Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm kind of wondering. After an initial eat eat eat spurt my hondurans have really tapered off. They eat, but only about once a week and they'll take one-two pinkies at that feeding (one finally got on fuzzies this week). I've seen a very slow growth--one the scale only a couple of grams in a month. I'm used to fairly fast growing snakes--retics, florida kings, etc. so that sort of slow growth is sort of strange to me. Is that more normal for hondurans?

The cage's warm end is mid/high 80s, they're in 12" shoeboxes with cypress, broken clay pot pieces and cork.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.

I've always found them to be one of the faster growing colubrids. My hatchling hondurans grow faster than other even larger colubrid species. I start them on large pinkies and move them up to fuzzies and then to hoppers rather quick. The hatchlings I still have from 2011 are on hoppers. The do spend a lot of time on the cooler side of their shoe boxes.

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Randy Whittington

You might consider backing the warm side down 3 or 4 degrees since their in that size container. With the warm end being that high it's likely that the front side is still rather warm in boxes only 12 inches.
If they have to stay in warmer temps and can't cool down they will burn unneeded energy and grow slower.
I've noticed my hatchling hondurans I keep in shoe box racks will usually stay in the back side of the rack due to them being so shy as babies, since it's darker. They will do that even though they might want to go to the cooler side, away from the heat, because they feel safer in the back. They will do that even if there is a hide in the front because it's still lighter and closer to movement. If the hide is super dark and tight they will spend more time though.
I've tested and put heat near the front(open and lighter side)and they will still stay to the back where it's now cooler because they feel safer. If it's the same (as far as light and movement) on the warm side and cool side they will stay on the cooler side most of the time.
Hope that wasn't more of my 2 cents that you wanted to hear. lol
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Randy Whittington

I should be clear as I sort of contradicted myself.
The hondos I keep in closed back racks have their heat turned down some in the back because they are often too shy to come up front where it's cooler. I keep some in containers not in the closed back racks and can keep the heated end warmer as they feel as comfortable on both ends and will go to the far end of the cooler side most of time.
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Randy Whittington

Mine are open in the back (animal plastics economy racks). I'll try what you advised though and drop it down just a bit. one of mine's nearly always at the cool end, the other's nearly always at the warm end. Temps are the same for both (using a temp gun to check).
I'm used to snakes that like it slightly warmer I guess.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.