Ziggy & Dora (JCP's)

[MYT14]

Ziggy meets Dora for the first time.



Cuddles



Feeding Time stepped up to adult mice.

 

[Jimmy_jam]

awesome pics mate... how did they react when introduced to each other. were they curious of each other or where they now fazed...???

 

[MYT14]

We had Dora for about 4 weeks, put her strait into the 4foot tank. She skits for about 2 weeks, then settled down. First day we got Ziggy home put them strait together fed them and put them both in the 4footer and they got along fine. They sleep on top of each other most of the day in their hide. I have hides at both ends of the tank if they need space but mostly they just hang out together.

 

[Serpentess]

Awe. How sweet.
What is that thing you're feeding them in?
Just interested because I couldn't think of what it could be.

 

[MYT14]

They are cardboard boxes the pet shop gives us the mice in. They are starting to figure out that when they get put in there its dinner time.

Another angle

 

[python_dan89]

lol nice pythons man

 

[Serpentess]

Ah ok. They're pretty cool looking boxes...
Anyway, I'm guessing you kill your own mice?
Maybe you should start breeding them - more economical.

 

[MYT14]

Now I'm going to get yelled at by all the haters, we feed them live. It all started cos Dora wouldn't eat for nearly 2 months so we tried a live and she took it straight away. Since then we have tried to get her to eat frozen but she refuses she wont even strike at them. Ziggy on the other hand was eating frozen really well then just started striking and strangling but not eating so we gave him a left over live and same deal took it straight away. Now we just feed live less wasted food, well not really wasted the cat loves it when the snakes reject their food cos he gets the spoils.

 

[Serpentess]

Hey mate, it's not that people hate it - it's just that it isn't very healthy or safe for the snake.

Firstly, if you're feeding them mice from the petshop that haven't been frozen then you don't know what sort of bacteria or diseases they could pass on to your snake. I've bought a mouse that was infested with mites from a petshop before, so yeah... at least if you were buying them, killing them and then freezing them there's less chance of something like this happening.

Secondly it is unsafe for the snake. Mice tend to attack their attackers and can sometimes give a damned nasty bite. This bite may become infected and that may mean a whole lot of trouble.

I'm really not trying to be mean or anything. It really is just a whole lot better to feed frozen. I think it may even be illegal to feed live in some states unless the snake was under threat of starvation. Not too sure on that, but I've heard it quite a lot from a few sources. If you're having trouble getting your snake to take frozen there's a lot of solutions to get them to feed....

1. Braining - You stab open the mouses skull and dangle it around in front of the snake. This is a sure fire hit. Just keep nudging it up against the snakes nose if they don't take straight away.... eventually they will get annoyed and will strike at it, then realize they want to eat it.

2. Scenting - Not the best option, but if you can get yourself a hold of a skink (without harming it) to scent the thawed out mouse with, go for it.

3. Leaving the snake with the thawed mouse overnight.

Also, how were you defrosting them?

Pros of feeding frozen:
1. easy to store
2. healthy
3. safe
4. and more humane

I'm not just saying this to try and sound like I'm attacking you or anything, and I'm sorry if it sounds that way... just giving you some info.

 

[AM Pythons]

yes its illegal, you must relize that the petshops spray for mites & this stuff can kill snakes..frozen 'food' grade rats & mice are treated in a way so not to cause harm to ppl's animals.. im surprized someone hasnt warned about keeping 2 hatchy's in 1 enclosure.. hatchlings can & will eat each other..

 

[Serpentess]

yes its illegal, you must relize that the petshops spray for mites & this stuff can kill snakes..frozen 'food' grade rats & mice are treated in a way so not to cause harm to ppl's animals.. im surprized someone hasnt warned about keeping 2 hatchy's in 1 enclosure.. hatchlings can & will eat each other..

My eyes completely skipped the post about having them in the one tank.
Tatt2Tony is right mate, it happens - it's one of those "survival of the fittest" adaptations.
They can be together under supervision, but really shouldn't be housed together.

 

[Tsubakai]

There are many good reasons why people are against live feeding. You can just brush the arguments off by applying the label of 'haters' but that doesn't negate the fact that live feeding is lazy, reckless and stupid. If you want advice about how to get your snakes feeding properly, then plenty of people will help if you are willing to put in the effort (I could point out at least 3 or 4 major errors you are committing just from what you have posted on this thread) but if you just want to live feed then don't bother asking for help when it goes bad.

 

[AM Pythons]

there was an ad on herptrader not that long ago, selling hatchy cheap.. has eaten 2 clutch mates.. so this does happen.. why risk live feeding & multiple cage mates? this is a forum to improve your keeping skills. you only have to ask...

 

[MYT14]

I have asked for assistance with feeding before, cant remember if it was on this forum or not and nobody suggested the braining method so I will definitely give this a try. The live mice I get are specifically bred to feed to snakes so I'm fairly sure that their sanitation processes are up to scratch.

It was never my intention to feed them live it has just ended up that way I always try frozen first and only try live every other week that they wont eat I regularly leave them without for 3 or so weeks at a time when they aren't feeding.

I have also asked about keeping multiple snakes together and on every forum I read mixed response most saying that it is ok for the same species to be housed together, but that most people wouldn't for fear their animals will turn on each other. I have seen many tanks with multiple inhabitants mostly our American friends and they have had no issues.

I have done my research, and have made decisions based on how my animals interact with each other. Both snakes are extremely well behaved, you can easily stroke their heads and put them right up to your face and they will never coil or even look like striking.

 

[Ramsayi]

To have one that will only take live could possibly be put down to plain back luck but to have two suggests that the problem stems from the keeper.Laziness is no excuse to feed live.

 

[Craigis11]

U stole my snakes name!!!
Nice pics though

 

[MYT14]

Thanks mate. Whats your sakes name Ziggy or Dora.

 

[MYT14]

New Photos Pg 2

More Cuddle time