Thlpp. Purveyor of fine snek

We're back! I answer asks in private if requested. In the time free from Tumbr I am building a video game called Spy DNA.

[justnoodlefishthings]

can anyone recommend any good PVC reptile enclosures? I want to upgrade nubby

[thlpp]

Animal Plastics have made most of the cages we use, and ten-twelve years down the road they're still fine.

[thlpp]

I got curious and checked, the shed patches were from the 2018 US presidential election. You mailed them out after people reblogged your post with a picture of their 'I voted' sticker attached.

Indeed! Sunny was a big fan of civic engagement, and so am I!

[thlpp]

Look what I found! A little patch of Sunny shed from aaaages ago! I don't even remember what you were sending them out for anymore. But I found this while going through some old boxes and it made me think of your big guy and smile 😊

Aww man, he was such a sweet little Sunny boi! Glad you still have it :)

I have a face/neck shed lying around that I’ve been meaning to cast in a large resin plaque, but I keep procrastinating. Gotta do it before the move or it may get damaged in transit.

[aplpaca]

big fan of when animals creche. Love to see so many fucking babies in one place

[aplpaca]

So a creche in ecology is a group of animals that take care of their offspring as a group. Grouping together like this can help with protection against predators, finding food, enduring the weather, and gives the parents time to "rest", as sometimes the parents will alternate who's being the primary watchers while others get to hunt by themselves for a bit, like a baby animal daycare.

But ye lions do this once cubs each a certain age. A decent amount of birds do it (for example: flamingos and a lot of penguin, duck, and goose species). Gharials (a type of South Asian crocodilian) form creches with hundreds of babies from multiple nests (they lay under 100 eggs each and sometimes as few as 20). Feral hogs tend to form groups of mothers and young like this, and I saw 3 sows and like 15+ tiny babies the other day and they were so cute

But ye that's how you get pictures like these

[tumorhead]

Rattlesnakes will creche!! In some species mature adult females will hang out together (they're friends!) in shared dens and even birth their clutches together. Then one will babysit while the others go get food. Adult females have been seeing caring for their young like shooing young back into the den when a predator approaches. You can watch LIVE rattlesnake den mothers and all their babies on Project Rattlecam!!!!

[i-m-snek]

Asriel always cracks me up, he's the most active of my ball pythons, and when I come into the reptile room and turn the light on he just freezes in place 😂He'll have his neck fully stretched out about to climb something but then go completely deer-in-headlights LOL

[thlpp]

Welp, this is awkward

I won't rehash the situation in the world and the US in particular, but some of the more recent developments made it necessary for us to move (back) to Europe. A mere three years ago I thought my adoptive country was going to be my forever home, but here we are.

I'm an EU citizen, so at least that bit is straightforward. Moving with eight reptiles however, isn't.

I can't find an airline that will allow us to travel with our snakes (in cabin or in the hold), which makes it necessary to either use a pet transport service or to ship them.

One pet transporter has quoted me $12k to move the animals. I'm waiting for more quotes, but it's unlikely that they'll be much lower.

Shipping is a viable option for snakes, but I can't imagine Shadow will tolerate being in a crate possibly for 2 days to the exporter location and then up to additional 4 days for the overseas air freight, customs, etc.

So for right now I'm trying to rehome at least Shadow the tegu. If any of you have the means and space to take her in, send me a DM, and let's talk. I'm in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

I have reached out to some snake exporters, and they can ship the snakes, and deal with the export part of the process, but I still need an import broker on the other end to clear them through customs and a veterinary inspection. That way, we "only" would have to spend about $4.5k to get the snakes from here to there.

When you're "importing" five or fewer pet reptiles (and they arrive within 5 days of when you travel), the veterinary inspection (and associated $$$ fees) can be skipped, and there's slightly less paperwork, but that means rehoming two snakes as well as Shadow.

Not thrilled about it, but if they go to a good home, I could make my peace and part with Lasso the corn and Makeba the ball python. They're both around 13 years old and healthy, great eaters, and very docile.

I will not give my reptiles over to just anyone, I will ask for proof of enclosure and knowledge of husbandry. Again, if interested DM me. I'll ship within the US if you cover the cost.

[thlpp]

I may have overthunk the situation a bit and got myself more scared and depressed last night than the circumstances warrant.

I'm not going to need to rehome any snakes, because as luck would have it, we have exactly five whose species are listed in CITES Appendix II (requiring export permit from USA and import permit from the destination country), so we can use a reptile-specialized exporter to ship them within 5 days of when I fly over there. We'll pay the local pet import agent to take them through customs, and I'll go to their airport office and pick them up.

The two colubrids, who aren't listed on any CITES appendices, may either travel with J when he flies to join me (if we find an airline that allows reptilian pets to travel with their people), or will get shipped in a second "batch" to satisfy the 5-day time frame requirement.

Shadow, given that she's a bit shy and appears to have been scared a lot of something or someone in her previous home, I still believe will do better if I found her a new loving keeper (semi) locally. So I'll try my best to do that.

[thlpp]

So my ad on Craigslist keeps being taken down -- I made a post on Home-to-home, no idea how reputable they actually are, but at least the post is visible publicly: https://home-home.org/pets/1cbc6159-44f7-4b1c-9f3c-8609645b30e1

Please spread the link and boost the post folks, hopefully we'll find a home for Shadow

[thethornpatch]

New snake! New snake!

Secrets of the karst: new species found in Cambodia’s limestone caves – in pictures

A survey has revealed the vast array of wildlife – some never seen before – living within the south-east Asian country’s karst ecosystems. N

[thlpp]

Welp, this is awkward

I won't rehash the situation in the world and the US in particular, but some of the more recent developments made it necessary for us to move (back) to Europe. A mere three years ago I thought my adoptive country was going to be my forever home, but here we are.

I'm an EU citizen, so at least that bit is straightforward. Moving with eight reptiles however, isn't.

I can't find an airline that will allow us to travel with our snakes (in cabin or in the hold), which makes it necessary to either use a pet transport service or to ship them.

One pet transporter has quoted me $12k to move the animals. I'm waiting for more quotes, but it's unlikely that they'll be much lower.

Shipping is a viable option for snakes, but I can't imagine Shadow will tolerate being in a crate possibly for 2 days to the exporter location and then up to additional 4 days for the overseas air freight, customs, etc.

So for right now I'm trying to rehome at least Shadow the tegu. If any of you have the means and space to take her in, send me a DM, and let's talk. I'm in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

I have reached out to some snake exporters, and they can ship the snakes, and deal with the export part of the process, but I still need an import broker on the other end to clear them through customs and a veterinary inspection. That way, we "only" would have to spend about $4.5k to get the snakes from here to there.

When you're "importing" five or fewer pet reptiles (and they arrive within 5 days of when you travel), the veterinary inspection (and associated $$$ fees) can be skipped, and there's slightly less paperwork, but that means rehoming two snakes as well as Shadow.

Not thrilled about it, but if they go to a good home, I could make my peace and part with Lasso the corn and Makeba the ball python. They're both around 13 years old and healthy, great eaters, and very docile.

I will not give my reptiles over to just anyone, I will ask for proof of enclosure and knowledge of husbandry. Again, if interested DM me. I'll ship within the US if you cover the cost.

[thlpp]

I may have overthunk the situation a bit and got myself more scared and depressed last night than the circumstances warrant.

I'm not going to need to rehome any snakes, because as luck would have it, we have exactly five whose species are listed in CITES Appendix II (requiring export permit from USA and import permit from the destination country), so we can use a reptile-specialized exporter to ship them within 5 days of when I fly over there. We'll pay the local pet import agent to take them through customs, and I'll go to their airport office and pick them up.

The two colubrids, who aren't listed on any CITES appendices, may either travel with J when he flies to join me (if we find an airline that allows reptilian pets to travel with their people), or will get shipped in a second "batch" to satisfy the 5-day time frame requirement.

Shadow, given that she's a bit shy and appears to have been scared a lot of something or someone in her previous home, I still believe will do better if I found her a new loving keeper (semi) locally. So I'll try my best to do that.

[thlpp]

Im sure you have plenty of contacts closer by already lol, but ed curtis up in bellingham (runs a shop called kementaris creatures) is a pretty chill guy & might be able to assist you with rehomes if you reach out to him

Thanks for the recommendation -- if it comes to that, I'll be leaving no stone unturned and no potential contact untried!

[thlpp]

Welp, this is awkward

I won't rehash the situation in the world and the US in particular, but some of the more recent developments made it necessary for us to move (back) to Europe. A mere three years ago I thought my adoptive country was going to be my forever home, but here we are.

I'm an EU citizen, so at least that bit is straightforward. Moving with eight reptiles however, isn't.

I can't find an airline that will allow us to travel with our snakes (in cabin or in the hold), which makes it necessary to either use a pet transport service or to ship them.

One pet transporter has quoted me $12k to move the animals. I'm waiting for more quotes, but it's unlikely that they'll be much lower.

Shipping is a viable option for snakes, but I can't imagine Shadow will tolerate being in a crate possibly for 2 days to the exporter location and then up to additional 4 days for the overseas air freight, customs, etc.

So for right now I'm trying to rehome at least Shadow the tegu. If any of you have the means and space to take her in, send me a DM, and let's talk. I'm in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

I have reached out to some snake exporters, and they can ship the snakes, and deal with the export part of the process, but I still need an import broker on the other end to clear them through customs and a veterinary inspection. That way, we "only" would have to spend about $4.5k to get the snakes from here to there.

When you're "importing" five or fewer pet reptiles (and they arrive within 5 days of when you travel), the veterinary inspection (and associated $$$ fees) can be skipped, and there's slightly less paperwork, but that means rehoming two snakes as well as Shadow.

Not thrilled about it, but if they go to a good home, I could make my peace and part with Lasso the corn and Makeba the ball python. They're both around 13 years old and healthy, great eaters, and very docile.

I will not give my reptiles over to just anyone, I will ask for proof of enclosure and knowledge of husbandry. Again, if interested DM me. I'll ship within the US if you cover the cost.

[herpsandbirds]

New 'scimitar-crested' Spinosaurus species discovered in the central Sahara

by University of Chicago Medical Center

A paper published in Science describes the discovery of Spinosaurus mirabilis, a new spinosaurid species found in Niger. A 20-person team led by Paul Sereno, Ph.D., Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago, unearthed the find at a remote locale in the central Sahara, adding important new fossil finds to the closing chapter of spinosaurid evolution...

Read more: https://phys.org/news/2026-02-scimitar-crested-spinosaurus-species-central.html

illustrations by Dani Navarro

[kaijutegu]

it's got a fenestra in its jaw that fits a tegu head with ease

that's a 42 inch lizard to give you an idea of just how big this thing is

[thlpp]

May I inquire as to how Miss Shadow Child is doing?

She's doing just grand, thank you for (b)asking!

We're still having some behavior issues, as in, she's absolutely not on board with being touched, and in general appears stressed when approached.

On the plus side, the limp she had when we first got her a year ago is pretty much completely resolved, and her overall body condition has improved. She's walking taller now and has climbed everything there was to climb in the area where she's allowed to roam.

She's quite sleepy, because it's winter, and I'm letting her sleep as much as she pleases, but she still comes out to bask on the platform inside her cage most days, and often asks to be let out after she's warmed up.

I put a (human) heat pad and hung a small UV light at her secondary basking spot by the window, because it's mostly overcast out, and too cold to open the window anyway. She enjoys hanging out there and watching me work at my desk.

[skf-fineart]

Very rare green and black painted wooden double-sided numerical snake motif gameboard. New England, Mid-19th Century. 12.5 x 12.5 in.

[kaijutegu]

She has become... fashionable

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Got Eyes for the Dice Snake?

The dice snake, also known as the water snake (Natrix tessellata) is a widely distributed species of snake. They are found througout central Eurasia, from Italy to Tajikastan and northern Pakistan. The water snake most commonly resides near freshwater, particularly rivers and lakes.

As a resident of freshwater ecosystems, N. tessellata feeds primarily on fish and amphibians, and they are frequently seen swimming and diving to catch their prey. The main predator of dice snake are birds, as well as lizards and larger snakes. Water snakes are not venemous; to deter threats, individuals will release feces and a foul-smelling musk from their cloaca, flop on their backs, and begin secreting blood from their mouths in an attempt to play dead.

Dice snake mate from March to May. Throughout this season, males and females will congregate in large groups, and multiple males may pile around one female in an attempt to gain access. In July the mother lays a clutch of 10-30 eggs which emerge in September. Both adults and juveniles then hibernate from October to March.

Adult water snakes are long but rather thin; individuals range from 1.0–1.3 m (39–51 in), but average weigh only 0.3 kg (0.6 lbs). Coloration is drab, usually olive green, brown, or grey with dark brown or yellow dots running along the body. The underbelly is more brightly colored, either yellow or blue, to startle away potential predators.

Conservation status: The IUCN has ranked the dice snake as Least Concern. Their primary threats are habitat degradation and loss.

Photos

Holger Krisp

Manuel Raab

Nomen Novum

Mark Pestov

[thlpp]

Someone REALLY likes their lunch!

Since we got rid of the parasites, Miss ShadowChild has shown great appetite! I've been serving her all kinds of things from human-grade salmon, frog legs, ground turkey, chicken ( muscle meat, livers, necks, gizzards) to quail and chicken eggs, f/t m1ce and quail chicks, and in accordance with vet recommendation even tried some high-quality cat and dog food.

She heartily despises all plant matter, unless I sneak it in with meat. However, she went absolutely crazy for Sheba cat food, so I was able to mix it with greens and Mazuri beardie pellets, and she still ate it all up. That's when I took the video, after she basically inhaled the Sheba-based slop, and wanted more.

She's shown a weird propensity to nibble on my hands and toes, so I've started target-training her with the pink pig toy. For starters, I would just show it to her when presenting food, but after about four or five times, yesterday she came running to me when I just showed her the pig, and was rewarded with some f/t prey. I hope that she'll figure out that there's no food without the pig, and stop trying to eat my appendages.

Still having some frustration with her behaviour, but nothing like we had in the beginning. She no longer begins panting and closing her eyes when I approach, and I can pick her up without stressing her out to the point that she has to hide for 24 hours afterward.

I have to keep reminding myself just how far she's come since January, but at times I wonder if she'll ever be comfortable enough around humans to say, sit on my lap.

I was hoping to be able to take her into the back yard on a harness this summer, but cold rainy days are just a couple of weeks away, and at this rate, we'll be lucky if she'll be ready for an outing on a leash next year.

She's a quick learner in many other areas though, my Miss Shadow. Taught herself how to ask me to let her out, and after I showed her how to climb back in a couple of times, she's learned to knock/scratch at the cage door to be let back in. This basically eliminates any need for me to pick her up when she's not in the mood, and helps us build trust.

She's also learned that she can come out of her cage to go potty, and with luck, I may train her to do it in one area with smooth hard floor.

And she's been really good at navigating the section of the house she's given to roam when she comes out: my office, the guest bathroom, and the dining/kitchen area. Climbs onto her basking platform and comes back down once she'd had enough. Seems to actually enjoy watching me at my desk, as long as I don't look back at her. Then she tenses up and gives a big sigh (better than going to the panting in preparation to fight/flee that she used to do when I'd look at her).

Small steps.

[ramenreptiles]

Tegu vs Kong filled with reptilinks.

Tegu 0 Kong 1