[Pitrius City] Scaled Studies Part 2

[Ialari Pythone]

Continued From Here

The hiding stone was basically a rock that came in many shapes and sizes from the size of a fist to the size of one’s head and even larger for the bigger habitats. Extending out from the bottom base of the stone was a flatter square piece that from the looks of it, would lay under the moss, dirt, sand or whatever else the case was lined with. “The inside of the case should be kept rather warm.” He picked up a small, square piece of steel roughly the size of a six-sided die. “This piece of metal is magecrafted to maintain the temperature at the appropriate level. It allows the temperature to fluctuate throughout the case while maintaining a higher temperature in and around the stone itself. This allows the snake the option of hiding in the stone to warm up or moving away from it to cool down. The benefit of the die is that the magic is permanent and infallible. As you can see, it acts as a pad of heat as well that covers the bottom of the case. This gives the snake the belly heat it needs to digest food.”

Tyranil stepped to the side and allowed Ialari to handle the case and the heating stone while also sorting through the other accessories. As she did, Tyranil gave her instructions on assembling the case herself. She opened the closed case. She laid the hiding stone down in one corner. She picked up a bowl of dirt and poured it into the case while spreading and evening it out. Next came some clumps of moss that she stretched and scattered about. Then there was the small bowl that water would go into that she put on the other end of the case.

As Ialari assembled the case, Tyranil said, “The temperature needs to be maintained at a certain level and so does the moisture in the air. This is also a task for the die. See the indentation on the side of the stone? Take a die and push it into the indentation. The die is slightly larger so it will fit snug into place. To activate it, simply say warm if you want to set the heat to the right temperature or say cold to reduce it. The stone will also react to the water in the bowl and produce moisture in the air. As long as there is water in the bowl, the moisture level will be maintained.”

“How does the stone know what level of heat and moisture is needed?” Ialari asked.

Tyranil replied, “When magecrafting the die, a minor reagent is required. If you ever decide to get into magecraft you will learn more about all that. Anyway, the reagent needed to set the stone’s behavior is the liquefied scales of a snake. Normally just some shed skin will do just fine. Boil it up and break it down into a thick liquid and there you go, you have the reagent needed to help with the magecraft process. While it is a simple process, relatively speaking, to make the dice, it does require some amount of competency in the magecraft process.”

Ialari nodded and asked, “So what happens if the moisture isn’t right?”

Tyranil shook his head and said, “Low moisture can bring about all manner of lung infections. You can tell this is an issue when you hear a wheezing coming from the snake or a foamy discharge from its mouth. Raising the temperature and moisture level will usually fix minor cases of this but if you use the dice, it isn’t much of an issue. It could become an issue in the larger habitats but, at least with the ones I have here, I use larger dice that can accommodate the larger area.” Tyranil thought a moment and added, “Also, the type of bedding you use can help maintain moisture. Mulch from a cypress can hold water well. Put some in your case or habitation, wet it down or twice ever seven to ten days and it should work. Fresh moss is good too. Never use pine or cedar though as they tend to produce a gas that is rather toxic to reptiles in general.”

The mention of something toxic caught Ialari’s attention and she was sure to make note of it in her journal.

“So I’m sure you’ve had plenty of time spent with Salivar. He is quite different though from any of the snakes I have here. While I have an isurian python, I don’t have one quite as intelligent as Salivar. See, handling a ball python is a bit different. As far as handling snakes is concerned, they are one of the best. They don’t usually strike in aggression. The only time I’ve ever been bitten by a python is during feeding time.” Tyranil held out his flesh hand to show two rather large scars left by the fangs of a python. “If you are feeding and bring a rodent into the same room as a python, they will smell the animal and become interested in it. If you happen to open the case and stick your hand in, the snake may think its feeding time and try and take a bite. I don’t suggest using your blessed to reach in either as you could hurt the snake if it bites.” Tyranil commented while gesturing with his metallic hand.

[Ialari Pythone]

“Something I would also suggest is not handling a newly hatched or newly caught ball python for at least a few weeks after acquiring them or at least until it has fed a few times. Handling in general can be a bit stressful for them even if they don’t show it. Stress them out and they won’t eat properly and may affect their ability to assimilate into their new environment.” Tyranil inspected Ialari’s assembly of the case. It wasn’t a difficult task but he was curious as to how well she was actually listening and observing. Noting that she had done all the basics, he nodded his approval.

Ialari then asked about something Tyranil had mentioned earlier. “You said something about shedding. I’ve seen Salivar shed a few times but didn’t really understand it all.”

Tyranil walked over to another case, this one more for storage, and reached in to pull out a piece of snakeskin about two feet in length. “Not just with ball pythons but with all snakes, they shed their skin several times a year. For the ball python, it’s easy to see when they are getting ready to shed. If you look, their coloring begins to dull and their eyes go cloudy, almost a blue-grey in color. This is happening because there is a liquid forming underneath the eye scale that allows it to separate from the eye itself. The whole process in general takes several days and you shouldn’t handle them during that time. When their shedding, they can’t see very well. Unlike the isurian python who is already blind, the ball python as well as other snakes can get frightened if you pick them up while they are shedding.” Tyranil held out the snakeskin for Ialari to examine.

Ialari took the snakeskin and ran her fingers over its soft, scaly texture. It wasn’t quite like real snakeskin but it was still fun to look at and touch.

“Sometimes, if the moisture in the air isn’t right, the python may have trouble shedding. It may still have patches of dry skin on its body or eyes. I don’t usually have any issues with this but if it does happen, I just put them in a case with just enough water to barely cover their body. I use heated water that is roughly the temperature maintained by the die and let them soak. It should be just enough water to soak in but not so much that the snake has to swim. I crack open the viewing window just a hair to let air in. After an hour or so, you should be able to reach in and gently rub the old skin off.” Tyranil took the shed skin back from Ialari and returned it to the case he pulled it from.

Tyranil then led Ialari out of the small breeding shack to a slightly larger building. Inside, there were several cages and clear glass cases filled with mice and rats. Ialari wrinkled her nose at the smell. She never did like the smell of rodents and often found them to be quite revolting. She noticed how, with each building they walked into, Tyranil always closed the door behind them without fail. Ialari assumed it was to keep anything from escaping just in case something had found a way out of its habitat. Ialari, though not focusing too much on the disgusting vermin that surrounded her, did take a quick glance at the various creatures. There was everything from baby mice with their lack of hair and undeveloped eyes to large rats almost the size of her head.

Tyranil noted her distaste for the rodents. “You get used the smell after a while.” He said with a sly grin on his face.

Ialari held her hand lightly to her face and shook her head in disagreement.

[Ialari Pythone]

“Ok, so, as with many snakes, the ball python eats mice and rats. With any snake that is kept in one of any size of cases that I use, I never leave a rodent in with the snake unattended. It’s not a big deal in the large habitats like the first one you saw. In the more enclosed areas like the cases though, it is unwise. Baby mice and rats can’t hurt a snake but the larger ones can and may even kill the snake.” Tyranil walked over to one of the clear glass cases and opened up the sliding window on the lid. Reaching in, he pulled a large rat out by the tail. It was brown with a light tan underbelly. “The ball pythons in particular will not kill a mouse or rat to defend itself. The larger mice and rats have a pretty nasty bite and can gnaw and chew on a snake pretty bad.” Tyranil put the rat back in the case. He walked around the room showing Ialari the different mice and rats.

“So to start, hatchlings, when they are ready to start eating, are fed what are called mouse crawlers. These are a little bigger than the fuzzies. They are harmless as they don’t see well, don’t move quickly and are not prone to biting. They aren’t as large as the hoppers or weanlings.” Tyranil showed Ialari each of the different stages of mouse that are used for the different sized snakes.

“Once a snake has eaten several times, I usually give it a small rat fuzzy instead of a mouse. I like to have the babies take rats at a pretty early age as I find my pythons who are raised on the rats tend to grow much faster than those raised on mice. Once a baby has started feeding on rats, they don’t get any more mice.” Tyranil showed Ialari the rat fuzzies which were larger than the mice but still comparatively harmless looking.

Ialari still avoiding looking too close at the rodents though she was sure to make notes of the different sizes, ages and characteristics of each of the rodent types. “How often do they feed?” She asked.

“Most of the pythons I have here I feed once every seven days or so. This goes for the babies, juveniles, young adults and even my breeders. Now there are times where I want one to grow and mature faster. In that case I offer them a couple extra feedings every 30 days or so.” Tyranil opened a few jars of various crumbs and grains and began sprinkling some in each of the different cages and cases.

Ialari, looking up from the notes she was taking, asked, “Hmm…is there an easy way to judge what size of food is good to feed?”

Tyranil continued feeding the rodents but turned his head slightly and said, “Kind of. The size of the roden should be roughly the same diameter as the thickest part of the snake. A hatchling can easily reach almost 10 times its size by the time it’s a year old. If they happen to stop eating a around 60 days after they are a year old, it’s nothing to be too concerned about. Just keep trying to feed them every 15 days or so until they start eating again. It’s just a normal behavior that can happen from time to time. If it still refuses to eat, you may want to break down the problem and investigate possible causes.”

“What could be the cause?” Ialari asked.

Tyranil finished feeding the rodents and put the food away. “Is there something wrong with the case setup? Is there some outside stimulus that is causing stress? Maybe it doesn’t like the food you’re giving it. You really have to trial and error to figure it out. With the adults, they have enough body fat to go more than a season without eating. The babies though may need to be force fed if all else fails.” Tyranil decided then to spare Ialari further torture from the smell of the rodent house and led her back outside. “Alright, so you’ve kind of an idea of the basics and some of the more-than-basics. We can work on some of the more advanced and detailed aspects of raising and breeding pythons later. I do however want to give you an overview of snake breeding. This will be rather note intensive so be ready to record but I want to listen and ask questions too. We can get more into the visuals later though.”

Ialari nodded and said, “I can’t wait to watch them eat.” A slightly sinister smile crossed her face.

[Ialari Pythone]

Tyranil knew Ialari to be a bit dark, even for a Pitrius, but he had to admit that feeding time was somewhat therapeutic even if it was a bit violent. That would come later though. For now, he led Ialari back into the first snake habitat she entered upon her arrival at his home. The lighting inside was already rather dim although it seemed to have dimmed even more since she had left to explore the other buildings. Tyranil took a seat on the hollow log while Ialari sat on a rock near the fountain. The air was rather thick and moist, not what Ialari was used to. She found herself clearing her throat constantly and found it difficult to breathe. She didn’t complain though despite wanting to spend as little time there as necessary.

Tyranil began, “Of all the snakes I have cared for over the years, I find the ball pythons to be the easiest to breed. Most of the males are ready to breed at the age of one year when they are about one pound. As for the females, they generally breed at about three pounds or more. For them though it usually takes two to three years if fed on a normal feeding schedule. I’ve had one female lay large, fertile clutches of eggs by the time they reached two years of age. However, she did not stop eating regularly at any point during that time.” Ialari scrawled down the notes in her journal but had to grab another stick of charcoal as the first one had been used up.

“Is there a preferred age or size for the females to be before they breed?” Ialari asked as she looked up from her notes.

Tyranil nodded and said, “Overall, you want to let the females get larger and older than the average before breeding if you can help it. When you give the mother time to mature, she could actually lay larger clutches in the future. Also, if in early autumn, you allow the temperature in their habitat to cool, you can introduce the males about 20 days later. Place the male in the female’s habitat. When I am looking to increase my python population around here, I usually try to breed the male to about five females. Every day or two, I remove the male from one female and put him in with the next. After about six to seven days, the male has been with every female I intended him to be with. I usually make a mark in my own notes regarding the day the male has been with the female so that over the course of the next 15 days or so I can get him back with each of the females often. However, never interrupt the breeding. Rotate when they aren’t in the process of doing the deed if you get my drift. Nobody likes that.” Tyranil wasn’t exactly one for manners.

Ialari narrowed her eyes at Tyranil’s tasteless comment but did not respond to it. “How often do you continue this whole rotation process?” She asked.

Tyranil hoped for at least a chuckle from Ialari or even a bit of blushing. When all he got was a dirty look, he decided it was best to stick to business. Zyleron had told him that Ialari could be a bit too serious at times. While Tyranil hoped to someday break through that cold exterior and see if the girl was indeed as passionate about snakes as he hoped, it was probably a task best saved for the future. “The rotation continues for just short of a season or so. You don’t really stop until you see if the female is going to deveop egg follicles for that year or if you see obvious signs that she’s gravid or pregnant. The most obvious sign is a bit of mid-abdominal swelling that looks like she just ate a huge meal. This should only last for a day or two but once that happens, further breeding isn’t needed. At that point, the eggs have been fertilized and further breeding won’t matter.”

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari pondered a few questions she had before speaking up, “Is there any other signs that the female has gravid?”

Tyranil nodded, “The female tends to light several shades in color when she’s gravid. It’s probably the best indicator. She also spends most of her time in a tight coil. If you watch too, when she is about 15-20 days away from laying her eggs, she will usually dig a small crater and stay there until the clutch is laid. It’s good to keep notes on all of this when it’s happening so that you can monitor everything easier.”

Ialari was tired of sitting so she stood up and walked over to a small, nearby tree. Leaning against it, she continued to write as Tyranil shared the wealth of information he had. Ialari had visited Tyranil from time to time when she was younger yet she never really saw much of his operation. She spent the majority of her visits listening to her father and him drone on about family issues.

“Females lay their eggs within their coiled body. She usually coils completely around them and will remain that way until they hatch or until she is separated from them. You have to be gentle when removing her from the eggs because most females get very aggressive during this time and are prone to biting. The fertile eggs are roughly the size of a large chicken egg. They are usually white but can also have a few discolored spots or patches. They feel leathery but firm. You can tell the infertile eggs from the fertile ones from their much smaller size and yellowish coloring. They can sometimes be soft and spongy as well. You want to toss those but if there is any question to their fertility, go ahead and put them in a case to incubate. Most of the time, I usually leave the mother with the eggs unless I feel there is any reason to do otherwise.” Tyranil leaned over and peaked in the hole in the hollow log. He leaned back a moment later and continued.

“The eggs take about 55 to 60 days to hatch. About 15-20 days before hatching, most eggs will cave in or even dimple a little. It’s normal and you shouldn’t worry about it. At that point though, check the eggs daily. The babies should be able to escape the egg without any assistance. I don’t usually assist as I would prefer to nurture strength in the baby from the moment it hatches. When they are all hatched, you sex them, which I will show you later. Then you give them a wet cloth and a water bowl while keeping them in the case. After about seven or eight days, each of the babies will shed. Within a few days of that, you can give the babies their first meal. Most will take to the food right away while others may hold out for a several days.” Tyranil stood up from the log and stretched his arms. He took a few steps away from the log and poked around the brush a little bit.

Then with a shrug he said, “That’s about it for the basic rundown of things. The cases and habitats, the feeding, breeding, growth and reproduction…yeah, I think that about does it. If you want, you can hang out for a while; wander around a bit and such. If you have any questions feel free to give me a shout out and I will head your direction. I got some chores to tend to so just remember, close the doors on your way in and out of any of the buildings. Oh, and I would suggest staying out of the big black building toward the back. That’s where I keep the vipers and you aren’t quite ready to wander around in there on your own quite yet.”

Ialari raised an eyebrow at his mention of her not being ready but didn’t pursue the matter. She was more than content to wander around the rest of the grounds and further flesh out her notes. It was still pretty early in the day with plenty of time left to explore. Perhaps she would even get to see some of the feeding.

[Ialari Pythone]

Thread Grade

Animal Husbandry: Snakes 5
Observation 3

Lore: Building a functional snake habitat constrictor snakes
Lore: Using liquified snake scales as a regeant in magecrafting
Lore: Liquified snake scales are used in magecrafting to create a heat/moisture stone
Lore: Importance of the right moisture level for snake health
Lore: Cypress mulch serves as a good bedding for captive snakes
Lore: Wet Pine or Cedar tends to produce a gas that is toxic to reptiles
Lore: Importance of handling newly captured ball pythons after they’ve fed a few times
Lore: The when, how and why of snakes shedding their skin
Lore: Importance of not leaving unattended live food with a captive snake
Lore: Feeding mouse crawlers (baby mice) to snake hatchlings
Lore: Knowing the right type of food to give to the right size of constrictor snake
Lore: Diagnosing causes of stress in a captive snake
Lore: Frequency, appropriate time and handling during the breeding of ball pythons
Lore: Properties, traits and appearance of ball python eggs