Sadness, Joy and Snakes

I am sad to report that AFF did not make it. 

Her swelling did not subside no matter what I tried, and she began to have seizures. As it looked like she ould not be able to have a good quality of life, we decided to put her down.  

It was the merciful thing to do, as she never did eat or move well. 

I absolutely HATE this part of the business, and I have never been able to completely come to terms with having to do it no matter how many times we have had to.

Joel helps me with this part, since there are times where I cannot deal with it alone. 

I am glad to have him.

Anyway, in an effort to stop thinking to hard about the inevitable, I took lots of pictures. It has been a few months since I have really gotten in there and took photos, so this was a refreshing change of pace.

Also, I have figured out how to play Pandora in the snake room, which makes my life in the room much more enjoyable.

Music is one of my joys as well. I sing in the snake room often, and although I can't claim that there is much in the way of benefit to the snakes, it makes me feel better about shoveling snake excrement and getting bit by little snotty snakes.

The original! The Onyx

Just sing your cares away! 

As I promised a few weeks ago, I have the original Onyx up for a photo session. I actually think I may be able to use her this year, and I have NO IDEA what to put her to. That will be fun to figure out.

Lastly, my other new joy... (kinda).

Meet Dr. Bun Bun McChubby.

She was found by a friend of mine at his work, in the botanical gardens. Apparently someone abandoned her, and he caught her and put her up for adoption.

I, being the excessive animal lover that I am, and never having had a rabbit before, jumped at the chance.

I expected to be deathly allergic to her, as I am with many many other furry creatures.

I am NOT.

HOORAY!

So now, we have a bunny.

And Joel calls her "Doc".

Case in point:

Joel: "What's up, Doc?"
Bun Bun: ........

Also, it is amusing to note that she does not seem to like men. Different...

Anyway, that is all for the week so far.


I am looking forward to seeing the reports back from NARBC Tinley this weekend.


I'm sure there will be plenty to talk about.

Until next week, my friends.

Pairings that make sense

Now that it is time again to think about pairings, I go back to the problem that I always have...

Pairings that make sense NOW or pairings that make sense LATER.

I am the type of person to set goals and work towards them for as long as it takes... Especially back in the day when Possible Hets were the only thing affordable in the Recessive game.  I bought groups of possible hets to try and prove out. I actually still have a few that have yet to be proven one way or the other.

But does that make sense now?

It is much easier now a days to find someone who has made that piece of your breeding puzzle, and all you need to do is plunk down some dollas/scrilla/scratch/cheddar or offer them a trade.

Or both.

I personally like Cheddar. It's delicious.

As I am sure that some people are infinitely more patient than I, there are people that like working with Hets. And I really respect that.

I do it, but now it has been with 100%ers.

It took me a LONG time to get into the Clown project. I made my own Possible Hets from a Het male, and proved them out over the last three years.

Back then, for me, the pairing made sense.. Het Clown to Pastel female. DONE.

Now?

I wouldn't do it. 

Reason?

Resources. I have more opportunities and more animals that I can play with.

And those animals make sense.

Now I absolutely support people doing what I did back in the day if that is what you can and want to do. It is very rewarding and a great way to make sure that the possible hets are possible!

Back then, it was easier. Less options, more clear cut projects to work on.

Now, my head swims with ideas and new things to pair up and see what happens.

Still not sure what I am doing with some animals, like the Onyx.

But of course, with more resources comes more responsibility... and things to think about.

It's charting time.

And introductions to new males for the season.

Tell me: What do you plan to do, and how do you plan it?

Let's discuss...

Have a great day, my friends!

Distractions from Snakes

So I admit it... There are times where I am distracted from dealing with the snakes.

If you are a constant reader, you know that I work full time, do school to pursue my Masters, and have a few things like a Husband and fuzz children to take care of.

I have also fallen prey to Candy Crush, Plants vs. Zombies, and The Simpsons: Tapped Out! games...

It's rather sad how often I indulge, where I know I should be doing other more productive things.

BUT!!!

I do get back into the groove when I know it is time, and the snakes get their fair shake, especially now that I have dedicated the time to do the blog at least three times a week.

But of course, as I am typing this, I am also playing Candy Crush on my iPad.

Multitasking for the win!

(BTW: Level 410 is a BITCH.)

So with this season already winding down for me, the next season is upon me!
I am working on a plan to revamp the collection, and I am already rather conflicted.

WHAT DO I KEEP WORKING ON? WHAT DO I LET GO OF?

I spend plenty of time figuring things out in the rest of my world, and managing things well.

Now when it comes to the snakes, there are times where I am completely stumped.

I have been doing this for a while, and there is always something new and cool to do... which completely derails the plans from two or three years ago when I got into a particular project.

I have to say that half of the stuff I made this year was not planned for a particular project. And of course when I have people ask me "What is a good project to start in?", I always answer "Whatever you like the most!"

That is a complete cop-out, and I know it. 

The problem with answering that question is this: I am not you. I have no idea what you like, what your resources are, what you want to really do in this hobby....

I can't answer that question without just saying "Morph X" because it looks cool, or because I have one for sale...

And that is not right, and I can not in good conscience do that to anyone. 

So, as I have learned this technique in my life, I answer the question with another question, so that you can figure it out yourself without my random suggestion that has no real bearing on what you want. 

Anyway, with all of the distractions I have, I always spend the time on the blog to convince myself that now is the time to focus on what the heck I'm doing. This is important, and I really do need to get on it.

The list of things has been made, and I need to get to pairing plans soon. There are a few animals that are already paired, and I have to say it will be fun this year, with lots of things ready to go.

What do you think would be cool to see? Give me suggestions to add to the list of things to make happen...

Of course, if you are looking to buy a certain morph, that would also help me work it in as well. Help me help you..

Have a great week, my friends.

Growing Males and Plans

It seriously seems like I am talking about planning the next season every other month. This year went by SO FAST!

And of course, when that happens, I have to stop and account for the things that have happened over the year and figure out what the heck I'm going to do.

I just finished compiling a list of what I have (with not everything, cause I'm still debating on a few things).

 

Like this guy. Black Pewter Mojave het Pied male...

Total powerhouse, 'amirite?

But should I keep him, keep his sister, sell them both and work it out???

I don't know yet.

To be determined.

And then there are those males that I held back or got last year that I am ready to consider using.

I did jump into the Coral Glow stuff last year. I LOVE how he looks. 

And the black spots keep popping up everywhere. 

No, he does not have mites. 

They are just awesome spots. 

Spots of awesome.

(I'm going to see if I can make that a thing... Spots of awesome, not unlike the Egg Butt Puff of breeding females. That caught on pretty well... We shall see)

 

Of course, it is a little blurry, but this is one of my newest acquisitions. 

Welcome to the fold, Puma! I am going to work this into the Solar Flare stuff and see what happens.

He's pretty bad-ass. I do not have any Super Stripe Stuff to compare it to, but I like the way he looks. Maybe even get a Super Stripe just for comparison... Dunno.

Clever name for him? I'm not there yet. Give me some time.

 

And this guy was a purchase from a while back that is being used in several projects here to complete some female pairings. 

 

 

This is POG 2.0. 

Pastel Orange Ghost 2.0.

2.0, you ask?

Well, he is the newest version of POG male in my collection.

POG het Pied. 

So... POGHP.

I'm not even sure how to pronounce that.

Pawguhhupp?

Maybe we will just stick with the POG 2.0.

He has several girlfriends to attend to this year. I'm looking forward to it.

What is it that you are all looking forward to this year?

What projects do you think will be good ones to work on?

Have a great weekend, my friends.

Sacramento Recap and Musings

So it's been a few days since Sacramento, and I have to say, it has always been a family affair.

Kids come around wanting to touch and hold, parents are there to teach and exhaust their overhyped children, and everyone wants hand sanitizer. (I have several bottles on the table, and EVERYONE uses it... even if just to come by and pump some out, ignoring my greetings)

I enjoy teaching people about the awesomeness that is Ball Pythons, but I get the oddest questions. Let's review some, shall we?

"So these are Boa Pythons?"
My response: Those are two different types of snakes. These are BALL Pythons.
"So Boa Pythons?"

"Do you have 'X species'?"
My response: No, I only have Ball Pythons, I'm sorry.
"Are you sure?"

"Did you know your shirt says Shlong on it?"
My response: It says Shlange, which is German for snake.

"I'm worried that these snakes will eat my (insert large domestic critter that would destroy said snake here)"
My response: I do not think that would be a problem. They are rather docile, and I'm almost certain your (animal) will be able to defend itself. Also, it wouldn't be an issue if your caging is appropriately locked up.

"Are these snakes poisonous?"
My response: No, even if you do eat them, you will be fine. I don't suggest it, however. They are also not venomous, which is what I am pretty sure you meant to ask.

There were also times where I was impressed with the depth of knowledge from some of the people I talked to. It's rather hit or miss, and of course one must not judge a book by its cover.

No matter what, the interactions with people is always what I enjoy the most about shows. It was a pleasure to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones. Customers from years past come thru and tell me about how their snakes are doing. Apparently there is a snake out there that I produced whose name is now "Pasta". I love it!


What I find interesting about shows are the people who talk to each other about buying, while all right in front of me. In a different language.

Here's the problem with that...

I speak several languages, including Spanish.

I've caught a lot of comments in languages I'm supposed to not understand that are rather unflattering, or just plain rude. Of course, this spans not just snake shows, but many other facets of life.

I'm not exactly sure how people can justify that, but I guess that is something one must accept.

And of course the fun part is answering in the language a question they were asking their partner or friend.. MWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


Anyway, the next show we will be doing is going to be San Diego in November, which will be a first for me. I'm looking forward to it, and I hope to meet many new customers there. And throngs of people in Heather's Herps shirts. :)


Have a great day, my friends.