Tried to feed my ball python gyesterday for the first time but didn't succeed. Left the thawed mouse in the cage overnight but it was still there in the morning - so threw it out and desinfected the container where I left it.
Will try again at the end fo the week.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Jusco $10 Plaza
Today I went to the Jusco $10 Plaza in Mongkok and shopped around for stuff to put in the cage. Most of the items they sell cost HKD 10 so definitely worth having a look if you want to keep the costs down.
This is what I got:
- A small ceramic vase: thought this could be used as shelter, though looking at it now I'm not sure that will work. I'll put it in the cage to see how the snake reacts to it but if there is no interest I'll take it out again.
- A medium size ceramic aromatic oil burner, finished to look a bit like a log, with large hole at the top and two smaller ones on the side that are meant to provide air to the candle. Looks like that could make a nice shelter, especially since the inside has a dark finish so it won't be very bright even when light goes in.
- A larger rectangular flower pot, the style they used for bonsai trees. It has two holes in the bottom that I can probably enlarge so the snake can go in easily, providing fairly dark shelter inside. I think it is a bit too large for the snake at the moment, so I'll get this ready by the time it has gotten a bit bigger.
- More plastic plants. They look fairly realistic, some of them are garlands with larger leafs so can use them to reduce the amount of open space in the cage. Also bought three small bushes of more grassy like leaves that can hang over the water bowl to make that less exposed too.
- A pair of long (36cm) chopsticks - to hold the food
- A set of metal thongs you can use at a bbq - again to hold the mice. I prefer to use the chpsticks, bit weary of using metal thongs near my snake, but if I can't get a firm enough grip with the chopsticks I'll use the thongs.
Find the Jusco stores here:
http://www.jusco.com.hk/eng/10_plaza/index_shop.htm
This is what I got:
- A small ceramic vase: thought this could be used as shelter, though looking at it now I'm not sure that will work. I'll put it in the cage to see how the snake reacts to it but if there is no interest I'll take it out again.
- A medium size ceramic aromatic oil burner, finished to look a bit like a log, with large hole at the top and two smaller ones on the side that are meant to provide air to the candle. Looks like that could make a nice shelter, especially since the inside has a dark finish so it won't be very bright even when light goes in.
- A larger rectangular flower pot, the style they used for bonsai trees. It has two holes in the bottom that I can probably enlarge so the snake can go in easily, providing fairly dark shelter inside. I think it is a bit too large for the snake at the moment, so I'll get this ready by the time it has gotten a bit bigger.
- More plastic plants. They look fairly realistic, some of them are garlands with larger leafs so can use them to reduce the amount of open space in the cage. Also bought three small bushes of more grassy like leaves that can hang over the water bowl to make that less exposed too.
- A pair of long (36cm) chopsticks - to hold the food
- A set of metal thongs you can use at a bbq - again to hold the mice. I prefer to use the chpsticks, bit weary of using metal thongs near my snake, but if I can't get a firm enough grip with the chopsticks I'll use the thongs.
Find the Jusco stores here:
http://www.jusco.com.hk/eng/10_plaza/index_shop.htm
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
A snake in hiding
Yesterday evening my partner came over to mine to see the snake. He wasn't very impressed that I bought one, as he is scared of them. When he saw how small it still was and how it was moving slowly around the cage he did get a bit more interested and lost the fear, but his staring and going up close to the animal's head behind the glass got the snake to hide in the iPod box and it didn't come out all evening until I switched off the lights in the room. Even then it just came out half and didn't move around much,at least not as long as I was in the room.
Today it is still in hiding. Now that I have added some more shelter and more plants to reduce the open feeing of the cage I'm going to leave the animal alone for a week to let it relax and settle in. Then I'll try to feed for the first time, if I see it becomes a bit less shy.
Today it is still in hiding. Now that I have added some more shelter and more plants to reduce the open feeing of the cage I'm going to leave the animal alone for a week to let it relax and settle in. Then I'll try to feed for the first time, if I see it becomes a bit less shy.
Shelter
Bought the snake on Saturday, so wanted to make sure I had the cage set up by the time it woke up again on Sunday. I live in Sheung Wan, near cat street, so after i got the cage/substrate/fake aquarium plants from Mongkok I walked down to the curio shops to see what I could find. I bought three chinese ceramic bowls, one large enough to serve as a water bowl in which the snake could immerse itself completely, and two smaller ones which I planned to turn into shelters.
My idea was to break out part of the side of the smaller bowls so they would provide an opening large enough for the snake to get in and crawl underneath. Great idea, but breaking a part out of the side ended up with me breaking the bowl alltogether. Ceramics aren't as easy to handle as I expected. So I ended up leaning the remaining smaller bowl against the side of the water bowl, to provide a shelter that was however not an enclosed space.
The snake ended up sleeping underneath, but it was a bit too exposed to my liking - information provided on different websites seems to agree that the hiding spot should be dark and snug, with only one opening. I had one of these as well - a small vase with a relatively large opening, lying on its side. It seemed perfect, but the snake didn't go inside so maybe it doesn't like it as much as I do. In the end I gave it back the box of my iPod with one of the short sides cut away, it loves curling up inside.
I also added a bush of fake plants so the snake could go underneath and get a bit of shelter there, but instead of going under the plants it went right on top of them. They're not strong enough to carry its weight so the whole thing sort of collapsed slowly. I'll have to get something to climb on.
The search for shelter continues - the iPod box will only last that long I'm sure and it doesn't look that great.
My idea was to break out part of the side of the smaller bowls so they would provide an opening large enough for the snake to get in and crawl underneath. Great idea, but breaking a part out of the side ended up with me breaking the bowl alltogether. Ceramics aren't as easy to handle as I expected. So I ended up leaning the remaining smaller bowl against the side of the water bowl, to provide a shelter that was however not an enclosed space.
The snake ended up sleeping underneath, but it was a bit too exposed to my liking - information provided on different websites seems to agree that the hiding spot should be dark and snug, with only one opening. I had one of these as well - a small vase with a relatively large opening, lying on its side. It seemed perfect, but the snake didn't go inside so maybe it doesn't like it as much as I do. In the end I gave it back the box of my iPod with one of the short sides cut away, it loves curling up inside.
I also added a bush of fake plants so the snake could go underneath and get a bit of shelter there, but instead of going under the plants it went right on top of them. They're not strong enough to carry its weight so the whole thing sort of collapsed slowly. I'll have to get something to climb on.
The search for shelter continues - the iPod box will only last that long I'm sure and it doesn't look that great.
Urban Jungle
One of my main reasons for going to the Hong Kong Reptile Expo was to find out about suppliers for snake keepers: shops that sell cages, substrate, food, and generally provide all sort of information that can come in handy.
I got refered to a shop called 'Urban Jungle', based in Mongkok's famous aquarium street. In typical Hong Kong fashion this shop is located on the first floor, and where there is a sign above the entrance to the building and a big sign on the wall next to it, that's where the singalisation stops. So when I walked up I passed right by the shop, as the name is not on the door. There was a poster with some pictures of tortoises on the wall next to the door but no name. Since the only other shop in the building seemed to specialise in fishtanks and aquarium fish, I went back to the first floor and went into the shop with the turtle poster - which turned out to be Urban Jungle.
They have a lot of stuff in their shop. Snakes. Albino tortoises. Lizards. And many more - surprising how many animals you can keep in a relatively small space. They also sell all the supplies I needed to get started: a proper cage (different sizes and models available), substrate (Aspen), mice. They sell frozen mice as well as live ones.
Obviously this was great, but what's equally important is that the guy who assisted me (I'll find out his name) spoke fluent English, was very helpful and knew what he was talking about. It's great to know that if I have any questions or need assistance I can find someone who can at least guide me in the right direction.
I bought a proper cage (structurally sound, strong enough, proper lock, assembled), Aspen substrate and frozen mice. Heating for the cage is not necessary at this point, my appartment is warm enough during summer, and neither is additional lighting. When winter comes I'll get a heating mat as temperatures here in Hong Kong go below the comfort level for a ball python and appartments have little or no insulation so it does get colder inside too.
Overall experience: great. Friendly and helpful staff with good knowledge, decent prices, open late, and a source of knowledge. All on the first floor of a tong lau in Mongkok.
Urban Jungle
1st floor, 148 Tung Choi Street
Mongkok, Hong Kong
Open noon - 9pm
I got refered to a shop called 'Urban Jungle', based in Mongkok's famous aquarium street. In typical Hong Kong fashion this shop is located on the first floor, and where there is a sign above the entrance to the building and a big sign on the wall next to it, that's where the singalisation stops. So when I walked up I passed right by the shop, as the name is not on the door. There was a poster with some pictures of tortoises on the wall next to the door but no name. Since the only other shop in the building seemed to specialise in fishtanks and aquarium fish, I went back to the first floor and went into the shop with the turtle poster - which turned out to be Urban Jungle.
They have a lot of stuff in their shop. Snakes. Albino tortoises. Lizards. And many more - surprising how many animals you can keep in a relatively small space. They also sell all the supplies I needed to get started: a proper cage (different sizes and models available), substrate (Aspen), mice. They sell frozen mice as well as live ones.
Obviously this was great, but what's equally important is that the guy who assisted me (I'll find out his name) spoke fluent English, was very helpful and knew what he was talking about. It's great to know that if I have any questions or need assistance I can find someone who can at least guide me in the right direction.
I bought a proper cage (structurally sound, strong enough, proper lock, assembled), Aspen substrate and frozen mice. Heating for the cage is not necessary at this point, my appartment is warm enough during summer, and neither is additional lighting. When winter comes I'll get a heating mat as temperatures here in Hong Kong go below the comfort level for a ball python and appartments have little or no insulation so it does get colder inside too.
Overall experience: great. Friendly and helpful staff with good knowledge, decent prices, open late, and a source of knowledge. All on the first floor of a tong lau in Mongkok.
Urban Jungle
1st floor, 148 Tung Choi Street
Mongkok, Hong Kong
Open noon - 9pm
Cage
Since I bought a snake, I also had to get some enclosure for it. At the Hong Kong Reptile Expo we found a few people selling these and one of the snake breeders agreed that at HKD 280 they were a pretty good deal.
The cage I bought consisted of a metal frame, with side panels and top in metal mesh for ventilation, a black solid back panel and two sliding glass panels at the front for access and viewing. The whole thing was nicely flat packed which obviously was great for transportation.
When I started to put this together with a friend the flaws of the design became very clear:
- the different parts of the frame could not be fixed in place, which means that the snake would be able to push the top off the cage unless a weight was put on top
- the frame was not structurally solid
- the mesh top panel and the back panel were cut a few mm short so they could be pushed out easily
- there was no lock provided for the glass doors. I expect that a snake could accidentally slide the panel a little bit to the side and then push it further open over a period of time
After putting it together (or trying to) I decided that this was not the way forward. Not only would I be worrying whether the snake would be able to escape, it's also not fair to the animal to put it at risk by giving it an enclosure that is not strong enough or by allowing it to escape and get into trouble. So out ot went (not really, I used the frame as the base of a new side table - very crafty indeed) and the next day I bought a proper cage. Which cost exactly as much as the first one, but was of a far better quality.
Still - I consider it money well spent. It made me a lot more aware of what to look for when buying a cage so even though I lost HKD 280 I gained invaluable experience.
The cage I bought consisted of a metal frame, with side panels and top in metal mesh for ventilation, a black solid back panel and two sliding glass panels at the front for access and viewing. The whole thing was nicely flat packed which obviously was great for transportation.
When I started to put this together with a friend the flaws of the design became very clear:
- the different parts of the frame could not be fixed in place, which means that the snake would be able to push the top off the cage unless a weight was put on top
- the frame was not structurally solid
- the mesh top panel and the back panel were cut a few mm short so they could be pushed out easily
- there was no lock provided for the glass doors. I expect that a snake could accidentally slide the panel a little bit to the side and then push it further open over a period of time
After putting it together (or trying to) I decided that this was not the way forward. Not only would I be worrying whether the snake would be able to escape, it's also not fair to the animal to put it at risk by giving it an enclosure that is not strong enough or by allowing it to escape and get into trouble. So out ot went (not really, I used the frame as the base of a new side table - very crafty indeed) and the next day I bought a proper cage. Which cost exactly as much as the first one, but was of a far better quality.
Still - I consider it money well spent. It made me a lot more aware of what to look for when buying a cage so even though I lost HKD 280 I gained invaluable experience.
A Ball Python
So I finally took the step - I bought my first snake. For many years I have wanted to keep a snake, but there always were objections: when I was living with my parents they wouldn't let me, and afterwards in London it would have been impractical and expensive especially on the salary I was earning. So when I moved to Hong Kong I started thinking of it again, and began to look around for information on breeders etc. I found that there was hardly any information available, if any at all. There may be more in Chinese, but unfortunately I don't read that language so I got stuck.
It did seem unlikely though that there were no snake lovers in Hong Kong - and when I say snake lovers I mean the people who love the live animal as opposed to the soup ingredient. Snake soup is popular in Hong Kong in winter months.
Last week my suspicion got confirmed. There are reptile lovers in Hong Kong, and I knew where to find them: the Hong Kong Reptile Expo at HITEC. After a trek and a half I arrived at said location with my friend, endured the queue to buy tickets, and started walking around the expo. There weren't as many snake breeders as I expected there would be, but there were some. The very first breeder we met was Mike Wilbanks, and he's also the one I went back to after doing the round since had by far the nicest collection of snakes.
I picked a Ball Python. They come in a wide variety of colour patterns, and the one I really liked was the Mojave. That and the pure white one, but that one was just a bit over my budget (ahem). Had a nice conversation with Mike, who in the conversation confirmed the research I had done on beforehand. He knew what he was talking about, and obviously has a passion for snakes. I'll introduce his website in a future post, you'll see what I mean.
So here I am - proud owner of a ball python in Hong Kong. I purchased a cage at the expo (more about that later) and took my new friend home in a taxi. The next day I went hunting for supplies. More on that later too.
It did seem unlikely though that there were no snake lovers in Hong Kong - and when I say snake lovers I mean the people who love the live animal as opposed to the soup ingredient. Snake soup is popular in Hong Kong in winter months.
Last week my suspicion got confirmed. There are reptile lovers in Hong Kong, and I knew where to find them: the Hong Kong Reptile Expo at HITEC. After a trek and a half I arrived at said location with my friend, endured the queue to buy tickets, and started walking around the expo. There weren't as many snake breeders as I expected there would be, but there were some. The very first breeder we met was Mike Wilbanks, and he's also the one I went back to after doing the round since had by far the nicest collection of snakes.
I picked a Ball Python. They come in a wide variety of colour patterns, and the one I really liked was the Mojave. That and the pure white one, but that one was just a bit over my budget (ahem). Had a nice conversation with Mike, who in the conversation confirmed the research I had done on beforehand. He knew what he was talking about, and obviously has a passion for snakes. I'll introduce his website in a future post, you'll see what I mean.
So here I am - proud owner of a ball python in Hong Kong. I purchased a cage at the expo (more about that later) and took my new friend home in a taxi. The next day I went hunting for supplies. More on that later too.
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