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Okay she is not STUCK in the inside of her hide, at least I know that much. I teased her out with a mouse but she only came out about four inches, I tried to entice her with another (I let her have the first one) but she was on to me and backed deep into the thing again.

I'm thawing a couple more and I'm going to place them on a tupperware lid, one close, another farther, hopefully she'll go for the farther one and I can grab her and get her out of that damn thing. Then I'll tape up the casting holes and that drama will be over...
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

Okay, this is the thing she was inside of. I turned it on its side and put two little fuzzies out to lure her out. It didn't take long.

Gotcha!

I decided to grab her as she went for the first one. Man, she really held on with her tail to the inside of that thing, but with some gentle pressure I coaxed her out. She never let go of the mouse. I let her have her reward.

Here is the bottom of the wall. Never occurred to me that she'd go inside it, but I see now how tempting it would be for a snake. Plus the thing is tall, and the top is near a light that probably warmed the inside of it.

I did some redecorating.

Back to normal...

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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

That's a very nice looking snake. I love the orange windows.

Brandon Osborne
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

great step by step pics/story. that is a very nice brooks!

Man, she's gotten big fast. I remember you posting pics when you first got her. She's a beauty!

reako45

Thanks! Yeah, I thought Bluerosy was crazy when he said she'd be 36" by the end of the summer, but he was exactly right.

My Kisatchie's almost the same size. They both still startle me sometimes with how big they've gotten! It's cool to watch them grow.
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

That snake is georgeous and I am not just saying that. Really nice high-red brooks. I still think it's from the extreme lavender line. If you get a het "mate" that looks just like her you will produce some very high reds. There seems to be a trick in producing high red lav's and that is to breed snow het to snow het. Otherwise if you breed visual lav or snow to het or snow or lav the results will not be the "extreme" lavenders. Its a secret shhhhh!

Okay the people who sell extreme lavs omline now are NOT selling the types from this het to het breeding. They don't look like extremes. Thats why if you want the real high-reds, use that het to breed to another het for snow and I betcha they will come out as $300. animals and you will not have a problem selling them at that price. I have not seen a true extreme lavender in quite some time now (years). All those advertised on the internet as extremes are not really the highest red extremes that sold for $3000 a pop a few years ago from Proffessional Breeders. Thats why you will see the ones now priced at $75-$100.

Another thing. Leave that hide the way it is. Let the snake crawl in and out. It will not get hurt and it will enjoy its cage a bit more. Already she had you wizzing around trying to find her. I thinks she likes that.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

Okay, a couple thoughts...

I'm not a dumb guy, but I do get lost with all the het genetics talk, I'm sorry. And I don't even know if I'd know another mate that looked like this one if I saw him! Sometimes I think snakes look similar and someone who knows snakes can point out a dozen 'obvious' differences.

How old should kingsnakes be before you breed them? And then you have to let them hibernate or whatever that word is, get cooler for a time period, right?

My wife thinks it would be cool and fascinating to breed Belle. But I guess the first step would be maybe reading a book on the topic. Can you recommend one?

You might be right about that hide. And she definitely had me whizzing around trying to find her and I do think I heard her laughing at me. But my knee-jerk reaction was to cover up them damn holes so I'd know where she was. I may or may not change my mind on that.

Thank you all, honestly, for the great compliments about Belle. She's special to me and has a great disposition, it's very nice to hear other people make special comments about her too.
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

Beautiful snake. That snake could easily take rats, but I think it looks very healthy just as it is. It will get even lighter in the next year, I’ll bet. I think eventually it will end up basically patternless. I enjoy your posts.
I think that thing is a great hide, but I would be afraid to use it for that. Probably no reason other than dumb paranoia that I wouldn’t be able to get it out or something. I would spray some expanding foam stuff in it to fill it up and use a hide that I could always get the snake if and anytime when I want to.

I think that thing is a great hide, but I would be afraid to use it for that. Probably no reason other than dumb paranoia that I wouldn’t be able to get it out or something.

LOL! Well if the house is on fire you could just grab the whole hide and throw it in a box. Save time bagging the snake and i bet it won't come out with all the commotion.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

I told you probably just dumb paranoia, but I would also be afraid it would get pooped in, or hide bugs and be a pain to clean out too. I really like the thing as decoration, the cage looks nice.
One thing I would add, looking at those pictures. These snakes are unbelievably strong. Those aquarium lids that use clips are not good enough to keep that snake inside if they decide to test it, and it will as soon as the breeding urge hits. Maybe good for lizards and most smaller snakes, but kings are just too powerful. I’m just saying because the next time it really could be gone from the cage. Keep up the good work Eddie!

Upscale, I was a little concerned about her pooping inside that thing too. But I was so happy she was in there and not loose in the house, I wouldn't have cared much even if I ended up throwing the thing out!

What would you recommend to secure the top of that aquarium? She is really strong, if she got some leverage I bet she could pop those clips easily. Do you just put bricks on top or something? We still want the thing to look nice, it's in our living room.
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

i think it would be nice if you get a vision cage or a cage from herpcages.com.

oh let me be clear, my intention was NEVER for her to get INSIDE of it! It forms a nice hiding place BEHIND it! With different nooks and crannies and holes to move in and out of. But that hole I covered with tape I thought was resting on the bottom of the tank. Which was why I was so surprised she got in there.

It is a good hide to hide behind. But an awful source of stress if she gets inside it. I was *this* close to taking a pair of plyers and beginning to chip it apart to get to her...
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

By the way, those mice shown in these pictures are fuzzies, just leftover from when she was littler. She eats the next size up (weanlings/small mice) and can put away three of those every four days or five days. We have a couple weeks left of those, then I guess I should consider the next size up?
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

Eddie,

You should take the duct tape out of the tank.. Or somday you will come home and find your snake stuck to it... This is somthing i learned the hard way many years ago!

Either leave the hole open so she can hide in the log... or glue somthing over the hole.. but, duct tape has no place in a snake enclosure..

~ Mike Russo

Will do, Mike. Thanks.
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii

fill the hole with great stuff and let it harden for a day and their will be no way fro her to get back in.
its water proof and non toxic after it has hardened. just use the low expansion stuff for windows and doors so you dont crack the ornament
adam jeffery
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"CARLOS MENCIA FOR EL PRESIDENTE"
hybrid breeders association
1.1 puebladurans
1.1 sinacorns
1.1 hypo corns
1.1 crimson corns
1.1 striped ghosts
1.1 kenyan sand boas
1.1 mbk
1.1 albino corns
1.1 childrens python
1.3 ghost corns
2.2 butter(both females motley)
1.0 snow corns
1.0 jurassic milk
1.0 house snake
0.1 anery pueblacorn
0.1 bloodred
0.1 eastern milk (eatin pinks)
0.1 striped albino corn
0.1 albino nelsons
0.1 anery motley
0.1 normal corn het hypo,anery
0.1 hypo tang hondo
0.1 rosy boa

There you go.. That's a much better idea than duct tape!

~ Mike

Agreed, that is a great idea! Thanks very much, I'll keep you posted...
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0.1 Lampropeltis Getula Floridana
1.0 Elaphe Guttata Slowinskii