Info Updates
-August 13, 2008-
Well my Persians are doing good, my female was about to shed last week so she only ate one F/T Fuzzie. I had a friend over picking up some F/T Pinkies from me and decided to show her a handful of my snakes again. Well just my luck my Persian had just finished shedding. She was ok when I took her out, but the warmth of my hand nicely triggered the feeding response! I could see she was looking to have a nibble on me and here is what happened when I tried to get a better grip on her head so she couldn't bite...
It didn't really hurt at all, felt like being poked with a plastic fork. I took a picture (picture 1), washed my hand off and squeezed at my hand (picture 2 & 3) and it barely even seeped out blood. She bit me right on a very thick skinned part of my hand tho. Here's a few days later, as you can see, didn't even make a mark really.
It didn't hurt either immediately after, or in the days following. Softer skin on my hand/arm may have left more of a mark and may have been a little more painful.
-March 11, 2008-
After dealing with these Sand boas for a while I have noticed that they have a much stronger feeding response than any other Sand Boas I have. I have found them to be a bit more aggressive, as they have a very strong feeding response. More than often, when they feel the warmth of your hand this triggers a feeding response and can lead to a nip. mine are still rather small, so this does not hurt, but I have also found that keeping my hand completely flat helps to avoid nipping. When given the chance, sometimes they will wrap around your fingers and can actually cut off the circulation! I've had my female wrap 3 times around my thumb and sit with her face millimetres from the tip of my thumb and she started to squeeze very strongly. After a short time my thumb became rather numb! She did not nip me, but getting her off my thumb was actually a little hard, these snakes do have a fair amount of crushing power for such small snakes.
Feeding day is usually the time when you need to be more cautious, as they can be quite hungry! Mine are finally becoming used to my feeding routine, but I have even had my male "mouth" my hand, but not biting it. Apparently he was quite hungry!
I strongly suggest NOT to feed these snakes in their enclosures, but in a separate feeding bin. This gives the snakes a feeding structure, so it should help moderate their somewhat aggressive nature.
-December 9, 2007-
I managed to get a male Persian in today! This was very good, as now I have a male and a female Persian, and can raise them and then breed them in the future. The male I got is a fair bit larger than the female too!
-December 7, 2007-
On a personal note, I have found my Persian to be a little wild. She is very prone to striking when she feels the warmth of my hands. When I wear thin gloves tho, she is fine to handle, just not as tame as my Kenyans are. Very full of spunk! It's a change from having a super easy to handle snake, so I don't mind that much, but would be nice if she would calm down a little. She is still very young, and probably not used to handling much, so I am working with her and hopefully she gets used to my routine.
-October 20, 2007-
Today I acquired my first Persian Sand Boa (Eryx johni persicus) female! I'm going to work with her frequently and get her very used to regular handling,
