# Snakes in the sun!



## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

I took some of my snakes outside for pics last week. The lens is a little foggy, so please excuse the "haze" on some of these.

Two of my female Ball Pythons, Elaine (pastave in upper left) and Cinna (cinnamon on right). This was their first time on grass in their lives and they weren't sure what to do lol.
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A pic of Elaine on a branch.
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And being held
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Cinna on a branch (she didn't want to cooperate)
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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

More pics, as it was too much to load them all into one post:

Our boas!
Jax, our largest a BCA male (a little over 2.5 years old and close to 4.5' long)
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Kirby, our hypo BCI, now close to 1 year old and about 2' long 

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And our newest little guy, Gambit, a CA motley. He is a 2014 baby.. Not sure on exact age and he is close t0 2' long. This pic was taken inside in bad lighting (so there's a flash) and please excuse my husband's hairy arm lol. 

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Hopefully I can take some more outside pics without a hazy lens and get some pics of the motley outside and the rest of the collection for you guys (these don't include pics of the carpet python, Kenyan sand boas, western hognose, or enchi BP).


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Jax and Kirby are breathtakingly beautiful.


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

Thanks! I got Jax from McCarthy Boas in Indiana (if you're ever interested). legacy reptiles and cutting edge herp also have BCAs. IMO, he looks a lot like a Suriname BCC. They both have great personalities as well. Neither has ever hissed or struck at me, even coming out of the bag.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Wow, those are some beautiful BPs. How old/long are they?


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

Thanks for the compliment! Their colors look much better in natural light.. When inside, the pastave appears more tan / brown.. The sunlight really brings out the yellows / oranges. 

I'll have to look at my purchase records to see exactly how old. I'd estimate that both are close to 4' and the pastave (elaine) I've had since april of last year. I'd guess she's about 1.2 years old at this point. Cinna was purchased in July of last year, so she's probably close to 1 year old at this point. Both were less than 2 feet when I got them and around 130 grams in weight. I don't have a current weight on them now (can't find my scale since we moved) but will try to get an updated weight. Most female BPs top out at 4.5 - 5' long, so they will probably start to slow down growth wise soon. I've been feeding them on a weekly schedule since purchase, so this is normal growth (they haven't been "powerfed".


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Absolutely gorgeous! I adore snakes and you have some truly beautiful ones.


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

Thanks! Because my collection is small, I try to select only animals I love looking at. I *might* breed in the future, but that is not my primary goal when adding animals to my collection (if I do breed, it'll probably be locality rarer smaller boa morphs like Bcls, Bcas, Nicaraguans, etc.). At this point I have 10 snakes, but will probably go up to 20 if I do get into breeding.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

I have drawn the line at my one snake and two lizards for now though I'd love to get into breeding in the future. They're just so expensive to keep (when you're doing it right) and I can't justify doing something that I can't really afford just because I want to. Hopefully someday when I'm finished with all my school and have a steady job. It's amazing that your bps eat that often...but then my guy is much older, so he eats a large rat every 3 weeks or so and typically spends the winter refusing food regardless of the fact that the ambient temp in his tank never changes. He has never lost weight and seems a bit pudgy for a snake lol


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

Huh... Maybe because he wants the company of a lady? I've heard of males of many snake species going off food during their breeding season even when females aren't present. I'm hoping to move my female BPs to an every 2 week schedule once they're adults. 

I use racks for my BPs, sand boas, and smallest boas and have also used stand alone tubs and glass tanks. I much prefer plastic tubs to glass, especially if you can use a heated room. Caging for my boas will definitly get expensive as they grow. a 4' x 2' x 18" cage will likely run me about $400 and I will need one per boa and for my jag. carpet... so not cheap by any means. The BPs however, are in their adult-sized rack and seem to love it (cb70 sized tubs). They seem to feel much more secure than they did when I had them in tanks or totes.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Your snakes are absolutely gorgeous, and those colors are truly amazing! You definitely have some very beautiful reptiles!


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

Thanks for the compliments! Cinna, the cinnamon BP looks better and better each shed. IMO, her colors are staying nice and dark or getting darker, whereas Elaine, the pastave, seems to be loosing more color as she ages. They are great looking snakes and have good pet temperaments, but they have started refusing food lately... I had hoped that I had the only two BPs on earth that don't have eating issues, but apparently I'm not that lucky lol. I actually have a third BP now, a pastel enchi. I'll have to get pics of her to put up for you guys soon.


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