umm if i buy a gtp, how should i feed it, live/frozen? or what, should i try and take it out of the cage into a tuperware container and feed it in that or what? going tomorrow at 10 a.m. bright and early to go buy a snake, gtp or not ill come home with something :0
For GTP feeding you ALWAYS want to use F/T. buy some 18" Tongs and always feed him in his cage. a lot of GTP's do not eat unless it is very dark in the enclosure. Warm up the F/T and dangle it in front of him and let go when he takes it. i feed by hand with my Zilla Gloves on and sometimes your hand can be warmer than the mouse and they will take your hand instead of the mouse so i lay the mouse on top of a spare heating pad i have for a couple seconds then it goes straight into the cage. also if you do not want to feed by hand you can flip a container upside down and warm up the F/T and lay it on top of it. they will hang down and snatch it from the floor. i get better feeding response if i dangle it in front of him.
thanks for the help, do gtp's always get fed inside the cage or what? and just to make sure i have everything right for my gtp, this is what i have, a 10 gal aquarium, cyprusmulch, some sort of perch a water bowl, under the bowl is my heating pad, and on top, should i have some sort of light? if so what would be the best to have. Ill buy a little spray bottle so i can spray him/her a couple times daily.
are you planning on standing the 10g upright? if so part of the front is going to need to be closed up somehow to keep humidity from escaping. a 10g will not hold an adult and yes you need to feed in cage. you plan on getting a baby you do NOT want to handle it until atleast a year old. they have VERY VERY delicate spines and can be seriously injured from handling. also what you need to realize is GTP's are aggressive. some can be handled but a majority of them are nippy. you have owned 2 docile species of snakes a GTP is a major upgrade. even a baby like i said can make you bleed. imagine what an adult can do. they have fangs that put out a lot more hurt than a BP or Redtail. i use pig skin gloves and his fangs will go straight through it and into the skin. and they do not only STRIKE like BP's and Redtails. if they get a hold of your finger or hand they WILL hold on and dig their fangs into you and sway back and fourth. it HURTS.
yeah im really not to scared of being bitten by these creatures, i plan to respect them like they dangerous snake they are, i have gloves that ill plan on wearing while feeding and i plan on getting a pair of long tongs. i wasnt planning on handling this guy until he was atleast a year old, hopefully i can get a snake that is somewhat close to a years age so that i can practice holding it ever once and a while. my redtail used to bite me all the time, there was no getting around it. and like i said before i still do not know what kind of snake i am going to get yet, it all depends on what i fall in love with at the show. i cant wait seriously i havent been to a good herp show or swap since i got my 1st two snakes a long time ago.
Good luck with what you get. I do not think that you should get a GTP though. I think that you should research them, and actually look at care sheets. EVERY thing that you have asked, is on care sheets. And waiting a year to handle them, is a year too long. GTP's need to be handled every day that isn't the day after feeding. And I have a fairly large Colombian Rainbow, and I would rather get bit by him than recieve a bite from a GTP. They have crossing teeth that will go twice as deep than another snake twice as large. GTP doesn't need to be in a 10 gallon tank because they are going to want to be up in the branches on perches all day. My 2 never come down off their branches. Feeding is a must in the branches also. They seem to have a problem eating when laying on paper towels, other than being out of their tanks, they are accustomed to taking their prey and constricting it falling mid ways down. It seems as if I wouldn't need to tell you that if you were looking at care sheets. These are NOT begginners snakes, and even though you've had snakes before, you are still a virgin with exotic pythons. Redtails and balls do not need anything "special". They don't require anything but a clean tank and heat. I'm fearing for you and your snake that you've not read up on these wonderful, beautiful snakes, that I waited years to get into. Its VERY hard to keep humidity stable, and if a $300 snake stops eating, has shedding problems, or worse its a little harder to get them back to the "stable" point. Its hard to work w/ these animals when other things are thrown in, like mites or such. I know today is when you were going to your show, I just REALLY hope that you read read read if you do get one of those rainforest animals. In any case, good luck, and congratulations.
Very well said collard. GREAT pic by the way never really thought thats what has actually dug into my finger lol. it hurts even worse now.
congrats....post some pictures! Jason, it does hurt doesn't it?! Mine got me really good through the gloves. I had to get Chris to use a straw to ply his jaws apart. actually drew blood through the gloves!!! They are just soo beautiful though!! Have you posted pic's of your GTP yet?
No i am letting him get used to his home and ME before i try and handle and take pictures lol first picture through the tank i tried to take the flash reflection flushed him out and all you can see is flash and he freaked out and struck the glass. i do not want to stress him out. i got him out once and was trying to take a picture and that is when he got my thumb. it hurts like nothing else he got the bottom of my thumb and i was hoping the Zilla pigskin gloves would slow it down a little. not even a chance. feels like someone stapled the bottom of my finger lol. i will get pics once he is acclimated. Congrats Newlander post pics as soon as you can! i love dummys. any idea how old? and or sex?
Hey everyone just got my new dummy, she is beautiful. I got her sexed right after i purchased her at the swap. She is approx 6-8 months old. She is easy to handle and easy on the eyes. Right when i got home and put her in her new home she layed out a big one. I figured she was due because the guy told me she ate yesterday. http://s158.photobucket.com/albums/t98/dontsaynuth1n/
Wow she looks AMAZING. she has GREAT color/patterns. 1 question tho. you are planning on putting some branches and Bushes in there correct?? they need a LOT of hiding places or they will start to stress out especially in the first couple weeks of moving to a new home.
yeah, just havent purchased it yet, i only got the essentials when i was at the show, i wasnt sure what kind of snake i was going to buy and wasnt sure if i needed lots of high ground stuff for a gtp or what, so yeah im gonna go buy some kind of fake plant or something, and maybe even somehting for her to hide under. yeah she is beautiful, im gonna see if i can get some more pics after shes done soaking in the water, she has some sweet designs on her head, and is very pinkish colored behind the head as well.
i have taken her out twice since shes been in her cage, i know i shouldnt handle her for a while, but i couldnt resist. anyways both times i took her out she dribbled a little white substance onto my arm and shirt. Is she just nervous or what? cus she is seriously such a joy to hold.
where did it come out of? you should seriously leave her alone for atleast a week. it is best for her. and get her somewhere to hide before she gets to stressed out.
yeah shes got some nice cover and a nice shelter to check out but lately all shes been doing is soaking in the water. It came out of her you know what hole. i think all i was doing was making her nervous, thats why i havent touched her or handled her since she did that.
