Education For All Ages

Herpetology [hur-pi-tol-uh-jee] : the branch of zoology dealing with reptiles and amphibians. 

[fluffygif]

[noodle-knowledge]

Another Successful Show

So I had a wonderful program the beginning of this week. Button, Dune, and Spook all came with me to a local school.

For the smaller snakes, I've used large Chick-fil-a salad bowls with paper towels and toilet paper rolls as temporary substrate and hides.

I also really like that that the Chick-fil-A bowls stack easily.They also have holes, but I added a few more, you know, just to be safe.

As for all my supplies, since I carried the snakes instead of rolling them, I use this little wheeley bin. I put my gloves, snake hook, sand box (for Dune), and a small cooler in here. It made transport really easy since it rolls, and it fit all my supplies easily. 

I don’t have a picture of it full, but there was no space at all.

The school let me use this nice peninsula-styled table with a sink behind it. It was like a science time/snack time mix. But we were here for Herpetology. 

Not all of it is visible, but I had a cooler with some pinkies to show how snakes eat, I had a thermos with warm water already set up, I had a pamphlet with local snakes, a little wooden corn snake, several sheds, Dune’s sandbox, gloves, a snake hook, the snakes, and a little water dish so they could get a drink later. 

Almost all of the kids got to touch Spook, and it seemed to go swimmingly. Hopefully, when the local schools start up again for the fall semester, I’ll be able to run a few more programs.  

[wheremyscalesslither]

Ball Python Pattern Terminology

Here’s the fun post! Well, I think it’s fun. I made this for everyone who probably doesn’t spend nearly 24/7 in ball python forums. This is a list of common terminology used when describing ball pythons. If there is something you would like added, please let me know! The red marks are highlighting an example of one location where the term happens. Both images portray the term. If the image does not have a source, that is because it is mine.

[full view] A distinct wild-type pattern, where spots occur in the middle of the lighter markings, causing them to appear like E.T. the alien. [img 1]

[full view] A lack of spots within the alien head patterns. Some times also referred to as a decrease in dark markings. [img 1 and 2]

[full view] Color expanding from the center of the darker patterns on the dorsal side. Heads may also have blushing. [img 1] [img 2]

[full view] Color expanding from the belly towards the dorsum on the darker patterns, occurring on the sides of the animal. [img 1] [img 2]

[full view] A straight line running along the dorsal side, or back, of the python. Can be broken (img 1) or unbroken (img 2). [img 1] [img 2]

[full view] A unique pattern atop a ball python’s head.

[full view] A lack of pigment or change in pattern that often encircles the girth on a ball python. Can be an indication of carrying the pied gene. [img 2]

[full view] A ball python containing visual patterns and colors of two or more different morphs, as determined by the pairing. Appears as random splashes. It is not inheritable. [img 1] [img 2]

[full view] Bold, dark scales that run along the vent towards the head of the snake. Can be an indicator of pied parentage. [img 1] [img 2]

(if i have used an image of yours and you would like me to remove it, please contact me immediately)

[noodle-knowledge]

Update

Hey guys,

I know I’m not the most active poster, I like to keep things educational, and have been a little busy to sit down and write about snake care, but do expect more posts in future. 

I’m waiting for the right procedures to be taken by a company before I rescue an emaciated Ball Python, and plan on posting her recovery here, if I am chosen to  adopt her. 

I should also warn you that how she looks now is pretty disturbing, when I first saw her, I thought she was dead. 

With that in mind, I am looking for name recommendations. She’s a sweet little pastel ball and she seems to have a curious personality. I’ll keep you guys up to date on her.

[arsanatomica]

So… whenever I go to a vet office, there’s all these diagrams on pet obesity….. But they never have anything besides cats and dogs. How discriminatory….. Let’s change that. Obesity in snakes is so common that it’s literally the default. In a healthy animals, fat deposits should only be found in the back 1/3rd of the body. As the snake gets fatter, the fat deposits start to develop towards the head. In extremely obese animals, you’ll start to see fat above the heart, in the throat area. In morbidly obese snakes, the animal runs out of room and starts to put fat under the skin, giving the snake a soft feel and sausage-y look. **This Honduran milksnake came from a rescue in the Bay Area. Thank you so much for donating your deceased animals to make these images possible. Other places to see my anatomy stuff: INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK / ETSY

[wheremyscalesslither]

The easiest way to prevent obesity in snakes is to begin offering them enough space alongside a variety of enrichment. The current acceptable standards of reptile keeping absolutely prevent these natural, innate behaviors, which has a DIRECT impact on our snakes physiological conditions.

The fact is enrichment is not entertainment, but a tool that enables you to provide your animal a more fulfilling, thriving life.

[noodle-knowledge]

I got a video of the good tongue bleps.

She has a shallow bathing dish in there that she can actually fit in, but I guess she likes the view here better. 

[noodle-knowledge]

Clickbait at the Expense of Animals

I like snakes. A lot. That’s probably why I run an educational program. Most snakes don’t want to be bothered, especially wild ones. If you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone. But more and more often, you see articles like this: 

[above, an image of a NowThis SnapChat story titled: “A 23-Foot Python Literally Ate a Woman” with the picture of a Ball Python]

It was published June 20th 2018 by Now This, a news site that takes concepts and shrinks them down into easy to digest information. It gives minimal information, so readers can jump to the next topic without getting bored. There’s no need to read paragraphs of information when it can be summed up in one or two photos and an eye grabbing title. 

Unfortunately, I’m bad at attention grabbers, and I have more than a sentence or two. I found this article on SnapChat, and this is all I had learned was that the woman was from Indonesia, she was 54, and that the snake was killed. There was nothing about how this happened, or what type of python the snake was. This seemed like a phenomenon that snakes have to deal with all too often

Luckily, National Geographic had my back with some more information, informing readers that it was a reticulated python, and actually taking a look into why it happened.

Reticulated python attacks are rare, which makes their gruesome outcomes all the more shocking. Typically, the snakes feed on mammals (up to the size of deer) and birds, but they've been seen eating more dangerous targets like alligators.

Snakes do not have a taste for eating people!

So why is this all we seem to hear from the media? Mostly, it’s what we care about. If you don’t like snakes, this reaffirms your belief that they’re bad/evil and that they attack without cause. 

But that could be the same as posting that PET DOG ATTACKS AND KILLS OWNER. It gives no context to why that happened, than even though dog owners would know something was wrong in the situation, there are people and readers who would take that at face value.

I live in Florida, there are a lot of snakes here, but only 4 are venomous. All of them play a vital role in the ecosystem. But when stories like these pop up, people decide it’s in their best interest to kill any snakes that are too close for comfort. 

My program has a Ball Python, the same type of snake in the photo above, and I get asked by concerned parents if my 2ft teenage snake is a “man eater” or if it’s venomous. 

You’re not going to find a 23 foot Ball Python, or a snake that just has a taste for human flesh. These aren’t reptilian Draculas. 

I have to deal with the repercussions of articles like these when I bring an almost identical snake to a program. Snakes have to pay with their lives for something that doesn’t apply to them. 

Why did this happen then?

I’d advise reading the National Geographic article [here]. It takes a good look into the possible causes, and the concerns that the community might have. In short, human intervention and development on natural land may have affected the snake’s prey. When people scare all the deer away, what’s left to eat? One speculation is that this could be a result of Indonesia’s palm oil industry, limiting the natural hunting grounds of the snakes, and leaving villages vulnerable. 

Regardless, take an educated approach before forming your opinion on an entire species. Now This’s article was a classic case of fear mongering, it’s the story you’d tell to your friend in passing, with no real details or facts. Though it’s tragic this woman passed, other snakes will have to pay because of the publicity this story is getting. 

[noodle-knowledge]

Impaction and Monitoring Poop

So your snake ate more than just a mouse...

The first step is to avoid letting your snake eat something that is not reptile safe. But I doubt you’ve been purposefully feeding your snake Q-tips or paper clips. 

Usually an accident happens. Your Burmese snagged a glove off of you while you were feeding, or your Ball accidentally ate some of it’s substrate while eating it’s meal, or, in my most recent personal experience, my Hognose missed her mouse and got a nearby paper towel instead. 

It’s a mistake that I regret happened, but luckily, there are steps you can take to try and avoid impaction. If your snake does have impacted intestines, you will need to go to a local reptile veterinary clinic and look into the surgery. 

But before the vet bill, you need to be sure your snake is actually impacted!

An impacted snake is not going to poop or eat. They will look bloated too, and potentially act lethargic. It differs from snake to snake, but if your little friend is pooping, you’re likely in the clear. 

In my experience, it is hard to tell if your snake has pooped in certain bedding. I have to search around for poop in aspen, and coconut fiber can be especially hard due to the similarity in color. 

What I do is I change all the bedding to something where I can easily see and locate poop. Usually that is either paper towels or newspaper. Since I know my snake doesn’t actually enjoy eating paper towels, I decided to go with them since they hold humidity better in my opinion. 

I cleaned the cage properly, using a mini-vac to get rid of all the dust left behind by the old bedding, and started to lay out some paper.

Once I have everything nicely covered, I start to spray the cage down evenly with distilled water. The goal is to keep the cage warm and humid to encourage the desired bowel movement. You should also give your snake a small meal if they haven’t eaten since the incident. It will encourage their bowels to move.

Next, I put in all the usual accessories. This includes water, some hides, a little base to a potted plant she likes to watch me from, and a humidity box. 

Then I add the snake!

I also use the thermostat attached to the heat mat to increase the overall temperature of the enclosure. I only put it up 2 degrees, but it should be enough to encourage some business going down.

I’m not going to include a picture of poop, but the goal is to see where the business is going down. With this, I can see when it happens, and I can be sure it’s not old poop I missed when spot cleaning before her feeding. 

Do not stress yourself out

My first reaction when this little monster ate the towel was to panic. I’d never had this happen before! I’d done what I could while it was happening, but she was adamant about not giving her “meal” up. 

I’ve done research since this has happened, looking at forums and contacting other reptile keepers I know. Snakes are hardy animals, and one little mistake isn’t the end of the world. 

For your own peace of mind, I’m going to link some of the forums I looked at, as well as adding this story by NBLADE (you can find the full thread here)

“Not that long ago i had an adult common boa female, pop the glass on her viv, now my rep room is secure so finding her was easy, but i defrost food overnight for the next day, this happened to be a night i was defrosting adult mice for baby retics the next day, this female boa ate a bag of 50 adult mice, plastic bag included. About a month later she passed out the remains of that bag, after digesting all the mice inside it, quite impressive really.”

[Link 1] [Link 2] [Link 3]

Worst Case Scenario

Your snake isn’t pooping and is showing other signs of impaction, it is sadly time to take your snake to the vet. Remember, with smaller things like a small bit of substrate, or a paper towel corner, this is highly unlikely, but you must always be prepared for a vet visit. One important thing is to be sure the vet you are going to can deal with exotic pets. 

You can find out by googling for exotic pet vets, reptile vets, or just calling a local vet and asking over the phone. Once you take your snake into the clinic, the doctor will be able to come up with a solution to the problem. With impaction, the solution is likely surgery. 

After any procedure, your animal will need to be on some medicine and will need to recover, so keep that in mind while your snake is healing.

How did it end for you and Button?

Besides Button being grumpy for a few days, because she couldn’t burrow like usual, Button was fine. She pooped and there were some undigested bits of paper towel, and she got her usual bedding back. 

Snakes can digest animal bones, so even though it’s not healthy for them to eat things like paper towels, one little mistake is not the end of the world. Just monitor your snake’s behavior, their poop, and whether or not they look unusually bloated. Impaction can be a silent killer in reptiles, so do what you can to look out for your little friends. 

Feel free to add any stories, suggestions, or corrections, but remember to do so politely. I not only researched for my own experience, but to make this post as accurate and informative as possible. 

[noodle-knowledge]

Say hello to a new baby! I need to come up with a name for him. I’m thinking of calling him Benny or something similar

[noodle-knowledge]

@sanctumofwaluigi no. It’s a great name, but not The Name. But thank you for making my day <3

[noodle-knowledge]

Say hello to a new baby! I need to come up with a name for him. I'm thinking of calling him Benny or something similar

[noodle-knowledge]

Egg Incubation

These are some of my thoughts on how to incubate Western Hognose and Kenyan Sand Boa clutches. I have no experience with Ball/Royal Python breeding. This is by no means the only way to take care of babies, or the best way; reptile keeping is constantly advancing, so there is no tried and true method of egg incubation, and I know I have a lot to learn too. That being said, here we go.

While you are pulling the clutch from the nest box

I prefer to gently pull the eggs apart. I take it slow to avoid tearing any of them. Then I candle each egg to see where the embryo has attached. I do this for any clutch, regardless of what type of snake laid the clutch, and this is just because me and the breeders I know and follow have had better luck with fertility when the eggs have been separated. Then, I put all the eggs into a little incubation tub. 

Vermiculite vs. Perlite

This is somewhat of a debate, where a lot of breeders use Vermiculite, and have for a long time. You use these substrates in the tubs you put the eggs because you need the eggs to retain moisture, and you don’t want them to be sitting in water. These are both inorganic, so it lessens the chance of your eggs getting moldy. 

I prefer using Pearlite, but that’s solely because it makes less of a mess in my opinion. I haven’t noticed a distinct difference in quality between clutches when I’ve used them both, so whatever option is easier for you to find, or more economic for you, is a good choice.

Preparing your Vermiculite/Perlite

The goal for these substrates is to retain moisture in the tub you’re using to hold your clutch, without over saturating the eggs. They’re very similar in preparation, and when all else fails: follow the packaging.  You should mix your vermiculite/perlite with distilled water. Please, make sure your water is safe for reptiles!! Get your desired amount of substrate and mix with water with a 1:1 ratio. If the substrate seems too dry, add a bit more water. You want the substrate to be damp and clumpy, but if you squeeze it and water drips out, add some more substrate into the mix. 

Incubation

Depending on what type of snake you have, temperatures vary heavily. Do your research on the conditions required for your type of snake. Like stated before, I do not breed ball pythons. I can google the information about ball python breeding and put it in here, but I have no actual experience with it, and wouldn’t be able to put any new/unique information here. And you can google too. 

Kenyan Sand Boas

These guys are super easy when it comes to incubation. They don’t need it. Sand Boas give birth to live young. You likely won’t get any slugs, though there is always a chance of a stillborn baby. Remove the babies from the mother and put them in a separate container. If you have less than 10, I usually house them together for the first week, but after 10 babies, I start to divide them out so none of them get too stressed.  Kenyan Sand Boas can have a lot of babies, but I’ve never had more than 14 in a clutch.  Do not attempt to feed the babies until they have shed, then put all the babies who have shed into a separate container and offer them a pinkie. Once a baby eats a pinkie, move it into it’s own enclosure and you’re basically done. Keep up the process until everybody has eaten, and then try to get them on a regular eating schedule.

Western Hognoses

Hognose incubation takes approximately 60 days, though you should check in on your eggs regularly. While you incubate them, keep them between 78 and 84 degrees (26-29 Celsius).  Many breeders have an incubator of their own, but I have seen people use a heat lamp with a thermostat attached. I have seen success with this, though I have no personal experience with this method. This is how one of my breeder friends has his “incubation station” set up. He uses the Exo-Terra Nano 8x8x12, putting the deli-cup or small bin with the eggs inside of the terrarium. He then uses a small heat pad on the bottom with a thermostat attached (he also says he’s used a heat lamp above the eggs with thermostat if he doesn’t have any mats available). Use a heat gun to monitor the temperatures of your eggs, and keep a close eye on them. I tend to borrow my other friend’s incubator. She has the Exo-Terra one and I like it, I just need to get my own at some point.

Once the eggs hatch, Hognoses are already shedding and ready to be separated from their brothers and sisters. 

Once the babies have shed for the first time

This goes for all the snakes, once they’ve had their first shed, you should start the process of weighing, sexing, and separating snakes. I did put my personal tips on Kenyans in their section, but this can apply to them too. Just do whatever works best for you. 

Take the babies one at a time from their incubation bin, or wherever you are keeping them. Weigh them in grams and mark that down as well as their sex, then put them in their solitary bin and try to get them to eat a small pinkie. If a pinkie is too big, and you have any feet or tails from frozen feeders that have fallen off, thaw those out and see if your baby shows any interest in the smaller meal. 

I usually attach a post it or index card to their bins with the birth date, sex, and weight, with room to add the dates that the eat as well as their weight later on. You should also include shed information, but I always forget sheds for some reason. 

[noodle-knowledge]

Sunny's investigating

[noodle-knowledge]

Dune loves peeking out of his sandbox and sneaking though my sweater

[sn00ters]

SCREAMS AT REPTILE AND FISH PEOPLE AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS

[noodle-knowledge]

Noodle Knowledge

Welcome to Noodle Knowledge, where I will be posting everything and anything about snakes, breeding, care, and anything else. 

I run educational programs and have the information about that here

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about how to care about these wonderful creatures. And like with all things, I have more to learn too!