First Pit- Bullsnake

[Humble308]

Hey guys/gals

Got down to the monthly reptile show to see if I could find a bull snake. After seeing Bandits and El-Z's pits I just had to get one. Girlfriend came along which was pretty cool. Saw a few bull color morphs that were really bright, but outside of something black and white I think the normals looked great. Picked up a 1 month old female from by happy chance the same breeder I bought my hoggie from for a pittance of $25. After he talked with my lady a bit about turtles we also grabbed a yellow bellow slider for $15. Walked out of the show for $40 hahaha

Not sure what I'll name the bull just yet but she actually nailed my index finger and put on a terrific hissy fit when I was trying to move her from the cup to her cage. Tail was rattling and I've got to say it sure convinced me. That strike is like lighting! I'll let her cool off for couple weeks and give a feed.

In related news my breeder mice had their first litter Friday. I only have frozen pinks for my hoggie and bull baby is eating fuzzys. So it'll be nice to get her rodents that are properly sized. The size difference between the hog and bull blows me away and I hear they grow quite fast. I'm impressed by her attitude haha.



All in all, a pretty good day.


Semper Fi,
Derek G

[Bandit]

Awesome! Great pick-ups, and I love that Bull. I'm sure you'll enjoy her!

[EL Ziggy]

Welcome to the Pit Crew Humble. I think you'll enjoy that bull too. They're awesome snakes to keep. Gotta love that attitude. She'll calm down quickly though. Give her a few meals and some quality handling time and she'll be putty in your hands. Great pick up with the slider too and and congrats on the mice litter.

[Minkness]

Congrats on all the new additions! Ziggy also makes me want a bull but for now, I'm done with new additions lol.

I personally really enjoy breeding mice as a hobby, so hopefully they will do well for you. Just try to remove the male quickly or he will try to over breed your girl and she WILL be prego again within 24 hrs of having her litter. Before you know it, you'll be swimming in babies lol

[toddnbecka]

Congrats on all the new additions! Ziggy also makes me want a bull but for now, I'm done with new additions lol.

Hmm, seems like we've heard that one before... :rolleyes:

[Humble308]

Welcome to the Pit Crew Humble.

Hahaha I like that! Most of the ones I handled at the show were super sweet, albeit flighty. It was hard to come home with just one after seeing some really cool pine snakes too. How old were your bulls before they started taking adult mice?

Thanks Bandit I think she's going to be super cool!

Minkness, thanks! The mice have been a curious journey. I started with a buck and two does. After I thought they mated I separated the male from the females, but after about 2 weeks I found the smaller female had half her face chewed off by the big female. When the male is around there wasn't any of those shenanigans. The beat up female was too far gone and I had to euthanize her (You could say I got my bull to deal with mice that get out of line HAHA). I put the doe and buck back together and was gave up hope they were going to breed after 2 months so this litter was a happy surprise! I will say that keeping the mice has been interesting. I may keep 2 females out of the litter as it seems a litter per month would be plenty for my hoggie's pink needs and the bulls fuzzies. Mommas will rotate pregnancy every month or so. We'll see, I'm just lucky they bred the first time haha.

[Minkness]

Mice are very good at canabalism. I had a tub just for bucks since really mice should not be single....welllllll I found my FAVORITE new buck, whoc hadn't even had a chance to breed yet, with no face x.x. so now, regardless of what care sheets satly, unless the males are breeding, they are in solitary confinement. They don't seem to be upset or get depressed or any of that other negative stuff I had read about. But this way, my females don't get over bred, and I don't loose a buck before his time.

I did have a pair of mammas eat their whole litters too. Not all at once either. =/

It's been weird, but I think I have a good system now.

[EL Ziggy]

How old were your bulls before they started taking adult mice?
Humble- I started my bulls on rat pinks. They were eating the equivalent of an adult mouse at 4 months. My male Apollo was hatched on 7/11/14. I got him on 8/14/14 when he was 42g. On 11/1/14 he was 150g and he ate 2 rat fuzzys (28g total).They're going to get to a pretty decent size, and they grow quickly, so I'd suggest getting them on rats asap.

[Humble308]

Thanks Ziggy, I'll get her switched over pretty quick then...I figured I'd have to go the rat route eventually with a huge bull. Estella the hissy hognose needs to grow a little faster so I can switch off mice lol.

[Humble308]

Mink one thing I noticed when I seperated the male is that it's like he just stopped taking care of himself...he was acting like he had an RI. But big momma grooms him and bosses him around (just like in real life I guess :/ ); when they're together he's in great health. Strange indeed.

[Humble308]

Here's a couple feeding pics from tonight. I tried to feed my hoggie a live pinky of 4 days, she usually eats 1-2 day olds, she was interested and started to gnaw down on it, but whether it was too big or too squirmy she coughed it up about 1/4 of the way. I took the pink out quick saw the bull peeking out of the aspen.

I didn't really want to feed since I only got her sunday but it'd be cruel to the pink not to feed it off. She wouldn't take it from tongs and took about 3-4 minutes to build the courage to come out and grab it. She didn't contrict at all, just lazily tossed it back haha, really great to see her eat and glad the pink didn't need to suffer.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n127/Humble308/IMG_2302_zpscjxtbhcm.jpg (http://s111.photobucket.com/user/Humble308/media/IMG_2302_zpscjxtbhcm.jpg.html)

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n127/Humble308/IMG_2304_zpsbdd0wa2i.jpg (http://s111.photobucket.com/user/Humble308/media/IMG_2304_zpsbdd0wa2i.jpg.html)

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n127/Humble308/IMG_2305_zps4qtpwwk0.jpg (http://s111.photobucket.com/user/Humble308/media/IMG_2305_zps4qtpwwk0.jpg.html)

[prairiepanda]

Pits seem to settle in very quickly compared to other snakes. Mine all ate very soon after arriving too(some even the next day!)

You're going to love her. Really. Very rewarding snakes to keep. Share plenty of photos!

[Humble308]

Thanks panda! I've settled on the name Lilith for her, she's mostly sticking to her burrow this week, I'm really looking forward to Sunday to feed and then Tuesday for her first handling. The sickness has hit me and I just put a WTB ad on Fauna to see if I can find a young axanthic or salt and pepper male. I'd love to breed one clutch just for the experience and probably just give the babies away when it's time. All the best!

[Humble308]

Update on Lilith:

No new pictures, last night was her first handling though. I think she's the epitome of a hissy nippy bull snake haha. She's immediatley defensive when I approach the cage. I end up putting on some light work gloves and I'm glad I did as she bit me no less than 15 times during the handling. She calmed down quite a bit when I let her nail my hand a few times and eventually settled into a grumpy handling.

I gave her about 15 minutes and I could tell she was getting pissy again, I put her back in the cage and she struck the glass 3-4 times. I'm not too concerned as I just think the breeder didn't handle her much if at all. I'm just going to handle her a bit more and see if she mellows. I will try to get some better pics tonight.

[EL Ziggy]

Good job with your pit Humble. She should give up that defensive behavior after a few more meals and more handling time. Keep us posted on your progress with her.

[Humble308]

Awesome! Thanks EZ, I was hoping I've been doing things right as I'm not only new to pits but to snake keeping in general. May as well start with the grumpiest snakes first hahaha.

[prairiepanda]

At that size, you probably don't need to bother with the gloves. I've got a couple baby pits that are even bigger than that and still don't break skin when they bite! It's more like an open-mouthed slap, since it's not a feeding response. But it's good to work with her now while her bite is still harmless, so that you can approach her more easily later on when she has some more serious teeth ;)

[Humble308]

Very true Panda, the gloves were more of a confidence builder haha. I was pretty sure she was going to bite me and wanted to cut down on the flinch factor. Now I feel like I know what to expect a bit better. :D

[EL Ziggy]

Very true Panda, the gloves were more of a confidence builder haha. I was pretty sure she was going to bite me and wanted to cut down on the flinch factor. Now I feel like I know what to expect a bit better. :D

You're not alone Humble. Both my bulls were a little hissy and nippy on arrival. I used a glove the first few times myself. :)

[Humble308]

You're not alone Humble. Both my bulls were a little hissy and nippy on arrival. I used a glove the first few times myself. :)

Good to know that she's a normal little rascal of a bull!

[Humble308]

Lilith is growing fast and becoming much more calm when handling. The past two days she hasn't hissed or bit (well for the most part) and it's been nice to handle her.

She's on my arm here, she seems much bigger in real life than a picture hahaha. She only hiss when she fell off my arm to the floor and I moved to pick her up a little too fast. But she's getting much better overall. All the best!

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n127/Humble308/Mobile%20Uploads/6B5A75A4-48A0-4235-BDDB-B32E188C8247_zpsulgt9qro.jpg (http://s111.photobucket.com/user/Humble308/media/Mobile%20Uploads/6B5A75A4-48A0-4235-BDDB-B32E188C8247_zpsulgt9qro.jpg.html)

[EL Ziggy]

Lilith is looking great Humble. Glad to see she's calming down for you. How much and how often are you feeding her?

[Humble308]

Thanks EZ! Just like you said she just needed a couple quality handlings...I needed them as well to be more confident with her. I'm trying to feed her every 5 days, today is actually her feed day and she'll take a 11 day old frozen fuzzy mouse. I'd like to get her on rats soon, but until I get breeders going mice will have to do.

[Humble308]

Well Lilith has escaped. Aside from feeling like a POS keeper I have guests coming in next week that just happen to be afraid of snakes. I scoured the room several times, and looked every spot I think a snake could be...my big fear is she went into the half closet that is basically the attic access and it'd be pretty much impossible to find her in there.

I know snakes are prone to escape in general, but I feel like a real piece of work for letting it happen. The lid to her cage is secure, but sometimes I close it more gently as she seems to scare very easily. Hopefully she shows up sometime.

[Albert Clark]

She probably could feel more secure in a smaller enclosure if you think that may be something you want to do later. But it's more typical hatchling behavior and will subside with more feedings and handling. Great looking snake btw.

[Albert Clark]

Sorry about the escape. Don't feel bad, I had a recent escape too. I did have to take the time to scour closets and floors. Make sure to look inside of shoes and underneath clothing. She will turn up. They usually don't travel far from the enclosure. If you have any gaps or space underneath your front door or any doors that lead to the outside be sure to seal those up right away. They really can sense and smell fresh air. Get a good flashlight and concentrate on the areas that generate heat like under the fridge and stove. Computers and wire outlets. Just be vigilant and you will find her. When you get her back make sure to downsize on the enclosure until she gets some size on her.

[EL Ziggy]

Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that Humble. I really hope you find her soon. Try setting up a warm spot with a hide and a fuzzy if you can.

[Humble308]

I'll give it a shot guys, thanks for the tips. My big fear is she went right into the attic from a gap in the closet door. At that point I doubt I'd ever find her within the maze of insulation and stuff. :/

[Bandit]

It will probably be pretty cool in the attic, or at least it will be soon. As was said before, set up a small warm spot with a hide to try and lure her there. Just check on it frequently. Best of luck.