New Babies

[Noh]

I was at the reptile expo in LA today and I bought my first snake! I'm so excited.

It's a baby CA King Snake. The seller referred to it as a "she" but who knows. I was thinking about maybe calling it Nanna? Or maybe Selena.

I also bought a grammostola pulchripes sling, and I think I'll call it Duchess or Henrietta(Henry!)

Pics of the mischievous snake! The tarantula is too small for pics imo, haha.
http://i66.tinypic.com/2uenvnp.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/5we0zm.jpg

[EL Ziggy]

Congrats Noh! Kings are really fun snakes to keep.

[Noh]

Thanks! I'm really excited about it/her. I held it at the expo and I loved it's scales.

Two hides and it's under the paper towel.
http://i68.tinypic.com/35n911h.jpg

[kazz]

snakes like close places. looks like ur hides is too big.

[kazz]

4 sides is glass.
Snakes really feel better if 1 side is glass only. They feel themselves safer.

[Noh]

@kazz
I haven't finished the enclosure yet, as I'm leaving to go back home from vacation(reptile expo!) next week.

Currently she only has 2 hides, thermometer+hygrometer, and a water dish. Maybe I'll give her a toilet paper roll and see how she likes it.

[SerpentineDream]

She'll grow into the hide. My little ones love the humble TP tubes. :p

[Noh]

Ha! She's had a tp tube for many days now and she has shown no interest in it whatsoever.

In fact, she doesn't seem to like the left side of her tank very much at all. She spends most of her time curled up under the paper towel above the heat pad on the right. I went in there to change her water bowl a few days back and she hated it. She happened to be out at the time and gave me a good scare when she rattled her tail against the side of the tank.

Curled up at the left side of the tank in a defensive posture because I'd "cornered" her there by touching the water bowl. Hopefully she'll get used to me and calm down. :rolleyes:

Edit:
In better news, I fed my tarantula a cricket! Chomped on it immediately. I'm liking the appetite on that little speck.

[Noh]

tfw you sit in the dark because the snake is out and you don't want to disturb it

So I've decided to name her Penelope.

[Tsubaki]

Sweet name for a cute snake, nice! Did you pick a name for the tarantula yet? Love chaco's

[IDvsEGO]

Ha! She's had a tp tube for many days now and she has shown no interest in it whatsoever.

In fact, she doesn't seem to like the left side of her tank very much at all. She spends most of her time curled up under the paper towel above the heat pad on the right. I went in there to change her water bowl a few days back and she hated it. She happened to be out at the time and gave me a good scare when she rattled her tail against the side of the tank.

Curled up at the left side of the tank in a defensive posture because I'd "cornered" her there by touching the water bowl. Hopefully she'll get used to me and calm down. :rolleyes:

Edit:
In better news, I fed my tarantula a cricket! Chomped on it immediately. I'm liking the appetite on that little speck.

both of my baby kings freaked out a lot on paper towels. They liked a thin layer of aspen though. BEing able to borrow must have helped out some. I got some plastic pots from walmart for 96 cents and used my dremel to size them down and cut an entrance notch then sanded the edges. They didnt want anything to do with them for the first day or so but now they like them. I like using the small pots because the have drain holes. Makes me feel better about having it over the heat pad because I know at least some heat venting is happening.

I will have some neat looking, fancy nice hides when they go to the full size enclosures eventually but for now, these are great.

[Noh]

New pic!
http://i64.tinypic.com/2yy1kls.png


Sweet name for a cute snake, nice! Did you pick a name for the tarantula yet? Love chaco's

Thanks! I didn't pick a name for the t yet, but I'm hoping to have one soon! I'm probably thinking too hard about it.

both of my baby kings freaked out a lot on paper towels. They liked a thin layer of aspen though. BEing able to borrow must have helped out some.

I've now bought her aspen! I'll be putting it in when I rearrange the tank.

[IDvsEGO]

a cutie. I am just realizing I have never seen a pic (that I can recall) of a full grown albino. Always the babies.

[jjhill001]

Albinomilksnake.com

Plenty of adult kingsnake morph photos over on that site.

[Noh]

Compared to those morphs Penelope is so much paler and has redder eyes! I love her.

I renovated her viv yesterday and now it has a silk plant(a vine meant for a larger tank) and aspen bedding, as well as a CHE and thermostat.

She really likes the fake plant and is constantly climbing all over it, it's curled up so that it resembles a bush and I made sure to manipulate little holes in it so I can see her sometimes. I see her moving around the tank much more often now.

[Cobra89]

I was at the same show! That's such a pretty king, I have mine on aspen and he loves it, tunnels everywhere. Super active, I eventually added a good sized branch because he was always climbing up the styrofoam mountain-esque backing, you wouldn't really think they'd care to climb, he's not the greatest at it but that doesn't stop him. Never uses the hide, he built a tunnel through the hide though.

Your baby is just a little smaller than mine was, but wow has he grown. I could barely hold him when I got him, just flailed everywhere. Used to put him in a tub for feeding, he'd turn right around and come at me greased lightening. Not anymore, he's gotten smart enough to differentiate between me and food time.

I like how you noticed the scales, that was one of the first things that caught my eye, they feel so nice and smooth, but kings aren't always the best wrappers like a retic or carpet, they'll slide off you pretty easy. He's much more calm now, I've had him just under a year. I love albino kings when they get adult-size, they just look amazing and their smooth scales are so impressive. Penelope's eyes are definitely super red, moreso than a lot of others, very cool!

You just really can't go wrong with a king, I'd personally recommend them as firsts or beginners over BPs and even corns, I've just had such a great experience with mine. I'm sure lots of keepers have their share of problems, but it's hardy, very easy to tame/calm (I wanted to see a full-grown one at a local shop, guy opened the viv and bam, latched onto his index finger within a split second. 3 - 4 months later, same snake, handled it no problem, no signs of aggression, never would have even thought it was the same snake!), and eats whenever and pretty much whatever you want it to.

Anyways sorry I get a little excited when I see kings, I love them all but I've always been a little partial to him. Always happy to come out, always happen to go back in (at least he doesn't put up a fight, I'm sure he'd love to just roam around the house), just cool snakes in general. You'll be happy for sure.

Wanted to put this in here too, just a neat comparison! Here's what gives kingsnakes the edge in snake-to-snake combat (http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-kingsnakes-20170329-story.html)

[Noh]

@Cobra89

That's perfectly fine! I love hearing about people and their snakes :) I'm so glad Penelope was a good choice. I researched a lot about snakes before I decided on a CA King.

I think later today I'm going to try feeding her (again) and if she doesn't eat it I'll leave it on top of a bare flat surface for a little while, and also leave the tongs in her viv so she gets used to them. She HATES the tongs.

Luckily she loves the new substrate! You can see so many tunnels in the aspen, and she pops her head out real far sometimes and darts back in if someone walks past. My housemates love her. I replaced her second hide with the fake plant and she is quite happy with that. The little weirdo cleared some of the substrate underneath it away though, and in the opposite corner somehow managed to put the aspen in a little pile. Whatever floats her boat I guess.

I'm looking for a branch to put in there. I have a flat rock that I've been boiling and baking. I tried doing the same with some sticks but I actually managed to hurt myself doing it. Kinda worried about putting wood I found outside in there, but I found a local reptile person who said it was fine if I went through the process of making it safe.

More pics! I just love pictures of her c:
http://i67.tinypic.com/2hhon6u.jpg
http://i68.tinypic.com/10pzgo9.jpg