Possibly the best birthday present ever...

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Floof

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It's been awhile since I've been on TFO, so HI EVERYBODY! I forgot how much I love it here... So hopefully will be sticking around this time. Lol.

Anyway, my 19th birthday was almost 2 weeks ago. Man, I feel so old... Ha! Just a week and a half before my birthday, we got some GORGEOUS neonate Salmon boas in at the pet store. (Side note: Working at a reptile-oriented pet store is very, very dangerous for reptile enthusiasts!) Five total, and just the most stunning little snakes. Of the five, there was one that stuck out... Much, much darker than the others, and completely breathtaking! So, naturally, I immediately called up my dad and told him exactly what I wanted for my b-day.

A few days later, sure enough, this wonderful little girl got to come home with me!!
P6100041.jpg

P6100051.jpg


Her name is "Raven," on account of her hate for shiny things. Mirrors, phone screens, anything that will reflect light, she will strike at non-stop. So cute! <3
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She also... almost... Got my brother over his fear of (most) snakes. That is, before he saw her mistake my finger for a tasty rodent morsel. Here is said brother posing her for me...
P6100052.jpg


Anyway, just wanted to share. Oh, and did I mention? Best birthday present EVER! :D
 

Tortoise

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Floof said:
It's been awhile since I've been on TFO, so HI EVERYBODY! I forgot how much I love it here... So hopefully will be sticking around this time. Lol.

Anyway, my 19th birthday was almost 2 weeks ago. Man, I feel so old... Ha! Just a week and a half before my birthday, we got some GORGEOUS neonate Salmon boas in at the pet store. (Side note: Working at a reptile-oriented pet store is very, very dangerous for reptile enthusiasts!) Five total, and just the most stunning little snakes. Of the five, there was one that stuck out... Much, much darker than the others, and completely breathtaking! So, naturally, I immediately called up my dad and told him exactly what I wanted for my b-day.

A few days later, sure enough, this wonderful little girl got to come home with me!!
P6100041.jpg

P6100051.jpg


Her name is "Raven," on account of her hate for shiny things. Mirrors, phone screens, anything that will reflect light, she will strike at non-stop. So cute! <3
P6100038.jpg

P6100048.jpg


She also... almost... Got my brother over his fear of (most) snakes. That is, before he saw her mistake my finger for a tasty rodent morsel. Here is said brother posing her for me...
P6100052.jpg


Anyway, just wanted to share. Oh, and did I mention? Best birthday present EVER! :D
Wow what a beautiful snake
Happy Birthday too
 

ChiKat

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What a beautiful snake!! Happy belated birthday! Ohh to be 19 again... ;) (I'm 23 haha)
Welcome back to the forum :)
 

Kristina

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Floof said:
Anyway, my 19th birthday was almost 2 weeks ago. Man, I feel so old... Ha!

Considering I turn 30 in a couple of months, and have to reconcile myself to the fact that my oldest is going to be 11 soon, and my baby is almost 8, you can just shut the heck up :p

What a beautiful birthday present, very gorgeous little girl :)
 

Tom

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That is one attractive boa. Love the dark color on the head too.
 

Floof

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Thanks for the comments and birthday wishes, guys!

LOL. Sorry, Kristina! 30 isn't very old at all, of course! :)

It's just, I've always been the kind of kid that doesn't realize "Hey, I'm going to be an adult someday" until they ARE one. I still feel like a 10 year old 90% of the time, and it's still mind-blowing whenever I think about how I have a driver's license and a job... Hence... 19 feels kinda old, even though I know I'm only about 1/5 of the way through my potential lifespan. :)

It also doesn't help that most people I meet think I'm much younger than I actually am. I had to convince the woman at the local library that, yes, I really am (was) 18, when she kept asking if I had a parental waiver to use the computers. Lol! :p I'm sure looking young will be a blessing in 10 years, but it's just annoying right now... Heh
 

Angi

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Happy belated birthday and thank you for the reminder that I a half way though my expected life span :( LOL....

I think you brother is doing very well, for a non snake person. Holding a snake is much more than I would do.
 

Floof

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LOL. I can't win today... :p

Haha. I guess he is, a little.

Both my brothers are just total wusses when it comes to snakes. The younger one will only hold one snake (my adult corn), and the older one is terrified of snakes ever since the beauty snake I used to have tried to eat my finger (and for a 6.5 ft snake's feeding response (bite-and-hold), she hardly did any damage--just a bit of bruising, pretty much)... Sheesh. Boys. What can you do? I swear I've met more guys afraid of reptiles than girls...
 

Sky2Mina

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Happy belated birthday.
Great Birthday present! She is cute. Snakes are so cool to
touch. :)
 

Weda737

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She really is beautiful. How is their general temperament?
 

Floof

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Thanks, Weda!

BCIs generally have a fantastic temperament. A nippy/defensive Colombian boa (what this girl is) is pretty rare. They can be a little defensive as babies, but still rarely bite.

The biggest pitfall of this species is their potential adult size--little Raven here has the potential to top 10 feet full grown (it should be noted that males stay smaller--more along the lines of 6-8 ft if memory serves). We have a big gal at the pet store who is probably pushing 9 feet now, and was 18 lbs at her last weigh in (don't know how long ago that was, though).

Their gentle temperament makes handling plenty feasible even at their adult sizes, though, so long as you have "back up" around in case something goes wrong (namely a feeding response bite) as an adult boa can pack a major punch when it wants to.

There are "dwarf" varieties, though--locality boas that have evolved to stay much smaller than the much more common Colombians. These range in size and appearance, from the very dark Nicaraguan boas that max out usually around 3-4', to the naturally hypomelanistic (lacking black pigment), often orange-toned Hogg Island boas, the females of which may get up to around 6' if fed right for it.
 

Angi

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I would have to say that would be the worst gift anyone could give me. Captive snakes creep me out, but I am getting better.
 

natty01

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lol im not a snake person but in the first few pics it looked BIG and i was thinking "little girl?"
but then i saw the pic of the brother holding it and yeah i guess its little for a snake . i think snakes are pretty, i like the corn snakes but i couldnt feed rats and mice .
this one has an interesting shaped face.

Angi said:
I would have to say that would be the worst gift anyone could give me. Captive snakes creep me out, but I am getting better.
 

Floof

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Give it enough time, Angi, and I bet you'll be crooning after snakes right along with the rest of us... ;) lol

Thanks for the comments, TurtleTortoise and natty. Natty, I have one of those, too-- My big corn snake girl (finishing a meal in this pic, which is why her face looks funny)
SnakesFeb2011081.jpg


I don't know if it sets your mind at ease, but I know many people for whom it did--snakes can be fed pre-killed prey, very easily. All of mine are on frozen/thawed. I've only had to feed live to kick-start non-feeder corn snake hatchlings (about 3 out of about 14 total hatchlings I've started), and no other time to date, in the almost 4 years I've kept snakes (that's a little over 30 snakes total counting all the corn hatchlings). It makes having them a whole lot easier when you don't have to worry about watching cute little mice and rats die. :)
 

natty01

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its iilegal to feed live food here (except bugs) so its not that its just the fact it was once a furry . i had a pet rat once and he was cute ive also kept gerbils , i cant imagine my daughters face if i had a freezer full of rats and mice lol i went to a pet store the other day and it had a freezer in there and on the front was a sign saying " be warned you may find the contents of this freezer disturbing" it made me giggle . i wonder how many people just cant resist a peek.
my daughter is scared of dried meal worms and to top it all she wont even hold a tin of sardines thats still completly sealed.
many years ago she asked to see my x boyfreinds sisters cornsnake , so we went round there and there was this big viv and we couldnt see the snake at all , after a long while of staring i spotted it under a log , i pointed it out to my daughter and she freaked out , full on hysterical panic attack , all that was visible was about one inch of its middle , it was tiny .


Floof said:
Give it enough time, Angi, and I bet you'll be crooning after snakes right along with the rest of us... ;) lol

Thanks for the comments, TurtleTortoise and natty. Natty, I have one of those, too-- My big corn snake girl (finishing a meal in this pic, which is why her face looks funny)
SnakesFeb2011081.jpg


I don't know if it sets your mind at ease, but I know many people for whom it did--snakes can be fed pre-killed prey, very easily. All of mine are on frozen/thawed. I've only had to feed live to kick-start non-feeder corn snake hatchlings (about 3 out of about 14 total hatchlings I've started), and no other time to date, in the almost 4 years I've kept snakes (that's a little over 30 snakes total counting all the corn hatchlings). It makes having them a whole lot easier when you don't have to worry about watching cute little mice and rats die. :)
 

Floof

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Thanks for the link, Yvonne--you're right, I completely missed that thread! :)

Natty, that's a shame your daughter is so afraid of snakes, etc. That's an interesting law, though; I wonder how breeders get around it when they get stubborn snakes and/or non-feeders?
 

RV's mom

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beautiful baby... congrats.

I have a leucystic texas rat snake - pretty, and big. It (dunno sex) is adult, strikingly white, and is an agressive feeder. Wish we could do better by it (it was a rescue - snake either came with us or would have been released to the desert). Snakes aren't our thing either, but we do what we do.....

again, I think your baby is beautiful.

teri
 
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