Temptation

[Jackins]

So, I've been prowling around Craigslist in my area to see what's up for offer and there's been a price reduction on a snake that'd caught my eye.

40 bucks for a Thayeri king and all accessories. I tossed the included image below.

http://images.craigslist.org/00Q0Q_gcnUsJQylkF_600x450.jpg

I'm kind of tempted to ask them for more pictures and info on the accessories.

[franks]

Nice looking little guy. Make sure to ask plenty of questions and don't be afraid to walk away if it doesn't feel right. You should absolutely quarantine. I have gotten some nice animals off Craigslist in the past, but it can be a minefield.

[Jackins]

I went ahead and tossed them an email. Shouldn't hurt to ask. Hopefully I hear something back from them.

[Kera]

Wow gorgeous! Looks well kept, hopefully you hear back. :)

[drumcrush]

That actually sounds like a steal, assuming that the snake is healthy

[Jackins]

It sounds too good to be true; but I've gone ahead and messaged them anyway. So far it has gone without a response, but it was updated 3-4 days ago so I'll hold out a bit longer and see what's what.

I asked for more pictures of the snake and enclosure (and a bunch of other stuff, such as feeding, handling etc) and, if they actually send them, would like to toss them up here for you guys to give me a better assessment since it'd be a first time snake.

[sharthun]

It sounds too good to be true; but I've gone ahead and messaged them anyway. So far it has gone without a response, but it was updated 3-4 days ago so I'll hold out a bit longer and see what's what.

I asked for more pictures of the snake and enclosure (and a bunch of other stuff, such as feeding, handling etc) and, if they actually send them, would like to toss them up here for you guys to give me a better assessment since it'd be a first time snake.

Yeah the joys of CL!:p

[jpsteele80]

I hope it all pans out for you

[Jackins]

Well, I finally heard back from them.

Seems that Snake is about 2 feet long, and 2 years old. He's been living in a 10 gallon aquarium and was a former class pet. Currently eating f/t fuzzies or small mice.

I don't see anything wrong with him, but as I don't yet have experience with a snake myself, I'm not the best judge of anything. I would greatly appreciate some insight on this one.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/Keylynn/ThayeriKing3.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/Keylynn/ThayeriKing2.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/Keylynn/cage.jpg

[sharthun]

Not the best living conditions I see.

[Jackins]

Yeah...I don't see any sign of a UTH or anything on this guy. Not sure if they took it off for the sale or what but it's one of the few red flags.

Does he seem stunted or anything? I figured he'd be longer at two years.

[sharthun]

Yeah...I don't see any sign of a UTH or anything on this guy. Not sure if they took it off for the sale or what but it's one of the few red flags.

Does he seem stunted or anything? I figured he'd be longer at two years.

He does seem a little undernourished and smallish for 2 years old.

[Kera]

He was on aspen (?) in the first pic lol. Yeah the enclosure seems dirty and pretty small, I'd say a 20 gal. would suit it better. Totally up to you, I'd say a couple well sized meals in the belly and a nicer home would even this guy out to make a great snake. :)

[Jackins]

If I were to pick him up I'd be sticking him in a tub. My first inclination was to use a tank but after sticking around here, tubs are cheaper, lighter, and all around better (there's a 116qt one sitting in my car at the moment while I wait for a friend to help move a shelf around) After seeing the conditions though, I'm rather leery of taking this guy in. I don't want to end up with a rescue purchase and then find later that he might actually have serious problems and need an immediate vet visit.

This is going to take some thinking. I'm glad I asked for more pictures on the little guy's condition because that first image is kind of misleading.

[drumcrush]

try seeing if you can go over and have a visit, see the snake personally and check him out. pictures don't always do justice. It's totally up to you, but I would have taken him in a split second because, well.. I like kingsnakes haha :)

[Frisky]

@ drumcrush, how many times have you taken in a snake against your better judgement, and then just make the best of a bad situation. I ask because you and I have exactly the same philosophy regards Snakes by the look of things.

[sharthun]

@ drumcrush, how many times have you taken in a snake against your better judgement, and then just make the best of a bad situation. I ask because you and I have exactly the same philosophy regards Snakes by the look of things.

Two of my snakes I actually rescued from Craigs List and one from a science class! They turned out to be awesome animals. ;)

[franks]

If you like the snake? Go for it. It looks undernourished because it has been stuck on fuzzies. Start him straight on hoppers at the smallest. The more developed the bone structure of the prey the more nourishing for your snake. A pinky is basically a bag of mouse breat milk and a fuzzy is sort of in between. I think the snake in the picture is a little more than 2' and I think he could handle a small mouse.

I have used Craigslist before as well. You have to be careful but you can get some nice animals there. I got my MBK off of a kid going to college via CL. Personally I would feel more comfortable buying an old class pet on Craigslist than from buying from a Craigslist breeder.

My opinion on this is do not buy him because he is convenient. You said there were a few shows coming up soon as well. If this is the local kingsnake you want go for it. If you still want to look at others, then wait a bit. You are going to want more than 1 eventually anyway lol.

[Jackins]

If you like the snake? Go for it. It looks undernourished because it has been stuck on fuzzies. Start him straight on hoppers at the smallest. The more developed the bone structure of the prey the more nourishing for your snake. A pinky is basically a bag of mouse breat milk and a fuzzy is sort of in between. I think the snake in the picture is a little more than 2' and I think he could handle a small mouse.

I have used Craigslist before as well. You have to be careful but you can get some nice animals there. I got my MBK off of a kid going to college via CL. Personally I would feel more comfortable buying an old class pet on Craigslist than from buying from a Craigslist breeder.



That is the most fantastic description of a pinky that I am likely to ever see. The visual and the mouth-feel are going to leave me making weird faces for a good little bit.

I spoke more with the owner and have scheduled a day to meet so that I can at least take a look at the snake. If there's anything that puts me off then I'll walk away from it; the expo that I was planning to go to is only a little ways down the road from this guy. He's cute, and other than having questionable living conditions, which I can hopefully improve, I'd like more input. I've been watching the ad on CL almost since it was put up, so I think I'd best go and see what's what.

I picked up two more hides and a large water bowl today That tank will probably be tossed out or if possible, left with them as I've got a tub already. I just need the UTH and Thermostat to show up; should be here tomorrow, no later than Friday.

Will keep this updated as things pan out.

[franks]

If your thermostat does not come in time you can pick up a lamp dimmer from a hardware store or home depot for $7. As long as you can accurately take temps you can set your hot spot up perfectly and cheaply with this. The variable that can throw the process off is if your room temps raise and drop significantly. My basement is 77*f during the heat of the day and about 72*f at night. 5*f raise and drop and my hot side temps have not fluctuated at all.

As far as the condition the snake was kept in: it's far from ideal but in terms of effecting your snakes long term health I don't think it's a huge deal. He was obviously pretty cramped in there. He may not have had heat, but kingsnakes do not need very high temps and we know that he has been under fed which could be a blessing if he had in fact no heat. If you see feces in the enclosure do not go crazy judging his health by them. If he is still getting pinks and fuzzies his stool can be a bit runny.

If you would like more input I would place a burrow - able substrate in there as soon as you observe a few regular bowel movements. Dom crush recommended this to me and my Kong loves burrowing. Apparently most do. If you get a few inches of that in there he can hide amywhere.

[franks]

http://rs57.pbsrc.com/albums/g223/diehardislanders/IMAG0312.jpg~320x480

Periscope up! They can live under there.

[Jackins]

My ambient temps are a pretty stable 76-77 here in bedroom where the snake will be hanging out. Humidity should be reasonable to, it seems to stay at about 53%. I definitely appreciate the info about the stool consistency as that would have likely caused panic.

Currently sorting out delivery routes with a sort of local breeder for f/t mice. Ordering from a larger distributor seems excessive at this point.

[Joshchimera]

With some good feeding weekly and a nice heat source, that snake will thicken up and grow over a summer.

[Jackins]

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/Keylynn/DSCF2002.jpg

Look who's home!

[franks]

Awesome! Good looking guy. Congrats.

[Jackins]

Thanks!

He is super active and attentive. Apparently the reason for not having any sort of uth at his old place was due to him living on the back porch in the sun room. Didn't see any signs of mouth rot, excess mucus, or scale rot. Snake also doesn't seem to care about handling, though he doesn't like to let go.

He looks, really small though. I've no basis for judgement on feeder size. Are hoppers still the way to go with this guy? Trying to let him get acclimated at the moment. Here's another pic:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/Keylynn/DSCF2005.jpg

Yes, that mouse is way too big for him.

[EL Ziggy]

Congrats on the new addition Jack. He looks great. I'm sure you'll give him a good home. Best wishes.

[drumcrush]

Wow, gorgeous! Congrats and I wish you luck with the new one:)

[sharthun]

Congrats! Beautiful King! Looks like he could hand a couple hoppers or even a small adult mouse. ;)

[Jackins]

Congrats! Beautiful King! Looks like he could hand a couple hoppers or even a small adult mouse. ;)

Thanks everyone. He seems to be settling in well. I'm just trying to get his temps to stop shifting so much. Ordered a hydrofarm which should be here by Tuesday since the stupid rheostat nor emergency lamp dimmer won't hold a temp at all.

[franks]

How are you measuring temps? A lamp dimmer only allows a set amount of electricity through- the amount you set. You need to set it and be patient, it takes a few minutes to establish temp. If you are, there may be a problem with the UTH.

[Jackins]

How are you measuring temps? A lamp dimmer only allows a set amount of electricity through- the amount you set. You need to set it and be patient, it takes a few minutes to establish temp. If you are, there may be a problem with the UTH.

I have a digital thermometer probe taped directly underneath the heat tape, and another probe inside the tub on top of the hotspot. The dimmer says that it clicks off but the light is always running on it and there's no audible click. I'm trying to figure out exactly what direction it needs to move in to adjust and since he's not using the warm side right now i'm taking the time to futz with it.

My ambient temperature is still s around 77-75 and doesn't dip, humidity is good. It's just trying to get this thing to stay in one spot. I thought I had it last night but it crept on up to 95 in the night so i unplugged it just in case.

[Jackins]

In an exercise of extreme stupidity which heralded a momentary burst of genius, I went ahead and attached the lamp dimmer to a lamp.

The end result is that my temps are now at a steady 89 degrees on the warm side, and they haven't budged. I'm still going keep the order in place for the hydrofarm though as I don't want to feel like i have to babysit these temps. Still mad that the rheostat can't be returned, alas.

[sharthun]

In an exercise of extreme stupidity which heralded a momentary burst of genius, I went ahead and attached the lamp dimmer to a lamp.

The end result is that my temps are now at a steady 89 degrees on the warm side, and they haven't budged. I'm still going keep the order in place for the hydrofarm though as I don't want to feel like i have to babysit these temps. Still mad that the rheostat can't be returned, alas.

Good choice procuring a thermostat! Necessary equipment. ;)

[Jackins]

https://31.media.tumblr.com/2ae16bb62aca2007bcfcbe5d2c6f9ae5/tumblr_n94kzsGThT1qfg66xo1_1280.jpg

https://31.media.tumblr.com/7f9f99ca0f9e7ab88f1dafd705bf9512/tumblr_n94kzsGThT1qfg66xo2_500.jpg

They aren't the best pictures, but the new guy ate today. I picked up my first delivery of feeder mice from Hampton Feeders and my initial reaction was that the hoppers seemed way bigger than my snake. I got some fuzzies, just in case since that's what they've been feeding him on since before I got him.

Little mouse vacuum ate the fuzzy and the hopper with no trouble. He doesn't even constrict his prey and his feeding response is almost non existent.

I'm not 100% sure on the opinions of others, but I am feeding him in a different box. For feeding days I'm starting to use a hook to take him out of the tub with. It's not in the best of spots at this time and I'd rather there not be thrashing inside, at least until i get a better tank stand. Overall it's just a little easier for me to work with.

I got the Hydrofarm today and am currently waiting to see what I end up with as far as temps go. I've got three thermometers in this tank now and I'm a little nervous with the change. I've set the hydrofarm to 90, to give a decent gradient in temp. Will see how things turn out.

[franks]

My kingsnake is the only snake I have that I feed outside his enclosure. It's just easier for me than trying to find where he is at. Plus it's fun watching him rattle his tail the whole time. He's very chill, so I'm not worried about his feeding response.

[EL Ziggy]

Congrats on the successful feed.

[drumcrush]

sounds like he is settling in nice:)