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Whats up gix.. You've picked one of my fav's... As far as finding info on them, its somewhat common, but everything you read is the same thing repeated over and over.. So, instead of throwing links up on the screen I'll tell you what Ive learned personally...
First off, Niles will NEVER be the tame boa or burm that is sweet with you, slow and calm, moving real gentle etc etc... they're a little more fiesty.. Granted the scale goes from mean as #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^&, to fiesty, I still love them, and see them as not much more of a challenge than a boa...
Basicly, their mentality is that of a cat.. they're nice with you, as long as you're VERY nice with them... over step your bounds and you'll get nailed'.. This one I "adopted" last weekend tries to bite me everytime I rub its throat... He's not aggressive, just gives me a "word of advice" every time I try to do it... and Ive learned not to [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
A Nile is a good "pet" for the person that like crocodillians, or alligator snappers, or something they're not trying to make their little schnookims... They need respect, its like dealing with um...a tiger, or lion or something... They can do some damage, and are more than willing to stand up for themselves.. But, treated with respect, they dont mind some hands on interaction..
For starters, you must NEVER....move quickly... raise your voice around them, startle them, be careless with them, or in any way take anything for granted... Yesterday I was holding the same Nile, and I sniffed... I just had a little bit of a plugged nose so I sniffed...a natural thing for me or you to do without a thought.... apparently a "sniff" sounds alot like a "hiss" to a Nile... He didnt like it too much and flipped out... Its things like that you have to think out... Prepare, is the word I guess...
As far as husbandry.. Give him a place thats too warm....and a place thats too cold...and everything in between... For example... Picture a cage... Picture in that cage a piece of beach drift wood starting at the left bottom, "rainbowing" to the right top.... I put the heat lamp about 1/3 from the left...so he has a place directly under the lamp about 3 inches from the heat light...way too hot....and half of the light is directed past that spot onto the ground... So there Ive given him an extremely hot spot...and a medium hot spot.... All in the open...then underneath where the beach wood is resting on the ground... I put a heat pad.. So He can get good and hot, and be hidden... 3 hot spots, all different... Just with that, he has alot of cool spots to choose from also.. Truthfully, I havnt even taken the temp of the three hot spots, or the cool sections, I can just tell through body language and where he spends his time what he likes... maybe someone can recommend some numbers for you... I can say tho, that I use either a 60 or 70 watt light bulb... and a ZooMed under tank heat pad...
Always have a good sized tub of water in their for him... I change mine's water about 4 times a day because he's always using his for a bathroom.. Which is cool cuz I dont have to clean his tank as much... Not to mention, fresh water is an 'always have around' type of thing for any animal...
Umm, what else.. So far Ive fed him mice, meat/cat food, some turkey... crickets, mealworms, waxworms are always welcomed... Actually the other day I was bs'ing on the computer and a moth came into my room (it was nighttime) and was drawn to his heat light, so it was flying around and I guess he thought it looked tasty so he went to town trying to catch it out of the air... so basicly they're garbage disposals when it comes to food.. They love goldfish too.. cant seem to catch them out of the water tho... Also I use a calcium supplement just to be safe... Ive found that in order to save a buck, instead of using a brand name calcium suppliment you can get these things called "cuddle bones" from your local pet store, which I guess people use for parrots... grind it up into a very very fine powder, and dust your crickets or meaty cat food (the meaty chunks, not the dry stuff)... seems to work... If you have a few extra bucks, get a Vita Lite... its definatly worth the money...
Thats about all I can think of... they average about 5-6 ft in captivity...weight is different.. you can either keep him the lean hunter he's supposed to be, or make him a HUGE piece of reptile fat.... I prefer the lean version so average 15 pounds maybe.... Ive never really weighed any of mine...
Basicly, they take alot.....ALOT....of handling for them to even begin trusting you... but with time they will start to get to know you... understand that if you over step your bounds with your boa or corn snake....they flinch.... Niles will bite you...... Mine, no matter how much I work with them, still try to whip me with their tails, or hiss at me, but when I pick them up they chill out... Just work with it, get a feel for its "personality"....and they do have some personality.... and it will all be good... Handle it daily... Calm and slow...
Thats all I can think of... as I think of anything else I'll post it.. if you have any questions as you go along in the experience post them and I'll try to answer them for you... Good luck.. I think if you like animals with some "spunk"....and arent afraid to shed a drop or two of blood.. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] you'll love your new nile... Just make sure you're in it for the long haul before you take him in....
[addsig]
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