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20+-Year-Old Rosy Boa

R

Roy Munson

New member
I bought Marcus when I was a young man, and that was a long time ago. He's a Mexican Mainland rosy boa. I started looking at him the year I graduated from High School, 1988. I think he was listed for around $250, which was far too much for my budget, but I was in love with him. I handled him weekly when I was already in the store buying live mice for my tiny corn collection. For about 18 months I saved up enough money to buy him, and fortunately he never sold. So he's at least twenty years old.

He's 30-50g heavier than when I brought him home, but otherwise he hasn't changed a bit. I'm jealous-- the years haven't been nearly as kind to me! My snake collection grew after him, and then it was reduced to only him for years. I don't know why he was the sole "survivor". I can't say that he's one of my favorites now, but we have A LOT of history, this guy and me. And I guess that counts for something...

A silly and unverifiable story concerning Marcus: according to the store owner, they bought him from singer/songwriter/folk-rock artist Gordon Lightfoot's sister!
 

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I started looking at him the year I graduated from High School, 1988.
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I was 3 years old then!....sorry I just like saying things like that.
It's so cool that you've held onto him for that long and that he's still all nice and healthy.
Supposing he's not that big then, knowing your and your Dean-size hands.
 
He is beautiful Dean. I loved rosies before I loved corns.
I have a pair of those myself.
I hope THEY make it to 20.
Ed is 12 and Edison is 10.
 
tsst said:
That's too cool Dean! 20+ years congrats!
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Thanks. :D

Corny Noob said:
I was 3 years old then!....sorry I just like saying things like that.
It's so cool that you've held onto him for that long and that he's still all nice and healthy.
Supposing he's not that big then, knowing your and your Dean-size hands.
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Not a problem. I used to like saying things like that too. Now I just shut up. :grin01:

He's not that big. In these shots, he's probably just over 300g (haven't weighed him in years). My Coastal rosy breeding pair are much larger.

Lennycorn said:
So moderators do have a soft spot huh.
First loves, stay with you forever... :rofl:
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Sort of. He's always been a resident of either a living room or a bedroom. So he's seen first loves, second loves, eighteenth loves, etc.... ;)
 
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He is a pretty cool dude Dean! It's a shame a lot of keepers never keep the same snakes for 5 years nevermind 20. Hes a credit to you :)
 
Thanks folks. :D

Terrible revelation: for twenty years I've kept him on SAND. The modern lit even cautions against it, but I'm like a baseball pitcher on a streak who wears the same underwear for every game he starts. My other rosys are on aspen, and doing great. But I'm afraid to change this guy up now. I've NEVER had an incomplete shed from him-- EVER. I'm not talking about 99% being in one piece, I'm talking 100%, without so much as a scale shed elsewhere! It seems like the wrong time to experiment with him now.
 
Dean, what a beauty, he is. I have such a love for rosey's as they were my first snake. I really need to get another one.
 
Lennycorn said:
Take a walk on the wild side. :rofl:
How 'bout throwing some aspen in a feeding container and see what happens. :shrugs:
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It wouldn't make a difference. He doesn't comply with any stinkin' Munson Plan. I think he ate 6 large mice for all of '07. He's never been prone to the sort of chubbiness you see in some other rosys. He eats when he wants to, and that's been seldom (per year) in his second decade. He's maintained the same look/weight for a looooong time. He fasts and he's VERY active during rosy breeding season, but he's never had an "outlet".
 
That's a longer relationship than any I've ever had...He reminds me of when you take chocolate chip ice cream and put it in a glass and fill it with milk and then stir it around with a spoon till it's a milkshake. On his belly.
 
Tula_Montage said:
He is a pretty cool dude Dean! It's a shame a lot of keepers never keep the same snakes for 5 years nevermind 20. Hes a credit to you :)
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Well, maybe HE's a credit, but I sold off a good number of other snakes in the 'old days'. But I never expended so much effort to acquire a snake as I did on this guy, so he's never really been a candidate for "re-homing". Our lives have been fairly parallel (and not just in terms of breeding opportunities, LOL). We shared lean years and fat years, and everything in between. I've always had him with a combo uth and lamp heating arrangement (unregulated), but I've never had a thermometer in his tank. He's the only snake that I use a lamp for. If I check temps, I'm afraid that I'll discover that I'm doing it all wrong and be inclined to change something. ;)
 
He even looks like a cheery old man...perhaps I'm seeing a cheery old man smile where I wouldnt otherwise because its Friday night, I've been out drinking and its about 4am. Anyway, he made me smile. A lot. Thanks for that. Hope my Spice lives as long because I absolutely love her to bits. I would never ever give her up, despite how big my collection gets ever and how many I get rid of. She helped me through some rough times...even me just thinking she wouldn't survive without my care helped me through stuff. Anyway, yes, thanks, bed time maybe for me? Probably my best bet.
 
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