Ideas on my Situation?

[Hugsofdoom]

Went to the pet store two weeks ago to get a snake for my birthday. Beautiful Pueblan; albeit no glamorous color patterns deviating from the norm. Anyway, while I was going home in the car, he had managed to escape the card board box in which he was packaged in and slipped inside the main console. About a week later, we lured him out after several failed attempts with a string attached to some food, a heat lamp, and a box with substrate. He finally nabbed the food and swallowed, the string entangling him to the attached box. We cut him loose and put the poor thing inside the terrarium. A day later I indulged in my thirteen year old whims, unaware of the need of settling in and the danger of regurgitation. I held him for roughly half an hour, then but him back. The next day, I did so again, and the day after that too. I gave him a days break. He false struck at me when I picked him up to handle him today (for five minutes now). I know he's quite stressed (considering the circumstances), but I also want to know: how long should I go with handling and the frequency? 6 month old Pueblan.Thanks for any help you can give to this little thirteen year old

[marvelfreak]

I would leave him alone for a couple weeks and let it settle in. All your doing right by handling it everyday is stressing it out.

[Cmwells90]

Remember that snakes aren't like normal pets, you don't want to handle them on the daily. While some snakes are better at handling the stress that comes along being held, others don't do too well. Let him settle in for a few weeks and get use to his new home. Then try handling 1-2 weekly. If you want to handle him more, you can, just be aware that it can stress him out.

[Hugsofdoom]

Thanks, another question. Do you think a six month snake is ready to eat fuzzies? He regurgitated halfway through eating. Then again, it's probably the stress. Should I try again when he's settled in in a couple o' weeks or later?

[Hugsofdoom]

Here's a photo, do you think he's an apricot?

[shaunyboy]

i would wait until he has had 4 or 5 feeds in a row before you start handling,always give him 48 hours after a feed to allow for complete digestion of the prey

if you handle too soon after feeding it may cause the snake to regurgitate the prey item

welcome to snake keeping mate

cheers shaun

[Rattlehead]

Wow, glad that it's alright after the car incident. I recommend that you don't handle more than 10 minutes a day. Also, I know that pueblans are a little less tolerant to handling, so don't do it every day and it will be fine. Good luck with it! :)

[Hugsofdoom]

Thanks for all of you guys' help! I'll leave him be for a couple of weeks, but when should I feed him? Should I try again today? Or wait? Sorry for all these questions, I really appreciate help! :D

[marvelfreak]

Thanks for all of you guys' help! I'll leave him be for a couple of weeks, but when should I feed him? Should I try again today? Or wait? Sorry for all these questions, I really appreciate help! :D
I wait a week then try feeding. If he don't eat then just wait another week. Once he settled in and is hungry he'll eat for you don't worry.

BTW nice look snake.

[EL Ziggy]

Welcome and congrats on your new addition. That's a nice looking milk snake you have. I agree with the others, let him settle in and don't handle him until he's eaten a few times. If he regurged I'd wait 7-10 days before offering food again. What are your temps and humidity like anyway? Is your heat source controlled by a thermostat? That's going to be very important. Do you have at least 2 hides for your snake? There are lots of cool people with good information to help you here. You can also check out a few care sheets for reference. Best wishes.
Pueblan Milk Snake Care – Housing, Feeding, Handling and More (http://www.reptileknowledge.com/news/pueblan-milk-snake-care/)
TheKingSnake.co.uk- Milk Snake Care Sheet (http://www.thekingsnake.co.uk/milk_snake_care_sheet.html)

[Hugsofdoom]

Okay! Halfway through week 2 (technically 3), and he decided to shed on me. It unfortunately wasn't the most ideal one as it came off a little patchy. I fed him on Tuesday because he went into the blue on Friday and he came out of it on that day. The amateurish me thought that meant he was finished, but that was only the beginning... He ate regardless, and surprised me on Wednesday with a bit of greyish, chapped scales. He finished off with retained eye caps, but I got that off with some ZooMed Formula. I think the bad shed was due to bad humidity and some stress. The water bowl is hollow and my little fella' decided that he loved to hide underneath. The thing is, the underside is not completely hollow and there are some "ridges" which a snake can lay in hiding, even if the water bowl is picked up. Needless to say, whenever I had to change the water, the little guy was carried along and I had to pry him out, which was pretty stressful for both parties. Also I keep moving substrate to sate my inner paranoia that he had escaped again. Yet, when I picked him up this morning he curled up into my hand and was the cutest thing in the world. Here are some crappy phone pics of the newly shed guy (crane your head to the left).