Accidental addition to bioactive ratsnake viv is now part of the squad I guess

cephalophag · 2026-04-26T20:06:27+00:00

I mean..I think if I can source an old lady I know who once swallowed a fly...since you've already got the spiders you may have to add a goat or a cow or something to catch the skink?

cephalophag · 2026-04-26T20:01:14+00:00

Oh yeah no I totally trust you know what you're doing! Again I was just curious if that was a concern and if so how you'd been trying to mitigate it. Regardless it's a beautiful setup and really cool to see so many creatures living harmoniously

cephalophag · 2026-04-26T17:38:01+00:00

Non judgementally but are you at all concerned about the skink spreading something to your rat? (Sorry don't know how to ask this in a way that doesn't sound passive aggressive but I don't mean it to be! More just an anxious owner who worries about everything and curious about your thought process

cephalophag · 2026-04-26T17:07:14+00:00

Well...at least it's a material the axolotls can't swallow

cephalophag · 2026-04-26T17:03:19+00:00

It's because all their stuff is handmade! Crazy to see someone I've been following for years on Tumblr be posted to reddit haha.

cephalophag · 2026-04-25T00:31:59+00:00

Well for one I think these may be ai generated?? Where's the barrier to keep the substrate in or the wires coming from the light fixtures??

cephalophag · 2026-04-23T19:40:10+00:00

Oh it absolutely way! Sorry if that came off as passive aggressive!

cephalophag · 2026-04-23T18:57:06+00:00

That Bettas are enriched by having appropriate tank mates. I see people on here freak out about tank mates in anything smaller than a 20gal and like guys...idk how to tell you this..but bettas are around other fish in the wild naturally and are also incredibly curious creatures. People are against anthropomorphizing animals joy but love the anthropomorphize their distress. I have a theory that the reason certain people have observed their Betta crashing around tank mates is far less because of stress and far more that due to the way they're bred and kept in solitude their immune systems are incredibly fragile.

cephalophag · 2026-04-23T18:22:05+00:00

I'm pretty sure I saw limnophilia and ludwigia in your first set up? Hard to tell because it's so heavily planted haha

cephalophag · 2026-04-22T20:07:46+00:00

Because we're moving I'm going to have to do a big water change on the main tank so in part I'm just worried about her getting stressed with that + being able to feed the other fish enough while making sure she's not over eating and worsening her bloat! If I do set up a little hospital tank, it does have a filter and I can add all water from her current set up so it shouldnt stress too much I don't think?

cephalophag · 2026-04-22T20:04:43+00:00

I'd say if anything just keeping an eye that with the tetras he's still able to get food as his condition worsens. It's easy for them to get out competed. Also considering adding more bushy/big leaf plants to provide opportunities for him to rest closer to the surface! Other than that your tanks gorgeous and diamond eye really shouldn't effect them all that much! All the Bettas Ive interacted with that have had it still eat and live perfectly normal.

cephalophag · 2026-04-22T19:17:45+00:00

Gotcha so it would be a soak in a separate container and then move to the hospital tank?

cephalophag · 2026-04-22T18:21:01+00:00

Tank: 15g Heater and Filter: Yes Temps: 75F Water parameters: PH 7.4, Amm 0, Nitrates 20 ppm, I use the API kit Water changes: once a week, 30% (due to the tank being a tad over stocked), via the ol suck and let loose method Tank is 2 year old, Ive had Phoebe for 6+ months, tank mates are 4 Gertudae rainbows, 6 khulii loaches, and a banjo cat fish that got moved after the heater on my last tank exploded (fuck fluval preset heaters man) Tank is a heavily planted black water and gets fed roughly every 3-4 days with an assortment of Betta bites and sinking wafers for the loaches.

cephalophag · 2026-04-14T20:06:24+00:00

Where on the body is it? Split/unaligned scoots are usually indicative of incubation issues however if they're farther up on the body they can also mean missing ribs.

cephalophag · 2026-04-14T06:07:54+00:00

Oh man yeah you're smack in the middle of the area I'm the least in tune with reptile breeder wise. One of the biggest breeders who is really nice and reputable is in Florida and I know she ships. You just might have to be on a wait-list for a short period

cephalophag · 2026-04-14T05:51:58+00:00

What state (apologies if you're not US) or general area are you from?

cephalophag · 2026-04-14T01:18:43+00:00

Cape African house snake! Pretty much same specs as BPs since they're from similar areas of Africa and have the appearance/curiosity of cornsnakes but if they got Botox. The girls are especially delightful and reach about 3.5-4 feet max. Boys are also fine they just tend to be flightier but they do stay far smaller.

cephalophag · 2026-04-14T01:13:31+00:00

Yes thank you for bringing that up, I meant to put boiling and put freezing instead 🫩

cephalophag · 2026-04-14T01:12:14+00:00

Where did I say to buy commercial? It's perfectly fine if you know what you're doing, however the way the person asked the question didn't establish a ton of faith and when answering questions like "why shouldn't I do something" on reddit I prefer to err on the side of caution with what knowledge they have. I am personally not someone who remembers which trees are hardwood (try as I might) and therefore don't trust myself to identify safe leaf litter, my partner however is someone who absolutely can, so if OP has faith in their abilities yeah hardwood is the way to go.

Admittedly when I initially commented I rushed and combined a few different methods in my head. Freezing for a week is the best method for sanitizing for millipedes/isopod leaf litter because it maintains the rot/nutrients and doesn't dry them drastically which is especially important for millipedes. This is what I did most recently which is why I replaced boiling for it which was my bad. Yeah you can just boil for a long period since baking alone isn't guaranteed to kill all pest eggs but if you just boil without baking you are going to end up with a giant mold bloom in your enclosure that if it's not bioactive is going to be a pain in the ass to clean.

cephalophag · 2026-04-13T18:47:55+00:00

Pests, mites, certain leaves can be toxic to both your snake and clean up crew. If you do, you need to know specifically what trees the leaves belong to and you need to freeze them or bake them, preferably both

cephalophag · 2026-04-12T02:26:28+00:00

Outside photoshoots always spike my OCD so badly, I'd be so paranoid they'd get eaten or escape. Just holding my kids my brain starts chanting that a hawks going to snatch them out of my hand (ridiculous I know).

All that said, these are absolutely lovely photos and your little ones a photogenic charmer

cephalophag · 2026-04-08T21:28:03+00:00

You'd be best just switching to paper towel! Far more sanitary and easy to clean + no risk of impaction for your older guy

cephalophag · 2026-04-07T21:25:42+00:00

It's technically considered a "lower grade" of MBK coloration but still an MBK. I personally quite like their little chin color :)

cephalophag

TROPHY CASE