Branches n’ Burrows

Reptile keeper and hognose breeder

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Hi! I’m an artist and animal enthusiast! This will be my blog for all reptile related content.

What animals do you have?

I will make individual posts for each animal, but as of right now the total count is 19 snakes, 8 lizards, and 3 cats

(9 hognose snakes, 4 ball pythons, 3 mourning geckos, 2 leopard geckos, 2 carpet pythons, 2 sand boas, 1 boa constrictor, 1 kingsnake, 1 crested gecko, 1 tegu, and 1 bearded dragon)

How long have you been in the reptile hobby?

I’ve loved reptiles ever since I was a baby, as a toddler and up it was all I wanted to learn about. I’d go to reptile zoos as a young kid, where my love and passion for reptiles only grew. By age 2, I was certifiably obsessed with reptiles (with a special interest in snakes). I’d always wanted a pet snake, and in late 2022 I started keeping reptiles

Art account: @wolsalwastaken

The stars of the show (in order of adopted, first to last):

Connor (Central Bearded Dragon)

Mr. Sir (Leopard Gecko)

Petunia (Plains Hognose)

Schmitty Winkleson (Plains Hognose)

Ken (Boa constrictor)

Borat (Plains Hognose)

Queen Elizabeth II (Ball Python)

Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Plains Hognose)

Alvin and the Chipmunks (Plains Hognose)

Tuna (Plains Hognose)

2009 Toyota Corolla in Firetruck Red (Kenyan Sand Boa)

Daisy (Jungle/Coastal cross Carpet Python)

Lola (Ball Python)

Pupina (Plains Hognose)

2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee in Silverstone Metallic (Kenyan Sand Boa)

Taco (Argentine Black and White Tegu)

Nice Day Haver (Mexican Black Kingsnake)

Boba (Ball Python)

Little John (Ball Python)

Whoopsie (Jungle Carpet Python)

Jerry (Leopard Gecko)

Stinky (Plains Hognose)

Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (Plains Hognose)

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl (Mourning geckos)

Firestar Thunderclan (Crested Gecko)

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Egg update! And a very exciting one at that, we are at week 5 now! (As of yesterday morning) and the babies are very active! They’ve been moving around their eggs and I’ve managed to catch it on video a few times (this is the best example of a baby moving around inside her little egg). They’re eager to stretch out and meet the world and I can’t wait to meet them when they’re ready. We’ve only got 2-3 weeks left before the babies take their first slithers into the big wide world

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Little girl Queenie! I love this sweet baby but my lord she is not a great model… she just loves exploring too much to sit still, I can’t blame her though! She’s too cute to blame anyways, I mean how can you be upset with a sweet face like that?

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3 week egg update! I’ve been documenting the development via candling every week in order to track embryonic placement and growth. All the fertile eggs are looking gorgeous! The babies don’t show up well on camera however irl I am able to see a snake shape inside. Biology truly is amazing! I’m going to of course continue updating with weekly candling until all the babies hatch (at which point I’ll try to document which baby came out of which egg for the final photos)

Sadly egg #7 wound up to be a dud- it wasn’t showing any development and by week 3 it had turned properly sticky, crumpled, and covered in mold. Dissected it for science and it was very much not fertile at any point lol, just a well presented slug egg. Luckily it wasn’t a fertilised egg that went bad! Just was a dud all along. All the other eggs look amazing though and are very healthy!

I’ll continue to provide updates on these babies as we get closer to their birthdays- so excited to meet these little guys

As a bonus- mama is doing very well! In fact, I think she may be cooking up another batch right now…

(I don’t encourage double clutching, I actively discourage her from doing it however she does it every single year and has since I adopted her so most I can do is offer supportive care. That being said, it looks like round 2 of babies may be coming)

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Sometimes snakes get a little bit silly- like Little John! After I refilled her water dish she decided she wanted to take a little swim and blow some bubbles at me (whilst grabbing a drink in the process). She’s such a cutie! Goes to show snakes absolutely can do weird small things to amuse themselves and satiate their curiosity just like any other animal

(Also take a look at those beautiful eyes and scales! She’s a stunning snake with amazing hazel eyes)

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I know I haven’t been the most active lately- I’ve been moving houses and it’s been a bit of a hassle, but I’ve also been working on something very very exciting on the side…

We did it! Petunia and Borat, my pair of hognoses, produced 7 beautiful fertile eggs! They all have visible embryos and veins on candling and are gorgeous. She only had 3 slugs which I’d say is a solid ratio for a mom who’s never made fertile eggs before!

These eggs are currently sitting in the incubator and hopefully in 2 months I’ll be able to come back showing you guys a bunch of fresh new babies!

(Mom is doing very well too- photos aren’t the best as she has a lot of energy now that she’s empty! She looks like nothing ever even happened and I’m not entirely certain the whole ordeal was even much of a bother for her…)

(Photograph of all the eggs together, save for the final slug as she hadn’t laid it yet, so you guys can see the difference between healthy and dud eggs!)

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Candling results! No visible embryo on one of the eggs but given how healthy the egg itself looks I’m thinking that little guy is still developing to a visible stage lol. The rest are very much visible though!

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Finally got a second VE-6 rack! The left rack is for miscellaneous species and the right is for hognoses

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A freshly peeled dragon!

Do forgive the mess, I’m still unpacking 😅

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I know I haven’t been the most active lately- I’ve been moving houses and it’s been a bit of a hassle, but I’ve also been working on something very very exciting on the side…

We did it! Petunia and Borat, my pair of hognoses, produced 7 beautiful fertile eggs! They all have visible embryos and veins on candling and are gorgeous. She only had 3 slugs which I’d say is a solid ratio for a mom who’s never made fertile eggs before!

These eggs are currently sitting in the incubator and hopefully in 2 months I’ll be able to come back showing you guys a bunch of fresh new babies!

(Mom is doing very well too- photos aren’t the best as she has a lot of energy now that she’s empty! She looks like nothing ever even happened and I’m not entirely certain the whole ordeal was even much of a bother for her…)

(Photograph of all the eggs together, save for the final slug as she hadn’t laid it yet, so you guys can see the difference between healthy and dud eggs!)

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The baby hognoses always know when it’s time for food… which is always! The third photo was taken not even 5 minutes after he was fed. He’d eat multiple times a day if I let him, I tell you…

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I’d love to introduce you all to my second carpet python, Whoopsie! He’s currently 2 years old. He’s a male jungle carpet python! He’s probably one of my most stunning snakes- he’s absolutely beautiful.

He was purchased from someone looking to rehome him as they were downsizing their collection, so I of course snatched this beauty up. He was sold to me as being “nippy” and “aggressive”- that being said, he’s an absolute sweetheart and has never tried to bite me. I like to let him roam around my bed while I work as he seems to enjoy exploring or curling up for a nap around my neck.

This little man has quickly become a beloved member of my snake family, he’s got it all! Looks and personality.

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My carpet python is different, she likes soaking in her water dish.

(Don’t worry, she doesn’t have any health or husbandry issues making her do this, she just really likes water)

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Some pics of my ball python collection! In order of appearance, we have: Boba, Little John, Queenie, and Lola! You could say I’m ballin’ out…

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Pupina-posting! She’s tiny, ridiculously cute, only 3 months old, and tries to eat everything that comes near her face. What’s not to love!

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I’d like to formally introduce everyone to my new leopard gecko, Jerry! He is a 5 month old male Tremper Albino Leopard Gecko! I’ve had him for a little over a week now and this guy is already a riot. I wasn’t looking to adopt a gecko, I already have one as you may know. I love geckos, just wasn’t in the market for one.

That being said, I was out one day and had time to kill. Decided to go into my local PetCo (they have a fantastic reptile care department- one of the most dutiful ones I’ve seen) to ogle at all the animals, it’s a free zoo!

I saw a gecko who was heavily discounted due to the fact he’d been there for almost 4 months. As I’m sure you gathered, that gecko was Jerry and I couldn’t leave him there. He was spending all his time hidden and skittish due to how many people were in the shop and bothering him.

Now, in his new forever home, he’s an active and personality filled little champ! He loves climbing and exploring, he loves food and will eat anything I throw his way and is a great little hunter! He’s very sweet and friendly and is fantastic with handling. He’s a fantastic addition to my family and is very well beloved already, with his winning personality and ridiculously adorable little face how could I not?

Typically, I do not buy from pet stores. Pet stores generally shouldn’t be where you go for any companion or breeder animals. Only reason I decided to purchase him is because he needed a home and wasn’t living a fulfilled life where he was, no matter his background he deserves a happy stress-free life

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What’s your favourite food? Taco’s favourite food is soft boiled eggs! (Mixed with capsicum and raw chicken- though she’ll usually just eat the egg…)

(This is a still from a video of her eating her meal- forgive me trying not to laugh in the background of the video)

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Introducing the newest addition to my ever growing family,

Little John! Little John is a 6 month old ball python, she’s a spotnose het clown female! She’s my silliest ball python, she’s got a lot of personality for her little body. She’s got a bit of a ‘tude but once you get her out of cagey mode she turns into the most boisterous and confident little lady you’ll ever meet. She’s also very silly as you can see in the last 2 pictures.

(She does not have a neurological issue making her go upside down like that. She just sometimes likes to do that, I think she likes to get the different angle)

She’s a champion eater and can pound down mice till the cows come home. She’s quickly slithered her way into my heart and I absolutely adore her. A big welcome to this lovely new member of my slithery family!