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Murbella the '07 Biak GTP

Lynnea

Lynnea

That's "lin-NAY-ah"
My new, beautiful Biak arrived today--purchased at Daytona. I am feeling just like Elle with her gorgeous Siren; over the moon!! I couldn't be more pleased; trying hard not to bother her, but did take pics. She's resting now, all curled up on her branch. I named her after a character in one of the "Dune" books.
 

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Shes STUNNING!!!!!!! Look at that emerald green and the blue flecks. I have to say, she doesn't look like a typical biak though. Whats her temprement like?
 
Congratz on your new baby she is beautiful. There are some really cool names in the Dune book.
 
Tula_Montage said:
Shes STUNNING!!!!!!! Look at that emerald green and the blue flecks. I have to say, she doesn't look like a typical biak though. Whats her temprement like?
Click to expand...

Thanks Elle! So far, she is just a little frightened, so haven't been able to really tell what she'll be like, but she doesn't seem aggressive.

Unlike your very careful research, she was an impulse purchase--shame on me!! I've been thinking about one, and the price she was offered at was really reasonable. So I took the plunge! I was assured she is CB, 12-15 mos. old and pure Biak, not outcrossed. Regardless, I LOVE her!! I decided to go for the nicer set-up, as at this point I just want to enjoy her and don't know about breeding someday. I just want to learn everything I can and hope I care for her properly!

I think they look like dragons, probably why I love them!
 
CassieK said:
Congratz on your new baby she is beautiful. There are some really cool names in the Dune book.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, I'm reading Sandworms of Dune, which is the newest in the series. I also have a corn named "Sha'i Hulud". Gotta love it.
 
Dune lover here, too! She's _so_ beautiful! I can see why you couldn't resist her! That's happened to me twice at Daytona- I fell in love, and haven't regretted it for a minute!
 
Beautiful GTP, how's her temperament?
I may be jumping the gun here but I am not so sure she's an 07?. Biaks take around... 3-4 years to lose all their yellows....
for comparison reference:
DSCN1099.jpg


And I have seen quite a few Biaks here and they become so green only at 2.5-4 years of age.
a Yearling is very much yellow mostly. Unless she's a Biak cross (which isn't a bad thing... maybe crossing reduces the aggression potential they have).

Anyways, she's amazing and I love the colors.

Not trying to suggest you got inaccurate details when you bought her... just "laying the facts" when it comes to the rate in which they change color. Biaks are the slowest of the GTPs.
 
The pic I posted in the above post if of my yearling Biak.
She's quite large for her age and grows in the rate one can expect from a baby GTP.

One last tip if I may- I would advise if at all possible, to use digital hydrometer rather than the analog one. Accuracy is essential with these fellas. Also, I would position both the thermometer and hydrometer's sensors at the levels of the perches themselves, or at the middle-where she will mostly be (personally I would make sure to have one higher and one lower perch).

I simply had a rather bad experience with Exo's analog hydrometer... and with GTP's... you can afford very little mistakes.

Anyways, hope these tips help- of course I am not saying I am an expert or anything. Just what I learned over time
 
Thanks all! I'm dying to handle her, but hands off until she's settled in. Aarrgghh...!
 
I appreciate your advice! I am nervous about keeping her maintained properly. All I can say re her age and all is what the dealer told me--and of course, it may very well not be truthful. I'll just do my best with her. Your Biak is beautiful, BTW!!

She has more blue on her than I would have expected--is that usual for Biaks? She is not aggressive, seems rather tame.
 
beautiful snake! um, question though, i noticed there was no bedding, which i believe you dont need since this is a strictly arboreal snake. how do you heat the enclosure? since the snake will probably rarely be on the ground, will a UTH work?
 
I will try to answer the two questions I noticed:

1- the "blueness" I think is not something that will be permanent. There's a phenomena refereed to as "hormonal blue"- if she was kept in temperatures that may have triggered her becoming gravid- it's not illogical. It also serves as further proof that she may be older than you were told... more like 3-4 years old. Females become "blue" during these periods.
The other option is that she is a Biak crossed with another locality...though the head sure seems like a typical Biak to moi.

A word of caution, if she's a Biak- she is going to be very aggressive. Out of a generally feisty bunch(GTPs)- Biaks are the worse.
Make sure to pick her up from her viv with a hook only and only then, try to handle her. However, my little GTP allows me to handle her- I use a hook as I said, and she can be calm... but one has to be cautious. She did tag me on the forehead once and surprised the living lights out of me.
I adore her though :)


2- UTH will work very well as heat spreads upwards and rises to the higher space of the Viv... so it should work extremely well. The best way to provide a heat gradient is to make sure that she has perches in different locations and elevations.

Here's an excellent article by Greg Maxwell- possibly THE GTP keeper out there:

http://www.finegtps.com/Care_sheets.html

good luck! :)
 
Thanks again! I just ordered Greg's book, too. I have heard some GTP owners use heat mats above, on the top of the viv so the heat radiates down. What do you use for substrate? I have read about using sphagnum moss, which seems logical to me as it holds moisture. I have un-printed newspaper down now.

It wouldn't disappoint me if she is older than I was told--but I hope the dealer is being honest because that is the worst thing.

She is very calm now, even putting my hand right next to her. That gives me hope!
 
thanks for the info. for how beautiful these snakes are they are not on my list. lol, i have 1 more snake i want to get. and hopefully i will cut myself off. i wouldnt be surprised if later down the road i'd pick one of these up, like after college and job search. but i think i might like to replace my cali king, not really sure yet.

question was more out of curiosity than anything. and thanks for answering.
 
oh and the other snake on the list is a brazilian rainbow boa.. so, who knows i might pick up one of these later on if i really like the brazilian.
 
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