• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
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    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Any ATB enthusiasts out there? Help!

C

cfng

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I'm a newbie here on Fauna so hopefully this turns out alright. Today I visited a local pet shop in LA and took an adult grey phase ATB, ~3', off their hands. The purchase was instigated by my gut... seeing that they had an Amazon Tree Boa... but failed to give it a tree. It was also shedding, but the skin had a burnt appearance to it. Decided to be the good guy and try to care for it back to normal health. After about a 30 minute commute home, he's beginning to settle down in his temporary enclosure (large tall Sterilite tub with a nice perch, misted, ~81F).

I've only had bloods, carpets, and retics and have never really dealt too much with a naturally aggressive species (my bloods weren't too demonic). Got its husbandry down for the most part according to the sheets, advice on how to get it out of its enclosure, how bad its bites can be and just some in-general stuff I should know. Anything you can contribute would be really appreciated.

Thanks and stay awesome, FCers!
 
Would love to have some advice on how to get it out of its enclosure, how bad its bites can be and just some in-general stuff I should know.* Woops!
 
You'll find that ATBs are not as arboreal as one tends to expect. They'll spend a lot of time on the floor of their enclosure - use a hook to remove, if you're worried about being bitten. Also, when feasible, using removable perches is a great "trick" for arboreal snakes.
The bite isn't all that bad, but the teeth are sharp. The only time it will be a problem is if it wraps your hand while holding on - that sucks.

I haven't kept them for several years now, but I found them relatively easy compared to other arboreal snakes. They acclimate well, as long as you get the husbandry close to correct; and most take readily to f/t rodents (if that is your preference) offered on tongs/tweezers. (just make sure they're long enough to keep your hand out of the way)
 
I forgot to share one little tip....
The normal bites are pretty easy to predict, but there is one that they (and ETBs, even more so) like to sneak in on an unsuspecting keeper. When you remove them from the enclosure, and they're calmly checking out the world, you might notice that an ATB will press its face against a fleshy part of your hand...pause slightly, and press again (maybe a little harder), possibly turning its face slightly to one side. That's them, and their thermoreceptors deciding that your hand is warm enough to eat; and a slow bite is coming. In retrospect, it's as if they've come across a fresh kill - anybody that has ever watched a snake approach prey item they've constricted and dropped/lost (or a rattlesnake approaching it's prey after it has succumbed to the bite) will be familiar with the scene. "It doesn't move when I push against it, so it must be dead enough to eat"
 
All of these sound like great tips. He's a feisty little guy but so far I haven't taken a bite yet. Getting more interesting each day. Thanks for the help!
 
Harald offers great advise and insight. I don't have much to add. I use a hook for pretty much all my ATBs simply for my own convenience. Some tips when I do handle, I find it easier to scoop up a sleeping ATB from the floor than try to remove from a perch. Sometimes I'd run my hands under cool water as well to try to avoid the 'it's warm, strike it!' insta-bites. They do strike at hot air, so if you breath on them or blow on them it's likely they will strike out at it.

I view my atbs more like fish - beautiful and interesting and something I mainly look at as opposed to interact with.
:D

The bites generally aren't too bad, especially when young, but they do have long sharp teeth (one of my WC adult's teeth went through sweater, shirt and jeans as he bit my hip). They will strike more than once. When I do handle and they seem calm, generally I find they start getting nippy after about 10-20 min of being 'out'.

They will also musk and pee as a deterrent. fun stuff
 
Thanks April! Yeah he is definitely a fishy type haha. I'm not as scared of the bite hurting as I am of the face he makes when he approaches my hand. Not exactly the face he "makes", but just the general disposition. I'll man up sometime though. And I see that you're up in San Leandro; may I ask if you've ever been to East Bay Vivarium before? If so, what do you think about that place?
 
I also suggest a hook. They may be small but they're feisty I've had my red bi-colour shoot straight out of the bin at my face. Fun animals to own for sure.

To feed I use 12" hemostats.
 
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