Bull snake care info needed.

[None505]

My mom just called me and asked if I wanted a Bullsnake that someone was selling at the gas station for $25 so I said yes and I hope I am doing the right thing. From what I understand a Bullsnake is pretty much the same thing as a Gophersnake but with a different pattern or am I wrong? Can anyone link me to a good care sheet or tell me about their care?

[FWK]

Bull Snakes are a subspecies of Gopher Snakes and care is basically the same. They are a lot more active than your typical Boa or Python and need some space to roam a bit. I keep mine around 75 on the cool end and 86 on the warm side. Some suggest a night drop but I keep it stable. Humidity should be low, around 35% and up to 50% when in shed. I've heard that they can get stuck on mice and be very difficult to switch to rats but mine will take anything anytime. He's a total pig. Some say they are very easy to overfeed and I can see why. I offer a rodent about as thick as he is at his midsection once a week. He's juvie still, I'll slow him down a bit as he reaches maturity. If you've never handled a Bull before they can put on a great defensive show, hissing very loud while raising their head off the ground and curving their neck in an "S" shape. They will rattle their tail and strike repeatedly. The strike is usually a bluff, they will just headbutt you most of the time. I have had wild Bulls tag me pretty good though. Down let this put you off, just reach in and pick it up. Hesitating will encourage the behavior and the snake will get more and more worked up. Although just watching the show can be very entertaining lol. I've seen them get so into their little display they fall over or off of obstacles. I've even seen them writhe around until their vibrating tail touches their side and the snake then whips around and attacks it's own tail. They are total dorks. And they are awesome.

[EL Ziggy]

I have to concur with FWK. Bulls are awesome snakes to keep. I would highly recommend them. I have a 9 month old female and I'm working on getting a male hatchling in a month or two. My albino female is active, easy to handle and eats like a monster. She's only hissed at me once or thrice and will occasionally rattle her tail if I disturb her but once she's out of her tank, she's a total sweetheart. The husbandry is a breeze too. I also keep my temps at 75ish on the cool side and 86ish on the warm side. Ambient humidity is fine but I do offer a moist hide during shed. I feed her 10-15% of her body weight every 6-7 days on average. I'm sure she'd like to be fed every 3-4 days :). I was offering mice and rats in the beginning but I've recently transitioned to rats only. This allows me to feed 1-2 rats as opposed to quite a few more mice. Post pics of your new addition when you can.

[retic1987]

Yep that about covers it.I really like bull snakes very cool snakes

[None505]

Thank you so much. They sound like really fun snakes. I have it in a 10g for now but I am hoping to pick up a tub on Saturday. Here are the pictures of it. Sorry they are not that good but I was attempting to get them fast before I put it into it's new home. I will get some better ones after it settles in some. Can anyone tell if it is really a Bull snake from these pictures?

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/Rattie_2007/105_0955_zps84669f92.jpg (http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Rattie_2007/media/105_0955_zps84669f92.jpg.html)

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/Rattie_2007/105_0959_zpsbb50ee45.jpg (http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Rattie_2007/media/105_0959_zpsbb50ee45.jpg.html)

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/Rattie_2007/105_0962_zpsacbde2f4.jpg (http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Rattie_2007/media/105_0962_zpsacbde2f4.jpg.html)

[FWK]

Yeah it's a Pituophis, looks like either a Pacific Gopher or a Great Basin Gopher. I don't know the locality morphs well enough to tell you exactly what subspecies it is. And it may well be a mix if it's a captive bred animal. You can call it a Bull Snake :)

[sharthun]

Awesome looking Pit! Congrats! Keep us posted!

[EL Ziggy]

Nice looking pit. Keep us posted.

[None505]

Thanks everyone, I wounder if it is a wild caught snake since the Great Basin Gopher is found around here.

[None505]

I asked on a local reptile group on facebook and someone said that it is a pure great basin gopher snake and most likely caught around here somewhere in the high desert. Does anyone have a natural looking set-up for their gopher snake or other desert snakes? I want to set it's cage up to look natural and would love to see how other people have theirs set-up. Would it be ok to take dirt/sand from near my yard for it's substrate? Would I have to cook it or anything to kill the bugs?

[Vysathi]

I would do something to sanitize it (baking it at a high temp would probably be the best way- no harm to the snake. I once heard someone talking about doing a bleach bath, straining, and placing dirt in their viv.... don't do that.) somehow if you are going to use local dirt/sand/detritus for substrate.

[None505]

Thanks, I guess I will bake it. Would using sand make it hard to keep the humidity right (30-50%)? Also how do I go about keeping the humidity right? I have never had a animal that required me to mess with the humidity.

[Cmwells90]

I don't think it's hold humidity very well, but if you have good ventalation and it's not too open a water dish should be find, if not I would say to use a mix of sand and another substrate like coco husk, which is very good at holding humidity. Not speaking from expirence because I had no sand using snakes. But I know that sand isn't good at holding water, unless it becomes muddy, which could also be bad.

[None505]

Thanks, the sand/dirt from my yard holds water some what ok. I will have to play around with it in a spare cage to see how it does.

[None505]

The snake has been coming out in the afternoons and acting hungry so I took it out today and it is 324g and 3'6". What size pray idem will I need? It looks like a large adult mouse would be about the same size around as this snake so should it be on weaned rats?

[FWK]

The snake has been coming out in the afternoons and acting hungry so I took it out today and it is 324g and 3'6". What size pray idem will I need? It looks like a large adult mouse would be about the same size around as this snake so should it be on weaned rats?

You'll get a lot of opinions on feeding questions like this, there are a lot of different methods and schools of thought. Personally I just like to eyeball it and my baseline is usually a prey item about as thick as the snake at its thickest point so the weaned rat sounds about right.

[None505]

Thanks, I just ordered 20 adult mice from someone so if they turn out to be to small should I feed 2 at a time or should I feed just one but more often? I planed on feeding it every 7-10 days. I guess my rat having babies is not such a bad thing after all.

[EL Ziggy]

My bull is a little larger than yours, 460g, and she eats 1-2 rat weanlings a week. I'd say you're on the right track. I don't feed mice anymore either. I was feeding multiple mice, now 1-2 rats is all they need.

[FWK]

Two at a time would probably be fine. Be careful not to spook it while it's eating the first one or it may not take the second one. Snakes are pretty much defenseless while eating and are often very easy to scare. On the other hand some are absolutely fearless when food is nearby and will try to get at the next one before the first one is all the way down lol. I agree with EL-Ziggy, rats are going to be the way to go next time.

[None505]

Thanks, I may just hold back one of the females from this litter of rats to breed for feeders then.

[None505]

I forgot to ask what type of Hygrometer should I be looking at?

[EL Ziggy]

I don't measure humidity for my bull. Ambient humidity will be fine for them.

[None505]

Thank you.

[CosmicOwl]

You don't have to worry about baking the soil. You can even go the bio-active route if you want. Just make sure there aren't any ants in the dirt though. That could be a problem.

[None505]

Thanks, we have fire ants here so I will be extra careful about the ants :) . I would love to do a bio-active substrate but was not sure if that would work for a desert set-up. I just gave the snake a f/t mouse and it pulled the mouse into it's cool hide but then it popped it's head out before going back in the hide so I am not sure if it ate the mouse.

[CosmicOwl]

Thanks, we have fire ants here so I will be extra careful about the ants :) . I would love to do a bio-active substrate but was not sure if that would work for a desert set-up.

There are people who know more about desert style bio-active soils than I do.

[None505]

Ok thanks, I am so happy right now because it ate the mouse.

[EL Ziggy]

Congrats on the successful feeding None. Bulls are pretty voracious eaters.

[FWK]

Gratz on eating!

[None505]

Thanks :) .

[sharthun]

Congrats!!! :)

[None505]

Thanks, the snake pooped yesterday and I am wondering if it is ok to clean it now or if I should wait a couple more days so he can digest his food first? I have him on paper towels so I will have to pick him up to clean up the poo.

[sharthun]

Thanks, the snake pooped yesterday and I am wondering if it is ok to clean it now or if I should wait a couple more days so he can digest his food first? I have him on paper towels so I will have to pick him up to clean up the poo.

I would clean it now. It's OK to gently handle them to move and clean.

[None505]

Thank you.

[pdomensis]

Gophers are great and almost impossible to mess up. Enjoy!

[reptocarl]

I have a three y.o. male bull. I got him as a hatchling from a breeder. Your snake isnt a bull. Its a great basin gopher. Still a pit and still awesome. These snakes grow large fast. Mine was eighteen inches when i got him and now in three years he is five and a half feet and still growing. I started out with a 29 gallon tank then approx a year later got him a proline 48x24x18 im going to have to get him an even bigger cage. Im thinking of having Ed at proline make me a 60x30x24. I use a rhp controlled by a proportional thermostat and keep his day temps at 83°f on his warm side. He has day and night lighting that are on timers and the rhp shuts off at night and comes on when the day lighting comes on. Ive experimented alot with substrate and am using and sticking with shredded aspen because it seems to be what he is happiest with. I started feeding mine rat pups early so he wouldnt get finicky about switching to rats later. Mine is still on a seven day feed schedule except when he goes into a shed. After he sheds i feed him and that starts the seven day schedule anew. I put in an extra water dish in his cage to raise the humidity during a shed cycle. I think pits are the most awesome coolest snake around because of their sometimes belligerent personality. Good luck with yours.
Carl

[None505]

Thank you.

[bugboy]

I once found a full grown bull snake by the lake it was a cool encounter it flattened out its neck and everything