Reply by Ameron — 2015-12-26 02:04:35 GMT

1. Soak dish, large. If any external parasites are present, they will likely be drowned within 30 minutes if your snake soaks well. I keep large soak dishes (salad bowl size) in all of my vivariums and I have NEVER had mite problems.

2. Antibiotic ointment? If an infection is present, you can use the same topical ointment on a reptile that you use on your own skin.

3. Veterinary if this continues. I've not seen anything like that, either, and it could be a major infection.

Don in Vancouver, WA

1.0 Lampropeltis getula splendida
1.0 Terrapene carolina carolina
1.0 Terrapene carolina triangus
0.1 Lichurana trivirgata trivirgata
0.1 Boa dumerli (reclassified in 2015 from Acrantophis dumerili)

Reply by AaronBayer — 2013-12-24 15:42:41 GMT

the main difference is the price. Dums are 85-125 dollar snakes... well the pet store price could be as high as 200 as the rip people off. mgb on the other hand are way more pricy.

also, you can just do a google search for both and see the pattern differences. the firse 1/5 of the dorsal pattern on mgbs usually looks "fused" togther, where the dums pattern is more precise.

the mgbs also tent to have a more pointy head and the dums have a rounder snout.

finally, dums and mgb have been bred together in captivity. you might have a mutt on your hands. nothing wrong with that, just might make it hard to figure out what it is.

if you can post a picture, i'll let you know what you have.

Reply by Ameron — 2015-11-27 16:05:58 GMT

Great advice to wear gloves. I've kept mostly Kings & Rats in the past, and I'm a confident handler. If I ever have problems, on go my workout gloves. I then stick my hand in front of the snake and ask it to bite me until it's done playing games. The aggressive behavior ends almost every time. (Only 1 exception in over 30 years.)

Reptiles need no interaction from us? Not entirely true. Reptiles are VERY misunderstood. For starters:

1. They are social creatures. They know their family and other creatures in their environment, sometimes individually. Horned Lizards have been found sleeping together under sand, with arms wrapped around each other. Rattlesnakes can have a complex social hierarchy at popular basking sites.

2. Reptiles are MUCH smarter than what most people *assume*. They don't use vocal sounds, nor structured language, but they do communicate, and they do remember & learn. Mine have shown mild interest in me, and even appreciation for handling or an extra nice naturalistic setup, on many occasions. Some will climb up my arm when I extend my hand to them!

One of these days, go to a zoo and look at the elephants. They are quiet, right? Not making any sounds? Actually, they may be talking about you! They speak using low-frequency sound waves not audible to you. They can communicate real-time, under ideal conditions, for up to 150 miles!

Arizona biologists have documented an Arizona Mountain Kingsnakes that deliberately lures adult birds out into the open, allows them to attack him for a moment, then he hides in the brush and watches to which trees they fly back. He then heads to those trees and robs their nests!

Many people have reptiles which respond to them favorably, or even enjoy interaction with them. This is just as possible as with a dog, cat or any other animal. In time, I'm confident that many commonly believed myths will be dispelled.

Reply by vegasbilly — 2013-11-22 03:10:23 GMT

Another point, just because a snake doesn't bite or defecate when handled doesn't mean it's not stressing big time inside...and long term stress is a killer. Not too sure keeping a snake around your neck for an extended period of time would add to it's sense of security. Reptiles need no interacton from us beyond basic needs.

Bill

Reply by AaronBayer — 2013-07-22 15:04:09 GMT

in my experience snakes bite from being too hot (makes them grumpy), being hungry, or being scared. so make sure his temps are great, make sure he's eating appropriate meals, make sure he has a hide, and try only holding him in your hands very gently for about 10 min once a week.

that should do it, but sometimes a particular snake will be nippy and there isn't much you can do about it.

If the bites scare you, just wear gloves for a few months until you determine if this behavior can be worked out of him.

If after 3-4 months things don't get better, start looking for another snake owner that doesnt mind a nippy snake.
-----
1.1 Argentine Boas
1.1 Dumerils Boas
1.1 Black Milk Snakes
2.3 California King Snakes
1.1 Nelsons Milk Snakes
2.2 Corn Snakes

Reply by AaronBayer — 2013-06-21 13:50:54 GMT

Congrats on the dum!

my 2 are around the 4' mark (not sure of weight) and eat medium rats from Layne Labs. I usually feed them 1 rat every 2 weeks but I mix it up a little from time to time. Sometimes they'll go 3 weeks without a rat, sometimes they get a rat 2 weeks in a row, and sometimes they get 2 rats in one feeding.

I feed in the cage... usually grabbing the rat by the tail using tongs and shaking it in front of the snake. Dums are known to be "wild" strikers so pay attention to what you're doing because they may miss the rat and come at your hand. I've yet to be tagged by my dums, but there have been some close calls during feeding. You may be able to get away with leaving the dead rat in the cage and letting the dum stumble upon it.
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1.1 Argentine Boas
1.1 Dumerils Boas
1.1 Black Milk Snakes
2.3 California King Snakes
1.1 Nelsons Milk Snakes
2.2 Corn Snakes

Reply by AaronBayer — 2013-05-28 13:53:34 GMT

I'm a belly heat man myself because in my head it seems more natural. RHP work just fine though and are probably better for people that keep their animals in cool rooms. My snake room stays 74 to 80 so belly heat is perfect.
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1.1 Argentine Boas
1.1 Dumerils Boas
1.1 Black Milk Snakes
2.3 California King Snakes
1.1 Nelsons Milk Snakes
2.2 Corn Snakes

Reply by rocknhorse76 — 2013-05-23 19:22:50 GMT

I use both belly and overhead heating with my Dums, but they rarely use their hot spots. Both of mine seem to prefer the cool end of their cage, which is usually around 80 degrees during the day and about 75 at night. I think the RHP will work just fine though.

Reply by Arasara — 2013-04-03 21:46:46 GMT

Thanks OGFS,

No live feed for my snake and it took a while but she finally ate. She was so hungry by then I barely got in front of her before she struck!

Reply by ogfs — 2013-03-27 02:45:44 GMT

Careful with live food in general i have adopted a few snakes and currently have 2 that have scars on the top of thier heads from bites that thier food gave them. one is lucky to be alive she still has the scar afet 8 sheds, it had to have been bad. A couple of my snakes will crawl all over thier F/T food and need thier food to wiggle so i move it with a set of tongs and it works great.
-----
OGFS

BCC 0.1
Corn 0.1
Ball Python 2.0
JCP 0.1
Cali. King 1.0
JCP 0.1

Reply by AaronBayer — 2013-03-25 16:05:12 GMT

my dums were a little picky as youngsters and they one thing they never refused was a live rat fuzzy.

try leaving them alone for a week to 10 days (no holding, stay away from it's cage, etc...) then toss a live rat fuzzy or live mouse fuzzy in there shortly after nightfall and walk away. the prey will be young enough to not pose a risk to the snake.
-----
1.1 Argentine Boas
1.1 Dumerils Boas
1.1 Black Milk Snakes
2.3 California King Snakes
1.1 Nelsons Milk Snakes
2.2 Corn Snakes

Reply by arasara — 2013-03-25 02:36:28 GMT

Thank you Aaron,

I'm glad you mentioned feeding because my boa has refused to eat for over a month. Any suggestions to get her to eat would be appreciated. Oh and she's only around seven months old.

Reply by AaronBayer — 2013-03-20 14:11:23 GMT

I keep mine in boaphile cages with a hot spot of 88-90 and cool side of 80ish during the day and 72ish at night.

I keep humidity around 50% except when they are in shed and I bump it up to 80% with misting.

You didn't ask, but i'll toss it in anyway. I fed twice a week until they were about 8 months old, once a week until they were about 24 months old, and now they are being fed once every 2 weeks.

My 2 are thriving in these conditions.
-----
1.1 Argentine Boas
1.1 Dumerils Boas
1.1 Black Milk Snakes
2.3 California King Snakes
1.1 Nelsons Milk Snakes
2.2 Corn Snakes

Reply by strutter769 — 2012-12-22 05:46:18 GMT

Thank you, Bill.

Reply by vegasbilly — 2012-12-22 05:08:55 GMT

I have 2.1 all three of which are maybe 5'6". I added a second male last year as my "resident" male only tries to constrict/kill the female every time I pair them. The other male shows zero interest yet though it's still early in the cycling regimen temp-wise here in Vegas. I'm thinking mine need another year of growth/maturity.

Bill

Reply by Biophiliacs — 2012-12-17 20:20:55 GMT

Dumerils will retain sperm and I would venture a guess that most do retain sperm due to various factors relating to male availability and longer gestation periods than red-tails. However, I wouldn't under value the presence of a male to initiate ovulation. Expect less viable ova without one.

Matt Schubarth

Reply by AaronBayer — 2012-12-13 17:16:05 GMT

Thanks for the extra pics... i can really see the difference now.

Reply by Biophiliacs — 2012-12-12 18:42:22 GMT

Lol.. all of the ones I posted as 2004s are 2002s, took the shots as adolescents in 2004.

Reply by Biophiliacs — 2012-12-12 18:32:53 GMT

Same litter a normal and a pastel.. The blushing is a little less defined than my 2004s but nice.

Reply by Biophiliacs — 2012-12-12 18:26:52 GMT

This is the 2004s sister posted with a male from another line I'm working with that has very reduced side patterning.

Reply by Biophiliacs — 2012-12-12 18:22:59 GMT

The male in the picture is from dumerils dot com, when it was still around, with one of my 2004s. I did want to get a side by side with the original female.. She is definitely more colorful than average too but I have nothing to compare her to.

Reply by AaronBayer — 2012-12-12 16:01:37 GMT

really awesome dums! thanks for posting all the pics.

you wouldn't happen to have any side by side shots of the pastel with a normal would you? I'm just not seeing the difference other than they maybe look a little more grey on the sides.

Reply by Biophiliacs — 2012-11-27 00:37:18 GMT

Love her eyes.

Reply by Biophiliacs — 2012-11-25 23:41:48 GMT

Here's her sister too.

Reply by Biophiliacs — 2012-11-25 23:34:33 GMT

..

Reply by ZooAcacia — 2012-08-03 22:09:22 GMT

Gorgeous girl! My boy is still just a wee baby. I know I've taken my little guy to the local herp society meetings and everyone always asks where I got him. I live in Nevada and had to go to California to get mine because nobody out here breeds them. I don't know if it is because there are no morphs or people just don't realize they are out there. I've had owners of reptile stores ask me what a dumeril is when I get rats. Although unlike yours, mine is a very picky eater.

Reply by devilfish79 — 2012-08-22 20:29:30 GMT

Fantastic picture! I have a year old male at 3.75 feet and a female at 3 years old and closer to 4 feet. They're amazing creatures and I'm glad to see that your children are comfortable holding her as well. It's wonderful for our hobby that children are becoming more involved.
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-Erik
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.1 Dumeril's Boa
0.0.1 Banana Kingsnake
0.0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Normal BP
1.0 Normal Gray Feline

Reply by jasonmattes — 2012-07-09 20:41:24 GMT

She ate horrible the first year, literally only a handful of times.
One day she just ate been eating great ever since.
Used to feed her once a week. She's been eating the biggest rats I can get everyother week for about a year now, she just keeps growing.
-----
Jason

Reply by AaronBayer — 2012-07-09 19:58:29 GMT

what has your feeding routine been with her?

i've only seen maybe 5 around that size and i've seen a lot that were both older and much smaller.

Reply by jasonmattes — 2012-07-09 16:39:59 GMT

She turned 6 in may
-----
Jason

Reply by AaronBayer — 2012-07-09 14:42:05 GMT

Wow! what a monster.

thats a gorgeous animal.

My 1.1 pair will be 2 y/o in august and are around 3.5'. can't wait til my female is that big.

how old is she?

Reply by lancethepants17 — 2012-07-04 18:13:21 GMT

Oh ok just checking! Thank you so much for the help.

Reply by tonkashouse — 2012-07-04 04:58:35 GMT

Most every Dumerils and Mad' Ground Boas I've seen have the same markings.