Albino or sunglow difference?

[tommccarthy]

@z-a-r-i-n-a

Hi

Here is some info I posted on older fourm for someone that needed help with their retic. This will work with boas to, if anyone needs to tame their boa. But you will need a smaller snake hook for baby boas. I have added some new info to this to help you out.

Just so everyone knows, Tigger passed away in 2012.

When I first got Tigger in 9 / 2005, she was not tame at all. She was 12 feet long and 28 lbs.

It took me about 3 months to tame her. Here is how I worked with her to tame her down.

For the first week, I used the snake hook to touch her a few times, and I would just put my hand on her body and the hook holding touching her head. I did this for about 2 or 3 minutes a day. I also put my shirt I was wearing in her cage at night so she would get used to my scent. I did the shirt trick for about 3 1/2 weeks.

The next 2 1/2 weeks, I would use the hook by her head and pet her on her body. She would jerk her body and throw my hand off, but I would put it right back on her. I did this for about 15 minutes a day.

Then, after the 2 1/2 weeks, I still did the same thing, but I would also pet her head. I did this for about 5 to 7 days.

Then, I started to take her out of the cage for about 10 to 15 minutes every day. I would let her go just about any ware she wanted to, but I would not put her down. I did this for about a week. I still would pet her in her cage just about every day.

(Never restrain a snakes head with your hands as they don’t like this at all. Remember, a restrained snake is a mad snake. I know I don’t like being held by my neck.

Just hold them loosely but in control of them and let them move around and change your hand position by going hand over hand as they move around. Never put your hand in front of their face. Always come from under their head / neck from behind.

If your snake stops moving, they may start thinking about biting. So keep them busy with moving around.)

The next week, I started to let her crawl around on the floor. But I had to use the snake hook to pick her up as she would strike at me.

After about 1 or 2 weeks, she was fine with me, and then I started letting my kids pet her when I had her out in the house.

The first time I took her outside (this was about 6 to 7 months after I got her), she went right back to wanting to strike at me, so I had to use the hook with her.

After about 2 weeks, she was fine outside with me, and I even let my kids pet her too.

I still used the hook every time I opened her cage to take her out. All I had to do was touch her head then, and she knew it was not feeding time.

The only time I would not do anything with her was on feeding day and the day after. Tigger used to stay in feeding mode for about 1 to 2 days back then. When she got older, she would only stay in feeding mode a few hours after she had eaten.

Tigger only bitten me one time in 2006, and it was just a little bump on my hand, and it was to let me know she did not want to come out as she was deep in shed. The bite did not even bleed, just 2 or 3 little marks in my hand. When she was in a deep shed, I would not take her out of her cage, but I could open it up and pet her. Tigger became one of my tamest snakes I have ever owned, and she was not head shy at all. I believe this is because when I first got her, I would pet her head a lot. In the last 3 or 4 years of her life, I didn’t even have to use a snake hook anymore when I opened her cage.

She did have bad shed allot, so after she starts to shed, I put her in my bathtub and help pull all the old skin off of her. I think she did this on propose as it seems like she likes me doing this back then.

There are pictures of her on my website if you would like to see them. Tigger

I always messed with Tigger’s head at home when I would have her out, so she was used to people touching her head. I could even slap her on her side or even hold her head and give it a good shake, and she didn’t care about it. I did this for years with her. I even let my kids at home play with Tigger a lot to help her get used to children. Whenever a snake person came over to my home, they couldn’t believe how tame Tigger was and the stuff she would put up with. After owning snakes for 48+ years, I feel I can read most snakes’ attitudes pretty well, at least the ones I own.

Update 6 / 2012
Tigger was probably the tamest snake I have owned, and I didn’t even need to use a hook with her the last 3 or 4 years of her life to get her out of her cage. When she passed away, she was over 16 feet long and 120+ lbs.

I had my vet do some tests on her, but nothing was found wrong with her. So I will never know why she died. Me and my family miss her very much. I owned her for 7 years, and in that time, she helped change a lot of peoples opinions for the better for all snakes.

Take care
Tom McCarthy

[z-a-r-i-n-a]

Yesterday, Zarina buried herself in the substrate and has been sitting motionless since. I gave her some fresh coconut chips yesterday… I’ve heard that boas can bury themselves, but she’s never done this before. She’s sitting in the part where the substrate is especially dry, as there’s a heat lamp above it, and the misting system avoids this spot so that water doesn’t spray on the bulb. Is this ok? She could go to the humid part of the substrate if she wanted to.

What does it look like when snakes are tagging? Do both males and females do it?

[baby_yoda]

I’m gonna assume that this is fine as my boa does this all the time. She lovesssss burrowing in her substrate

[adon87]

Looks like she is moving out of hide and diging by root stump. Probably looking to ambush some prey.

The substrate looks moist to me. Especially, at the level she is burrowing. Humidity doesnt always associate with substrate being wet. That ledge/wood/heat/ water dish combo will provide humidity pocket.

Tag - I was just referring to how she quickly bit you and raleased.

I recommend you take 120 grit sand paper and rough up/soften the eadges/points of your hide if you have not already done so. It will stab or slice your snake when she constricts or slithers under and over its hide.

[z-a-r-i-n-a]

@adon87 The edges have been sanded down and feel smooth to the touch, although in close-up photos, two small notches are visible. I’ll check on that once Zarina stops occupying her hideout, as she’s currently post-lunch.

Also, why did you call the bite “tagging”? I thought you meant something like marking.

I’m wondering if there’s a way to tell when a snake is hungry?

[adon87]

I would just remove it and sand it more now or remove it completely as it wont cause any harm. The edges have plenty of points and edges that can and will slice or stab your snak like butter. You have more to loose by keeping it in there.

Minor Injury on Surinam Red Tail

My Surinam girl sustained an injury on the back third of her body a little over a week ago - guessing cut herself on a piece of her hide I found was very sharp. I’ve since removed the hide and placed her in a sterile recovery enclosure and have been applying a betadine solution to the wound daily. First time any of my snakes have ever been injured - am I doing the right thing? Pic enclosed with wound circled. It’s not getting any worse or infected. Any advice? [IMG_3178]

[z-a-r-i-n-a]

This convinces me. It looks terrifying!!!

[z-a-r-i-n-a]

She hid under the substrate again, and this weekend I’ll be offering her a rat. Could this behavior be interpreted as a hungry snake?

I was also wondering—I’ve been watching Brian Boas’ videos on YouTube, and he mentioned that he would feed snakes up to 3 years old every 2 weeks. She’s 1 year and 7 months old. The rats weigh around 70-80g, which seems ideal for her. I have a photo of her constricting, but I know I can’t post it… Anyway, I’m not sure if I should feed her every 3 weeks, as we previously discussed here, or every 2… I wouldn’t want it to be too little for her, and for her to be hungry.

An update about her hide entrance: it’s a strange type of plastic, and to the touch, the sharp bits felt soft, like sanded cardboard! I removed that texture effect so it wouldn’t look alarming in photos anymore. But she was safe.

[caron]

I would continue with every two weeks because she’s only 1 year plus still and the rats are small. She is still growing so she can use a meal every 2 weeks. In my opinion of course

[adon87]

When in doubt wait till they poop it out. Breeders keep feeding schedules for simplicity but often skip a feeding if necessary or just prolong and extra week or two.

I have some that have not taken meal since mid November that are similare in age size and gender.

Some snakes have particular habits. They are probably digesting if hugging hotspot and chill n if in the cool zone. They tend to point towards were the food source comes from when looking to feed but does not necessary mean they are hungry or starving. They have fat reserves and will use them or convert them to muscle when not digesting. Its ok to let them go 3 weeks from time to time or feed more frequent when needed. Winter to spring can go 3 weeks and summer can be 2 weeks.

I had a 4 year old eating xlr every 9 days just befor breeding season and it was fine.

I have younger snakes like yours i feed 3 weeks and at times 1 time a month. Everything just depends on a lot of different factors.

Hope all is well and looking forward to some more pictures.

[z-a-r-i-n-a]

I still feed her every two weeks with 80g rats. I only have two left, so I’ll have to decide soon whether to stick with this size or order something bigger. She sheds every 2 to 2.5 months. I’m happy that she’s growing.

I captured a cool moment after feeding—I love when she does that!

[gavakas]

Hi,

i am about to purchase a boa and i am told that one of them is an albino. I am totally new to boas but can’t find a similar pictures on the net in order to compare and see how the colors will develop once she become an adult. Is is possible to help me identify it?

The other boa i was told it is a super salmon jungle so if you can help me on that as to how the colors will develop and if both morphs are correct, i will be much grateful to everyone!

Here is the second girl

[jawramik]

I love snake yawns! Very nice little video you took, she’s looking gorgeous.

[smite]

salmon is a type of hypo. It has a category on the for sale section here at MM too so you can see tons of images there. That looks like a salmon jungle to me. Side note, that water bowl looks suspect in the picture. Not only dirty but considering she’s on paper and there are black poppy seed like shapes I’d be worried about mites on those animals. Be one thing if she was on substrate, maybe its dirt but not likely IMO. I’d inspect them very well.

The first one is albino for sure. You’ll want to ask which strain but most likely kahl. They can yellow up a bit as they age but some can develop nice pinks and reds. Those are usually from pastel or coral lines.

[gavakas]

Thank you @smite for your reply! The albino I was told is sharp line. I saw some albinos and they do fade away and become almost mostly yellow colour which I do not prefer that much.
The salmon jungle seems nicer to me. Is there any indication of their size as adult based on the morph?
Thanks!

[smite]

I’m going to shoot you a PM just so we don’t derail the OP’s thread. It might also be helpful to start your own thread to attract more opinions, from experienced keepers

[gavakas]

Please Help me identify these morphs

Hi, i am about to purchase a boa and i have to choose between two available female babies. I am told that one of them is a sharp albino. I am totally new to boas but can’t find a similar pictures on the net in order to compare and see how the colors will develop once she become an adult. Is is possible to help me identify it and find a suitable adult size photo? [image] The other female i was told it is a super salmon jungle so if you can help me also on that as to how the colors will deve…

[adon87]

@z-a-r-i-n-a

Was changing water bowl and she latched on to me because she has a very aggressive food response. She ate a 45g XL mouse 5 days ago. Unfortunately for me I have rodents defrosting and she was sitting at the bottom right of the picture. She got me good as i reached into the cage over her head to change the water. She let go and slithered away almost instantly. I taped her head with empty napkin roll and picked her up immediately and then put her back into her cage shortly after. I picked her up to see how quickly that mouse was melting away in her belly. Looks like she will be ready for larger meal in 5days.

I will be bumping up the size of her meals to rats with the same frequency. She is 2 years old and ready to hit her growth spurt. Ill be keeping her on a 10 to 14 day cycle while pushing the size of prey items a little larger than her body this season because i held back last season. I wanted to keep her on the smaller side and imitate a lower food production year. I will adjust frequency of feeding depending on how she handles it. She will probably shed every 45 days and be just fine. Probably have her on a heavy cycle this year and next with fall fast. Hopefully get some beautiful Pink Panther VPI Snows from her in a couple years.

[z-a-r-i-n-a]

Oh wow… I always take her out of the enclosure when I change the water or clean because I’m scared, haha. The tank is 5 liters, and I first have to remove some water with another bowl because it’s too heavy to lift.

So she didn’t wrap around your hand, as I understand? Did it hurt?

My Zarinka will be 2 years old in May… Maybe I shouldn’t increase the weight of the rats yet? It’s so hard for me to judge—she seems wider at her thickest point than an 80g rat. Lately, I just can’t wait for her to get bigger…

How do you know when a snake is ready for its next meal?

She did something strange last time—she pulled the rat up onto the branch she has suspended under the ceiling. Then it fell into the water bowl, but luckily she still ate it.

Pink Panther VPI Snows… Snake genetics are black magic to me.

[adon87]

Not realy. I just dont like being surprised.

I would increase size if you feed her and you cant notice a lump in her stomach with the 90 gram med rat. She will grow just fine and will probably hit her growth spurt this coming year or next spring.

I can tell when to feed by a few different ways. I could feel the mouse pop and dissolving as she slithered over my arm and today its basicly gone and i can see a lump just before her cloaca. She is stalking around her water bowl at night. Probably smell poop in her cage in a few days.