nigeltheball

[nigeltheball]

Zig-Zag is supporting ace friends this pride! 

[nigeltheball]

Nigel goes on strike during breeding season too! We offer him food every week but he doesn't take meals between the beginning of January and the end of April.

The Hunger Strike Has Ended!

This snake, yall. This fucking snake has been on a hunger strike for FIVE MONTHS. Has refused to eat for nearly half a year.

I checked his temps, checked his humidity, changed his bedding, changed the type of bedding, tried moving up a prey size, down a prey size, scenting the prey with dirty bedding, fucking injuring the thawed prey to get some blood, all the damn tricks, wait at least a week or two between attempts, avoid handling him, etc etc and NOTHING.

Took this motherfucker to the vet earlier this week I was so worried about him. Vet tells me his weight and physical exam look fine, give him another month before we do blood work.

This snake, after all that worrying, FINALLY ate today. I feel like I could cry.

Why are you like this???

-love, a very relieved snake mama

[nigeltheball]

by Andrea Sutinen

[nigeltheball]

Facebook Ball Python group

The admin posted a reminder of the rule “don’t allow/photograph your snake interacting or being near predators such as cats and dogs” and people are literally responding like:

“This is so negative”

“Wow, so much for a group of nice people”

“This is ridiculous, bye”

Like it’s literally your reptile’s life at risk and you literally don’t care because “it’s so cute to see them together, they’re fine with each other because nothing has happened (yet)”.

You shouldn’t own a reptile if you cannot be responsible, and no matter how much you “know” your dog or cat, it’s still extremely irresponsible to allow them near each other; they are generally instinctual predators. Buuut you know, common sense isn’t a flower that grows in everyone’s garden..

Just a reminder of what the best case scenario of your cat getting ahold of your snake can look like:

This was an accident where my snake escaped her locked tub overnight and was found by my curious cat before me. It took months and 3 shed cycles to completely heal the scabbed and damaged scales - she still has some indents where she needs to grow a scale or two back.

We were SO lucky she didn’t get chewed/eaten alive, break any bones, develop an infection, or have any organs punctured by this.

So to see that so many people believe it’s completely okay to have prey/predator pets out and close to each other or even worse, interacting, is mind blowing.

I don’t care if your cat runs from your reptile or is indifferent to its presence - it’s a huge risk that you shouldn’t be taking with your reptile’s safety just for the sake of it being “cute” and “quirky” period.

/Rantover

[nigeltheball]

Omg I caught the cutest thing. I accidentally splashed water while refilling this dish. Look at this adorable wet sock.

[nigeltheball]

PSA To anyone who allows their cats near their reptiles:

It is extremely dangerous no matter how much you trust or know your cat and this is why.

This is our Nova, no we didn’t purposely allow her near our cats; she somehow managed to escape her locked tub while we were sleeping two days ago.

Thankfully, we aren’t near the polar vortex, however, we do have two cats; one is a known hunter and killer, our other just likes to play with things rather than kill them. “Luckily”, she was only found by the one who likes to play rather than kill. They have both seen Nova before, but were never allowed anywhere near who ever was handling her at the time for this exact reason.

We are extremely lucky that this was best case scenario - she is alive, she ate, and the injuries aren’t deep nor severe bites, they are only small punctures and scratches from curious claws.

We are keeping a very close eye on the injuries; we have her in a sterile environment, and have Betadine on hand to keep the wounds clean.

It doesn’t matter how well you know or trust your animals, do not put predatory pets and prey pets together on purpose. Zootonic diseases and bacteria can be spread through one small scratch or bite.

[nigeltheball]

Genetically unhealthy reptiles

So there are quite a few unhealthy reptile morphs out there and I only discovered most of them by fluke, so I thought I’d make a masterpost. There are likely many more which I haven’t heard of yet, so feel free to expand on this post with others.

Enigma Leopard Geckos

The Enigma morph is one that covers the Geckos body in little spots that look like freckles, very cute but it comes with a devastating condition known as “Enigma syndrome” This disorder affects a Geckos fine motor control and results in many secondary symptoms such as stargazing (looking upwards frequently), walking around in circles frequently, wobbly and difficult walking, seizures, and an inability to catch prey due to their aim being affected from this condition. Overall it significantly decreases their quality of life. An animal may not demonstrate this condition for many years, it can come on years into their life. This is a dominant genetic disorder meaning any animal which is an enigma will pass this onto offspring. Even ‘healthy’ appearing animals will carry this gene and pass it along to offspring. The Enigma morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Enigma have the potential to develop this disorder.

Sunkissed Corn Snakes

The Sunkissed morph is pictured above, rather striking in its vivid colouration. However the price for it is something known as "Stargazing Syndrome” which is pictured in the right side photograph. Stargazing syndrome is a vestibular syndrome (balance affecting condition) which prevents normal functionality of the central nervous system and causes these snakes to twist their necks and heads upwards towards the sky. Basically put, these snakes can’t work out which way is up and are often found upside down on their backs. It affects these snakes by causing difficulty moving, disorientation, inability to right themselves into a normal position if on their backs, and sometimes even tremors and seizures. Once again a genetic disorder, however since its recessive you often won’t know if the snake is a carrier or not. The only way to tell if a snake carries the stargazing trait is to breed them; any who prove to carry this trait should never be bred again.

Spider Ball Pythons

The Spider morph is absolutely stunning, characteristic of that 'drippy’ black patterning on the body and a rather unique head stamp/pattern. It can come in many varieties since it’s commonly bred into other morphs such as pied, banana, etc. However it causes something called “Wobble Syndrome” which is a severe neurological disorder. This is hypothesised to be caused by an error in the neural crest during embryonic development. The neural crest is responsible for arranging neurons in the correct positions and depositing pigmentation. This morph alters where pigment is usually placed in the body, giving them the gorgeous appearance, however it consequently prevents neurons from reaching their correct positions, hence the neurological disorder. Wobble Syndrome causes many severe and debilitating issues to the snake. The most noticeable being 'corkscrewing’ which is where the snake will flip it’s head and neck upside down, right way up, and upside down again in quick succession. However they are also affected by head tremors, difficulty moving, lack of coordination, inability to right itself if upside down, torticollis (neck spasms), poor muscle tone, and difficulty eating due to head wobbling and missed strikes. Wobble Syndrome is a dominant genetic disorder meaning any snake which expresses the spider phenotype will suffer from and pass on this disorder to offspring. It can range from barely noticeable to severe, and an animal may not suffer at first, but can develop the disorder after several years of being 'healthy’. The Spider morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Spider have the potential to develop this disorder.

Jaguar Carpet Pythons

The Jaguar morph has to be one of the most visually stunning morphs out there, it’s characterised by it’s gorgeous spots which resemble a jaguars. However the price they pay for their beauty is once again, “Wobble Syndrome”. Jaguars are identical to Spider Ball Pythons in their suffering, and it’s even thought that the Neural Crest deformity is the cause for these guys too. It is important to note that there are several species who can carry the jaguar gene. The gene originated in Jungle Carpet Pythons but has since been bred into other Carpet Pythons (CP for short) species such as the Irian Jaya CP, Darwin CP, Coastal CP, and Diamond CP. Pretty much the only difference with the Jaguar morph is that it is not a dominant gene like the spider morph, and it’s not a recessive gene like the sunkissed morph. The Jaguar gene is a co-dominant mutation. What that means is that the Jaguar gene is visible along with whatever other gene the snake carries. You almost always have two genes for something, and in codominance neither of those genes are recessive to the other, and neither are dominating to the other either. This means both genes express, so to put that into a visual sense (but not genetically accurate!) if you bred a black and a white cat together, the offspring would be black and white if they were co-dominant. This just like the spider and enigma morph means any snake which expresses the Jaguar phenotype has the ability to develop Wobble Syndrome and will pass it along to offspring. The Jaguar morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Jaguar have the potential to develop this disorder.

Silkback Bearded Dragons and Scaleless Snakes

Silkback bearded dragons and Scaleless snakes are exactly what they sound like, they are completely devoid of any and all scales and instead only have the layer of skin present beneath reptile scales. I admit I do not know much about Scaleless snakes, but assume they suffer the same affects as the silkback bearded dragons so have included them here. Silkback bearded dragons are produced when two leatherback bearded dragons are bred together. The leatherback gene is co-dominant (it can also be recessive) and if a dragon receives two copies of this co-dominant gene then they are a silkback. Co-dominance means two genes are working together, so one copy of leatherback and one copy of normal scales means together these genes create a dragon who has reduced spikes and scales but they still have scales! Two copies of the leatherback gene means the co-dominance has nothing to partner with, so the dragon we get is completely devoid of scales. Now, for an animal which is supposed to have scales, having no scales comes with many severe issues. The main being that they suffer extreme shedding difficulty and have no protection from sharp objects or other dragons. Scalesless animals can easily be cut or punctured from ornaments in a tank which are safe for their scaled or leatherback counterparts. Even a basking log, brick, or rock can cut them if they run against it wrong. This means their tank needs to be almost empty or only have soft, pliable decor which provides no risk of injury. This can be severely damaging to the animals mental wellbeing as there is no enrichment opportunities for the animal. Shedding wise, these animals need to be soaked in baths almost daily to maintain skin hydration, and when it comes time to shed their shed will shrink to their skin and it’s often for them to lose toes, bits of tail, or even get pieces stuck around their heads and necks which can cause severe damage. You can also not breed silkback bearded dragons (am unsure about Scaleless snakes?) pairing another dragon with a silkback will cause extreme injury. If the silkback is female, the male bearded dragon will cut her open with his claws as he mounts her and he will tear her shoulders and neck open where he holds her with his mouth. These injuries can be life threatening. Furthermore, if the silkback is male he may receive lacerations and cuts to his stomach upon mounting the female or he may be critically injured if she rejects him and bites or scratches in retaliation. If all of that isn’t bad enough these scaleless animals also have an increased risk of illness due to decreased immunity (immunity decreased due to unknown reason) and suffer extremely reduced lifespans. Scalesless animals are an incredibly unnatural and disgusting morph which needs to be completely phased out.

That’s all for my masterpost currently. There are likely many more unhealthy morphs I have yet to hear of, so please inform me if you know of any others I’ve neglected to mention and I shall research and add them here. Please do not ever support or purchase one of these animals as it encourages the breeding of severely unhealthy animals with significantly reduced quality of life. With so many healthy and wonderful morphs and species available there is absolutely no reason to ever purchase one of these.

[nigeltheball]

Dear Theodosia, what to say to you..? 💛🌱

[nigeltheball]

in 2019 we wont use the word “snake” with negative connotation because snakes are valid and wonderful babies that we dont deserve

[nigeltheball]

she genuinely thinks she’s intimidating.

[nigeltheball]

ALSO -- let it be noted that Brian on Snake Bytes TV is Absolute Trash and is a horrible example of a reptile breeder/keeper with little to no real care for animal welfare

I love my spider ball python…

BUT THERE SHOULD NOT EVER BE MORE OF HIM.

Nigel is a Mojave spider ball python, and he has a gentic defect which causes his head to wobble. In some spider morphs, the wobble can be so bad that their quality of life is deeply impacted and their lives shortened. Nigel is lucky that his wobble isn’t worse, but proper husbandry, special care, and regular vet visits go a long way in managing the disorder.

I am not a resource for information on spider morphs, but I can talk about my boy, Nigel, and how the detect affects him.

He was adopted from somebody downsizing their beep collection, not purchased from a breeder or pet store. He will never, ever be bred, and I intend to care for him for the rest of his (and my) life to ensure that he is well looked after and not used for breeding more spider morphs. I don’t think people should produce animals that may live miserable lives due to their genes. No lie that spiders are f*cking gorgeous, but please. Let’s prioritize animal welfare over aesthetics.

[nigeltheball]

^^@groundramon yes to everything. I love my boy Nigel and I give him the best care possible, but he'll always have a little wobble that reminds me that whomever produced him didn't care that it could have been so much worse, even life threatening. An animal that has no control over its movement is not a healthy or happy animal, and when it's a garaunteed genetic trait like in spiders it's best to just abandon that bloodline. Care for the animals which exist already and stop there. That's why Nigel will never be a papa.

PS - shout-out to a fellow ace reptile enthusiast! :)

I love my spider ball python…

BUT THERE SHOULD NOT EVER BE MORE OF HIM.

Nigel is a Mojave spider ball python, and he has a gentic defect which causes his head to wobble. In some spider morphs, the wobble can be so bad that their quality of life is deeply impacted and their lives shortened. Nigel is lucky that his wobble isn’t worse, but proper husbandry, special care, and regular vet visits go a long way in managing the disorder.

I am not a resource for information on spider morphs, but I can talk about my boy, Nigel, and how the detect affects him.

He was adopted from somebody downsizing their beep collection, not purchased from a breeder or pet store. He will never, ever be bred, and I intend to care for him for the rest of his (and my) life to ensure that he is well looked after and not used for breeding more spider morphs. I don’t think people should produce animals that may live miserable lives due to their genes. No lie that spiders are f*cking gorgeous, but please. Let’s prioritize animal welfare over aesthetics.

[nigeltheball]

H.....hol y sh . t .. .

Sweet face

[nigeltheball]

Hey, you :) Quit being so hard on yourself.

People love you so much more than you realise.

You’re not a burden! Your friends love having you around and spending time with you.

So keep your chin up :)

[nigeltheball]

sometimes i like to see how close i can get the camera to her before she cares and the answer is i can touch her with it and she is Unbothered

[nigeltheball]

I can afford to feed and such but most good snakes that’ll give me decent money to start it up my breeding is about 200+ and on top of that, I need to buy more equipment for the snake and that easily adds up to 400 which I can’t spend flat out considering I’m also paying for other things outside of animals. :/ I don’t want to use this as an excuse but I know I can breed with the couple of breeders I have now I just can’t throw in another BP yet.

as shitty as it sounds i’d really say that if you can’t invest that, i just don’t think breeding is in the cards for you right now. sometimes it’s better to save and wait, because your dream can wait. i had to work and keep for years to be able to breed this year- and i’ve spared no expense. my snakes come before all else. i get your passion, i do, but their health and happiness is my above all, and i would not breed if i risked jeopardizing their or their offsprings health. and it’s my belief that wagering the possible severity of the wobble is… a risk i wouldn’t take.

[nigeltheball]

Somebody just finished shedding and looks amazing