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Found two boas under the dog's water bucket (first snakes, need help!)

That's a crazy price for rat pinks!!! For future ordering, check out Big Cheese Rodent Factory. They have the best quality frozen rodents I have found. They keep shipping costs down by shipping ground, and going from TX to FL in the summer, my mice _always_ arrive frozen solid with plenty of dry ice left.
 
Nagini -











Ronaldo -













How I have them set up -











Compared to a paper towel roll -


I measured Ronaldo last night with a soft measuring tape and he is around 19.5" long. (He wouldn't exactly cooperate) So they aren't very old. I read they are born at 18".
 
If we can buy local it'll be easier for us. We would ideally like to buy food once a month and keep those in the freezer. Shipping frozen things is very expensive and with just two snakes, doesn't seem worth it.

Is snapping their necks inhumane? We figured that was the easiest, most humane way to do it without getting into CO2 and all that jazz.
 
Cervical dislocation is quick and humane for mice. You place them on a cloth on a hard surface so they have something to grip. Place a pencil or similar firmly across the neck and give a quick pull on the base of the tail. It's best to freeze them thaw a home-killed mouse though, to kill of any internal parasites.
And.....lucky snakes to have been rescued by you!
 
If you can find a reptile show near you, you should be able to stock up, and they'll probably be less than half that each to get pre-killed, frozen rats. You can also usually get a mixed pack for growing snakes.

Another possibility is to call a local university if you have one. If they have animals that they buy in bulk for, you may be able to buy with them and share shipping costs.

Those are definitely lucky little boas! I hope Nagini feels better soon.
 
Again, you're doing great. You'll love those kiddos. Wasn't Nagina the momma cobra from Riki Tiki Tavi? Does Nagini mean something? Ronaldo sound like he should be playing for Manchester United or something. :)

I have used the Rat Deli in the past and was very pleased. The quality and packaging was top-notch. Even with shipping, prices came to a little over a dollar/rat. That said, they have been bought-out, and I haven't used them under their new management. Next time I need rats I will check out Big Cheese, as Nanci suggested. I've heard good things about them here and on another forum. If you have a little room in the freezer you can really save some money.

I just peeked at the Rat Deli. $30 for 50 rat fuzzies. I believe shipping for me was $35. so, you'd be looking at $65 for about six months worth of food. Big Cheese is in Texas; perhaps you'd pay less in shipping. Also, I might be in the minority here, but I don't care for Layne Labs. My order from them came with just big ziplock bags filled with widely varying sizes of rats. TRD's order comes neatly arranged and vacuum sealed, and the rats were very clean and uniformly sized as well.

We're not meaning to push you into ordering online, I hope, just trying to share our experience. You are obviously going to make a sound decision.
 
The closest a reptile show ever comes to us is 2.5 hours away, unfortunately. I'll look into Rat Deli and Big Cheese. After they get on a little more sizeable prey and we are a little better off financialy, (1-2 months tops) I will bring it up to my fiance. I don't think it will be too big of a problem if I can fit them all in two of these (in freezer ziplocks, of course) -
http://www.dollartree.com/household...ntainers-104-oz-/500c526c512p306367/index.pro

Nagini is named after Voldemort's horcrux in the Harry Potter. (; Ronaldo.... I'm not sure why he's named Ronaldo, my husband decided he looked like a Ronaldo and therefor he was named.... lol I won't fight with him too much, he is letting me keep two snakes that are going to hit 5-6 foot, maybe more.
 
Thank you!

As far as Nagini's RI, my husband and I read about a method where you boil 250mL of water, melt in half a teaspoon of vics, add three drops of Eucalyptus essential oil and place the snake in a shoe bin with holes in it in a larger bin without holes along with the cup of the mixture for 5 minutes, open it to get them air and make sure they are okay, and then put the lid back on for 5 more minutes. We want to try this to see if it helps, is this anything anyone has done? It's supposed to work well.
 
Big Cheese was cheaper as far as the size they need now but Rat Deli was cheaper as far as large rats. We will probably switch back and forth ordering about 6 months at a time from whoever comes out cheaper for the size we need. They'll have to be on the mice for now, we don't have any good local breeders (one is 1.5 hours one way and I bought a rat from them as a pet once only to have her die of heart failure a month later) and the other one is a block or so down and I was going to buy a pet from him after my girl died and he flaked out on us. I just don't trust the quality. I really want to get them on rats but it'll just have to wait, I'd rather them have quality mice than sub-par rats. We should be able to order food here in the next month, two months tops, so the mice won't hurt for now.
 
I would hesitate to use something like eucalyptus oils with a snake...they are sensitive to many strong oils and it can cause neurological issues...sometimes just raising the temps is enough...could be the animal is about to shed as well. If you don't see bubbles but there is clicking and popping it could be that....I can't see any of the pictures...it says it's unavailable...I would keep an eye on the snakes...boas and pythons have thin lung tissue and as such are very susceptible to RI and succumb to the disease quickly. If you do see bubbles I'd take it to a reptile vet and get it on some antibiotics.
 
Thought I might add, if you are still having any problems with the temperature fluctuating, you can place the hydrofarm probe between the bottom of the bin and the heat tape. That way the heat tape secures the probe to the bin giving you an accurate reading, but you don't have to worry about the probe shifting and the temperature spiking up... You might have to set the heat a few degrees higher, like 92. The hydrofarms usually bring the temps + or - 2 degrees from what you set it at.
 
The high temp would be for basking purposes only...like a heat lamp. Normal warm side temps should be in the mid 80's or so...up to 87....I wouldn't have permanent lay on spot of 92...they do very well with temps ranging from mid 70's to mid 80's....for the most part.
 
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