Ares engaged in perfect serpenting after another perfect shed. I don't usually disturb them in their hides, but her shed was missing a tail. Fortunately, it had simply broken off and was sitting inside her hide, so I didn't have to disturb the perfect pose.

#AustralianPythons #AntaresiaChildreni #ReptileHusbandry #ChildrensPython

Owning animals continues to fascinate me.

I've been a python owner now for maybe just over 6 months. Both my serpents shed nice and regular, and I usually catch the signs within the fortnight. But I've never actually seen the process. Usually, in the morning, there's a sparkly snake and a lovely shed waiting for me to remove. Just now, Armie, my #StimsonsPython gave me a viewing, which I had no sign off! I totally missed it, only just the last few days thinking maybe he was going to and I'd missed the key indicator. Their eyes stop sparkling and go an opache, milky blue colour as secretion is released from the skin under the dead skin to facilitate the shed. Took him only a few minutes. So quick! Very smooth and easy, the shed itself is perfectly intact.

Seems like nothing, but after such a short time, I feel encouraged in terms of how I'm doing as a reptile owner. It shows me he is healthy and that he has everything he needs in his environment. Trouble with simple, regular things like shedding is one of the few times you get an idea that something is wrong, since reptiles don't emote very much, and are remarkably robust in many ways.

And now I've seen a snake shed in real life! Which is fucking cool.

#Snakes #ReptileHusbandry #AustralianReptiles #Antaresia #Pythons

It's been so hot in Sydney the last few days that now the sun has properly passed over the house, I have all the reptile enclosures open. This way all seven of us can take advantage of the fan. The three lizards all have doors thrown wide open. They're too busy lounging to be a problem. (Two of them have tapped out & gone underground, too much for them.) But the two serpents have both sought cool spots in today's heat, & they're quick on an open door. Armie's top opening cage is less bothersome for me, though he's perfectly capable of getting out, he's just more inclined to stay on the cool tiled floor. Ares, on the other hand, has front-opening glass slides, & she's a little wriggler of a noodle. So even though I've only opened them enough that technically she can't get through, she's strong enough to slide them open further.

This is not something I do very often, but while I am sitting here, it's a very effective way to get some fresh air in the enclosures & cool them down for the evening. They essentially live in glass & wood boxes designed to hold heat. But climate change is a real thing, & even my desert dwellers are unhappy.

Eventually, I would like to install small PC fans on each enclosure. I have seen this done, connected to digital thermos to kick on at a certain temp, & off on the down. This was a solution for Top End enclosures, where not just heat but also humidity needs to be mitigated.

#ReptileHusbandry #ClimateChange #SydneyHeatWave #SuburbanHeatSink

My household constitutes 7 individuals and 5 species. (That does not include exoskeletal, which I keep at any given time up to 5/6 species for feeding the other 5, & hundreds of individuals, bitches still need to be cleaned and fed though... & I also did them today as well!) There are days when all the prep meals are spent, everyone is due for a feeding, and I have a deep desire to get the individuals on the same feeding schedule to significantly aid my daily chores. Today was that day, and at 10.30pm, I got both pythons taking a mouse so they can now get fed at the same time again until Armie falls off for his shed.

#Winning #BestLaidPlans #MiceAndMeals #ReptileHusbandry #Reptiles #Dogs #Canines #Pets

My little python Ares, is in recovery mode. She's been in shed for over a week & today was the day. When I checked on her she was halfway done & had torn the shed horizontally sporting a clean back but couldn't get a grab on the half on her belly. I came back early this evening to find she had taken matters outside her wood hide (where she'd done most of the work) to her rocks & the water bowl. She did a stellar job.

Her house is nice & clean now, & she is curled up inside her hide again, sporting sparkling fresh skin.

I continue to be amazed at the kind of event skin shedding is for the pythons. It's uncomfortable; they stop eating mostly, probably because it's uncomfortable, & when it's time to go, it's all off at once, & the movement can result in throwing up; they go mostly blind for a period; & they can work for hours to get it all off.

Now, you might think, "oh wow, reptiles shedding, how interesting..." sarcastically to yourself, but actually, yes, it really is! These tiny little beings that fit in my hand have all these amazing ways of being with all new irritants & struggles & solutions that we don't know. & I have a lot of respect for them. I do my best to make things very comfortable & easy for them, but you can only set up conditions as well as you can, & let them do the work.

#AntaresiaChildrini #ChildrensPython #AustralianPythons #AustralianReptiles #Reptiles #Pythons #Snakes #SnakeSkin #SnakeShedding #ReptileHusbandry

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