pet snakes - Rhunt!

Post by **Gretchen** » Tue May 04, 2004 6:03 pm

I would definitely stay away from the Pythons, they aren't known to be nice and they head butt pretty good. My Boa is about 5 1/2 feet (we have no idea what she weighs guessing 8-10LBs-not as big as RHunts), she just shed last night and she looks gorgeous! She was chillin under the light and you could see the rainbow reflect, very cool! BUt you do have to have the stomach to feed live.

A couple of weeks ago we actually did a mercy kill. I went to the pet store to get the feeder mouse and there was one that was getting beat up in the cage. It was nasty. The whole back end of this mouse was torn off all the way down to the bone. So I didn't feel so bad. I always ask for an ugly fat mouse.

I had a florida water snake that ate gold fish. I got one for a couple of little girls that we used to teach and they just loved it. Theirs seemed alot more active then mine. The little ribbon snakes are pretty but can move fast. Bonus is they don't get to big.

Post by **GWG** » Tue May 04, 2004 6:55 pm

There is a Kentucky Reptile show the first Saturday of each month. It is held down at the Shelby County Fair Grounds. Vendors come in with all sorts of snakes, lizards, monitors, and supplies. It cost $4.00 to get in but the prices are worth it if you are looking to get stuff. It can be close to half what you would pay in a large pet store.

Post by **littlegreenalien** » Wed May 05, 2004 5:28 pm

Reptariums are great snake proof cages. They are a mesh zippered cage with a pvc frame. Big apple Herp sells them online and petsmart has them as well I believe. You also have to keep in mind that the snake will require a heat source, ie heat lamp, herp under tank pad. These are heat sources and CAN be a potential fire hazard. Precautions must be taken.
I would recommend a small snake that only eats fish or insects for a starter snake.

Otherwise, corn or ratsnake. milk/king are too aggressive during feeding. Get a baby and handle it every day. The Reptile show mentioned above is a good place to get babies but stick to your breed and don't do an impulse rainbow boa buy. Rat/Cornsnakes and Pythons seem a little sharper intellectually then boas. Boas are glorified rocks compared to my ratsnake. I have owned all three.

The Reptile show is a great place to get cheaper frozen mice when your snake is an adult. Adult Frozen is 40cents, live is 1.89. A lot of times the babies will only eat live pinkies and then there are still complications sometimes. I'll pm you advice on feeding stubborn babies, if you wish.

Post by **littlegreenalien** » Wed May 05, 2004 5:30 pm

Also some of the ratsnake varieties change patterns/colors from hatchlings to adults. Kind of neat.

Post by **rhunt** » Wed May 05, 2004 6:59 pm

IMO (with much experience) it is best to keep small snakes in glass aquariums with wood tops. The solid wood top(with very very small air holes) makes a very secure top..snakes are masters of escape... and the top will provide the MUCH needed humidity to keep your snake healthy. also small breed snakes like corn/milk/king/rat snake do not a suppliment heat source esp when kept in glass with a wood top. Both my milk and king snakes are kept this way and are very healthy. Only the tropical snake slike boas and pythons need supplimental heat.

reptile shows are a great source to get food, rats and such, but it's really not the best place to buy your new pet. I learned this lesson the hard way. I bought my grey-banded kingsnake at a rep. show and it took me 4 weeks to get it to eat and now it only eats live mice. Plus it musks(shits) on me when I hold it if it gets nervous...usually young snakes outgrow this and if they don't it usually means they were wild caught...that sucks

beware of Rep shows..but check them out because it's a great place to see all kind of Cool reptiles

Post by **littlegreenalien** » Wed May 05, 2004 9:11 pm

I think part of the eating thing is age. I got my ratsnake at 1 week hatched, got to see the clutch before hatching, and it took a couple of months before she would eat without help. Then it was only live, then once she was on juvenile mice she slowly transitioned to dead mice.

On the heat, she does fine as an adult w/o a heat source in a 72-75 degree house. But as a baby she got very very sick and I learned I had to keep her at a higher temp. This went away at 2-3 feet.

Post by **littlegreenalien** » Wed May 05, 2004 9:14 pm

For an online source, check out kingsnake.com I've had friends order from some venders listed there with good results.

Post by **spuzo** » Wed May 05, 2004 11:59 pm

My brother's roommate had a baby king snake that was an awesome pet - he would chill on the remote control when we watched TV or something...and liked to hang out on the couch with ya...he was pretty cute too...he traded it in though for some pac-man frogs - they're boring. I think Rowan would have fun with a snake! I am jealous. Joe and I found two black rat snakes on our road leaving the gorge a couple weekends ago - we caught them and had them in a bucket and thought about keeping them, but didn't have a tank big enough and we're sure we wanted to invest in it just yet...

Let us know what you get!!

Post by **Gretchen** » Thu May 06, 2004 11:26 am

My snake was a very picky eater. The previous owner basically had her force fedd by the vet for almost a year. She has now been with us almost 5 years and she has only skipped a few meals due to shedding. So she has been super happy with us. We do make sure she takes a good swim in the bath tub to aid to her digestion and beautiful skin. Plus it's cool to see her stretch out & swim!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 06, 2004 12:38 pm

well, we have decided on a Corn Snake. Thanks, everyone! We found a really good breeder and his hatchlings will be ready in August, so we have plenty of time to read up on snake care and get the habitat ready.

We're either getting one like this

or one like this

Man, they are beautiful. My daughter already has a list of possible names going and is kicking in $50 toward the purchase!