspective) and did not grab it close enough to it's head so that it could not turn and bite.....so bite me it did  

It was dramatic as I swam back to the shore in shame, got out of the water with blood pooring down my arm (not that it bled oh so much, but the water has the effect of making bleeding things look worse). They sure can leave their mark:lol:

Snake 1
Jennifer 0

I am quite sure I will never keep snakes, though I love seeing them in the wild. I stick to catching snakes on land now :wink: Enjoyed your great pictures everyone.


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## Michelle Reusser (Mar 29, 2008)




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## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

I have a beardie too! He's a bit of an ass however. Meanest beardie i've ever met, saved him from a crazy lady trying to keep two males in a 55 gallon >_>

Oh and Staphanie I want a female spider, simply to make some Bumble Bee morphs mmmmm beeees


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## Stephanie O'Brien (Sep 11, 2007)

Bumblebees are beautiful! I got my current snakes with future bumble babies in mind


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