Handsom devil,...

Alright,...if this doesn't stir up some conversation, around this desert, I don't have a clue what will. Meet "Flea". He's the new kid on the block around here. He's only one year old, and he was WAY undersize for his age when I got him, {hence the nomenclature} but he is RAPIDLY catching up! He may have had issues at first, but we seem to be working them out. In three or four years, if all the forces of the universe are with us, perhaps there will be a few "Flea Juniors". I sure hope so, because he truly is one handsome devil. And he seems to think he's a bad ass too. I hope I never find out!
T.

Very nice! How big is he? Why was he undersized initially?

I haven't weighed or taken any measurements lately, but I will say this. When I got him, about three months ago, he was the size of a big fat night crawler. He was nearly a year old, and still the same size as a hatchling. Since then he has shed four times, and he's nearly quadrupled in size. Maybe more. Now he is almost the size he should be. Probably nearly three feet. He also had two spinal kinks in the tail from too high incubation temps, some type of scale deformities, and he would not eat anything but one small, live goldfish per week. Now he eats two or three rat fuzzies, every other day. One of the spinal kinks has since gone away, but I fear the other is here to stay. And the bummer is that this kink is right at the cloaca. So I have no clue if this animal will ever be able to reproduce. It would be a real tragedy if not.


Since I did not hatch him, or care for him prior to three months ago, I cannot testify to exactly why he was so small. But I will speculate. It is my opinion that the person who hatched him does not care. He's only in it for the money, and therefore makes minimal effort, to provide minimal care for a very large collection. He does not have a job, and this is his bread and butter. It is also my opinion that he is lazy, and arrogant. He once told me that he only cleans cages once every 28 days. That's just asinine. I am still tempted to call the Humane Society, and have him relieved of the burden of caring for the nations largest collection of Drymarchon Couperi. The only reason I don't, is because, who knows what would happen to the snakes after. This guy has some of the most awesome looking Eastern Indigos in the world, but he does not properly care for them. And that SUX!

I didn't and won't give his name. He knows who he is. And he knows he's wrong. And he knows he still owes me. And I know he reads here. I invite him to introduce, and explain himself. But I won't hold my breath.
T.

It's a damn pity if this statement is true! I think Indigos are one of the nicest looking snakes. I have actually been considering a pair but have a breeder in mind already if this is the route i decide to go. These animals need to be taken care of before we lose them all! I heard they are an extremely messy animal to keep. would you mind sharing your experience in this regard? Oh and beautiful animal, and very good photography by the way.

Thanks very much. He is a handsome devil, isn't he.

I'm not a big fan of the Humane Society, but I must admit, that at one time, they did sign my pay-check. I was an animal control officer, and I saw many cases of animal cruelty. The dog/cat equilvilant to what this guy is doing would be called a "puppy mill". I think. I could be wrong, since I've never been there, and all I have to go on is what he and others have told me. But I think that's about what his operation amounts to. Unfortunately, H.S. does not think people should keep snakes, so if they stepped in, they would probably euthanize them. So all we can do is hope that maybe he'll either straighten up, or sell out. Either way, it's not something I'm prepared to mess with.

As for the cage cleaning,...yes they eat more frequently than boas, and pythons. Therefore they crap more frequently. So you have to be in love with Indigos from the git go, or you won't last. If your'e going to keep Indigos, ya gotta love it. If not,...don't get into them. You will clean cages frequently!
T.

Bummer about the spinal kinks and your experience with the unnamed breeder.

I had a few babies end up with small kinks this year. They look perfect in every other way so my expectation is they'll be fine. Not much you can do about it but sell to folks wanting "pets" or give them to educational groups.

Props to you on keeping this board alive. I check in frequently but really never have anything new to say.

Doug T

Iv'e been keeping my eggs somewhat cool, in hopes of avoiding that problem. The thermostat, and thermometer in the incubater are at 78 degrees, but I check the surface temp of the eggs with a good laser temp gun, and it's been right at 75. Give or take a half a degree. So hopefully these won't have this problem.

Thanks for being here man! I appriciate any contribution you make! Do you have or can you get an e-mail address for NAZZA the Italiano? I'd like to invite him to drop in here too, but I've no way of getting ahold of him since kingsnake.com won't let me use that function,.......jackasses. Anywho, would ya, could ya, and maybe a few more? I'd really appreciate it. I must admit, this thing has lasted WAY longer than I ever dreamed it would.
T.

I don't have Nazza email. Sorry man.

Your incubation temps look good. For the past few years I've had mine set at similar temps but on occasion there would be a weather related heat spike that would be higher than I could deal with. The wife convinced me that it wasn't worth worrying about every spring/summer and that we should just get A/C (not to be confused with A.C.). Now I have A/C in the house and I should be able to keep things un-spiked.

I also wonder if it's something related to where the eggs are placed inside the mother and how she incubates. don't know....

It's been hovering around 100 hear. A couple days it was 104, 105. We'd all be dead without a/c. I put a window unit in the snake room last year. So now temps are as close to perfect as can be. I just hope the electricity stays on. Way out here in the sticks, it's not all that reliable. Perhaps a generator might be in order!
T.

A generator would absolutely be in order. I had one, and used it, long before the a/c.

Doug T