Tru3 Blu3 Reptiles and Rescue

11/27/2021

Bumblebee and HoneyBee the Ball pythons

11/27/2021

Me and my Red tail Boa! Her name is Lysandra

04/08/2020

So cool boi

03/09/2020

12/30/2019

Rescued pets are the best. RIP Amos, you will be missed.

11/18/2019

Dad said "they will literally go screaming from the snakes." "They are scared of snakes," he said. Look what I have, Dad! Just a visit to Nana's house. Aleah with a Bumblebee ball python.

11/09/2019

Our newest babies. Our breeder, Tribeca, had her first litter of rat pups a few days ago. These pinkie rats are too big for our cornsnakes, so we are still getting them pinkie mice for food. Once they grow some, we will use some as breeders and some for feeders for our snakes.

Hint, our malamute, Echo, shares her shedding fur as bedding for the babies. Momma loves it.

10/26/2019

We have added to our family! Rosey is the pink corn snake. Racer is the stripped corn snake and Bumblebee is the bumblebee ball python. Or family is growing. Next, I would like to get a couple of Mojave ball pythons and a blue "green" iguana.

What kinds of family members do you have?

We still have Goku and Lysandra. They are doing well. We also have Echo (malamute) and Amos (shepherd mix) as well as Ander and Nea (black cat siblings)... There's Prince and Teddy, too, they were SPCA rescues (gray cat and black cat with red collar).

07/31/2019

We have run into shedding issues with our little snake, Goku, again. We believe he is in shed, but, as before, he is taking what seems to be forever to get his shed on...or off...pun intended. It should only take about a week to shed, but we have just moved from Montana to Virginia, stayed at Mom's house for a week, then got into the house we are renting. So, the little guy has been put through a lot of stress. I'm sure he is going to take a very long time to get his skin off this time.

There are a few things that we can do to help. Here is a little bit about a normal shed process and poor shed quick fixes. Anything beyond a quick fix or substantial, we will address in another post.

A snake in good health should feed every 7 to 10 days. In the first year of its life, your snake should shed its old skin every 4 to 6 weeks.

The key for your snake to have an easy shed is HUMIDITY! Humidity needs to be at 40 to 60 percent. Most snakes are happy at 50 percent humidity.

Even if your snake is in good health, you will run into retained or poor shed. There are steps to take to aid your snake in a poor shed.

1. Review your snakes environmental set up (humidity and temperature). You can mist the tank daily to aid in humidity even when not in shed, but more so when your snake is in shed. This really helps a lot.

2. If that doesn't help, soak your snake for an hour. Then try to gently peel off skin (DO NOT FORCE PEEL). If need be, repeat soaks every 12 to 24 hours until skin can be gently peeled off.

3. Make a shed box!! (we will post how later this week, or you can check out Snake Discovery on YouTube by searching shed box in their channel, they are a wonderful resource.) A shed box is nice to have for normal shed times, too. It makes the shedding process much easier for your snake. These are typically home made and can be made for the size of your snake.

IF, HOWEVER, REPEATED TREATMENTS DO NOT YIELD RESULTS, CONSULT YOUR VETERINARIAN TO RULE OUT ILLNESS.

We would love to hear your stories of difficult sheds and how you overcame them. Post your comments below. Sharing stories is how novice snake owners learn how to care for their pets.

Amy

Reference: Murkett , Marvin and Team, Ben. 08/01/2015. Boa Constrictors as Pets IMB Publishing.

06/10/2019

Lysandra is in shed right now. Her eyes are cloudy and she is not interested in eating. We've done this before. But as soon as she finished she will want to eat big time. Goku, on the other hand I don't feel like he's going to shed. His skin is still pretty loose from not eating those eight weeks. I've been feeding him every 3 days. And he's taking it pretty well. I'm just concerned that he's not taking anything bigger. I want to get on a regular one week schedule, every 7 days. if I stay on that I'm pretty sure he'll stay as small as he is. My goal is for him to get bigger. That's why I'm doing every three to four days. My hope is that even though the food is small The increased frequency will help him gain weight.

You all have been wonderful with your comments they make me feel a little more secure in how he's doing. Together we can watch Goku grow and develop. Thanks for all your comments.

05/31/2019

Today Goku went around my neck like a necklace. First time I felt like I could do hands off but just for a moment. He still quick as a lick. He gave me just a moment in order to take this picture.

He is a finicky boa. We tried to feed him a hopper rat the other day. And as aggressive as Goku is, he was just a big baby, and would not take the hopper. He just had a stare down with it. I had to go back and get a velvet, the stage just after a pinky. Barely moving.he had to make sure it wasn't going to get him before he would go after it and take it for food. He finally did. And I'm so glad. After 8 weeks of no eating we know he's now eating and growing. He got down to 157 grams but now is 207 grams. So we know he is gaining weight.

Have any of you had any experiences with your snakes not eating? Post in the comments and let me know of your experiences. Share with us your methods of getting your snake to eat.

04/30/2019

Hey guys, Ryan poster really cute picture of Goku yesterday. But keep this in mind...

Boa constrictors are commonly sold in pet stores when they are between 18 and 22 inches long and still fairly young. Adult boas can range from 6 to 14 feet in length; it is considered normal for adults to reach 13 feet by the time they are 25 to 30 years old. Boa constrictors are predators who periodically do injure or kill humans, making them a poor choice of pet for children or households that have children.

Davis, Jen. (4/30/2019). ARE CHILDREN SAFE AROUND BOA CONSTRICTORS?. Retrieved from https://pets.mom.me.

04/30/2019

He's being a meanie today, but still looks so cute. Not fair