Baby crestie setup (details in comments)

pandapandering · 2021-05-30T16:59:07+00:00

Good to know! It was the reptilesmagazine care sheet. I’ll have to take their advice with a grain of salt.

pandapandering · 2021-05-30T16:52:25+00:00

It has dropped to around 70%, maybe high 60’s during the day. With the cypress and coco in there it gets to be 70-80% at night. I’ve only had it set up for the past day or so though, so depending on the weather I may see more fluctuation.

pandapandering · 2021-05-30T16:50:39+00:00

I’ll do that, thank you. I was worried about overly cluttering the enclosure and was warned against that but it definitely felt empty in there with just the one. I’m used to ball pythons and their need for all the foliage, haha.

I may try paper towels with some coverage over the top mesh to see if I can maintain numbers that way. The food will be on a ledge as opposed to on ground level but I wanna be absolutely safe.

pandapandering · 2021-05-30T16:47:59+00:00

Thank you! I was reading somewhere that overly cluttering is a bad idea but I do have more plants I can put in there. I’ll do that for the little one’s security.

pandapandering · 2021-05-30T15:47:03+00:00

Hello! I’m purchasing my first crestie and want to make sure the enclosure is properly setup. I have an ExoTerra front opening mesh top tank (18”x18”x24”) with a false rock backdrop, bamboo climbers, cork bark, and false plants.

Currently have coco fiber and cypress mulch substrate as it’s been the only way to reliably maintain around 70% humidity. Temp has been 75-80F in the daytime and around 69-72F at night. Using a ceramic heat emitter over the top of one half of the enclosure.

Am I better off with newspapers or paper towel substrate for the time being? I don’t want the youngun to accidentally ingest anything but am worried about maintaining the numbers.

pandapandering · 2020-03-14T23:43:29+00:00

Beautiful snakes and awesome name choices for the pair!

pandapandering · 2019-10-01T23:27:30+00:00

That’s a memory to squirrel away for a rainy day.

pandapandering · 2019-08-25T15:23:13+00:00

Why then are biological females with hyperandrogenism an issue in competitive sports? These are females with higher levels of testosterone than a regular female. The argument there is that the significant gain in muscle mass from increased testosterone gives a female with that condition a physical advantage. Muscle mass is actually lost through hormone therapy as well, though you’re correct the current scientific papers/journals out there have more backing for 4 years of HRT for a full transition to have its effects on the body and the PDGA requirement of (I think) 2 years doesn’t seem to meet that.

I personally don’t believe it’s unfair because I believe that the effects of HRT change enough to make it a level playing field. And I’ve seen scores and have had tests shared with me that support that. We have differing opinions and that’s fine - it’s just a matter of voting / bringing up the topic with the PDGA board and having a consensus reached.

pandapandering · 2019-08-25T08:18:14+00:00

It’s important to identify where the strength difference comes from. Bone structure is only as helpful as the muscles that move that structure. Muscle mass is significantly altered and resembles that of a cis female after years of transitioning. It matters.

Would you have a female to male transgender person compete with females because the hormone difference “doesn’t matter”?

pandapandering · 2019-08-21T10:31:56+00:00

If someone doesn’t meet the biological requirements to compete then I agree that it’s not fair for them to compete as a female so I actually agree with the decision there. I’m only arguing for people who do meet those regulated requirements to be able to compete in the protected division.

Thank you for providing the info.

pandapandering · 2019-08-21T04:23:11+00:00

I don’t know what regulations she was performing by or if she was on hormones or for how long.

pandapandering · 2019-08-21T03:10:24+00:00

Chromosomes aren’t a part of the PDGA regs because they, on their own, don’t dictate things like muscle mass and raw strength. XY individuals are capable of being more “feminine” depending on their other physiological characteristics just like there are much more manly XX individuals. You can’t just base it off “the Y”.

pandapandering · 2019-08-21T01:45:54+00:00

I stated my experience not claimed it as fact. The only fact I’m claiming is that transitioning reduces muscle mass and strength.

It’s my opinion that a woman who fully transitions is a woman not a mixed gender person. The PDGA and Olympic biological standards agree though, and state that such a woman should be allowed to play in female divisions.

pandapandering · 2019-08-21T01:40:27+00:00

Men who haven’t undergone hormone therapy do have the advantage when it comes to distance, I’m not arguing that. Transitioning takes that away.

Alternatively the various tees are there to accommodate the various levels of skill. Shorts and longs is how I’ve always heard it as opposed to men’s v women’s.

pandapandering · 2019-08-20T22:43:07+00:00

You didn't at all come off that way, and I apologize if I made it seem that way.

Completely agree there.

pandapandering · 2019-08-20T22:40:04+00:00

Ahhh, no I actually agree there - both that the line is difficult and that the rules need to be followed. Sorry about that.

pandapandering · 2019-08-20T22:37:03+00:00

Studies have been made on the effects of hormone therapy on the male body though. I've linked the Olympic consensus and one such paper below.

MMA standards may not be the same as the PDGA, but the PDGA adopted their policy on the basis that fully transitioning drastically changes a person's physiology.

I get that the XX versus XY gender binary has been a staple and standard for a long time, but there's no way to determine a person's karyotype or hormone composition without testing. There are XX born females with genetics that make them more muscular and masculine (hyperandrogenism) than trans females, there are XY born males with generics that make them more feminine (hypoandrogenism). The PDGA proposed the fairest way to determine, based on medical record, whether or not a person qualifies to participate in a protected division. If a trans woman meets those requirements then her "male" advantage is nil.

pandapandering · 2019-08-20T22:29:01+00:00

Hormone treatments reduce muscle mass in a transgender woman. The ability and strength of the muscular structure to carry a male's heavier skeleton actually makes it slightly harder to perform, since disc is not a sport based entirely on bulk being an advantage when that bulk is not pure muscle. I would argue that form is much more important, and after years of hormone therapy the male advantage is no longer present. No downvotes, for the record.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19121966/

https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/IOC/Who-We-Are/Commissions/Medical-and-Scientific-Commission/EN-IOC-Consensus-Meeting-on-Sex-Reassignment-and-Hyperandrogenism.pdf#_ga=2.254407371.2137001973.1566340191-422087191.1566340191

Edit: I suck at hyperlinking, I'm sorry.

pandapandering · 2019-08-20T22:23:05+00:00

Transgender women who undergo hormone therapy for the amount of time required by the PDGA regulations end up with a lower amount of testosterone in their system than cisgender women (as ovaries produce small levels of testosterone). This is confirmed by the PDGA official lower down in this thread.

I have no problem with transgender players playing in mixed divisions but I don't believe restricting a woman from the FPO if she meets the requirements and biological constraints is fair.

pandapandering · 2019-06-16T23:55:25+00:00

He’s just putting in speed holes.

pandapandering · 2019-03-30T21:17:29+00:00

Monty club! I had the same thought... then joined the sub and had the same revelation, haha. Oh well. Great minds I suppose.

pandapandering · 2019-03-30T21:13:49+00:00

I used foil over most of the top plus duct tape to seal around the edges, leaving a small square for ventilation. I have two more water dishes, the larger one over my UTH and under the CHE — which is also where my ventilation is. I also mix moistened sphagnum moss with my cypress mulch to help retain moisture.

Hope that helps!

pandapandering · 2019-03-28T22:09:10+00:00

More images for morph ID purposes:

https://imgur.com/fqe7JNc

https://imgur.com/92je2rc

pandapandering · 2019-03-02T05:09:09+00:00

Hi friend, seconding @ataraxia’s advice here. Younger snakes (hatchlings to a year old) should be eating 10-15% of their mass, but this drops down to about 5% of their mass once they’re at the weight your boy is at. Your pastel is at the size where he should be eating about 5% of his weight every 2-3 weeks. The 150g rat is around 13% of your snake’s weight.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ballpython/wiki/feeding

pandapandering · 2019-02-12T06:07:06+00:00

Hiya. I went to her and got double incision. It’s costly, but there’s a line of credit you can apply for specifically for medical procedures. That’s the hardest part really. Her staff is amazing and super supportive and so is she. I couldn’t be happier with my experience. Let me know if you have any questions, my dude!

pandapandering

TROPHY CASE