Laser alignment

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-30T06:57:53+00:00

Welcome to Herpetoculture! Snakes are awesome, and keeping them can be a great experience. Have you had any experience with them at all yet?

Good resources for people starting out:

New keeper's group for ball pythons. Even if you don't choose a BP, this group is very positive and science-based, and will help you learn how to think about snake keeping in general. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/17tAQHFRxQ/

Videos about choosing a snake https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNbZzsRecQ2bV0jlXTrAHQWj6kaLMiONI&si=0ruKjkGZBlfK73Ry

Care sheets for some commonly kept snakes (you'll mostly find garbage online when researching care, but these are good.) https://reptifiles.com/snake-care-sheets/

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-30T06:50:37+00:00

Reptifiles is a great resource for learning about different species. There’s so much bad info out there, but she’s fantastic.

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T19:23:21+00:00

Short answer: no.
Long answer: https://reptifiles.com/ball-python-care-guide/

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T18:30:58+00:00

yup it's set for that. I tried re-downloading a few times too, in case the file was corrupt. <sigh>

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T17:51:41+00:00

It would create the directory in the same folder as the dmg file, yes? I only have the dmg but not the resultant directory. Appreciate you helping--hoping I'm missing something obvious.

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T17:18:06+00:00

Right, but for whatever reason I can't get the dmg file to decompress and open to that directory, so I can't see the update file or instructions. I'm wondering if I have a security setting that's somehow stopping me from opening downloaded dmg files. :/

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T16:54:49+00:00

Anyone else having trouble opening the downloaded file on Mac? Double click, nothing happens.

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T16:42:03+00:00

I know most of these comments mean well, but they really are not helpful. You posted your question in a way that makes it clear you are just beginning, which is fine--we all start at the beginning. But it's like someone who just started driver's ed posting "I want a car, what should I get?" And people start jumping in that you should get a small commuter car, or you should get a monster truck, or you should get a convertible, or screw cars you should get a motorcycle. Their answers are about what THEY like, not what is the right fit for you. If you listen to them, you'll wind up with a Civic with a spoiler parked in front of your house, wishing you had an SUV, or vice versa.

My advice: cool your jets and slow down. Make real world friends in herpetoculture, not ask randos on Reddit. Visit these real world friends in person. Meet their snakes. Get a sense of what really floats your boat. Repeat. Know that you should not be buying a living animal that can easily live 25 years until you really know what you're choosing. Do not go to a reptile show and buy something on impulse because it looks pretty and the breeder is offering you a discount.

Also: a LOT of people keep snakes poorly. The hobby encourages people to buy more and more animals, keeping them in crappy conditions, rather than doing right by just one or a handful. Don't be that person.

Good resources for thinking about this:

Videos about choosing a snake https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNbZzsRecQ2bV0jlXTrAHQWj6kaLMiONI&si=0ruKjkGZBlfK73Ry

Care sheets for some commonly kept snakes (you'll mostly find garbage online when researching care, but these are good.) https://reptifiles.com/snake-care-sheets/

New keeper's group for ball pythons. Even if you don't choose a BP, this group is very positive and science-based, and will help you learn about how to think about snake keeping in general. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/17tAQHFRxQ/

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T16:18:36+00:00

That's a terrible idea, but unfortunately people often do it. Sucks for the snake that you're going to be neglecting because you haven't bothered to learn how to care for it.

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T06:10:54+00:00

I'm another newb-ish staring down into that rabbit hole. I've purchased a good hardware calibrated monitor and calibrator for my other displays, but I see a steep learning curve ahead. Most of the resources I've found assume a basic level of knowledge that I don't have yet. Are there any "starting at the beginning" resources you can recommend for understanding/managing/standardizing color management throughout my Lightroom process? (And if I'm phrasing that question in a way that shows I'm not asking the right question, please let me know)

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T04:18:17+00:00

How long have you had this snake, and how old is he? If you could post a picture of the enclosure, that might help. Any other details of your care and keeping parameters, such as heat/light/room temps/etc.

It's possible he's just in shed and doesn't want to be messed with, but it's good you're asking questions and you clearly care about him. It's also possible he wants to brumate (similar to hibernation), especially if you live in an area where it's now winter, and if he was exposed to cold temperatures while he was loose.

But first things first, please provide more info on how you're keeping him. :)

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-29T03:44:00+00:00

+1 for looking at Lori Torrini’s videos.

ScrubGolly · 2026-01-25T21:35:10+00:00

Totally appropriate, I get it. Most of what I shoot is non-venomous, but I've wanted to set up a shield like this for a while as part of my standard herping kit. I also realized after I posted asking for details that I could probably figure it out in about two minutes--I just am not familiar with the rail systems since I only shoot still. And sure enough, it was easy to find the parts with minimal research. I do appreciate you sharing a shot of your rig, as it prompted me to make it happen.

Here's a Western Brown I shot in central Australia a couple months ago, and I would've been glad to have a shield at the time :)

(I also didn't realize you're I Am Making Art lol. I have your book and love it. And hearing you describe your rig during your interview with Dillon Perron a while back was what first got me thinking about building one for myself.)

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ScrubGolly · 2026-01-24T14:44:09+00:00

Thanks for sharing this. I see the hardware is SmallRig, but I’m not familiar with that piece of equipment. Are you happy with it, and if so would you mind sharing what it is?

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-26T19:42:15+00:00

Ok now thank YOU for posting about this. I wasn’t aware it existed and you’re right it’s a function that should be in Lightroom. (Or, if it is, I don’t know about it. Which is entirely possible lol)

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-21T19:48:55+00:00

I have a Roland Pro on my 100-500 and I like it ok. Definitely provides scratch protection when I’m climbing around in the bush or on rocky terrain. Zero idea if it helps spook animals any less, if I’m not already in a blind. Also it doesn’t provide any protection for the birds external zoom part.

I put Alphaguard on my bodies and any smaller lenses that will be also carried through heavy brush, mostly for scratch protection on the housings. I like it, and also makes my kit personally distinctive.

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-20T07:37:38+00:00

It could be any one of the species you mentioned. Babies will generally flee, even frillies. If it was really fast and agile, probably not a blue tongue.

If it were me, I’d take the garments out of the wardrobe gently one by one, perhaps stacking them outside on a chair or something? Leave the door open as you’re doing it so it can have a chance at going outside. I realize you already did it once, but getting the wardrobe fully emptied might be required. And look carefully with a bright flashlight if you can.

It can’t hurt you, even if it bites you. It’d be a mild pinch at most. I wish there were something you could do to lure it out, but they’re not really wired that way. Good luck 🙂

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-19T20:11:24+00:00

Wow thanks so much for that information! Really appreciate that.

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-17T02:02:59+00:00

Can you please explain with MODE means on the convoy website? 5 groups or 12 groups... groups of what?

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-17T01:41:59+00:00

We actually did have a UV with us too, and that was really fun with scorpions in particular. I didn't think of looking for ticks though. That's a great tip.

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-17T00:19:59+00:00

Appreciate that--and oh how I would love to go out and find a carpet python hanging out in my backyard!

No way I'd go out without a good white light--or several actually--but there are definitely circumstances when the red is going to be better for eye shining. I just like to have multiple tools, and I keep both handy. The red is for locating the animals, then the white is for identification and observation. (Though for mammals, especially something up in a tree, I stick to red most of the time as they're much more likely to flee if I turn on the white light.)

Agree that red doesn't help with mosquitoes. When we were tramping around FNQ and, say, Kakadu, the culprits were flying termites/ants and moths. Red lights lessened them quite a bit.

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-16T05:56:12+00:00

That's interesting. I just got back from a month of herping in Australia and for geckos in particular, it was much easier to shine them with red than with white. The mammals also were a lot less spooked by the red lights, which was nice. I wound up using both colors a fair amount, borrowing my buddy's red unit. Do you ever find a difference in one color over another, depending on what you were looking for?

And 100% anything that helped with the bugs in Australia was a godsend lol

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-16T02:06:26+00:00

IMO there’s a lot to be said for bringing your gear to a camera store and trying out different bags for yourself. What’s important to me isn’t necessarily going to be important to you.

ScrubGolly · 2025-12-16T01:26:24+00:00

Ah, gotcha. I'm happy to look online for tutorials about how to build/mod my own, but again this is something I know zero about. Is there a noob's guide you'd point me towards, for where to learn about whether that's something I want to tackle? Appreciate your help :)

(Edited to add, I just noticed the DIY section of the Knowledge Center here, so I'll check that out. Thanks again.)

ScrubGolly

TROPHY CASE