A while back I picked up a great little pair of Texas indigos- last years babies. It was a great price and I am thrilled with the animals. I grew up catching Eastern indigos here in southwest Florida. I had owned a baby black tailed cribo years ago. I've kept a lot of boas and pythons and am no novice, but these are my first Texas indigos. I thought you guys might help me get these guys dialed in a little faster than I could figure it out on my own.

I've got them in 28qt Sterilite shelves in my garage, which ranges from low to upper 80's F this time of year. Their cages are prone to some condensation forming, especially if any of the water spills, in other words, fairly high humidity.

My first question is in comparison to my previous black tail cribo experience. My black tail cribo was an absolute chow hound. I could hold it by mid body and lower its head down into a tray of pinkies and it would eat them one after the other. These Texas indigos, in comparison, are shy feeders. They will not eat immediately when a mouse is placed in their cage. A dead mouse left overnight will be gone in the morning, but they refuse to eat in my sight. Is this normal? Is this an age related thing?

They are experiencing rapid shed cycles. If they were boa constrictors, I would suspect mites (likewise with the appetite reduction). I see no evidence of mites, and like every snake that enters my collection regardless of source, I prophylactically treated the cage with permethrin when they arrived. I see no obvious skin irritations or defects and there is no supplemental heat source to burn them. I considered a sensitivity to the permethrin, but I am skeptical about that. No retained shed anywhere.

I am wondering if the humidity or temperatures are too high for this subspecies. I've got blood pythons, boa constrictors, and mussuranas in identical set up and they are all thriving.

Any thoughts from more experienced keepers of Texas indigos?

I will eventually figure it out, but you guys may have the answers right now.

Thanks,

Bryant King

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