#rack keeping

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Hey, I've tried searching your blog for this but I could only bring up posts advocating against rack systems (rightly so obviously)

I recently got an adult ex breeder BP, she's massive (5'7") and was kept in a 12 gallon bare bones rack tub for her whole life. I got her because a pet shop near me that bred snakes is shutting down, I did pay for her which I feel bad about but they aren't breeding anymore so I guess I'm not funding unethical breeding? Anyway that isn't really relevant I just am rambling

I've heard that taking a BP from a rack system and putting them in their forever enclosure can be really really stressful for them so right now she's still in her tub on my desk but I feel really bad keeping her there.

I have a 6x2x2 set up, I wanted to get a 6x2x3 or 6x3x3 even but couldn't afford it so I'm hoping that's good enough for her.

But how would you transition her to that enclosure? I recently gave my house snake a bioactive enclosure and I love it so the 6x2x2 for the BP has been cycling as bioactive for about 3 weeks (Ive had her 5 days) and seems stable but I'm worried that it's too much and she'll hate it and go off food and stuff (she's quite skinny too:()

But yeah I would really appreciate, if you have the time, any advice on this front. Thank you very much and keep up the good work 👍💟

I just went through this with my new Borneo python, Hobie. Just like your girl, he's spent his entire life in little tubs in racks.

You're right that transitioning a snake like them into their full enclosures is something that should be done delicately! I'll tell you my process and what I do to make it easier for them.

One challenge that you might have is with your enclosure already being set up as bioactive. That's probably going to be quite a bit more overwhelming, and my main concern there is with the lighting. If she doesn't respond well, it's going to be hard to tell if that's because she's just adjusting or because she just doesn't like the lighting (some ball pythons just don't, but unless she's albino or another melanin-reducing morph it's not a bad idea to give it a try).

If it's possible, my idea for you would be try to try transitioning her to a less overwhelming enclosure first. I set my Hobie up in a 40 gallon for now, even though he's going to be moving to a 6x2 later down the line. If you do that, you'd be able to slowly get her used to the lighting once she's adjusted to a larger enclosure itself. If you can't do that, consider adding as much shade as possible for her and even keep the lights off for as much as you can.

Alright, so my process for transitioning former breeder snakes to more appropriate enclosures prioritizes going at the snake's pace and ensuring their comfort.

The first thing I do is put their tub directly into their new enclosure. Just right on top of everything, don't even worry about it. Your goal is keep your snake in a familiar environment while also exposing them to new stuff. Check out Hobie's setup - literally just the tub, substrate, and a water bowl plopped inside the bigger enclosure. You're going to feel tempted to give them lots of new clutter and enrichment - don't. Keep it simple and easy for them, you don't want to overwhelm them!

Then, be patient and let them explore at their own pace. Some snakes will leave their take-home tub almost right away, some will take weeks. Hobie took three weeks before he started feeling comfortable and confident enough to explore outside of it. During this time, offer food and feel free to handle a bit, but keep it short and sweet.

Your snake will likely retreat back to the tub a couple times, but eventually they'll find their new hides and check them out! Wait until they're comfortable - calm, resting, and relaxed inside their new hiding places - and then you can take the tub out.

Once they're comfortable in their full enclosure, it's time to introduce them to enrichment! They'll probably need you to show them their climbing branches and other enrichment items - snakes like them just aren't used to being able to do natural behaviors. Hobie had a great time when he learned he had a swimming pool all to himself!

Take it very slow when you add new things, and don't be afraid to backtrack if your snake gets spooked. Hobie got a little stressed when we tried adding more tunnels for him to check out, but it's fine to take things out and re-add them if your snake isn't ready just yet.

Your snake probably won't know quite how to interact with their environment at first, so just be patient with them! Right now, Hobie's going through a phase where he just hasn't realized he needs to avoid burrowing in substrate that is wet, but short-tails love to soak anyway so it's not a big deal. There will be so many opportunities to find joy in watching them learn and explore!

All the best to you and your girl! It can be a little heartbreaking to get snakes like her adjusted to their new setups, but with time and lots of patience, it doesn't need to be stressful for either of you! Remember to go at her pace and lean into what makes her feel most comfortable.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

This snake doesn't feel super stressed, but they're also not stoked. That's a baby ball python, and babies are very shy but also will ball up (tucking their entire body into a ball to hide their head) whenever they feel threatened. This snake is holding very still and they're breathing pretty hard, but that's not outside the realm of normal for a baby snake who isn't used to being handled by people yet, and we still see some good, curious tongue flicks when they're picked up. They'll grow more comfortable with patient, gentle handling.

My biggest concern here is actually the tub the snake is in - I really hope that's not what they're being kept in! I wouldn't be surprised if it was, given the tiny racks that many breeders keep their snakes in.

Funny looking banana

(via)

[andy-clutterbuck]

Rick Grimes in The Ones Who Live | 1x04 - What We

[meanbossart]

aw god dammit all the gorgeous art peeps are making of Best Boy Drow got me inspired to draw my tav twins with hiiiim 😔 my twunk boy eck is totally very secure in his masculinity so he'd get sloshed and start comparing scar stories. em's the "smart" twin so she knows they're both beat 😔 this will not stop her from ogling. she's on her best behavior i swear 😔😔😔

THE HOWL I JUST FUCKING LET OUT AT THIS. I'VE BEEN STARING AT IT AND SNICKERING LIKE AN IDIOT FOR THE PAST 15 MINUTES.

I'm OBSESSED with all the body language here, you illustrate gesture/movement SO WELL I practically envision this animated, and oh my god the atmosphere 😭your backgrounds are every bit as lively and beautiful as your characters - THE FOLIAGE, THE BLURRY FOREGROUND, SO MUCH DEPTH HERE

Also I love this wall of text on top and not a single bubble connecting back to DU drow, you just know it's been an entire 20 minutes since he last said a non-monosyllabic word. I'M GUESSING ECK DOESN'T MIND, HE'S GOT ENOUGH TO SAY FOR BOTH OF THEM, 10/10 DYNAMIC.

Em I'd question why you're even wasting your time here but we both know why. Anyways I can assure you they're going equal amounts of ogling - Eck how long will it be before you notice your sister's rack is far more interesting than your mephit bite.

Anyways my point is this is fucking incredible. I'm speechless. I must retreat into my cave now and stare at this for the rest of the day.

[fraternum-momentum]

finally played tf2 for the first time the other day

[theeminentlyimpractical]

honestly “they’re not talking” is the funniest fucking thing Authorman could’ve unleashed on this horny ass fandom

[seabeck]

No actually I don’t need a bike, I need a mule

[cerenemuxse]

they fr just left Edward there to swing about.

Jumping Jobi Wood - Season 14 Episode 15

couldn't even be bothered to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't, ya know, DIE???

but the better question I should really be asking is, how sturdy is this engine's boiler? its multiple giant logs getting thrown violently at him. how?

Jumping Jobi Wood - Season 14 Episode 15

[saying-odd-shit]

listen im NOT saying that when making venomous snake restriction laws we should NEVER consult hot keepers, but i AM saying that the word of veterinarians and zookeepers should be held to a higher regard than the word of Hotkeeper McFreehandlerson who has 45 inland taipans in tupperware containers

[hauntedfalcon]

what came first: the set design for the Candela Obscura chapter two trailer, or Brennan declaring that obviously this room would have a decorative broadsword in it

[stargirl1331]

A shoe rack of only white sneakers and beige shoes: this is Bad. There is no diversity. The ecosystem is unhealthy, there are not enough genotypes or phenotypes for a healthy population. Don’t do this:(

A show rack with a variety of colors and shapes of shoe: this is Good! Plenty of genetic and ecological diversity! The population is healthy and will not become a monolithic species! Do this:)

Practice ethical shoe keeping

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

I refuse to understand why people treat snakes, and especially species such as ball pythons, like eye candy and baseball card collections. I’m in a few facebook groups where rack keeping is supported by the rules - defended as a ‘method’ of keeping. Ok, racks can work if enriched and the right size.

When an admin posts their too-small skinny racks where a snake can barely turn around with a water bowl not even big enough to stick their neck in? Not okay. They said it was “ample space” in the comments expressing concern, so I combatted that with statements on size and links to scientific articles and studies on the effect of such styles of keeping on snakes. Because I didn’t say rack keeping was bad, I didn’t strike their rule for “bullying.” They deleted my comments anyways, and why? Apparently that’s “ads and promotion.” To link to a scientific article and a study. What a sneaky loophole rule.

I’m so tired of people who refuse to look at facts and see reason. How do you deal with these people??

I feel your pain. It's exhausting. Some people really treat snakes as collections instead of pets, and it's heartbreaking.

I think one of the best things we can do, especially when it comes to snakes like ball pythons who people like this will insist "don't need a lot of space," is show them how these snakes thrive when they're given appropriate space! Every single one of my ball pythons uses every inch of space I give them, and they're so curious and love exploring!

Like, someone better tell these snakes that "ball pythons don't climb!"

Genuinely like half of my ball pythons don't just climb, they never come down! Most ball pythons, when given a few climbing branches and a bit of space, will be up and exploring every inch of it as soon as they wake up. Showing this in action can help people realize they're just not giving their snakes space to...be snakes.

The sad fact is I think a lot of people who keep their snakes in tiny racks have genuinely convinced themselves that's okay. I think we might be able to help by being very firm about how we talk about our pet snakes - stress how much ours love exploring and climbing and checking things out! Point out that snakes with more space and better husbandry eat better! Be firm about talking about our pets like pets and not like baseball card collections - one thing I've had success with is asking people who talk about their snakes like collections about the snakes' personalities, what they like to do for fun and their favorite enrichment. You can kind of see gears turning when you do that, and some people even get a little ashamed when they realize they don't know because they haven't been giving their snakes the space to learn about their personalities.

[mewkwota]

“Okay you have any questions?”

“Yeah... can you step over a bit?”

“Why? Can’t you see everything?”

I said I’d do it, so here’s the full-proper version of that family tree Glimmer was sharing in an earlier comic. Yes this will be updated when Baby #3 gets namedropped... whoever they are.

Also I only omitted whoever else is associated with Houses Rhodes and Doyle to save my brain and canvas space, as well as Rex’s parents, and Nia’s father and sister as they do not have actual images to refer to. (Otherwise yeah I remember they exist, don’t prod me.)

Deviantart Upload Here

[datmcomic]

I busted my butt drawing a DATM panel all day so I'm posting it out of context!!!

I've had a picture in my head of what Amors's kitchen looks like for years, this is the first time I've really drawn it, and it's just like I wanted it to look.

In part 1 of death and the maiden I tried to be economical with my time, especially at the beginning. In part 2 I don't care anymore I'm going HAM on that garlic

[livwritesstuff]

More about the girls bickering (see this post) – as the at home more parent, Eddie has to deal with it quite a bit more than Steve does. Unbeknownst to his husband, Ed learned that once both the girls had KO-ed each other, there was a very easy and nearly 100% effective tactic to subdue them completely.

Standing on their hair.

It wasn’t uncommon for Steve to come home from a day of counseling sessions to Eddie in the midst of refereeing a fight, which is how he essentially got a crash course in this technique when he walked into the house one day to find Robbie and Moe lying on the ground, Ed with one foot on Moe’s ponytail, and the other on Robbie’s wild curls.

Robbie is still fighting against the restraint, while Moe has clearly long since given up, glowering up at the ceiling with her arms crossed.

Steve, coming to a dead stop: Alright, what’s going on

Eddie: Daughters, would we like to tell Papa how we ended up in this predicament?

They both glare in opposite directions, though Robbie does aim a knobby elbow at Moe’s side (and misses).

Eddie, conceding: *explains fight, which is mostly incoherent and might be about a pair of shoes*

Eddie watches Steve look between his husband and oldest daughters before giving them all a resigned shrug.

Steve: Fair enough

Moe and Robbie: *immediately start protesting*

Steve: Look, girls, it could always be worse.

Steve: He could be barefoot.

The girls let out simultaneous noises of disgust as Steve walks away.

[loversgothic]

to draw later. mirage trying to explore her expression of gender and wanting to experiment with top surgery (plate replacement) and v1 just offers to trade with her because gender presentation is meaningless to it. they swap. everyone wins